Water management is a critical factor for sustainable growth and development in local governments. They must ensure safe drinking water and wastewater systems, provide reliable service, meet regulatory and environmental demands, and keep consumer costs down. There can be no compromise on quality standards, and water supply failures or safety issues are unacceptable.
To meet high stakeholder demands, large pumps, drives, motors, and other equipment operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a result, municipal water and wastewater utilities are among the largest energy consumers within local government infrastructure – which also means a high carbon footprint. The amount of energy required to operate drinking water systems, for instance, can comprise as much as 40% of their operating costs, according to the EPA.
Water and wastewater utilities face the growing need to invest heavily in aging infrastructure, not just to ensure safety and quality standards – water is directly tied to revenue. According to ASCE's 2021 Infrastructure Report Card, the nation’s drinking water infrastructure currently scores a C-, and wastewater a D+.
Safe drinking water is essential to the community’s health – and to the economic prosperity of local governments. The nation’s drinking water infrastructure is made up of 2.2 million pipes, and the system is decades old. Water main breaks every two minutes result in 6 billion gallons of treated water lost each day. The EPA reports that, on average, 14% of treated water is lost to leaks in the distribution system – and some water systems say loss rates exceed 60%. Lost water means lost revenue – and wasted energy consumption and costs for the treatment of lost gallons.
In addition, almost 50% of water utilities report flat or declining sales in the past 10 years, due to the need for efficiency and infrastructure improvements. Declining revenue, the heavy costs of regulatory compliance, and lack of adequate federal funding mean that water utilities have not been able to fund the costs to upgrade systems.
Removing and treating wastewater is essential for the health of the community and the environment. The nation’s wastewater infrastructure includes more than 16,000 wastewater treatment plants that treat over 60 billion gallons of wastewater a day. On average, they are functioning at over 80% of their design capacity, and 15% have reached or exceeded it.
Most the nation’s wastewater plants were constructed in the 1970s and have an average lifespan of 40-50 years – upgrades are needed to infrastructure. Declining revenues due to numerous factors, including leaks from aging infrastructure, have resulted in wastewater facilities raising user rates by 24% since 2008.
Modernizing infrastructure is critical to cutting overhead costs and meeting resilience, efficiency, and carbon targets – and ensuring the satisfaction of the community by meeting safety and quality standards without raising user rates. There is a tremendous opportunity for local governments to address the efficiency and sustainability of their water and wastewater infrastructure. According to the EPA, incorporating energy efficiency practices can save water utilities and local governments 15-30% on energy costs.
Some opportunities available to water and wastewater plants:
Successful energy and infrastructure upgrades need to achieve the right balance between three priorities: cost efficiency, energy resilience, and carbon reduction. Working with the right partner is essential to ensure that you implement successful infrastructure upgrades while remaining aligned to your strategic and financial goals. Centrica Business Solutions is a DOE-qualified and NAESCO-accredited energy services company that works with all areas of local government, including water and wastewater utilities, to integrate sustainable energy solutions and remove complexity. We deliver a full range of bundled, end-to-end energy solutions and services that optimize energy and infrastructure comprehensively – for maximum energy savings and carbon reduction.
Our unique combination of strategic guidance, industry expertise, innovative technology, flexible funding, and full lifecycle support ensure you make the most of new opportunities, react quickly to market changes, and eliminate complexity and risk. We work with you step by step to comprehensively address your energy and infrastructure needs – to reach your energy savings and carbon reduction goals sooner while maintaining budget neutrality. And we deploy solutions in the proper order for maximum impact, focusing on energy conservation measures first to optimize more advanced technologies like solar.
Our process for working with you defines a clear and targeted approach to energy implementation – establishing your goals, identifying opportunities, installing solutions, and ensuring ongoing support and optimization over time. Each step is underpinned by expert resources, proven processes, and end-to-end accountability – ensuring that you are supported in delivering on your financial and environmental agenda. We empower you to have effective conversations, get the right stakeholders involved, and get projects done.
