The influence of water on urban energy use

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the diverse and significant links between urban water and energy use. It is motivated by the rapidly increasing energy use in Australian urban water systems with resultant cost and environmental impacts. The chapter identifies opportunities for urban water management in Australia to contribute far more substantially to the reduction of water-related energy use. In particular, this includes energy use for water heating and cooling for residential, industrial, commercial and other purposes. In 2001, water-related energy use in California comprised 19 and 32% of total electrical and natural gas use respectively. Australia is likely to be of similar magnitude. Despite the significance, the connections are poorly understood and largely ignored. This is possibly because many of the influences are indirect, difficult to measure, change regularly and are outside the typical boundary of urban water responsibilities. Additionally, there is a current lack of an overall analytical structure within which to consider, let alone manage, the interconnections. The chapter broadly describes how the water-energy nexus connects to other sustainability issues together with the concept of urban metabolism which is perceived as critical to providing a structure for analysis. Finally, the chapter reflects on future profiles and implications in a future constrained by water and energy simultaneously