Estimating the Energy Intensity of Your Water: The 'Simple' Method

Knowing the energy intensity (kWh/unit of water) of your community’s water system is one of the first steps to designing a water management program that optimizes freshwater protection in conjunction with energy and carbon emissions reductions. The energy embedded in water systems is highly variable and should therefore be determined on a community-by-community basis. Water systems that rely on more than one water supply often have different embedded energy values throughout the year, depending on which source is being utilized at the time of use.

This document provides step-by-step instructions on how to estimate the energy and resultant carbon emissions required for pumping and treating your community’s water and wastewater, including an illustrative example of how to use this information to encourage water conservation and efficiency.