A review of energy consumption in water supply systems

The water infrastructure utilizes a significant large amount of electricity. This is a concern in South Africa, where large-scale load shedding is required to reduce electricity demand. Since the important part of operational costs is energy related there is a comprehensible motivation for reducing energy consumption. The objective of this paper is to review, clarify and quantify the factors driving energy consumption based on the existing literature review. In addition, the review aimed where energy is consumed the most, provide information regarding what utilities can do to minimize energy consumption and achieve the optimized operation of the plant. Given that almost all of energy consumption in water utilities comes from pumping, there are also other vast, unexplored areas. Further research is still needed to improve energy efficiency in water supply systems.