EPRI Volume 4 PDF

Water & Sustainability (Volume 4): U.S.
Electricity Consumption for Water Supply

& Treatment - The Next Half Century
Technical Report
Water & Sustainability (Volume 4):

U.S. Electricity Consumption for
Water Supply & TreatmentThe
Next Half Century
1006787
Topical Report, March 2002
EPRI Project Managers

R. Goldstein
W. Smith
EPRI 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304 PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303 USA
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CITATIONS
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This report describes research sponsored by EPRI.
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Water and Sustainability: U.S. Electricity Consumption for Water Supply & Treatment The
Next Half Century, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2000. 1006787.
iii
REPORT SUMMARY
The fast growing demand for clean, fresh watercoupled with the need to protect and enhance
the environmenthas made many areas of the United States and the rest of the world vulnerable
to water shortages for various human uses. As they interact with the electricity industry, these
uses encompass agricultural irrigation, thermoelectric generation, municipal water/wastewater
treatment and distribution, and industrial processes. The dependency of electricity supply and
demand on water availability can impede societal and economic sustainability, adversely affect
the future growth of electric demand, cause shortages in current electric supplies, and impact
electric grid topology planning.
Background
Unlike gradually developing environmental concerns, such as climate change where long leadtimes allow coping strategies to be developed from evolving scientific and technical innovations,
water (and energy) shortages can occur relatively suddenly and cripple local and national
economies. EPRI perceived a critical need to better understand and manage the interrelationship
of water and energy, to improve environmentally sustainable economic development.
Objectives
To determine if there will be sufficient electricity available for providing fresh water and
treating wastewater to satisfy the countrys agricultural, power production, industrial, and
drinking water needs.
To determine typical electricity consumption per unit of water supply and treatment for enduse sectors and thermoelectric generation.
To project future growth patterns of electric consumption associated with water supply and
treatment over the next half century.
Approach
The project team combined two decades of expertise in electricity, environmental, and water
management efforts to develop a four-volume series of Water & Sustainability documents to
meet the project objectives. This volume is Water & Sustainability: U.S. Electricity Consumption
for Water Supply & Treatment The Next Half Century (Volume 4). The other volumes are
Water & Sustainability: Research Plan (Volume 1, EPRI report 1006784), Water &
Sustainability: An Assessment of Water Demand, Supply, and Quality in the U.S. The Next Half
Century (Volume 2, 1006785), and Water & Sustainability: U.S. Water Consumption for Power
Production The Next Half Century (Volume 3, 1006786).
Results
This screening studys results included
For the first time, unit energy (electric) requirements have been estimated for all end-use
sectors and for thermal power generation, with respect to water supply and treatment.
Generally, electricity demand associated with water supply and treatment for various enduse sectors will likely track Bureau of Census population growth projections of 50% by
the year 2050. The only exceptions are irrigation pumping and industrial (excluding
mining) uses, both of which will triple over that period. Thermal power generation
electricity requirements associated with water use will remain relatively flat.
Some 4% of the nations electricity use goes towards moving (80%) and treating
water/wastewater. Approximately 80% of municipal water processing and distribution
costs are for electricity. Electricity availability, while critical for water supply and
wastewater processing, is not a major impediment to economic development. However,
water is a key constraint on such development and will strongly affect the overall demand
for electricity from human activities that depend on water availability.
Groundwater supply of water from public sources requires about 30% more electricity on
a unit basis than supply from surface water. The difference is due primarily to a higher
requirement for raw water pumping for groundwater systems.
EPRI Perspective
Given EPRIs Electricity Technology Roadmap projections of some 7000 GW of additional
electric generation needs by the year 2050, it is imperative that any critical resource availability
on which this projection rests be evaluated and addressed. This Water & Sustainability effort did
find that electricity availability is not a constraint on water supply and treatment capabilities;
rather, it is electricity supply and demand that depend on water availability.
Keywords
Water management
Sustainability
Electricity generation
Electricity demand
Electric grid
vi
ABSTRACT
The use of electricity for public and private supply of water and for wastewater treatment is an
important factor in economic growth and sustainability in the United States. As the economy
grows, all sectors increase their demand for fresh water and generate additional quantities of
wastewater that must be treated before discharge.
This report estimates, for the first time, unit electricity requirements for the supply of fresh water
and the treatment of wastewater across the U.S. economy. These unit electricity requirements
are then used to project total electricity requirements for selected sectors of the economy.
Sectors included in this analysis include:
Public water supply agencies
Publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities and privately operated wastewater treatment
facilities
Self-supply of water to the domestic, commercial, industrial, mining, irrigation, livestock,

and thermal power generation sectors
Issues regarding changes in unit electricity consumption and aggregate electricity requirements
for each sector are also identified and their impact on future projections are assessed.
Projected future electricity requirements for water supply and wastewater treatment are expected
to represent less than 4 percent of the total projected annual electricity sales to all sectors over
the period 2000 to 2050.
The amount of electricity required to meet the cooling water needs of thermal plants over the
period 2000 through 2020 is estimated to represent less than 0.5 percent of the total generation of
these types of plants.
Overall electricity demand, associated with water supply and treatment for various end-use
sectors, will likely track Bureau of Census population growth projections of 50% over the period
2000 through 2050, with the exception of irrigation pumping and industrial (excluding mining)
uses, both of which will triple over that period. Thermal power generation electricity
requirements associated with water use will remain relatively flat.
vii
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY...................................................................................... 1-1

Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1-1
Summary of Results ........................................................................................................... 1-2
References......................................................................................................................... 1-7
2 ELECTRICITY REQUIREMENTS FOR DELIVERY OF WATER BY PUBLIC SUPPLY
AGENCIES ............................................................................................................................. 2-1
Fresh Water Treatment Process Descriptions and Unit Electricity Requirements ............... 2-1
Surface Water Treatment Process Description .............................................................. 2-1
Surface Water Treatment Unit Electricity Consumption.................................................. 2-2
Groundwater Treatment Process Description ................................................................ 2-2
Groundwater Treatment Unit Electricity Consumption.................................................... 2-3
Projected Electricity Requirements for Fresh Water Supply by Public Agencies ................. 2-3
Methodology .................................................................................................................. 2-3
Public Water System Inventory ...................................................................................... 2-4
Electricity Consumption Projections ............................................................................... 2-4
Issues Related to Trends in Electricity Use for Supply of Fresh Water from Public
Supply Agencies................................................................................................................. 2-8
Trends in Unit Electricity Consumption .......................................................................... 2-8
Power Quality IssuesReliability of Supply................................................................... 2-9
Other Issues and Observations.....................................................................................2-10
References........................................................................................................................2-10
3 ELECTRICITY REQUIREMENTS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT BY POTWS
AND PRIVATE FACILITIES ................................................................................................... 3-1
Wastewater Treatment Process Descriptions and Unit Electricity Requirements ................ 3-1
Trickling Filter Wastewater Treatment............................................................................ 3-1
Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment ....................................................................... 3-2
Advanced Wastewater Treatment .................................................................................. 3-3
ix
Unit Electricity Consumption for POTWs........................................................................ 3-4

Projected Electricity Requirements for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs ......................... 3-6
Methodology .................................................................................................................. 3-6
POTW Inventory ............................................................................................................ 3-7
Electricity Consumption Projections for POTWs ............................................................ 3-9
Issues Related to Trends in Electricity Use for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs............3-12
Trends in Unit Electricity Consumption .........................................................................3-12
Power Quality IssuesReliability of Supply..................................................................3-12
Electricity Use in Privately Operated Wastewater Treatment Works ..................................3-13
References........................................................................................................................3-14
4 ELECTRICITY REQUIREMENTS FOR SUPPLY OF WATER BY END-USERS ................. 4-1
Domestic Sector ................................................................................................................. 4-1
Characterization of Sector ............................................................................................. 4-1
Unit Electricity Consumption .......................................................................................... 4-4
Electricity Consumption Projection................................................................................. 4-4
Commercial Sector............................................................................................................. 4-5
Characterization of Sector ............................................................................................. 4-5
Unit Electricity Consumption .......................................................................................... 4-5
Electricity Consumption Projection................................................................................. 4-7
Industrial and Mining .......................................................................................................... 4-8
Characterization of Sectors............................................................................................ 4-8
Unit Electricity Consumption .........................................................................................4-11
Electricity Consumption Projections ..............................................................................4-11
Irrigation and Livestock......................................................................................................4-13
Characterization of Sector ............................................................................................4-13
Electricity Consumption Projections ..............................................................................4-16
Power Generation .............................................................................................................4-18
Characterization of Sector ............................................................................................4-18
Electricity Consumption Projection................................................................................4-20
References........................................................................................................................4-22
A SUPPORTING DATA.......................................................................................................... A-1

Population Growth Projections ........................................................................................... A-1
Electricity Consumption for Fresh Water Supply by Public Water Supply Agencies............ A-3
Electricity Consumption for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs .......................................... A-6
Electricity Consumption for Water Supply by End-Users .................................................... A-8
Domestic Sector ............................................................................................................ A-8
Commercial Sector ........................................................................................................ A-9
Industrial and Mining Sectors....................................................................................... A-10
Irrigation and Livestock ................................................................................................ A-12
Thermal Power Generation.......................................................................................... A-15
References....................................................................................................................... A-19
xi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2-1 Representative Surface Water Treatment Plant Process (with Typical Daily
Electricity Consumption for a 10 Million Gallon/Day Facility)............................................ 2-2
Figure 2-2 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by
Public Water Supply Agencies......................................................................................... 2-6
Figure 2-3 Regional Energy Consumption Projections for Water Supply by Public Water
Supply AgenciesReduced Unit Energy Consumption .................................................... 2-6
Supply AgenciesIncreased Unit Energy Consumption ................................................... 2-7
Supply AgenciesReduced Per Capita Water Consumption............................................ 2-7
Supply AgenciesIncreased Per Capita Water Consumption .......................................... 2-8
Figure 2-7 National Energy Consumption Projections for Water Supply by Public Water
Supply AgenciesBaseline and Sensitivity Cases ........................................................... 2-9
Figure 3-1 Representative Trickling Filter Wastewater Treatment Process ............................. 3-2
Figure 3-2 Representative Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Process Sequence
(with Typical Daily Electricity Consumption for a 10 Million Gallons/Day Facility) ............ 3-3
Figure 3-3 Representative Advanced Wastewater Treatment Process Sequence (with
Typical Daily Electricity Consumptions for a 10 Million Gallons/Day Facility) .................. 3-4
Figure 3-4 Variations in Unit Electricity Consumption with Size for Representative
Wastewater Treatment Processes................................................................................... 3-6
Figure 3-5 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projections for Wastewater
Treatment by POTWs.....................................................................................................3-10
Figure 3-6 Regional Energy Consumption Projections for Wastewater Treatment by
POTWs2.5 Percent Increase in Unit Electricity Consumption......................................3-10
Figure 3-7 Regional Energy Consumption Projections for Wastewater Treatment by
POTWs5 Percent Increase in Unit Electricity Consumption.........................................3-11
Figure 3-8 National Energy Consumption Projections Wastewater Treatment by
POTWsBaseline and Sensitivity Cases ........................................................................3-11
Figure 4-1 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for the Domestic Sector.......... 4-4
Figure 4-2 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for the Commercial Sector ..... 4-7
Figure 4-3 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for the Industrial Sector .........4-12
Figure 4-4 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for the Mining Sector .............4-12
Figure 4-5 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Irrigation...........................4-17
Figure 4-6 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Livestock..........................4-17
xiii
Figure 4-7 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Thermal Power
Generation .....................................................................................................................4-22
Figure A-1 DOE Generation Regions ................................................................................... A-17
xiv
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1-1 Summary of Unit Energy (Electric) Consumption for Water Supply and
Wastewater Treatment .................................................................................................... 1-4
Table 1-2 Summary of Electricity Consumption Projections for Water Supply and
Wastewater Treatment .................................................................................................... 1-5
Table 1-3 Forecast Total Electricity Consumption for all Sectors............................................ 1-6
Table 2-1 Unit Electricity Consumption for Surface Water Treatment Plants .......................... 2-3
Table 2-2 Summary Data of Public Water Systems -- 1999.................................................... 2-5
Table 2-3 Size Distribution of Public Water Systems -- 1999.................................................. 2-5
Table 3-1 Unit Electricity Consumption for Wastewater Treatment by Size of Plant ............... 3-5
Table 3-2 Number of Wastewater Facilities by Flow Range ................................................... 3-8
Table 3-3 Number of Wastewater Treatment Facilities by Level of Treatment........................ 3-9
Table 4-1 Supply of Fresh Water by Source 1995.................................................................. 4-2
Table 4-2 Supply of Fresh Water to the Domestic Sector 1995 .............................................. 4-3
Table 4-3 Supply of Fresh Water to the Commercial Sector 1995 .......................................... 4-6
Table 4-4 Supply of Fresh Water to the Industrial Sector 1995 .............................................. 4-9
Table 4-5 Supply of Fresh Water to the Mining Industry 1995 ...............................................4-10
Table 4-6 Supply of Fresh Water for Irrigation 1995..............................................................4-14
Table 4-7 Supply of Fresh Water for Livestock 1995 .............................................................4-15
Table 4-8 Supply of Fresh Water for Thermal Power Generation 1995 .................................4-19
Table 4-9 Average Water Requirements for Thermal Power Plant Cooling. ..........................4-21
Table A-1 Population Growth Projections by Region .............................................................. A-1
Table A-2 Compound Annual Population Growth Rates by Region ........................................ A-2
Table A-3 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by
Public Water Supply Agencies......................................................................................... A-3
Table A-4 Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by Public Water
Supply AgenciesReduced Unit Energy Consumption .................................................... A-4
Supply AgenciesIncreased Unit Energy Consumption ................................................... A-4
Supply AgenciesReduced Per Capita Water Consumption............................................ A-5
Supply AgenciesIncreased Per Capita Water Consumption .......................................... A-5
Table A-8 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Wastewater Treatment
by POTWs....................................................................................................................... A-6
xv
Table A-9 Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Wastewater Treatment by

POTWs2.5 Percent Increase in Unit Electricity Consumption....................................... A-7
Table A-10 Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Wastewater Treatment by
POTWs 5 Percent Increase in Unit Electricity Consumption ......................................... A-7
Table A-11 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by the
Domestic Sector .............................................................................................................. A-8
Table A-12 Commercial Sector Growth Projections ............................................................... A-9
Commercial Sector.......................................................................................................... A-9
Table A-14 Industrial Sector Growth Projections .................................................................. A-10
Industrial Sector ............................................................................................................ A-10
Table A-16 Mining Sector Growth Projections ...................................................................... A-11
Mining Sector ................................................................................................................ A-11
Table A-18 Areas Under Irrigation by Region....................................................................... A-12
Table A-19 Compound Annual Irrigation Growth Rates by Region ....................................... A-13
Table A-20 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply for
Irrigation ........................................................................................................................ A-13
Table A-21 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply for
Livestock ....................................................................................................................... A-14
Table A-22 Projected Thermal Electricity Generation ........................................................... A-15
Table A-23 Estimated Cooling Water Use for Thermal Generation....................................... A-16
Table A-24 Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Make-up and Once
Through Cooling Water Supply for Thermal Power Generation ..................................... A-18
xvi
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
Introduction
The use of electricity for public and private supply of water and for wastewater treatment is an
important factor in economic growth and sustainability in the United States. As the economy
grows, all sectors increase their demand for fresh water and generate additional quantities of
wastewater that must be treated before discharge.
This report estimates unit electricity requirements for the supply of fresh water and the treatment
of wastewater across the U.S. economy. These unit electricity requirements are then used to
project total electricity requirements for selected sectors of the economy. Sectors included in
this analysis include:
Public water supply agencies
Publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities and privately operated wastewater treatment
facilities
Self-supply of water to the domestic, commercial, industrial, mining, irrigation, livestock,

and thermal power generation sectors
The main question addressed by the study is: Will there be sufficient electricity available to
satisfy the countrys need for fresh water. In order to make this assessment, unit electricity
requirements for water supply and wastewater treatment were estimated. These were used in
conjunction with projections of water consumption requirements for various economic sectors to
develop aggregate electricity requirements for the period 2000 through 2020, with an
extrapolation to the year 2050. Where possible, projections were carried out for each of the nine
geographical areas defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The projections of electricity requirements for water delivery and wastewater treatment were also
compared to a national forecast of electricity consumption by sector through the year 2020 [1] to
determine whether the estimates were reasonable. Further, issues and caveats regarding the
forecast estimates were identified, and to the extent possible their impact on the estimates was
qualified and quantified.
1-1
Introduction and Summary
Summary of Results
The key contributions of this study include:
For the first time, unit energy (electric) requirements have been estimated for all end-use
sectors and for thermal power generation, with respect to water supply and treatment.
Generally, electricity demand associated with water supply and treatment for various end-use
sectors, will likely track Bureau of Census population growth projections of 50% by the year
2050, with the exception of irrigation pumping and industrial (excluding mining) uses, both
of which will triple over that period. Thermal power generation electricity requirements
associated with water use will remain relatively flat.
Some 4% of the nations electricity use goes towards moving (80%) and treating
water/wastewater. Approximately 80% of municipal water processing and distribution costs
are for electricity. Electricity availability, while critical for water supply and wastewater
processing, is not a major impediment to economic development. However, water is a key
constraint on such development, and will strongly affect the overall demand for electricity
from human activities which depend on water availability.
Groundwater supply of water from public sources requires about 30% more electricity on a
unit basis than supply from surface water. The difference is due primarily to a higher
requirement for raw water pumping for groundwater systems.
Of the end-use sectors, the industrial sector uses the most self-supplied percentage (80%); the
mining subsector uses nearly 100% self-supplied water.
Factors that could increase unit energy (electric) consumption for public supply/treatment
agencies include
-- The age of the water delivery system: as systems age friction in piping increases and
efficiency of pumping systems decreases, resulting in an increase in electricity
requirements for pumping
-- Implementation of voluntary or mandatory restrictions on water consumption (including
application of home appliance and plumbing fixture water consumption standards): water
conservation programs will should reduce the overall amount of electricity required, but
may actually result in an increase in unit electricity consumption as economies of scale
may be lost or systems operate at below optimum levels
-- Requirements for improved treatment: as standards and requirements for drinking water
quality increase, more rigorous treatment will be required. Regardless of the type of
enhanced treatment employed, more rigorous treatment will result in increased pumping
energy requirements
-- The additional water pumping associated with advanced wastewater treatment results in 3
times the electricity use of a conventional trickling filter approach. In fact, this difference
leads to the expectation of a 20% increase in electricity use by public supply agencies
from 2000 to 2005; the projection for the next 45 years after that is only another 20%,
since major treatment approach changeovers will have been completed in the first five
year period.
1-2
Factors that could decrease unit energy (electric) consumption for public supply/treatment
agencies include
-- Economies of scale: a trend to larger systems from smaller systems will provide
economies of scale of operation, resulting in reduced unit electricity consumption
-- Replacement of older equipment with more energy efficient pumps, drives, and water
processing equipment
Conclusions about privately operated wastewater treatment works include

-- The average size of privately owned wastewater treatment facilities will fall into the
smallest size range of publicly owned treatment works.
-- Wastewater treatment facilities associated with industrial plants are designed to deal with
specific contaminants generated by the facilities for instance, wastewater treatment
plants associated with food processing and pulp and paper facilities are designed to deal
with higher loadings/concentrations of BOD and COD than municipal facilities.
Municipal wastewater treatment facilities are typically designed to handle domestic
wastes, in terms of both volume and concentration of waste.
-- Given the smaller size and potentially higher loadings, the unit electricity consumption of
these types of facilities will tend to be higher than for POTWs. A reasonable estimate of
unit electricity consumption would be about 2,500 kWh/million gallons (0.661 kWh/cubic
meter).
-- Since discharges from these facilities are typically to surface water, it is likely that more
aggressive wastewater treatment will be required over the next 20 years this is likely to
increase unit electricity consumption over the period by perhaps 5 to 10 percent.
-- It is expected that more privately operated wastewater treatment facilities will be
constructed over the next 20 years. These facilities would provide either full treatment
followed by discharge to surface water, or pretreatment to reduce concentrations to
significantly reduced levels before discharge to POTWs. In the latter case, the industrial
facilities may be currently discharging untreated wastewater directly to a POTW for
treatment. As municipally owned wastewater treatment facilities are starting to reach their
treatment limits, it is often less expensive for industrials to engage in pretreatment rather
than to pay the increasing surcharges imposed on their higher concentration discharges.
Hence, the total amount of electricity required to process wastewater in privately operated
facilities is expected to increase over the 50 year horizon.
Table 1-1 summarizes the unit energy (electricity) consumption for sectoral and thermal power
generation water movement and treatment. Table 1-2 summarizes the results of this analysis for
sectoral electricity requirements for public and self-supply of fresh water and wastewater
treatment. These electricity requirements do not take into account the source of the electricity
for each of the sectors, which will be a combination of purchased electricity and self-generated
electricity. Therefore, these projections overestimate the amount of electricity required from
public utilities to meet requirements for fresh water and wastewater treatment.
1-3

Table 1-1
Summary of Unit Energy (Electric) Consumption for Water Supply and Wastewater
Treatment
Sector
Surface Water
Ground Water
Wastewater
kWh/Million gallons
Domestic
-NA-
700
-NA-
Commercial
300
700
2500
Industrial
300
750
2500
Mining
300
750
2500
Irrigation
300
700
-NA-
Livestock
300
700
-NA-
Power Generation
300
800
-NA-
1406
1824
-NA-
trickling filter
activated sludge
advanced wastewater treatment
advanced treatment with nitrification
955
1,322
1,541
1,911
Public Supply (includes

wide area distribution)
Publicly Owned
Treatment Works (typical)
kWh/cubic meter
Domestic
-NA-
0.185
-NA-
Commercial
0.079
0.185
0.661
Industrial
0.079
0.198
0.661
Mining
0.079
0.198
0.661
Irrigation
0.079
0.185
-NA-
Livestock
0.079
0.185
-NA-
Power Generation
0.079
0.211
-NA-
Public Supply (includes

wide area distribution)
0.371
0.482
-NA-
trickling filter
activated sludge
advanced wastewater treatment
advanced treatment with nitrification
0.252
0.349
0.407
0.505
Publicly Owned
Treatment Works (typical)
1-4

Table 1-2
Summary of Electricity Consumption Projections for Water Supply and Wastewater
Treatment
Year
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
Approx. %
Increase
2000-2050
Public Supply and Treatment Million kWh

Public Water Supply
30,632
31,910
33,240
34,648
36,079
45,660
50
POTWs
21,006
24,512
24,895
25,277
26,039
29,820
50
Private Supply and Treatment Million kWh

Domestic Supply
894
930
965
1,001
1,038
1,274
50
Commercial Supply
476
499
525
553
581
780
50
3,341
3,793
4,236
4,731
5,284
10,255
200
490
509
528
548
569
713
50
Irrigation Supply
23,607
25,639
27,909
30,453
33,314
60,646
150
Livestock Supply
992
1,047
1,095
1,144
1,192
1,510
50
42,012
49,025
49,790
50,555
52,078
59,641
50
123,450
137,864
143,182
148,910
156,174
210,299
100
Industrial Supply
Mining Supply
Privately Operated
Wastewater
Treatment (see note)
Total Electricity
Note: It was not possible to make electricity consumption projections for privately operated wastewater treatment
facilities (see Chapter 3). The figure shown here is a surrogate representing twice the electricity consumption of
POTWs. This estimate was used because there are about 50 percent more privately operated wastewater treatment
facilities in the U.S. as POTWs, and their unit electricity consumption is estimated to be about 50 percent greater
than that of POTWs because of loss of economies of scale and different treatment regimens.
Table 1-3 summarizes a U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) forecast [1] of electricity sales by
sector through the year 2020. The USDOE forecast was extrapolated using the final five year
(2015 2020) growth rate to the year 2050. As a comparison, the projected electricity
requirements for water supply and wastewater treatment represent less than 4 percent of the total
projected electricity sales to all sectors. Since the electricity requirements shown in Table 1-2
include both purchased and self-generated electricity, on a percentage basis the projected
purchased electricity requirement for water supply and wastewater treatment will be substantially
less than 4 percent of total electricity sales. Given this relatively small portion of total electricity
requirements, it is not expected that changes in the supply or availability of electricity will have a
major impact on water production and demand.
1-5

Table 1-3
Forecast Total Electricity Consumption for all Sectors
Year
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
Approx. %
Increase
2000-2050
Million kWh
Residential
1,184,516
1,281,269
1,378,904
1,464,345
1,562,615
2,307,302
100
Commercial
1,096,484
1,189,062
1,277,113
1,343,749
1,370,502
1,542,583
50
Industrial
1,058,701
1,148,552
1,217,122
1,302,949
1,377,577
1,924,188
100
20,742
4,529
36,328
43,822
49,269
99,503
400
3,360,443
3,623,411
3,909,467
4,154,866
4,359,964
5,821,547
100
Transportation
Total
Electricity
Source: USDOE, EIA [1]
As noted earlier, these projections were developed by first determining unit electricity
consumption figures for each of the sectorsthe number of kilowatt-hours required to deliver or
treat a unit volume (common units are either a million gallons or a cubic meter) of water. The
technologies employed in these areas are relatively mature. Improvements to existing
technologies or radically new technologies that would significantly impact the unit are not
expected. Some marginal improvements in efficiency through more energy efficient pumps and
motor drives may be achieved, but many systems have already been upgraded and the impact of
those upgrades is reflected in the unit electricity consumption figures used here.
Thermal generation of electricity is another consumer of electricity to satisfy water supply
requirements. Large quantities of cooling water must be pumped continuously for once-through
cooling of thermal generation equipment. Generators relying on recirculated water (through
cooling towers) for cooling require smaller amounts of make-up water (to make up for
evaporative losses), but may still be significant consumers of electricity.
It should be noted that electricity consumption for internal use in power generation is not
included in electricity consumption forecasts. On the supply side, reporting is generally based on
gross generation of electricity, consumption for internal use, and net generation for sale (the
difference between the first two items). The use of electricity by electric utilities for water
pumping and/or wastewater treatment will generally be accounted for in the second of the three
categories.
The amount of electricity required to meet the cooling water needs of thermal plants over the
period 2000 through 2020 is estimated to represent less than 0.5 percent of the total generation of
these types of plants. At the same time, the electricity requirements for providing cooling water
from its source to thermal power plants is expected to decline on an absolute basis. This is
primarily due to a shift away from once-through cooling, with high water requirements, to
1-6
cooling using recycled water (e.g. wet cooling towers) and the expected increased use of dry
cooling towers, where no water is lost from the system. These latter types of cooling systems
require significantly less water than once-through cooling, because of their drastically lower
make-up water need. They therefore consume much less electricity for pumping of make-up
water. However, total power plant electricity consumption for cooling tower technology is
similar to once-through cooling requirements, with pumping for water recirculation through the
cooling tower approximately equal to the difference in make-up water requirements.
References
Annual Energy Outlook, 2000, U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Agency,
Washington DC: 2000. Appendix A. This document can be downloaded from the forecast
sections of the EIA website at http://www.eia.doe.gov.
1-7
ELECTRICITY REQUIREMENTS FOR DELIVERY OF

WATER BY PUBLIC SUPPLY AGENCIES
This chapter describes the methodology used to estimate and project electricity requirements for
the delivery of fresh water by public water supply agencies to end consumers in all sectors.
the delivery of water by water supply agencies. A brief process description of the types of
treatment used is provided for background and context. The future projections of electricity for
public water supply agency are also provided in this chapter.
Fresh Water Treatment Process Descriptions and Unit Electricity

Requirements
Fresh water is derived from two main sources in the United States. The first is surface water:
lakes, rivers or other bodies of water. The second is groundwater or wells. While some fresh
water is derived from desalinization of sea water, this is an extremely small portion of the total
and is not considered further here.
Surface Water Treatment Process Description
In a typical sequence of operations for surface water treatment, the following steps are followed
(refer to Figure 2-1). Raw water is first screened to remove gross debris and contaminants. The
water is then pre-oxidized using chlorine or ozone treatment to kill any disease-carrying
organisms and to remove taste or odor causing substances. Alum and/or polymeric materials are
added to the water to aid in the flocculation and coagulation of finer particles. The flocculation
step serves to agglomerate finer particles that can then be settled out or removed in the
sedimentation and filtration steps. A second disinfection step kills any remaining diseasecausing organisms and leaves a disinfectant residue that is carried into the distribution system to
prevent the growth of any organisms. The clearwell storage allows contact time for disinfection
and provides surge capacity for the distribution system to meet system demand. The treated
water is then distributed to consumers by high pressure pumping. Sludges and other impurities
removed from the fresh water are concentrated and disposed of.
2-1
Electricity Requirements for Delivery of Water by Public Supply Agencies
Figure 2-1
Representative Surface Water Treatment Plant Process (with Typical Daily Electricity
Consumption for a 10 Million Gallon/Day Facility)
Source: EPRI [1]
Surface Water Treatment Unit Electricity Consumption

Along with the process sequence shown in Figure 2-1 are daily electricity requirements for each
process step. These figures are representative of a 10 million gallon per day (MM gal/day)
(37,850 cubic meter per day (m3/d)) surface water treatment facility. Such a facility would have
an estimated total electricity consumption of about 14,057 kWh per day, which is equivalent to a
unit energy consumption of 1,406 kWh per million gallons (mg) (0.371 kWh per cubic meter).
Table 2-1 shows how unit energy consumption varies with the size of the treatment plant.
Variations are driven primarily by economies of scale, particularly from the smallest size
facilities. It should be noted that regardless of size, the predominant use of electricity is for
treated water pumping to the distribution systemthis represents about 80 to 85 percent of the
total electricity consumption for surface water treatment.
Groundwater Treatment Process Description
The process sequence for groundwater supply by public water supply agencies is much less
severe than for surface water. The sequence consists of well pumping to the surface. The water
is chlorinated for disinfection and removal of odor and taste. The treated water is then pumped
directly to the distribution system or alternatively to aboveground or ground level storage tanks
before distribution.
2-2

Table 2-1
Unit Electricity Consumption for Surface Water Treatment Plants
Treatment Plant Size
Unit Electricity Consumption
1 MM gal/day (3,785 m /d)
1,483 kWh/MM gal (0.392 kWh/m )
5 MM gal/day (18,925 m /d)
1,418 kWh/MM gal (0.375 kWh/m )
1,406 kWh/MM gal (0.371 kWh/m )
1,409 kWh/MM gal (0.372 kWh/m )
10 MM gal/day (37,850 m /d)

20 MM gal/day (75,700 m /d)
3
50 MM gal/day (189,250 m /d)

3
100 MM gal/day (378,500 m /d)
3
3
3
1,408 kWh/MM gal (0.372 kWh/m )

3
1,407 kWh/MM gal (0.372 kWh/m )
Source: EPRI [1]
Groundwater Treatment Unit Electricity Consumption

Unit electricity consumption for supply from groundwater is estimated at 1,824 kWh/million
gallons (0.482 kWh/m3) [1], some 30% greater than for surface water. This appears to be
independent of the size of the pumping and treatment facility. The predominant consumer of
electricity is pumping. About one-third of the electricity is used for well pumping, while the
most of the balance is used for booster pumping into the distribution system. Less than 0.5
percent of the electricity is used for chlorination of the water.
Projected Electricity Requirements for Fresh Water Supply by Public

Agencies
Methodology
The unit electricity consumption estimates for surface water and groundwater supply of fresh
water were used along with a 1999 inventory of public water supply systems to estimate baseline
electricity consumption for the United States. The inventory is maintained by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in the Safe Drinking Water Information System [2].
The inventory characterizes approximately 30,000 public water supply systems in the United
States by source of water (ground or surface water), size. Water systems are further
characterized as community water systems and transient and non-transient non-community water
systems1 and by the population served.
All public water systems have at least 15 service connections or serve at least 25 people per day for 60 days per
year. Community water systems are public water systems serving the same population throughout the year; most
residences in cities and towns are served by community water systems. Non-community water systems are public
water systems that do not serve the same population year round. A non-transient non-community water system
serves the same people more than six months per year, but not year round (e.g. a school with its own water supply).
2-3
Based on the size of the system and the source of raw water, a unit energy consumption figure
was assigned to each. Further, per capita daily water consumption estimates were assigned to
each of the systems. For community water systems, a per capita consumption of 200 gallons per
day (757 liter per day) was assumed; for non-community systems a lower figure of 150 gallons
per day was assumed [1].
System by system baseline daily and annual electricity consumption estimates were generated
and summed for each of the nine U.S. census regions. These baseline regional electricity
consumption estimates were used to develop projections out to the year 2050 using the U.S.
Department of Commerce (USDOC) Census Bureau projections of population growth by region.
The assumption is that the aggregate supply of fresh water and therefore the electricity
consumption to provide that supply will follow the general trend in population growth.
Population growth projections and compound annual growth rates derived from these data are
shown in the Appendix.
Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the impact on electricity consumption of changes
in per capita water consumption and variations in unit electricity consumption for the various
types of systems.
Public Water System Inventory
The summary inventory and characteristics of public water systems for 1999 is shown in Tables
2-2 and 2-3. Table 2-2 enumerates the inventory by type (community and non-community
system), by source of water (ground or surface), and by population served. Table 2-3 breaks the
inventory of public water systems down by size of population served.
Electricity Consumption Projections
The baseline regional electricity consumption projections for supply of fresh water by public
water supply agencies is shown graphically in Figure 2-2 and in tabular form in the Appendix.
Electricity consumption is estimated at about 30 billion kWh for the year 2000. This is expected
to reach about 36 billion kWh by the year 2020 and 46 billion kWh by 2050.
Sensitivity analyses were conducted to determine the impact on projected electricity
consumption of downward and upward variations in unit electricity consumption and per capita
water consumption. The results of these cases are illustrated in Figures 2-3 through 2-6. Results
are presented in tabular form in the Appendix.
Figure 2-7 presents a summary of the projections on a national basis showing how the baseline
case is bounded by the sensitivity cases. In the year 2000, the national baseline electricity
consumption is estimated at 30 billion kWh and is bounded by a sensitivity of about . 22
percent of the baseline case.
A transient non-community water system serves the public but not the same individuals for more than six months;
for example, a rest area or campground can be considered a transient water system.
2-4
The projection out to the year 2020 shows a baseline national energy consumption projection of
about 36 billion kWh, bounded by a similar sensitivity of about 22 percent of the baseline case.
Table 2-2
Summary Data of Public Water Systems -- 1999
Primary Water Source
Public Water
Systems
Community
NonCommunity
Total
Source
Number
Population Served
Percent
Million
Percent
Surface
10,728
20
167
66
Ground
43,195
80
86
34
Total
53,923
100
253
100
Surface
2,671
Ground
111,140
98
21
92
Total
113,811
100
23
100
Surface
13,399
169
61
Ground
154,335
92
107
39
Total
167,734
100
276
100
Source: USEPA Office of Wastewater Management [4]

Table 2-3
Size Distribution of Public Water Systems -- 1999
Population Size Range
Community Water
Systems
Number of Systems
Non-Community
Water Systems
< 500
Number of Systems
501
3,300
3,301
10,000
10,001
100,000
>
100,000
Totals
31,904
14,040
4,355
3,276
347
53,923
Population Served
(millions)
5.2
19.8
23.4
91.0
112.4
253.8
Percent of
Population served
2.0
8.0
10.0
36.0
44.0
100.0
107,923
5,509
253
114
12
113,811
Population Served
(millions)
9.9
5.4
1.4
3.6
2.8
23.1
Percent of
Population served
43.0
23.0
6.0
16.0
12.0
100.0
Source: USEPA Office of Wastewater Management [4]
2-5

50
45
40
billion kWh/yr
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 2-2
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by Public Water
Supply Agencies
45
40
billion kWh/yr
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 2-3
Regional Energy Consumption Projections for Water Supply by Public Water Supply
AgenciesReduced Unit Energy Consumption
2-6

60
billion kWh/yr
50
40
30
20
10
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 2-4
AgenciesIncreased Unit Energy Consumption
40
35
billion kWh/yr
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 2-5
AgenciesReduced Per Capita Water Consumption
2-7

60
billion kWh/yr
50
40
30
20
10
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 2-6
AgenciesIncreased Per Capita Water Consumption
Issues Related to Trends in Electricity Use for Supply of Fresh Water from
Public Supply Agencies
Trends in Unit Electricity Consumption
Unit electricity consumption in water supply is driven upward and downward by a number of
factors. Factors that would tend to increase the unit electricity consumption for water supply
include:
The age of the water delivery system: as systems age friction in piping increases, resulting in
an increase in electricity requirements for pumping
Implementation of voluntary or mandatory restrictions on water consumption (including

application of home appliance and plumbing fixture water consumption standards): water
conservation programs will should reduce the overall amount of electricity required, but may
actually result in an increase in unit electricity consumption as economies of scale may be
lost or systems operate at below optimum levels
Requirements for improved treatment: as standards and requirements for drinking water
quality increase, treatment that is more rigorous will be required. Regardless of the type of
enhanced treatment employed, increased process will result in increased pumping energy
requirements.
2-8

60
55
billion kWh/yr
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
Baseline Projection
Reduced Unit Electricity Consumption
Increased Unit Electricity Consumption
Reduced Per Capita Water Use
Increased Per Capita Water Use
Figure 2-7
National Energy Consumption Projections for Water Supply by Public Water Supply
AgenciesBaseline and Sensitivity Cases
Factors that would tend to decrease the unit electricity consumption for water supply include:
Economies of scale: a trend to larger systems from smaller systems will provide economies
of scale of operation, resulting in reduced unit electricity consumption
Replacement of older equipment with more energy efficient pumps, drives, and water
It is difficult to estimate the combined impact of all or some of these issues on unit and total
electricity consumption. Currently, there are over 150,000 public water supply systems in the
United States, and it is safe to say to few or none operate identically. As the population grows,
additional systems will be added. Given the diversity of water supply systems, it is difficult to
predict how electricity consumption will react to the net aggregate impact of these factors and
issues. For the purpose of this exercise, it is probably adequate to note that unit electricity
consumption will most likely remain close to present levels or increase slightly over the next 20
years. The slight increase would most likely be due to increased inefficiencies related to aging
of existing equipment and the need for more aggressive water treatment to remove contaminants
to ensure a safe supply of drinking water. Further, the use of chlorine for disinfection has
become a subject of controversy, because of concerns of dioxin formation. The use of chlorine
may be reduced in favor of ozonation or UV treatment.
Power Quality IssuesReliability of Supply
Most water processing facilities have backup power in case of electricity interruptions. Most of
this is in the form of conventional diesel generator sets. Backup power is required to maintain
the security of system operations, given that water systems typically have little storage capacity
2-9
compared to demand. At least one public agency (Orange County, California) is known to
bypass electricity as a prime mover entirely in at least a portion of their operationnatural gas
engine driven pumps are employed. This trend is apparently not widespread in the industry [5],
with emissions being one major issue.
Other Issues and Observations
Electricity is probably the most costly input to fresh water treatment. Despite this it is interesting
to note that few of the persons contacted in the preparation of this assessment who are associated
with public supply agencies were able to provide information on the unit or total energy
consumption of their facilities.
References
1. Water and Wastewater Industries: Characteristics and Energy Management Opportunities: A
Report That Describes How Electricity is Used and Can Be Managed Efficiently in Water
and Wastewater Treatment, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 1996. Product ID # CR-106491.
2. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Office of Groundwater and
Drinking Water. Information on the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)
from the USEPA website at http://www.epa.goc/safewater/data/getdata.html where Microsoft
Excel versions of the databases can be downloaded.
3. Current Population Reports: Population Projections, United States Department of
Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Census Bureau, Washington, DC:
1997.
4. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System Factoids 1999, United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Water, Office of Wastewater Management, Washington, DC:
2000. Downloaded from http://www.epa.goc/safewater/data/getdata.html
5. Personal communication, Howard Johnson, Water Production Supervisor, Orange County
City Water, Orange County, CA.
2-10
ELECTRICITY REQUIREMENTS FOR WASTEWATER

TREATMENT BY POTWS AND PRIVATE FACILITIES
the treatment of wastewater by publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to end consumers in
all sectors. A brief process description of the types of treatment used is provided for background
and context. The future projections of electricity for POTW use based on a baseline estimate are
also provided in this chapter.
Wastewater Treatment Process Descriptions and Unit Electricity

Requirements
There are many strategies and process sequences available for treatment of wastewater in the
United States. Given that there are over 15,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities
(POTWs) in the United States, it is impossible to capture those variations in the estimation of
unit electricity consumption. Instead, four representative types of facilities will be used to
characterize the larger population, with unit electricity consumption estimates for each of these
types provided over a range of sizes. The four types of treatment facilities to be included in this
analysis are:
Trickling Filter
Activated Sludge
Advanced Wastewater Treatment
Advanced Wastewater Treatment with Nitrification
These four types of systems were chosen as being the most important wastewater treatment
facilities, comprising a significant portion of the overall population of POTWs. All are based on
biological and chemical treatment of the wastewater. The sections below provide an overview of
the sequence of operations of each of these processes.
Trickling Filter Wastewater Treatment
In the typical process sequence for a trickling filter wastewater treatment plant (see Figure 3-1),
influent wastewater is screened to remove gross material carried in the stream. Finer particles
are then removed with an aerated grit removal system. The wastewater is held in a settling
vessel to remove other particulates before it is biologically treated in the trickling filter system.
The trickling filter itself is a substrate over which the organic wastewater is passed. The
3-1
Electricity Requirements for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs and Private Facilities
trickling filter substrate supports the growth of bacteria that aerobically consume the organic
material. A secondary settling step removes other particulate matter. The treated wastewater is
then disinfected by chlorination before discharge. The remaining sludges may be further treated
biologically to remove organic materials, then are thickened. A further anaerobic digestion step
removes remaining organics, and the sludge is then dewatered mechanically and disposed of by
incineration or by being sent to landfill.
Figure 3-1
Representative Trickling Filter Wastewater Treatment Process
Source: EPRI [1]
Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment

As with the previous system, incoming wastewater to the activated sludge process is first
screened to remove gross contaminants, and then passes through a grit removal system to remove
smaller particulate matter (refer to Figure 3-2). A primary settling chamber is used to remove
smaller particulate and suspended matter and the effluent is then digested aerobically in an
aeration tank. After sufficient residence time for digestion has passed, the wastewater stream is
pumped to a secondary settling tank, for removal of digested material. After secondary settling,
the treated wastewater is disinfected with chlorine and discharged. The sludge from primary
settling is similarly aerobically digested, then pumped to a settling tank to separate the liquid
from the solid stream. The solids are thickened and then anaerobically digested for removal of
3-2
remaining organic materials. The waste sludge is then dewatered and disposed of in landfill or
by incineration.
Figure 3-2
Representative Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Process Sequence (with Typical
Daily Electricity Consumption for a 10 Million Gallons/Day Facility)
Source: EPRI [1]
Advanced Wastewater Treatment

The advanced wastewater treatment process (see Figure 3-3) is similar to the activated sludge
process, but includes additional treatment in the form of filtration prior to discharge of the
biologically treated waste stream. These types of systems are more effective in removing
nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended solids by filtration. The front part of the process is similar
to the activated sludge process. Incoming effluent is screened and grit is removed. After settling
to remove suspended solids, the wastewater is aerobically digested in an activated sludge
process. If nitrogen removal is required, bacteria specific for nitrification are used in this step.
After secondary settling chemicals are injected into the waste stream to aid in agglomeration of
remaining solids, which are removed in the subsequent filtration step. After disinfection, the
treated water is discharged. The sludges are thickened, anaerobically digested, dewatered and
disposed of in landfill or by incineration.
3-3
Figure 3-3
Representative Advanced Wastewater Treatment Process Sequence (with Typical Daily
Electricity Consumptions for a 10 Million Gallons/Day Facility)
Source: EPRI [1]
Unit Electricity Consumption for POTWs

Unit electricity consumption for the four processes are shown in Table 3-1, broken down by size
of the treatment facility. Variation in unit electricity consumption with size is illustrated in
Figure 3-4. As would be expected, the unit electricity consumption decreases with the size of the
plant due to economies of scale. As also would be expected, unit electricity consumption is
higher as the degree of treatment and complexity of the process increases advanced wastewater
treatment with nitrification is 3 times as energy intensive (due to additional pumping
requirements) than the relatively simple trickling filter treatment.
3-4
Table 3-1
Unit Electricity Consumption for Wastewater Treatment by Size of Plant
Treatment Plant Size

kWh/million gallons (kWh/cubic meter)
Trickling
Filter
Activated
Sludge
Advanced
Wastewater
Treatment
Advanced
Wastewater
Treatment
Nitrification
1 MM gal/day
3
(3,785 m /d)
1,811 (0.479)
2,236 (0.591)
2,596 (0.686)
2,951 (0.780)
5 MM gal/day
3
(18,925 m /d)
978 (0.258)
1,369 (0.362)
1,573 (0.416)
1,926 (0.509)
10 MM gal/day
3
(37,850 m /d)
852 (0.225)
1,203 (0.318)
1,408 (0.372)
1,791 (0.473)
20 MM gal/day
3
(75,700 m /d)
750 (0.198)
1,114 (0.294)
1,303 (0.344)
1,676 (0.443)
50 MM gal/day
3
(189,250 m /d)
687 (0.182)
1,051 (0.278)
1,216 (0.321)
1,588 (0.423)
100 MM gal/day
3
(378,500 m /d)
673 (0.177)
1,028 (0.272)
1,188 (0.314)
1,558 (0.412)
million gallons/day
(cubic meters per day)
Source: EPRI [1]
3-5
3000
kWh per mg
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1
10
100
Capacity mgd
Trickling Filter
Activated Sludge
Advanced w /o Nitrification
Advanced w ith Nitrification
Figure 3-4
Variations in Unit Electricity Consumption with Size for Representative Wastewater
Treatment Processes
Source: EPRI [1]
Projected Electricity Requirements for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs

Methodology
The unit electricity consumption estimates for the representative types of treatment processes
were used along with a 1996 inventory of publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to estimate
baseline energy consumption for the United States. The inventory is maintained by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and forms the basis for the Clean Water Needs
Survey, reported on a regular basis to Congress [2]. The underlying data for the survey
characterizes approximately 15,000 POTWs currently in operation, and defines the need for an
additional 2,500 facilities to meet future needs.
Unit electricity requirements (kWh per million gallons) for the generic systems above were
aggregated over the range of capacities to yield a single value for national use projections:
955 kWh/million gallons (0.252 kWh/m3) for trickling filter systems
1,322 kWh/million gallons (0.349 kWh/m3) for activated sludge
3-6
1,541 kWh/million gallons (0.407 kWh/m3) for advanced wastewater treatment without
nitrification
1,911 kWh/million gallons (0.505 kWh/m3) for advanced wastewater treatment with
nitrification
The value used for a level of treatment less than secondary2 was taken at about 50 percent of the
value for activated sludge treatment (661 kWh/million gallons). For secondary treatment, a
weighted unit value was used assuming 70 percent of capacity was activated sludge and 30
percent was trickling filters; the weighted value is 1,212 kWh/million gallons. For advanced
wastewater treatment, it was assumed 50 percent of the capacity included nitrification. The
weighted values are 1,578 and 1,726 kWh/million gallons, respectively. For no discharge and
other, 400 kWh/million gallons was assumed. No allowance for onsite generation of electricity
from biogas was included.
POTW Inventory
The summary inventory and characteristics of POTWs is shown in Tables 3-2 and 3-3. Table 32 lists the number of facilities by flow range and aggregate flow, while Table 3-3 shows the
number of facilities by level of treatment and aggregate design flow. For comparison, data for
1998 and 1996, the last two surveys are presented, to illustrate how the POTW inventory has
been changing over time. As can be seen, there has been a substantial increase in both the
number of facilities and the aggregate flow. Further, there has been a trend toward larger
facilities, and toward facilities with more aggressive levels of wastewater treatment. Indeed, the
number of facilities providing less than secondary levels of treatment in 1996 was one-tenth the
number in the previous survey.
Primary treatment is designed to remove large solids (e.g., rags and debris) and smaller inorganic grit and is the
first stage of each of the four representative processes (screening and settling). Secondary treatment removes
organic contaminants using microorganisms to consume biodegradable organics (e.g., activated sludge or trickling
filters). Advanced treatment systems go beyond secondary treatment to include nitrification (to convert ammonia to
nitrates), denitrification (to convert nitrates to nitrogen), physical-chemical treatment (to remove dissolved metals
and organics), and/or disinfection (to kill any remaining pathogens).
3-7
Table 3-2
Number of Wastewater Facilities by Flow Range
1988
Flow Range
million gallons/day
3
(m /day)
Number of
facilities
1996
Total design
capacity
MM gal/day
3
(m /day)
Aggregate
flow
MM gal/day
3
(m /day)
0.01 0.10
(37.85 378.5)
5,983
259
(980,315)
6,444
287
(1,086295)
0.11 1.00
(378.6 3,785)
6,589
2,307
(8,731,995)
6,476
2,323
(8,792,555)
1.01 10.0
(3,786 37,850)
2,427
7,178
(27,168,730)
2,573
7,780
(29,447,300)
466
11,666
(44,155,810)
47
10,119
(38,300,415)
10.1 100.0
(37,851 378,500)
10.1 and over
(37,851 and over)
466
18,992
(71,884,720)
100.1 and over

(378,500 and over)
Unknown
Total
Source: USEPA [2]
3-8
Number of
facilities
146
---
38
---
15,591
28,736
(108,765,760)
16,024
32,175
(121,782,375)
Table 3-3
Number of Wastewater Treatment Facilities by Level of Treatment
1988
Level of Treatment
Number of
facilities
1996
Total design
capacity
MM gal/day
3
(m /day)
Number of
facilities
Total design
capacity
MM gal/day
3
(m /day)
Less than secondary
1,789
5,030
(19,038,550)
176
3,054
(11,559,390)
Secondary
8,536
16,097
(60,927,145)
9,388
17,734
(67,123,190)
Greater than
secondary
3,412
15,488
(58,622,080)
4,428
20,016
(75,760,560)
No discharge
1,854
1,034
(3,913,690)
2,032
1,421
(5,378,465)
15,591
37,649
(142,501,465)
16,024
42,225
(159,821,625)
Total
Source: USEPA [2]
Electricity Consumption Projections for POTWs

The baseline electricity consumption projection for wastewater treatment by POTWs is shown in
graphically in Figure 3-5; data are provided in tabular form in the Appendix. Electricity
consumption for the baseline case is estimated at about 21 billion kWh for the year 2000. This is
expected to increase to about 26 billion kWh by 2020 and 30 billion kWh by 2050.
Sensitivity analyses were conducted to determine the impact on projected electricity
consumption of upward variations in unit energy consumption, representing the need for
increased processing. Results of the sensitivity analyses are illustrated in Figures 3-6 and 3-7,
and are provided in tabular form in the Appendix.
Figure 3-10 presents a summary of the projections on a national basis, showing how the baseline
case compares to the case where unit electricity consumption increases further by 2.5 and 5
percent reflecting the need for more aggressive water treatment.
3-9

35
30
billion kWh/yr
25
20
15
10
5
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 3-5
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projections for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs
35
30
billion kWh/yr
25
20
15
10
5
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 3-6
Regional Energy Consumption Projections for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs2.5
Percent Increase in Unit Electricity Consumption
3-10

35
30
billion kWh/yr
25
20
15
10
5
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 3-7
Regional Energy Consumption Projections for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs5
32
30
billion kWh/yr
28
26
24
22
20
18
2000
2010
Baseline Projection
2020
2030
Unit Electricity +5%
2040
2050
Unit Electricity + 2.5%
Figure 3-8
National Energy Consumption Projections Wastewater Treatment by POTWsBaseline and
Sensitivity Cases
3-11
Issues Related to Trends in Electricity Use for Wastewater Treatment by

POTWs
Trends in Unit Electricity Consumption
Unit electricity consumption in wastewater treatment is driven upward and downward by a
number of factors. Factors that would tend to increase the unit electricity consumption:
The age of the wastewater treatment system: as systems age friction in piping increases, and
other equipment is subject to age-related inefficiencies, resulting in an increase in electricity
requirements
Requirements for more aggressive and effective treatment: as standards and requirements for
wastewater discharges increase (reducing the amount of contaminants allowed to be
discharged), treatment that is more rigorous will be required. Regardless of the type of
enhanced treatment employed, increased pumping will be required, resulting in increased
unit electricity requirements.
Factors that would tend to decrease the unit electricity consumption for water supply include:
Economies of scale: a trend to larger systems from smaller systems will provide economies
of scale of operation, resulting in reduced unit electricity consumption
Replacement of older equipment with more energy efficient pumps, drives, and water
The major driver of unit energy consumption will be the degree of treatment required. As noted
above, there has been a trend to more aggressive treatment, with upgrades or replacements of
older systems not affording this higher level of treatment. This trend is seen in comparing the
estimated unit electricity consumption in 1988 to that estimated for 2000: the baseline unit
energy consumption was estimated to increase at an average compound rate of about 0.8 percent
per year. The trend in unit electricity consumption is expected to continue upward, as treatment
that is more aggressive may be mandated. Another driver, as in the case of fresh water supply,
may be the trend to reduce the use of chlorine for disinfection because of concerns of dioxin
formation. Ozonation or UV treatment may be used in place of chlorination, increasing unit
electricity consumption.
Given the large number of POTWs (over 15,000) and the variation in the equipment and
processes employed, it is difficult to generalize. However, given the trend toward more
aggressive treatment, unit electricity consumption for wastewater treatment will most likely
continue to experience a small upward trend in the future.
Power Quality IssuesReliability of Supply
Most POTWs have backup power in case of electricity interruptions. Most of this is in the form
of conventional diesel generator sets. Backup power is required to maintain the security of
3-12
system operations, given that these systems typically have little storage capacity compared to
demand.
Electricity Use in Privately Operated Wastewater Treatment Works

Along with the approximately 16,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in the United
States, there are approximately 23,000 additional treatment facilities that are privately owned and
operated, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). These are generally captive
facilities associated with industrial plants and commercial operations [3]. Robust detailed
statistics on the number, type, and aggregate flows of these treatment facilities are not available
through published sources making it difficult to characterize these facilities3. However, the
following general comments can be made:
The average size of privately owned wastewater treatment facilities will fall into the smallest
size range of POTWs.
Wastewater treatment facilities associated with industrial plants are designed to deal with
specific contaminants generated by the facilities for instance, wastewater treatment plants
associated with food processing and pulp and paper facilities are designed to deal with higher
loadings/concentrations of BOD and COD than municipal facilities. Municipal wastewater
treatment facilities are typically designed to handle domestic wastes, in terms of both volume
and concentration of waste.
Given the smaller size and potentially higher loadings, the unit electricity consumption of
these types of facilities will tend to be higher than for POTWs. A reasonable estimate of unit
electricity consumption would be about 2,500 kWh/million gallons (0.661 kWh/cubic meter).
Since discharges from these facilities are typically to surface water, it is likely that more
aggressive wastewater treatment will be required over the next 20 years this is likely to
increase unit electricity consumption over the period by perhaps 5 to 10 percent.
It is expected that more privately operated wastewater treatment facilities will be constructed
over the next 20 years. These facilities would provide either full treatment followed by
discharge to surface water, or pretreatment to reduce concentrations to significantly reduced
levels before discharge to POTWs. In the latter case, the industrial facilities may be
currently discharging untreated wastewater directly to a POTW for treatment. As
The USEPA has an online database of wastewater treatment facilities, which is developed from discharge permits
(the Environmental Data Warehouse, at http://www.epa/gov/enviro. The database includes information about the
maximum daily average allowable discharge from each facility, the 4-digit SIC code associated with the operation of
the facility, and other characterizing information. For the purposes of this analysis, however, the database is
incomplete: many facilities do not have an SIC code associated with them, and flow rates are not listed for many
other facilities. Further, the flow rates are maximum average allowable discharges, and these may be significantly
higher than actual flows. The data also do not indicate the type and level of treatment afforded. The database
includes a total of about 16,000 records for which non-zero maximum average daily flows are recorded, and for
which an SIC code is associated with a facility. Of these 16,000 records, about 6,300 are for POTWs, and the
balance are privately operatedor at least are not associated with SIC Code 4952: Sewerage Systems. These
numbers of facilities are significantly lower than the population of systems identified by the USGS. Given the poor
quality of the data set, it was decided not to try to use it to make projections of total energy use by sector for
wastewater treatment in captive facilities.
3-13
municipally owned wastewater treatment facilities are starting to reach their treatment limits,
it is often less expensive for industrials to engage in pretreatment rather than to pay the
increasing surcharges imposed on their higher concentration discharges. Further, USEPA
programs (e.g., the National Pretreatment Program) recognize the need for industrial and
other sector pretreatment to reduce the burden on POTWs on handling industrial wastes,
which may contain toxic or otherwise hazardous materials or materials that might interfere
with the biological processes in place at the POTWs. [4] In some cases, particularly in the
paper industry, notable efforts have been made to reduce both water consumption and
wastewater discharges, through the practice of reclaiming and reusing water internally.
Finally, the issue of run-off water containing animal wastes (livestock and poultry) has led to
initiatives to collect and treat this waste. These factors will contribute to the expected
increase in the unit electricity consumption to process wastewater as noted above, and will
contribute to the total volume of processed waste. Hence, the total amount of electricity
required to process wastewater in privately operated facilities is expected to increase over the
20 and 50 year horizons.
These smaller facilities would tend to be less impacted by power quality issues, particularly
interruptions, than POTWs. This would be the case where the operations that generate the
wastewater are interrupted simultaneously with the treatment facility. However, if the
treatment processes depend on aeration or mechanical processes to aid digestion of wastes,
sustained loss of power can result in subsequent problems with the biological processes.
References
1. Water and Wastewater Industries: Characteristics and Energy Management Opportunities:
A Report That Describes How Electricity is Used and Can Be Managed Efficiently in Water
and Wastewater Treatment, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 1996. Product ID # CR-106491.
2. Clean Water Needs Survey: Report to Congress, 1996, United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Water, Office of Wastewater Management.. Information on the
Clean Water Needs Survey can be found at the USEPA website at http://www.epa.gov/owm
where portions of the report can be downloaded.
3. Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 1995, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S.
Geological Survey, Washington DC: 1998. This publication can be downloaded from the
USGS website at http://www.usgs.gov.
4. Introduction to the National Pretreatment Program, United States Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Water, Office of Wastewater Management, Washington DC: 1999. This
publication can be downloaded from the USEPA website at http://www.epa.gov/own.
3-14
ELECTRICITY REQUIREMENTS FOR SUPPLY OF

WATER BY END-USERS
As noted earlier in this report, fresh water is supplied by public water supply agencies with
distribution to end-users, and by end-users themselves. Electricity consumption estimates
associated with public supply of freshwater were covered in Chapter 2. Here, the unit and total
electricity estimates associated with the supply of water by the entities for their own
consumption will be covered. The following sectors will be covered here:
Domestic (residential)
Commercial
Industrial and mining
Irrigation and livestock
Thermal power generation
These sectors account for a total of about 334 billion gallons per day of water consumption from
all sources. Table 4-1 shows the breakdown of water consumption by sector and source (public
supply and self supply) for 1995. The domestic and commercial sectors rely most heavily on
public water supply sources. The industrial, mining, agricultural, and thermal power generation
sectors rely significantly more on water that they provide for themselves.
Domestic Sector
Characterization of Sector
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the domestic sector consumed about 26
billion gallons of water per day (98 million cubic feet) in 1995. Of this, about 85 percent were
from public water supply agencies, and the balance was supplied by the end-user. Of the selfsupplied water, most is from groundwater (wells). A regional breakdown of water consumption
by source is shown in Table 4-2.
Residential wellwater pumping systems are simple, consisting of the well pump, which lifts
water and pressurizes it, and a storage tank, in which the pressurized water is stored for
distribution to the house. For typical homes, the pump size ranges from about hp to 2 hp.
Multi-family dwellings have similar types of systems, with larger pumps up to about 10 hp
depending on the volume of the water lifted.
4-1
Electricity Requirements for Supply of Water by End-Users

Table 4-1
Supply of Fresh Water by Source 1995
Sector
Public Supply
Self-Supply
Total Water
Supply
Million gallons per day

Domestic
22,509
3,374
25,883
Commercial
6,630
2,895
9,524
Industrial
4,737
20,717
25,454
Mining
2,754
2,754
Irrigation
133,575
133,575
Livestock
5,477
5,477
98
131,771
131,771
33,974
300,562
334,437
Power Generation
Total U.S.
Cubic meters per day

Domestic
85,196,565
12,770,590
97,967,155
Commercial
25,093,415
10,956,061
36,049,476
Industrial
17,928,410
78,415,359
96,343,769
Mining
10,424,269
10,424,269
Irrigation
505,580,618
505,580,618
Livestock
20,728,931
20,728,931
371,309
498,751,343
499,122,651
128,589,698
1,137,627,170
1,266,216,868
Power Generation
Total U.S.
Source: USGS [1]
4-2
Table 4-2
Supply of Fresh Water to the Domestic Sector 1995
Self-Supplied
Public
Supply
Region
Ground
Surface
Total
Grand
Total
Million gallons/day
East North Central
668
671
2,571
3,242
East South Central
172
175
1,221
1,396
Middle Atlantic
411
411
2,907
3,318
Mountain
202
206
2,113
2,319
New England
180
181
739
920
Pacific
305
21
326
4,736
5,062
South Atlantic
889
890
3,680
4,570
West North Central
278
278
1,190
1,468
West South Central
237
237
3,352
3,589
3,343
31
3,374
22,509
25,883
Total U.S.
Cubic meters/day
East North Central
2,528,380
10,977
2,539,357
9,731,235
12,270,592
East South Central
651,020
9,463
660,483
4,621,485
5,281,968
1,555,635
1,555,635
11,002,995
12,558,630
Mountain
766,084
12,869
778,953
7,997,705
8,776,658
New England
682,436
3,407
685,842
2,797,115
3,482,957
Pacific
1,153,290
78,728
1,232,018
17,925,760
19,157,778
South Atlantic
3,364,865
3,028
3,367,893
13,928,800
17,296,693
West North Central
1,053,366
1,053,366
4,504,150
5,557,516
West South Central
897,045
897,045
12,687,320
13,584,365
12,652,120
118,471
12,770,590
85,196,565
97,967,155
Middle Atlantic
Total U.S.
Source: USGS [1]
4-3

Unit electricity consumption for these types of systems will vary with the depth of the well, the
pressure and flow rate of the output water, and the efficiency of the pump system. For the
purposes of this analysis, a unit electricity consumption of about 700 kWh per million gallons
(0.185 kWh/m3) is assumed. This figure is based on the electricity requirements for municipal
groundwater system well pumping (605 kWh/million gallon0.161 kWh/m3), with allowance
for the significantly reduced scale of residential pumping and for the additional energy for
pressurization of the residential distribution system.
Electricity Consumption Projection
Using regional population growth projections as the basis, Figure 4-1 shows the estimated
regional growth in electricity consumption for residential self-supply of water for the period
2000 through 2020, with an extrapolation through 2050. These data are presented in tabular
form in the Appendix. As can be seen, the total electricity consumption for domestic water selfsupply is estimated at 894million kWh for 2000, growing to 1.038 billion kWh by 2020.
1400
1200
million kWh/yr
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2000
2005
2010
2,015
2020
2050
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
Figure 4-1
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for the Domestic Sector
These technologies are relatively mature and no significant improvements in unit electricity
consumption are expected over the time horizon for these projections. Marginal improvements
may be achieved with increased pump efficiencies.
The estimates shown here are based on the assumption that the same proportion of water derived
from public and self-supply will be maintained over the forecast period, and that with selfsupply, the same proportion of water derived from ground and surface water sources will also be
maintained. Changes in the way water is supplied to domestic sector regionally and nationally
4-4
will affect the total electricity consumption, but the unit electricity consumption estimates will
not be affected.
Commercial Sector
The use of water by the commercial sector is estimated at about 9.5 billion gallons per day,
according to the USGS [1]. Of this, about 6.6 billion gallons per day is drawn from public
supply sources and the balance of 2.9 billion gallons per day is self-supplied. Of this, nearly 2
billion gallons per day is derived from surface water, and the balance from ground water. Table
4-3 shows the breakdown of water supply by source by region for the commercial sector.
Groundwater supply systems for the commercial sector are similar to those employed in the
domestic sector, differing primarily in the size of the pumps and storage systems used. These
systems consist of a well pump, which lifts water and pressurizes it, and a storage tank in which
the pressurized water is stored for distribution. Larger commercial facilities may also employ
additional pumping to ensure adequate flow and pressure at the point of water discharge. These
pumps are relatively small compared with the well pump.
Surface water supply is carried out by low head pumping from nearby bodies of water. Water
may be stored in above-ground tanks (gravity flow to the point of use) or ground-level or belowground tanks (where additional pumping may be employed to ensure adequate flow and pressure
at the point of water use). Pump size depends on distance from the point of water supply to
water use.
For groundwater pumping, unit electricity consumption will vary with the depth of the well, the
purposes of this analysis, unit electricity consumption for groundwater pumping of 700 kWh per
million gallons (0.185 kWh/m3) is assumed. This figure is based on the unit electricity
requirement for municipal groundwater system well pumping (605 kWh/million gallon0.161
kWh/m3) with allowance for the reduced scale of commercial pumping and for the additional
energy requirements for system pressurization and/or distribution pumping
For surface water supply, unit electricity consumption will vary with the distance between point
of supply and point of use, the pressure and flow rate of the output water, and the efficiency of
the pumping system. For the purposes of this analysis, unit electricity consumption for surface
water supply of 300 kWh/million gallons (0.079 kWh/m3) is assumed. This figure is based on
the unit electricity consumption for municipal surface water pumping of 278 kWh/million
gallons (0.073 kWh/m3), with an upward adjustment based on the reduced scale of commercial
pumping, the need for distribution pumping within the facility, and the energy requirements for
treating (e.g., softening, chlorination) the water prior to use.
4-5

Table 4-3
Supply of Fresh Water to the Commercial Sector 1995
Self-Supplied
Public
Supply
Region
Ground
Surface
Total
Grand
Total
Million gallons/day
East North Central
122
202
324
1,278
1,602
East South Central
33
32
65
392
457
169
80
249
806
1,055
Mountain
68
314
382
605
987
New England
70
37
107
351
458
Pacific
161
1,062
1,223
1,304
2,527
South Atlantic
178
50
228
1,072
1,300
West North Central
88
50
139
409
548
West South Central
50
128
178
413
591
940
1,955
2,895
6,630
9,524
Middle Atlantic
Total U.S.
Cubic meters/day
East North Central
461,770
764,570
1,226,340
4,837,230
6,063,570
East South Central
124,527
121,120
245,647
1,483,720
1,729,367
Middle Atlantic
639,665
303,557
943,222
3,050,710
3,993,932
Mountain
258,516
1,188,869
1,447,384
2,289,925
3,737,309
New England
264,572
140,802
405,374
1,327,400
1,732,773
Pacific
610,899
4,019,292
4,630,191
4,935,640
9,565,831
South Atlantic
672,973
188,115
861,088
4,057,520
4,918,608
West North Central
334,594
189,629
524,223
1,548,065
2,072,288
West South Central
189,250
483,345
672,595
1,563,205
2,235,800
3,556,765
7,399,297
10,956,061
25,093,415
36,049,476
Total U.S.
Source: USGS [1]
4-6

Using EPRIs growth projections for the commercial sector [2] as the basis (growth rates are
shown in the Appendix), Figure 4-2 shows the estimated regional growth in electricity
consumption for the self-supply of water to the commercial sector for the period 2000 through
2010, with extrapolations to 2020 and 2050. These data are presented in tabular form in the
Appendix. Total electricity consumption for the year 2000 for self-supply of water to the
commercial sector is estimated at 476 million kWh/year. This is projected to grow to 580
million kWh/year by the year 2020. Extrapolation to 2050 yields estimated annual energy
consumption of 780 million kWh/year.
900
800
million kWh/yr
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2000
2005
East North Central
2010
2015
East South Central
2020
Middle Atlantic
2050
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
Figure 4-2
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for the Commercial Sector
As with the domestic sector, the technologies used to supply water from surface or ground
sources is relatively mature and no significant improvements in unit electricity consumption is
expected over the time horizon for these projections. Marginal improvements may be achieved
with increased pump efficiencies and the use of variable speed drives.
maintained. Changes in the way water is supplied to the commercial sector regionally and
nationally will affect the total electricity consumption, but the unit electricity consumption
estimates will not be affected.
Self-supply of water to the commercial sector is highly dependent on the availability of
electricity to operate pumps. Any prolonged power interruption will severely impact access to
water for this sector, after storage vessels are drawn down and cannot be replenished. At the
same time, most establishments in this sector would be unable to operate any of their operations
4-7
without electricity. For such commercial facilities as offices and retail outlets, the availability of
water is not critical except for sanitary purposes, and sufficient water storage capacity is
generally available to meet the needs during short power interruptions. For restaurants, other
food service facilities, and supermarkets and groceries, water supply is more important and
prolonged power interruptions can result in loss of water supply. Larger commercial facilities,
such as shopping malls, often have back-up power supplies in the form of diesel generators, and
it is assumed that motive power for water supply would be supplied by these types of systems.
Industrial and Mining

Characterization of Sectors
The USGS [1] estimates that the industrial sector consumes about 25 billion gallons of water per
day. Of this, about 80 percent are self-supplied with the balance from public water supply
sources. Of the self-supplied water, about 4 billion gallons per day comes from groundwater and
the balance from surface water.4 A regional breakdown of water consumption by source is shown
in Table 4-4.
The USGS estimates that the mining sector consumes about 2.7 billion gallons per day, all of
which is self-supplied. A little over one-third of the water consumed is from groundwater
pumping, while the balance is drawn from surface water. A regional breakdown of water
consumption by source is shown in Table 4-5.
Groundwater supply systems for these sectors consist of a well pump, which lifts water. The
water is generally stored in a tank for distribution to the point of use. Additional distribution
pumping is required to ensure adequate flow and pressure at the point of water discharge and to
overcome frictional losses in the distribution system. Well pump size will depend on the depth
of the well and the discharge pressure and volume.
may be stored in above ground tanks (gravity flow to the point of use) or ground-level or belowground tanks (where additional pumping may be employed to ensure adequate flow and pressure
water use.
It is not unusual for industrial plants to have multiple sources of water, and use the multiple sources
simultaneously. The author is aware of at least one plant that uses municipally supplied water, water drawn from
wells within the plant boundaries, and water drawn from a large lake by pipeline from a distance of about 2 miles.
4-8
Table 4-4
Supply of Fresh Water to the Industrial Sector 1995
Self-Supplied
Public
Supply
Region
Ground
Surface
Total
Grand
Total
Million gallons/day
East North Central
694
4,882
5,576
1,019
6,595
East South Central
360
1,873
2,233
560
2,793
Middle Atlantic
317
1,820
2,137
640
2,777
Mountain
216
165
381
129
510
55
105
159
175
334
Pacific
691
910
1,601
703
2,303
South Atlantic
813
3,189
4,002
697
4,698
West North Central
237
302
538
332
871
West South Central
694
3,397
4,091
482
4,573
4,076
16,642
20,717
4,737
25,454
New England
Total U.S.
Cubic meters/day
East North Central
2,626,790
18,478,370
21,105,160
3,856,915
24,962,075
East South Central
1,362,600
7,089,305
8,451,905
2,119,600
10,571,505
Middle Atlantic
1,199,845
6,888,700
8,088,545
2,422,400
10,510,945
Mountain
818,696
623,011
1,441,707
489,401
1,931,107
New England
207,040
395,533
602,572
661,240
1,263,812
Pacific
2,614,678
3,444,350
6,059,028
2,659,341
8,718,369
South Atlantic
3,075,313
12,070,365
15,145,678
2,637,010
17,782,687
West North Central
895,910
1,141,178
2,037,087
1,258,134
3,295,221
West South Central
2,626,033
12,857,645
15,483,678
1,824,370
17,308,048
15,426,903
62,988,456
78,415,359
17,928,410
96,343,769
Total U.S.
Source: USGS [1]
4-9

Table 4-5
Supply of Fresh Water to the Mining Industry 1995
Self-Supplied
Public
Supply
Region
Ground
Surface
Total
Grand
Total
Million gallons/day
East North Central
78
271
349
349
East South Central
18
31
49
49
Middle Atlantic
224
177
401
401
Mountain
361
258
619
619
23
26
26
19
128
146
146
179
204
383
383
West North Central
47
516
563
563
West South Central
134
85
218
218
1,061
1,693
2,754
2,754
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
Total U.S.
Cubic meters/day
East North Central
293,338
1,026,871
1,320,208
1,320,208
East South Central
66,995
116,957
183,951
183,951
849,354
669,945
1,519,299
1,519,299
1,366,385
976,530
2,342,915
2,342,915
New England
10,977
88,191
99,167
99,167
Pacific
70,023
483,723
553,746
553,746
South Atlantic
676,758
772,140
1,448,898
1,448,898
West North Central
176,760
1,953,060
2,129,820
2,129,820
West South Central
506,433
319,833
826,266
826,266
4,017,021
6,407,248
10,424,269
10,424,269
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
Total U.S.
Source: USGS [1]
4-10

purposes of this analysis, a unit electricity consumption for groundwater pumping of 750 kWh
per million gallons (0.198 kWh/m3) is assumed for both the industrial and mining sectors . This
figure is based on the unit electricity requirement for municipal groundwater system well
pumping (605 kWh/million gallon0.161 kWh/m3) with allowance for the reduced scale of
pumping and for the additional energy requirements (associated with frictional losses and/or
higher pressures) for distribution pumping.
the pumping system. For the purposes of this analysis, a unit electricity consumption for surface
gallons (0.073 kWh/m3), with an upward adjustment based on the reduced scale of pumping, the
need for distribution pumping within the facility, and the energy requirements for treating the
water prior to use.
Using EPRIs growth projections for the industrial and mining sectors [3] as the basis (growth
rates are shown in the Appendix), Figure 4-3 shows the estimated regional growth in electricity
consumption for the self-supply of water to the industrial sector for the period 2000 through
2010, with extrapolations to 2020 and 2050 and Figure 4-4 shows the projection for the mining
sector. These data are also presented in tabular form in the Appendix. Total electricity
consumption for the year 2000 for self-supply of water to industry is estimated at 3.3 billion
kWh/year, which is projected to grow to 5.2 billion kWh/year by 2020. Extrapolation to 2050
yields estimated annual energy consumption of 10.2 billion kWh/year.
4-11

12000
million kWh/yr
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
Figure 4-3
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for the Industrial Sector
Total electricity consumption for self-supply of water to the mining industry for the year 2000 is
estimated at 490 million kWh/year, which is projected to grow to 569 million kWh/year by 2020.
Extrapolation to 2050 yields estimated annual energy consumption of 713 million kWh/year.
800
700
million kWh/yr
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
2050
Figure 4-4
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for the Mining Sector
The technologies used to supply water from surface or ground sources is relatively mature and
no significant improvements in unit electricity consumption is expected over the time horizon for
4-12
these projections. Marginal improvements may be achieved with increased pump efficiencies
and the use of variable speed drives in the industrial and mining sectors.
maintained. Changes in the way water is supplied to the commercial sector regionally and
nationally will affect the total electricity consumption, but the unit electricity consumption
estimates will not be affected.
An issue that needs to be explored and resolved is the source of the electricity used for water
pumping in the industrial and mining sectors. The figures shown here are gross electricity
consumption figures and do not take into account the source of electricity. The industrial and
mining sectors are large consumers of self-generated electric power. A single facility may cover
all or part of its electricity requirements from the distribution grid, with the balance from selfgeneration. Statistics indicating the historical and projected share of electricity consumption by
this sector from purchased power and self-generation are not generally available, although
EPRIs Energy Market Profiles: Industrial does provide breakdowns by 2-digit SIC code for
1998. Lacking refined information, the figures shown here are most likely larger than the
amount of electricity required from utility generation alone. Further, mines are often located in
remote locations, not always accessible to the electricity transmission and distribution system. A
significant portion of the electricity consumed by the mining sector is self-generated, but precise
figures are not available. Therefore, the projected electricity consumption figures for the
industry and mining shown here represent electricity from all sourcespurchased and selfgenerated.
Facilities in these industries having their own supply of electric power outside of the public
utility distribution system are less affected by utility power interruptions than those depending
solely on the utility grid. Unscheduled loss of electric power can cause havoc in most industrial
plants, not only with water supply but also with manufacturing processes.
Irrigation and Livestock

The USGS [1] estimates that about 133 billion gallons of water per day is used for irrigation,
making this the single largest domestic consumer. All of the water is self-supplied, with about
two-thirds from surface water and the balance from groundwater. A regional breakdown of
water consumption by source for irrigation is shown in Table 4-6.
The USGS estimates that about 5.5 billion gallons of water per day is consumed by the livestock
sector, all of which is self-supplied. About 60 percent of the water is from surface water, while
the balance is drawn from groundwater. A regional breakdown of water consumption by source
is shown in Table 4-7.
4-13

Table 4-6
Supply of Fresh Water for Irrigation 1995
Self-Supplied
Public
Supply
Region
Ground
Surface
Total
Grand
Total
Million gallons/day
East North Central
521
200
721
721
East South Central
1,701
211
1,912
1,912
56
115
171
171
9,247
45,460
54,707
54,707
48
101
149
149
12,670
29,520
42,190
42,190
South Atlantic
2,310
2,314
4,624
4,624
West North Central
9,764
2,315
12,079
12,079
West South Central
12,701
4,322
17,023
17,023
Total U.S.
49,018
84,557
133,575
133,575
East North Central
1,971,985
755,108
2,727,093
2,727,093
East South Central
6,439,799
798,635
7,238,434
7,238,434
212,717
434,140
646,857
646,857
172,066,100 207,065,995
207,065,995
564,722
564,722
111,731,308 159,687,636
159,687,636
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
Cubic meters/day
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
34,999,895
181,680
47,956,329
383,042
8,741,836
8,758,490
17,500,326
17,500,326
West North Central
36,956,740
8,760,761
45,717,501
45,717,501
West South Central
48,073,285
16,358,770
64,432,055
64,432,055
320,046,353 505,580,618
505,580,618
Total U.S.
Source: USGS [1]
4-14
185,534,266

Table 4-7
Supply of Fresh Water for Livestock 1995
Self-Supplied
Public
Supply
Region
Ground
Surface
Total
Grand
Total
Million gallons/day
East North Central
182
54
235
235
East South Central
422
185
607
607
72
19
91
91
133
1,633
1,765
1,765
14
23
23
Pacific
269
259
528
528
South Atlantic
200
318
518
518
West North Central
395
174
569
569
West South Central
572
568
1,140
1,140
2,254
3,223
5,477
5,477
East North Central
687,356
202,876
890,232
890,232
East South Central
1,598,406
700,225
2,298,631
2,298,631
Middle Atlantic
270,628
72,294
342,921
342,921
Mountain
501,891
6,179,770
6,681,661
6,681,661
35,579
51,855
87,434
87,434
1,018,165
980,315
1,998,480
1,998,480
758,136
1,203,252
1,961,387
1,961,387
West North Central
1,495,075
658,212
2,153,287
2,153,287
West South Central
2,165,020
2,149,880
4,314,900
4,314,900
Total U.S.
8,530,255
12,198,677
20,728,931
20,728,931
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Total U.S.
Cubic meters/day
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
Source: USGS [1]
4-15
water may be stored in a tank for later distribution to the point of use, or distributed immediately.
Well pump size will depend on the depth of the well and the discharge pressure and volume.
Surface water supply is carried out by low head pumping from nearby bodies of water. Water is
generally distributed immediately by gravity flow. Pump size depends on distance from the
point of water supply to water use.
per million gallons (0.185 kWh/m3) is assumed for both irrigation and livestock . This figure is
based on the unit electricity requirement for municipal groundwater system well pumping (605
kWh/million gallon0.161 kWh/m3) with allowance for the reduced scale of pumping and for
the additional energy requirements for distribution pumping.
gallons (0.073 kWh/m3), with an upward adjustment based on the reduced scale of pumping.
Trends in the amount of farmland under irrigation were used as the basis in formulating the
growth projection for electricity consumption for irrigation pumping. Regional growth rates
were developed from historical data compiled by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) [4]. Regional growth rate projects are provided in the Appendix.
Figure 4-5 shows estimated regional growth in electricity consumption for the self-supply of
water for irrigation for the period 2000 through 2010, with extrapolations to 2020 and 2050 and
Figure 4-6 shows the projection for livestock. These data are also presented in tabular form in
the Appendix. Total electricity consumption for the year 2000 for self-supply of water for
irrigation is estimated at 23.6 billion kWh/year, which is projected to grow to 33.3 billion
kWh/year by 2020. Extrapolation to 2050 yields estimated annual energy consumption of 60.6
billion kWh/year.
4-16

70000
million kWh/yr
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
2000
2005
East North Central
2010
2015
East South Central
2020
Middle Atlantic
2050
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
Figure 4-5
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Irrigation
1600
1400
million kWh/yr
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2000
2005
East North Central
2010
2015
East South Central
2020
Middle Atlantic
2050
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central
Figure 4-6
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Livestock
A suitable metric for projection of water use for livestock was difficult to devise. Livestock are
used for meat production (red meat and poultry slaughter), and for provision of other products
(milk, eggs). The statistics kept for these two very different dispositions were impossible to
combine to form a single meaningful metric, nor was it was possible to segregate water
consumption for these different uses. It was decided to use population growth projections as the
basis for projections in this sector, since the growth and consumption of livestock products is tied
to the population.
4-17
Using population growth as the basis for the projection, the total electricity consumption for selfsupply of water for livestock for the year 2000 is estimated at 992 million kWh/year, which is
projected to grow to 1.2 billion kWh/year by 2020. Extrapolation to 2050 yields estimated
annual energy consumption of 1.5 billion kWh/year.
The technologies used to supply water from surface or ground sources are relatively mature and
no significant improvements in unit electricity consumption are expected over the time horizon
for these projections. Marginal improvements may be achieved with increased pump efficiencies
and the use of variable speed drives in the industrial and mining sectors.
Water conservation efforts are continuing in the agricultural sector, with a decrease in the
amount of water being used for irrigation and livestock use. While this while impact aggregate
electricity consumption, it should have little impact on the unit electricity consumption estimates.
Other factors that could impact total electricity requirements for irrigation and livestock are
precipitation, changes in diet among the population (shifts between red meat and poultry, eggs,
and dairy productsthis could also impact the types of crops grown for animal feed and hence
the water requirements for those crops), and changes in water requirements of crops due to
genetic manipulation.
An issue that needs to be explored is the source of the electricity used for water pumping in the
agricultural and livestock sectors. The figures shown here are gross electricity consumption
figures and do not take into account the source of electricity. Because not all farmland can take
electricity from the distribution grid, this sector sometimes uses small generators at remote
locations for motive power for pumps. Statistics indicating the historical and projected share of
electricity consumption by this sector from purchased power and self-generation were not
available. Hence, the figures shown here are most likely larger than the amount of electricity
required from utility generation alone.
Power Generation
The USGS [1] estimates that about 131 billion gallons of water per day is used for thermal power
production, making this the second largest domestic consumer after irrigation. The water is
predominantly self-supplied, with most from surface water sources. A regional breakdown of
water consumption by source for thermal power generation is shown in Table 4-8.
water is generally stored in a tank for distribution to the point of use. Additional distribution
pumping is required to ensure adequate flow and pressure at the point of water discharge and to
overcome frictional losses in the distribution system. Well pump size will depend on the depth
of the well and the discharge pressure and volume.
4-18

Table 4-8
Supply of Fresh Water for Thermal Power Generation 1995
Self-Supplied
Public
Supply
Region
Ground
Surface
Total
Grand
Total
Million gallons/day
East North Central
50
45,140
45,190
45,195
East South Central
86
17,120
17,206
17,209
13,068
13,076
27
13,103
Mountain
81
469
550
16
565
New England
48
1,620
1,668
1,670
Pacific
75
612
687
694
South Atlantic
68
22,087
22,155
22,160
West North Central
49
14,221
14,269
14,274
West South Central
99
16,871
16,970
30
17,000
563
131,208
131,771
98
131,869
Middle Atlantic
Total U.S.
Cubic meters/day
East North Central
188,493
East South Central
325,510
64,799,200
65,124,710
10,220
65,134,930
30,659
49,462,380
49,493,039
100,681
49,593,720
Mountain
305,071
1,775,165
2,080,236
59,046
2,139,282
New England
182,059
6,131,700
6,313,759
8,327
6,322,086
Pacific
285,011
2,316,420
2,601,431
23,467
2,624,898
South Atlantic
256,623
83,598,160
83,854,783
19,682
83,874,465
West North Central
183,573
53,826,107
54,009,679
15,519
54,025,198
West South Central
373,580
63,856,735
64,230,315
114,307
64,344,622
Middle Atlantic
Total U.S.
2,130,577
170,854,900 171,043,393
496,620,766 498,751,343
20,061 171,063,454
371,309 499,122,651
Source: USGS [1]
4-19
may be stored in above ground tanks (gravity flow to the point of use) or ground-level or belowground tanks (where additional pumping may be employed to ensure adequate flow and pressure
water use.
per million gallons (0.211 kWh/m3) is assumed. This figure is based on the unit electricity
requirement for municipal groundwater system well pumping (605 kWh/million gallon0.161
kWh/m3) with allowance for the reduced scale of pumping and for the additional energy
requirements for distribution pumping.
gallons (0.073 kWh/m3), with an upward adjustment based on the reduced scale of pumping, the
need for distribution pumping within the facility, and the energy requirements for treating the
water prior to use.
The estimate of the amount of electricity required for delivery of water is based on United States
Department of Energy projections of generation by type of generating facility and estimates of
make-up water requirements for cooling by the various types of generators. DOE thermal
generation estimates by thermal generation are summarized in Table A-22 in the Appendix, by
DOE generating region. These generation figures include only generation by biomass, coal,
nuclear, municipal solid waste, other fossil generation, and combined cycle plants; these types of
plants use cooling water. A map of generating regions is provided in Figure A-1 in the
Appendix. Estimates of unit water use for various types of generator were developed by BKI [5]
in a parallel effort to this project. These figures are summarized in Table 4-9.
4-20
Table 4-9
Average Water Requirements for Thermal Power Plant Cooling.
Cooling Type
Cooling Pond
make-up water
Dry Cooling Tower
Once-Through Cooling
Wet Cooling Tower

make-up water
Fuel Type
Gal/MWh
m /MWh
Fossil
450
1.7
Nuclear
800
3.0
all
----
----
Fossil
35,000
132.5
Nuclear
42,500
160.8
Combined Cycle
13,750
52.0
Fossil
550
2.1
Nuclear
950
3.6
Combined Cycle
230
0.9
Gas Combined
Cycle
250
0.9
Source: BKI [5]
Figure 4-7 shows the amount of electricity required to meet the cooling water needs of these
plants over the period 2000 through 2020. This represents less than 0.5 percent of the total
generation of these types of plants.
As can be seen in Figure 4-7, the electricity requirements for cooling water pumping is expected
to decline. This is primarily due to a shift away from once-through cooling, with high water
requirements, to cooling using recycled water (e.g. wet cooling towers) and the expected
increased use of dry cooling towers, where no water is lost from the system.
The technologies used to supply water from surface or ground sources are relatively mature and
no significant improvements in unit electricity consumption are expected over the time horizon
for these projections. Marginal improvements may be achieved with increased pump efficiencies
and the use of variable speed drives in the industrial and mining sectors. Other new initiatives,
such as the reduction in once-through cooling and the increased use of dry cooling towers (as
opposed to evaporative or wet cooling towers) in power plants would tend to reduce the amount
of water that would be pumped for make-up purposes. However, this should have little impact
on the unit electricity requirements for water pumping from groundwater or surface water
sources.
4-21

16000
million kWh/yr
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Region 5
Region 6
Region 8
Region 9
Region 10
Region 11
Region 12
Region 13
Region 7
Figure 4-7
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Thermal Power Generation
It should be noted that electricity consumption for internal use in power generation is not
included in electricity consumption forecasts. On the supply side, reporting is generally based on
gross generation of electricity, consumption for internal use, and net generation for sale (the
difference between the first two items). The use of electricity by electric utilities for water
pumping and/or wastewater treatment will generally be accounted for in the second of the three
categories.
References
1. Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 1995, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S.
Geological Survey, Washington DC: 1998. This publication can be downloaded from the
USGS website at http://www.usgs.gov.
2. 1997 Commercial Energy Forecast, prepared by Regional Economic Research Inc., for
EPRI, March 1997.
3. Energy Market Profiles: 1997 Commercial Buildings, Equipment, and Energy Use, EPRI,
1997.
4. 1997 Industrial Energy Forecast, prepared by Regional Economic Research Inc., for EPRI,
March 1997.
5. Energy Market Profiles: 1998 Industrial Buildings, Equipment, and Energy Use, EPRI, 1998.
6. Census of Agriculture 1999, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington DC:
2000. Data derived from Table 9-11, Land in Farms: Irrigated Land by State, 1959-1997.
Document downloaded from the USDA website at http://www.usda.gov.
7. Richard Mhyre, BKI, personal communication, September 2000.
4-22
SUPPORTING DATA
This Appendix contains supporting data and tables for the analyses presented in the main
sections of this report.
Population Growth Projections

U.S. Census Bureau population growth projections used in the electricity consumption
projections are provided in Tables A-1 and A-2. Table A-1 shows how population will grow in
absolute terms by region. Table A-2 shows compound annual growth rates by region.
Table A-1
Population Growth Projections by Region
Population in millions
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2050
United States
262.76
274.63
285.98
297.72
310.13
322.74
335.05
406.92
East North Central
43.46
44.42
45.15
45.76
46.41
47.06
47.68
50.86
East South Central
16.07
16.92
17.60
18.12
18.59
19.00
19.35
21.16
Middle Atlantic
38.15
38.53
38.92
39.52
40.29
41.16
42.07
46.91
Mountain
15.65
17.73
19.25
20.22
21.12
22.05
22.96
28.13
New England
13.31
13.58
13.84
14.17
14.55
14.94
15.32
17.39
Pacific
41.95
43.69
46.35
50.29
54.77
59.42
64.14
94.02
South Atlantic
47.00
50.15
52.92
55.46
57.97
60.41
62.68
75.33
West North Central
18.35
19.08
19.67
20.15
20.62
21.05
21.43
23.46
West South Central
28.83
30.55
32.26
34.02
35.83
37.65
39.43
49.67
Source: U.S. Census Bureau [1]
A-1
Supporting Data
Table A-2
Compound Annual Population Growth Rates by Region
Projected
1995 to 2000 to 2005 to 2010 to 2015 to 2020 to
through
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2050
United States
0.89%
0.81%
0.81%
0.82%
0.80%
0.75%
0.78%
East North Central
0.44%
0.33%
0.27%
0.28%
0.28%
0.26%
0.26%
East South Central
1.04%
0.80%
0.58%
0.51%
0.44%
0.36%
0.36%
Middle Atlantic
0.19%
0.21%
0.30%
0.39%
0.43%
0.44%
0.44%
Mountain
2.53%
1.66%
0.99%
0.88%
0.86%
0.81%
0.81%
New England
0.40%
0.38%
0.47%
0.52%
0.53%
0.51%
0.51%
Pacific
0.81%
1.19%
1.64%
1.72%
1.64%
1.54%
1.54%
South Atlantic
1.31%
1.08%
0.94%
0.89%
0.83%
0.74%
0.74%
West North Central
0.79%
0.61%
0.48%
0.46%
0.42%
0.36%
0.36%
West South Central
1.17%
1.10%
1.07%
1.04%
0.99%
0.93%
0.93%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau [1]
A-2
Supporting Data
Electricity Consumption for Fresh Water Supply by Public Water Supply

Agencies
Table A-3
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by Public Water
Supply Agencies
Billion kWh per year by Region
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
4.60
4.68
4.74
4.81
4.88
5.27
East South Central
1.92
1.99
2.05
2.11
2.15
2.40
Middle Atlantic
4.19
4.23
4.30
4.38
4.48
5.10
Mountain
2.02
2.19
2.30
2.41
2.51
3.21
New England
1.85
1.89
1.93
1.98
2.04
2.37
Pacific
5.05
5.36
5.82
6.34
6.87
10.88
South Atlantic
5.38
5.68
5.95
6.22
6.49
8.09
West North Central
1.96
2.02
2.07
2.11
2.16
2.41
West South Central
3.65
3.86
4.07
4.29
4.50
5.94
30.63
31.91
33.24
34.65
36.08
45.66
Total U.S.
A-3
Supporting Data
Table A-4
Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by Public Water Supply
AgenciesReduced Unit Energy Consumption
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
4.14
4.21
4.27
4.33
4.39
4.74
East South Central
1.72
1.79
1.85
1.89
1.94
2.16
Middle Atlantic
3.77
3.81
3.87
3.94
4.03
4.59
Mountain
1.82
1.97
2.07
2.17
2.26
2.88
New England
1.67
1.70
1.74
1.78
1.83
2.13
Pacific
4.55
4.83
5.24
5.70
6.19
9.79
South Atlantic
4.85
5.11
5.36
5.60
5.84
7.28
West North Central
1.76
1.82
1.86
1.90
1.94
2.17
West South Central
3.29
3.47
3.66
3.86
4.05
5.35
27.57
28.72
29.92
31.18
32.47
41.09
Total U.S.
Table A-5
AgenciesIncreased Unit Energy Consumption
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
5.06
5.15
5.22
5.29
5.37
5.80
East South Central
2.11
2.19
2.26
2.32
2.37
2.64
Middle Atlantic
4.61
4.66
4.73
4.82
4.92
5.61
Mountain
2.22
2.41
2.53
2.65
2.76
3.53
New England
2.04
2.08
2.13
2.18
2.24
2.61
Pacific
5.56
5.90
6.40
6.97
7.56
11.97
South Atlantic
5.92
6.25
6.55
6.85
7.14
8.90
West North Central
2.15
2.22
2.27
2.33
2.37
2.65
West South Central
4.02
4.25
4.48
4.72
4.95
6.54
33.69
35.10
36.56
38.11
39.69
50.23
Total U.S.
A-4
2000
Supporting Data
Table A-6
AgenciesReduced Per Capita Water Consumption
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
3.68
3.74
3.79
3.85
3.90
4.22
East South Central
1.53
1.60
1.64
1.68
1.72
1.92
Middle Atlantic
3.35
3.39
3.44
3.50
3.58
4.08
Mountain
1.62
1.75
1.84
1.93
2.01
2.56
New England
1.48
1.51
1.55
1.59
1.63
1.90
Pacific
4.04
4.29
4.65
5.07
5.50
8.70
South Atlantic
4.31
4.55
4.76
4.98
5.19
6.47
West North Central
1.57
1.61
1.65
1.69
1.73
1.92
West South Central
2.92
3.09
3.26
3.43
3.60
4.75
24.51
25.53
26.59
27.72
28.86
36.53
Total U.S.
Table A-7
AgenciesIncreased Per Capita Water Consumption
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
5.52
5.62
5.69
5.77
5.85
6.33
East South Central
2.30
2.39
2.46
2.53
2.58
2.88
Middle Atlantic
5.03
5.08
5.16
5.26
5.37
6.12
Mountain
2.42
2.63
2.77
2.89
3.02
3.85
New England
2.22
2.26
2.32
2.38
2.44
2.84
Pacific
6.07
6.44
6.98
7.60
8.25
13.05
South Atlantic
6.46
6.82
7.15
7.47
7.78
9.71
West North Central
2.35
2.42
2.48
2.54
2.59
2.89
West South Central
4.39
4.63
4.88
5.14
5.40
7.13
36.76
38.29
39.89
41.58
43.30
54.79
Total U.S.
A-5
Supporting Data
Electricity Consumption for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs

Table A-8
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
4.66
5.06
5.14
5.22
5.31
5.88
East South Central
1.21
1.41
1.43
1.46
1.50
1.72
Middle Atlantic
3.42
3.76
3.82
3.88
3.96
4.42
Mountain
1.08
1.29
1.31
1.33
1.38
1.60
New England
1.09
1.24
1.26
1.28
1.31
1.45
Pacific
2.62
3.27
3.32
3.37
3.54
4.32
South Atlantic
3.36
4.23
4.30
4.37
4.55
5.38
West North Central
1.51
1.65
1.67
1.70
1.73
1.92
West South Central
2.06
2.60
2.64
2.68
2.75
3.14
21.01
24.51
24.89
25.28
26.04
29.82
Total U.S.
A-6
2000
Supporting Data
Table A-9
Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs2.5
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
4.77
5.18
5.26
5.35
5.44
6.02
East South Central
1.24
1.45
1.47
1.49
1.54
1.76
Middle Atlantic
3.50
3.86
3.92
3.98
4.06
4.53
Mountain
1.11
1.33
1.35
1.37
1.41
1.64
New England
1.12
1.28
1.30
1.32
1.34
1.49
Pacific
2.68
3.35
3.40
3.45
3.63
4.43
South Atlantic
3.44
4.34
4.41
4.48
4.66
5.52
West North Central
1.55
1.69
1.72
1.74
1.77
1.97
West South Central
2.11
2.66
2.70
2.74
2.82
3.22
Total U.S.
21.53 25.13 25.52 25.91 26.69 30.57
Table A-10
Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Wastewater Treatment by POTWs 5
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
4.89
5.31
5.39
5.48
5.58
6.17
East South Central
1.27
1.48
1.51
1.53
1.57
1.80
Middle Atlantic
3.59
3.95
4.01
4.07
4.16
4.64
Mountain
1.14
1.36
1.38
1.40
1.45
1.68
New England
1.15
1.31
1.33
1.35
1.37
1.52
Pacific
2.75
3.43
3.48
3.54
3.72
4.54
South Atlantic
3.52
4.45
4.52
4.58
4.78
5.65
West North Central
1.59
1.73
1.76
1.78
1.82
2.01
West South Central
2.17
2.73
2.77
2.81
2.89
3.30
Total U.S.
22.06 25.74 26.14 26.54 27.34 31.31
A-7
Supporting Data
Electricity Consumption for Water Supply by End-Users

Domestic Sector
Table A-11
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by the Domestic
Sector
Million kWh per year by Region
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
174
177
180
182
185
200
East South Central
46
48
50
51
52
58
106
107
109
111
113
129
Mountain
59
64
67
70
73
93
New England
47
48
49
50
52
60
Pacific
81
86
93
102
110
174
242
256
268
280
292
364
West North Central
74
76
78
80
82
91
West South Central
64
68
71
75
79
104
894
930
965
1,001
1,038
1,274
Middle Atlantic
South Atlantic
Total U.S.
A-8
2000
Supporting Data
Commercial Sector
Table A-12
Commercial Sector Growth Projections
Commercial Floor Space
(million square feet)
United States
Average Annual Growth
Rate
United States
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2050
71,101
76,963
81,730
86,410
91,358
96,589 102,120
134,904
Projected
1995 to 2000 to 2005 to 2010 to 2015 to 2020 to
through
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2050
1.60%
1.21%
1.12%
1.12%
1.12%
1.12%
1.12%
Source: EPRI [2]
Table A-13
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by the Commercial
Sector
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
54
55
56
57
58
62
East South Central
13
13
13
14
14
16
Middle Atlantic
52
53
54
55
56
64
Mountain
59
64
67
70
73
93
New England
22
23
23
24
25
29
164
174
189
206
223
353
South Atlantic
54
57
60
63
65
82
West North Central
29
30
31
32
32
36
West South Central
28
30
32
33
35
46
476
499
525
553
581
780
Pacific
Total U.S.
A-9
Supporting Data
Industrial and Mining Sectors

Table A-14
Industrial Sector Growth Projections
Industrial Value Added
(billion 1993 dollars)
United States
Rate
United States
1995
1,452
2000
1,651
2005
1,874
2010
2015
2,093
2020
2,338
2025
2,611
2050
2,916
5,659
Projected
1995 to 2000 to 2005 to 2010 to 2015 to 2020 to
through
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2050
2.61%
2.57%
2.23%
2.23%
2.23%
2.23%
2.23%
Source: EPRI [3]
Table A-15
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by the Industrial
Sector
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
824
935
1,045
1,167
1,303
2,529
East South Central
345
392
438
489
546
1,060
Middle Atlantic
325
369
412
461
514
999
Mountain
88
100
111
124
139
270
New England
30
34
38
43
48
92
Pacific
328
373
416
465
519
1,008
South Atlantic
650
738
824
920
1,028
1,995
West North Central
111
126
141
158
176
341
West South Central
639
725
810
905
1,011
1,961
3,341
3,793
4,236
4,731
Total U.S.
A-10
2000
5,284 10,255
Supporting Data
Table A-16
Mining Sector Growth Projections
Mining Value Added
(billion 1993 dollars)
United States
Rate
United States
1995
2000
96
98
2005
102
2010
2015
106
2020
110
2025
114
2050
119
149
Projected
1995 to 2000 to 2005 to 2010 to 2015 to 2020 to
through
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2050
0.58%
0.76%
0.75%
0.75%
0.75%
0.75%
0.75%
Source: EPRI [3]
Table A-17
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply by the Mining Sector
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
52
54
57
59
61
76
East South Central
10
12
83
86
90
93
97
121
131
136
141
146
152
190
Pacific
20
20
21
22
23
29
South Atlantic
73
76
79
82
85
107
West North Central
71
74
77
80
83
104
West South Central
47
49
51
53
55
69
490
509
528
548
569
713
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Total U.S.
A-11
Supporting Data
Irrigation and Livestock
Table A-18
Areas Under Irrigation by Region
Thousand Acres
1997
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
54,998
57,973
63,403
69,499
76,360
84,105
92,873 158,940
East North Central
1,369
1,500
1,746
2,033
2,367
2,755
3,208
6,862
East South Central
1,257
1,441
1,810
2,273
2,854
3,585
4,502
14,063
198
207
222
238
255
274
294
418
14,433
14,785
15,390
16,020
16,676
17,359
18,069
22,084
63
71
87
107
131
160
196
540
12,447
12,948
13,827
14,766
15,769
16,840
17,984
24,980
3,083
3,217
3,453
3,706
3,978
4,270
4,583
6,529
West North Central
11,557
12,197
13,344
14,598
15,971
17,473
19,115
29,957
West South Central
10,591
11,608
13,525
15,757
18,359
21,390
24,922
53,507
United States
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture [4]
A-12
2050
Supporting Data
Table A-19
Compound Annual Irrigation Growth Rates by Region
Projected
1997 to 2000 to 2005 to 2010 to 2015 to 2020 to
through
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2050
United States
1.72%
1.72%
1.72%
1.72%
1.72%
1.72%
1.72%
East North Central
3.09%
3.09%
3.09%
3.09%
3.09%
3.09%
3.09%
East South Central
4.66%
4.66%
4.66%
4.66%
4.66%
4.66%
4.66%
Middle Atlantic
1.42%
1.42%
1.42%
1.42%
1.42%
1.42%
1.42%
Mountain
0.81%
0.81%
0.81%
0.81%
0.81%
0.81%
0.81%
New England
4.14%
4.14%
4.14%
4.14%
4.14%
4.14%
4.14%
Pacific
1.32%
1.32%
1.32%
1.32%
1.32%
1.32%
1.32%
South Atlantic
1.43%
1.43%
1.43%
1.43%
1.43%
1.43%
1.43%
West North Central
1.81%
1.81%
1.81%
1.81%
1.81%
1.81%
1.81%
West South Central
3.10%
3.10%
3.10%
3.10%
3.10%
3.10%
3.10%
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture [4]

Table A-20
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply for Irrigation
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
180
210
245
285
331
825
East South Central
575
722
907
1,139
1,430
5,611
29
31
33
36
38
58
7,641
7,954
8,279
8,618
29
35
43
53
6,909
7,378
7,879
8,415
8,986 13,330
905
972
1,043
1,120
1,202
1,838
West North Central
3,007
3,289
3,598
3,937
4,307
7,384
West South Central
4,332
5,048
5,881
6,852
7,983 19,970
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
Total U.S.
8,971 11,413
64
217
23,607 25,639 27,909 30,453 33,314 60,646
A-13
Supporting Data
Table A-21
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Water Supply for Livestock
2005
2010
2015
2020
2050
East North Central
53
54
55
56
57
61
East South Central
135
140
145
148
152
169
21
21
21
21
22
25
241
262
275
287
300
382
101
107
116
127
138
218
92
97
101
106
111
138
West North Central
125
129
132
135
138
153
West South Central
221
233
246
259
272
359
Total U.S.
992
1,047
1,095
1,144
1,192
1,510
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
A-14
2000
Supporting Data
Thermal Power Generation

Table A-22
Projected Thermal Electricity Generation
Million kWh per year
by DOE Region
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
Region 1
538,398
586,890
614,832
632,654
648,644
Region 2
245,170
251,010
255,480
265,520
280,917
Region 3
223,129
249,910
265,623
265,209
276,798
Region 4
235,939
265,738
279,698
296,679
312,152
Region 5
155,253
168,863
178,832
184,424
190,974
Region 6
93,733
85,829
84,528
97,124
97,356
Region 7
82,627
91,397
83,911
92,156
92,961
Region 8
149,231
161,209
179,880
200,948
216,173
Region 9
600,590
662,575
707,346
728,856
756,565
Region 10
301,274
310,671
327,082
338,388
345,545
Region 11
101,413
154,119
166,847
174,515
187,461
Region 12
123,758
150,342
153,749
153,951
158,136
Region 13
149,189
131,727
164,367
192,511
213,432
Total U.S.
2,999,703 3,270,279 3,462,176 3,622,935 3,777,115
For generation from biomass, coal, combined cycle, municipal solid waste (MSW), nuclear, and other fossil fuel
generation only.
A-15
Supporting Data
Table A-23
Estimated Cooling Water Use for Thermal Generation
Billion Gallons per
Day by DOE Region
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
Region 1
21
22
22
21
20
Region 2
10
10
Region 3
10
10
Region 4
Region 5
Region 6
Region 7
Region 8
Region 9
27
28
27
26
25
Region 10
Region 11
10
Region 12
Region 13
10
Total U.S.
129
129
123
113
106
generation only. Water requirements represent total volume of water throughput for once-through cooling systems
or total volume of water for make-up for recirculated cooling systems.
A-16
Supporting Data
11
3
4
13
10
12
9
2
15
14
Figure A-1
DOE Generation Regions
A-17
Supporting Data
Table A-24
Baseline Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Make-up and Once Through
Cooling Water Supply for Thermal Power Generation
Million kWh per year
by
DOE Region
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
Region 1
2,322
2,437
2,404
2,326
2,138
Region 2
1,133
1,110
1,003
893
742
Region 3
1,095
1,117
1,024
810
763
Region 4
960
1,031
999
976
940
Region 5
686
672
654
566
546
Region 6
926
839
712
601
519
Region 7
823
779
646
526
523
Region 8
854
800
716
591
519
Region 9
3,007
3,098
2,988
2,824
2,696
Region 10
961
729
673
605
514
Region 11
281
774
903
972
1,080
Region 12
63
34
33
31
27
Region 13
1,044
672
664
708
642
Total U.S.
14,155
14,092
13,418
12,426
11,648
generation only.
A-18
Supporting Data
References
1. Current Population Reports: Population Projections, United States Department of
Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Census Bureau, Washington, DC:
1997.
2. 1997 Commercial Energy Forecast, prepared by Regional Economic Research Inc., for
EPRI, March 1997.
3. 1997 Industrial Energy Forecast, prepared by Regional Economic Research Inc., for EPRI,
March 1997.
4. Census of Agriculture 1999, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington DC:
2000. Data derived from Table 9-11, Land in Farms: Irrigated Land by State, 1959-1997.
Document downloaded from the USDA website at http://www.usda.gov.
A-19
Strategic Science & Technology
About EPRI
EPRI creates science and technology solutions for
the global energy and energy services industry. U.S.
electric utilities established the Electric Power
Research Institute in 1973 as a nonprofit research
consortium for the benefit of utility members, their
customers, and society. Now known simply as EPRI,
the company provides a wide range of innovative
products and services to more than 1000 energyrelated organizations in 40 countries. EPRIs
multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers
draws on a worldwide network of technical and
business expertise to help solve todays toughest
energy and environmental problems.
EPRI. Electrify the World
2002 Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Inc. All rights

reserved. Electric Power Research Institute and EPRI are registered
service marks of the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
EPRI. ELECTRIFY THE WORLD is a service mark of the Electric
Power Research Institute, Inc.
Printed on recycled paper in the United States of America
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Water & Sustainability (Volume 4): U.S.

Electricity Consumption for Water Supply

Water & Sustainability (Volume 4):

Topical Report, March 2002

EPRI Project Managers

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES

Public water supply agencies

Self-supply of water to the domestic, commercial, industrial, mining, irrigation, livestock,

1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY...................................................................................... 1-1

Unit Electricity Consumption for POTWs........................................................................ 3-4

A SUPPORTING DATA.......................................................................................................... A-1

Table A-9 Regional Energy Consumption Projection for Wastewater Treatment by

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

Public water supply agencies

Self-supply of water to the domestic, commercial, industrial, mining, irrigation, livestock,

Introduction and Summary

Introduction and Summary

Conclusions about privately operated wastewater treatment works include

Introduction and Summary

Public Supply (includes

Public Supply (includes

Introduction and Summary

Public Supply and Treatment Million kWh

Private Supply and Treatment Million kWh

Introduction and Summary

Source: USDOE, EIA [1]

Introduction and Summary

ELECTRICITY REQUIREMENTS FOR DELIVERY OF

Fresh Water Treatment Process Descriptions and Unit Electricity

Electricity Requirements for Delivery of Water by Public Supply Agencies

Surface Water Treatment Unit Electricity Consumption

Electricity Requirements for Delivery of Water by Public Supply Agencies

Unit Electricity Consumption

1 MM gal/day (3,785 m /d)

1,483 kWh/MM gal (0.392 kWh/m )

5 MM gal/day (18,925 m /d)

1,418 kWh/MM gal (0.375 kWh/m )

1,406 kWh/MM gal (0.371 kWh/m )

1,409 kWh/MM gal (0.372 kWh/m )

10 MM gal/day (37,850 m /d)

50 MM gal/day (189,250 m /d)

100 MM gal/day (378,500 m /d)

1,408 kWh/MM gal (0.372 kWh/m )

1,407 kWh/MM gal (0.372 kWh/m )

Source: EPRI [1]

Groundwater Treatment Unit Electricity Consumption

Projected Electricity Requirements for Fresh Water Supply by Public

Electricity Requirements for Delivery of Water by Public Supply Agencies

Electricity Requirements for Delivery of Water by Public Supply Agencies

Source: USEPA Office of Wastewater Management [4]

Source: USEPA Office of Wastewater Management [4]

Electricity Requirements for Delivery of Water by Public Supply Agencies

East North Central

East South Central

West North Central

West South Central

East North Central

East South Central

West North Central