1 WATER, ENERGY & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Water Policy in the Americas Roundtable Organization of American States Presentation by Dr. Allan R. Hoffman U.S. Department of Energy June 15, 2000

2 OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION Introductory material –Energy & Environment Security Initiative –DOE approach –Perspectives –Health issues –Message Water pumping Desalination Water treatment DOE capabilities Conclusions Contact information

3 ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY At the U.S. Department of Energy, water issues are being addressed under the Energy & Environment Security Initiative, a formal joint activity with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense (and supported by the U.S. Department of State). The Initiative has two goals: The identification of energy and other environmental stresses that could lead to political and economic instability and/or the outbreak of political conflict The identification and implementation of measures that can help alleviate these stresses

4 DOE’s APPROACH TO WATER ISSUES Water is needed for a number of end-uses: drinking water agriculture power plants industrial processes sanitation Optimal solutions can be obtained through a systems approach that integrates consideration of various end- uses, their energy requirements, and their associated economic and environmental costs

5 SOME INTERESTING PERSPECTIVES “Many of the wars in this century were about oil, but wars of the next century will be about water.” (Ismail Serageldin, Vice President, World Bank, 1996) “The next war in the Middle East will be over water, not politics.” (Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General, United Nations, 1991)

6 BASIC FACTS: HEALTH ISSUES More than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water About 4 million children below age 5 die each year from waterborne diarrheal diseases (400 per hour) About 60 million children annually reach maturity stunted due to severe nutrient loss/complications from multiple diarrheal episodes About 1 billion people boil their drinking water at home

7 A SIMPLE MESSAGE How to deal with water issues will be a major global concern in the 21 st century An important part of addressing water issues is having the energy needed to transport, treat or desalinate water resources A systems approach (e.g., addressing water needs on a regional basis) can produce optimal solutions Water and energy are key components of sustainable economic development, and are inextricably linked

8 PUMPING WATER Case Studies from the USAID/USDOE Renewable Energy Program in Mexico USAID development goals: –improved agriculture, health, education and environmental protection –rural community development electrification potable water Cost-effective renewable energy systems can help meet development goals

9 LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSIS Solar Powered vs. Conventional Water Pumping Systems CHARACTERISTICSOLARCONVENTIONAL Initial capital costhighlow Replacement costslowhigh O&M costslowhigh Fuel costsnonehigh Environmental impactlowhigh

10 TWO CASE STUDIES El Jeromin, Chihuahua: –Cattle ranch – “chamizo” grown for cattle feed –Water required: 15,000 liters per day Agua Blanca, BCS –Livestock/irrigation ranch (1001 hectares) –Water required: 25,000 liters per day

11 Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Case Study-El Jeromín, Chihuahua

12 Case Study - El Jeromín, Chihuahua Results After 2 years, the PV system represents a lower overall expense to the user

13 Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Case Study-Agua Blanca, BCS

14 Case Study - Agua Blanca, BCS Results Six years after installation, the PV system represents a lower overall expense

15 DESALINATION A process for removing dissolved minerals (including, but not limited to, salt) from seawater, brackish water, or treated wastewater A number of technologies have have been developed for desalination: reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, vacuum freezing, distillation, capacitive deionization.

16 DESALINATION (continued) While much can be done to improve management of existing water supplies, there is broad agreement that extensive use of desalination will be required to meet the water needs of a growing world population At present, only 0.36% of the world’s waters in rivers, lakes and swamps is sufficiently accessible to be considered a fresh water resource

17 KEY DESALINATION TECHNOLOGIES Reverse Osmosis: –pressure is applied to intake water, forcing water molecules through semipermeable membrane. Salt molecules do not pass through membrane. Product water that passes through is potable. –On average, energy (electrical) accounts for 41% of total cost. –5,800-12,000 kWh/AF ( kWh/m 3 )* Distillation: –intake water heated to produce steam. Steam is condensed to produce product water with low salt concentration. –energy requirements for distillation technologies (electrical and thermal) are higher than for reverse osmosis technologies. –28,500-33,000 kWh/AF (23-27 kWh/m 3 )* * does not include energy required for pre-treatment, brine disposal and water transport

18 KEY DESALINATION FACTS Energy costs are a principal barrier to greater use of desalination technologies (disposal of residual brine is another) More than 120 countries are now using some desalted seawater, but mostly in the Persian Gulf where energy costs are low (oil, natural gas) Cost of seawater desalination using reverse osmosis has fallen: –$23 per 1,000 gallons in 1978 ($5.26/m 3 ) –$2 per 1,000 gallons ($0.55/m 3 ) today (Tampa: 35 million m 3 /day)

19 UV Waterworks: Motivation 1993 “Bengal Cholera” outbreak in India, Bangladesh and Thailand Existing alternatives for water treatment often have significant drawbacks –boiling (over biomass cookstove) –chlorination –reverse osmosis

20 UV Waterworks: Design Criteria Energy efficient Low cost Reliable under field conditions No overdose risk Off-the-shelf components Can treat unpressurized water Rapid throughput Low maintenance Simple design/fabricable in developing countries

21 UV Waterworks: How It Works Water flows by gravity under a UV lamp for 12 seconds UV radiation kills % of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses No change in taste or odor/no chemicals introduced Disinfects 4 gallons (15 liters) per minute

22 UV Waterworks: How It Works (continued) Power requirement: 60 watts Disinfects 1,000 liters of water for less than 5 cents (annual cost per person: 14 cents) Unit needs maintenance only once every six months – performed by local technicians Energy consumption 6,000 times less than boiling water over cookstove Units extensively tested, commercially available Portable version developed for disaster-relief

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24 HOW CAN THE U.S. DOE HELP? DOE has a number of technologies and capabilities that would be useful in addressing water quantity and quality issues: - UV Waterworks unit developed at DOE national laboratory (LBNL) - Capacitive Deionization (CDI) process under development at another DOE laboratory (LLNL) -modeling and simulation (using advanced computer capabilities) - monitoring, sensors and telemetry for remote monitoring

25 HOW CAN THE U.S. DOE HELP ? (continued) Characterization of water resources Site remediation, pollution prevention and waste treatment (to be discussed at September meeting of the Roundtable) Application of renewable electric technologies to desalination and water pumping and treatment Planning and management of large projects

26 CONCLUSIONS Water issues will be a major global concern in the 21 st century, and a potential source of conflict Addressing water issues requires joint consideration of a broad range of issues – health, agricultural, economic, political and energy Water and energy issues are closely linked Renewable energy is likely to play a major role in addressing water issues, especially in developing countries Where applicable, a systems approach will yield optimum results

27 CONTACT INFORMATION NAME TEL. # Gene Delatorre Peter Ritzcovan Barbara Bishop Jeff Richardson Richard Knapp Dennis Hjeresen Tom Scott Allan Hoffman EESI web sitehttp://eesi.ornl.gov