Maximising water systems’ efficiencies to better manage cost and operations

Sector: Water Utilities

Challenge: Reducing Energy Consumption

The key strategic objectives identified in the UK Water 2050 Water Strategy of environmental protection, net zero carbon and protection of access to clean, safe drinking water are driving the priorities within water utilities. These goals require resilience action plans, smart management of existing assets, real-time understanding of clean and wastewater network performance, smarter analysis of consumption and increased customer engagement.

Meeting Net Zero targets by 2030 is a daunting prospect. However, while water collection, distribution, treatment and recovery are energy intensive – with energy accounting for more than 11% of operating expenses on average – there is great scope for efficiency improvements enabling huge energy savings alongside effective control of costs.  The critical need to view these challenges holistically across the water cycle mirrors Xylem’s mission to enable efficient asset operation across a combined digital ecosystem.   

Water companies will require massive investment in the modernization of the water infrastructure to truly meet energy reduction targets, if this is undertaken on a like-for-like of complete upgrade basis. Luckily advances in mechanical and digital technologies make it possible to address these needs in different ways adapted to the financial preferences and resilience of the company. Modernization can be addressed with intelligent high efficiency equipment, smart-connected networks and digital solutions providing real-time performance intelligence. 

Where to start……?

The first step is determining each facility’s baseline energy use, for which energy and asset condition audits provide valuable insights. Xylem offers free consultancy on the most efficient pumps, mixers and treatment plant to best identify the impacts of energy-intensive process improvement options – and how to prioritise these improvements to deliver the savings.

Through coupling progress in the design of hydraulic parts that improve their resistance and reliability, with improvement in electrical motors through high efficiency permanent magnets and the addition of monitoring systems to identify drops in efficiency enabling proactive maintenance and thus reducing downtime and risk of failure, rotating equipment has truly become intelligent.  Such improvements serve to dramatically reduce energy use for high hydraulic performance and ensure availability.   

Smart connected networks are groups of assets and sensors that leverage the Internet of Things and cloud-based data management allowing real-time performance monitoring.  Such access to data provides traceability of system performance and plan for preventive maintenance with third party support to avoid any energy loss of the system.

Digital solutions have now developed to utilize machine learning to provide real-time decision support, along with both process and asset performance metrics, that control the operation in water and wastewater collection and treatment. These systems enable dramatic energy efficiency gains can be achieved in the most energy intensive processes while ensuring compliance to regulatory standards. 

Last but not least, energy efficiency of complex processes such as very large wastewater pumping stations or activated sludge treatment will greatly depend on their original mechanical and hydraulic design.  Xylem’s advanced engineering services and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) experts assess hydraulic flow patterns and can recommend changes to ensure optimal operation to achieve process targets while meeting the highest efficiency of all rotating equipment and dissolved oxygen transfer processes. 

No company is an Island

These targets cannot be achieved by the utilities alone. Achieving net zero and process efficiency goals is only possible if the customer is made an intrinsic part of the journey. Educating the consumer to cut non-essential use of fresh water alongside use of more efficient appliances thus reducing demand and attendant energy costs across the water cycle. Hand in hand with this is ensuring customers understand the appropriate disposal of complex contaminants such as grease, medication, cosmetics, and plastics,  improving the energy efficiency in the collection and treatment of wastewater

Clean water treatment

As much as 40% of operating costs for drinking water production, especially water filtration by membrane and disinfection to safe standards, are attributable to energy use.

Automated vertical analytic profiling systems sample at different depths to provide an in-depth view of water quality, enabling draw off points to be selected to reduce the load on the treatment works thus extending filtration uptime.  

Backwashing of filtration units accounts of a high degree of both energy and clean water usage on plant. Optimising backwash run times based on water quality measurements can reduce energy and water usage while protecting both the process and customers from problems related to both under and over washing.

Chemical-free disinfection technologies like ultraviolet (UV) can also be optimized to further reduce energy use in water production sites: the smart control of UV intensity brings an important reduction in energy use, while ensuring the proper dose is delivered, and can serve to extend lamp life further improving operating costs.

Clean water networks

Real water losses in the water distribution network are leading to energy wastage, wasted water production and network pressurisation. Xylem’s portfolio of smart water meters, leak detection services, pressure sensors and network management software give utilities crucial information.

Water used at home accounts for more than half of all public water supply use. Reducing non-essential water consumption in households via smart meters can help ease the pressure on distribution and resource management – cutting energy use and costs. And optimising re-pressurisation to high-rise buildings with energy-efficient and smart booster pumping systems can also drive significant energy-use reduction.

Wastewater network

Wastewater networks provide several energy-saving opportunities. Intelligent equipment, including smart service network and AI-based decision support software, are capable of sensing, predicting and acting towards enhanced process performance. For example, SmartRun is a state-of-the-art pump controller solution for pump stations that potentially realises energy savings up to 50%.

The Concertor wastewater pumping system’s ability to sense the operating conditions of its environment and adapt its performance has the potential to cut electricity bills by up to 70%, compared to a conventional wastewater pumping system.

In addition, smart service management with preventive maintenance reduces the needs for expensive emergency callouts and heavy investment in a replacement inventory.  

Wastewater treatment

Ever-higher treatment standards, especially for wastewater effluent quality, mean more energy- or chemical-intensive solutions are required. Aeration systems can account for between 40 and 80% of a plant’s total energy consumption; with dated technology and equipment, downtime and ongoing maintenance issues are a further concern.

Xylem’s innovative TSO real-time decision support system can save up to 26% of the plant energy use by leveraging data to improve treatment processes in real-time.

Smart savings for all

Smart water technologies offer the potential to transform the economics of water and wastewater operations.

Working smarter, with the help of the right partner, a leaner business can emerge - greater resilience for the future, with data that provides actionable insights to better support operational management - thereby achieving cost benefits - and all this while not costing the earth.