New Website Features Pilot Project and Interactive Tools for Water-Energy Savings

This past December, the Metropolitan Energy Center based in Kansas City, MO held a half day seminar on the water-energy nexus that included speakers from River Network, the Alliance for Water Efficiency and University of Texas at Austin. A new website has just gone up featuring presentations from the event, educational information on an exciting pilot project called “Project Living Proof,” a water-energy savings calculator and an awesome interactive map showing the combined benefits of water-oriented strategies across Kansas City.

The Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating resource efficiency, environmental health and economic vitality in the Kansas City region. Through their WaterWi$e program, MEC has made the plunge into water issues with a particular focus on the energy savings that can be achieved through green infrastructure and water efficiency. The seminar held in December, titled Exploring the Connections Among Air, Water and Energy, served as an introduction to the water-energy nexus for local water and energy utilities.

Although the site is still under development, there is some great stuff on there that's worth checking out.

The first place I’d recommend going to on the new website is their Water and Energy page, which includes some interesting factoids and links to the presentations from the seminar in December (be sure to check out presentations by Mary Ann Dickinson from the Alliance for Water Efficiency and Ashlyn Stilwell from UT Austin). Here are some of the eye-raising facts listed on the page:

• Up to 20% of the energy consumed by the average household is used for heating water.

• Warming two gallons of water in a hot water heater consumes more energy than lighting an entire home for an hour. (400 watts vs 250 watts)

• By conserving water, homeowners can save on TWO utility bills at the same time

• Low-flow faucet aerators and showerheads can be installed for under $30 and can save over $100 annually on water and energy bills.

For more great educational materials, check out the Project Living Proof Calculator, which allows users to see how much water, energy and money could be saved at their pilot project by employing different water efficiency or stormwater strategies. Seeing the annual savings that can be achieved through simple, cost effective water-oriented approaches is really eye opening. For more information on Project Living Proof, check out the Project Living Proof website.

Another great feature on this website is an interactive map showing businesses, institutions and residences that have installed water efficient devices, rain gardens, and/or rain barrels. The page highlights all of their savings and the strategies they’ve employed. Users can also type their own address into the map to find out how much they can potentially save through similar strategies.

The Metropolitan Energy Center is one of just a handful of energy-oriented nonprofits that really understand the potential to save energy by saving water. They are doing an excellent job achieving results and educating the public about water-energy connections through pilot projects and innovative tools. I look forward to seeing what exciting things they’ll do next.