Energy Cost Savings in Canadian Water Distribution Systems Through Data Analytics

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

INTRODUCTION Currently there is no data on the energy performance of water mains and commercial rehabilitation technologies in the Canadian water industry. This is large barrier to making evidence-based decisions concerning the best way to achieve important energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in the water provision industry. Most municipalities and pipe rehabilitation companies do not have the resources to perform advanced energy modelling and optimization to determine when, and with what, pipe rehabilitation technologies will improve the energy efficiency of their systems. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The long-term objective of the research program is to create new knowledge and guidelines on pipe asset rehabilitation and system operation that will save Canadian municipalities hundreds of millions of dollars in energy costs. The short-term objectives include: 1) development of a comprehensive database of hydraulic models and energy data, 2) development of innovative energy metrics to quantify the energy performance of water mains and pipe rehabilitation technologies, 3) advanced multivariate statistical analysis to identify the important factors that lead to a poor energy performance in water mains, and 4) advanced hydraulic and energy modelling to identify when and with what innovative commercial pipe rehabilitation technologies will produce the greatest savings in energy costs in Canadian water systems. RESEARCH OUTCOMES AND SIGNIFICANCE The research will lead to the creation of new knowledge and an extensive data set on the energy performance of water mains and rehabilitation technologies. This will lead to improved best practices and policy guidelines concerning: 1) the optimal timing of water main rehabilitation to keep pumping/energy costs low, and 2) the most effective commercial rehabilitation and cleaning technologies that will yield the highest energy/operational savings in Canadian water systems. These innovative policy guidelines will help Canadian municipal managers better structure their pipe rehabilitation programs to take advantage of energy efficiency and reduce energy costs on the order of hundreds of million dollars. Five HQP (4 PhD, 1 MASc) will be trained and acquire state-of-the-art knowledge and analytical skills in water distribution system analysis, energy analysis, and statistical analysis that are in large demand in municipalities, consulting firms, and government.