TotalWATER Outlook
Part One: The secret to carbon-neutral water
by Jose Porro
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The Climate Crisis
You cannot declare a Climate Crisis one year and do nothing the next! That makes 2020 and the next decade the time for Climate Action, with commitments and actions towards GHG reduction expected from all sectors, including the Water Sector. Many water utilities (in Australia, NYC, Denmark, The Netherlands, UK) have already pledged or are required to become carbon neutral. Some by as early as 2030. With the Climate Crisis declared and the effects of climate change around the world only increasing, we can expect that it is just a matter of time before all responsible water utilities will either commit to specific reduction targets or be required to do so by default from local, state, or regional commitments. Therefore, we anticipate 2020 being a big year for water utilities in taking Climate Action. |
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Starting Climate Action
So how can water utilities start transitioning to a low-carbon water management model? We have co-authored a roadmap to lead water utilities through this transition and detail various steps that water utilities should consider implementing on their journey to becoming a low-carbon water utility. It starts with culture and understanding water utility objectives and drivers for GHG reduction.
Another critical step to carbon-neutral water is integrating GHG reduction into water utility planning. Water utilities by necessity have been developing master plans for drinking water and wastewater for many years. Water utility carbon neutrality should be approached similarly and be integrated into current master plans as much as possible. Planned GHG reduction projects, or projects for other objectives that result in GHG reduction, should be accounted for in each planning horizon (i.e. 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, etc). In terms of identifying opportunities, Cobalt Water Global is in a unique position, bringing over 20 years of water utility master planning and modeling, over 10 years of water utility GHG assessment and mitigation, and as water experts, working directly with artificial intelligence techniques to incorporate the knowledge of urban water systems into sustainable water decision support tools since 2013. So, we bring a truly unmatched expertise to solve the water utility GHG reduction problem and plan to leverage it as water utilities take Climate Action in 2020.
So how can water utilities start transitioning to a low-carbon water management model? We have co-authored a roadmap to lead water utilities through this transition and detail various steps that water utilities should consider implementing on their journey to becoming a low-carbon water utility. It starts with culture and understanding water utility objectives and drivers for GHG reduction.
Another critical step to carbon-neutral water is integrating GHG reduction into water utility planning. Water utilities by necessity have been developing master plans for drinking water and wastewater for many years. Water utility carbon neutrality should be approached similarly and be integrated into current master plans as much as possible. Planned GHG reduction projects, or projects for other objectives that result in GHG reduction, should be accounted for in each planning horizon (i.e. 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, etc). In terms of identifying opportunities, Cobalt Water Global is in a unique position, bringing over 20 years of water utility master planning and modeling, over 10 years of water utility GHG assessment and mitigation, and as water experts, working directly with artificial intelligence techniques to incorporate the knowledge of urban water systems into sustainable water decision support tools since 2013. So, we bring a truly unmatched expertise to solve the water utility GHG reduction problem and plan to leverage it as water utilities take Climate Action in 2020.
The secret weapon
Now, the secret in putting together a plan for carbon neutrality is nitrous oxide (N2O). N2O produced from converting the ammonia in our urine to less harmful forms of nitrogen for the receiving water environment. N2O emissions can make up the majority of a water resource recovery facility’s (WRRF) carbon footprint, but the best part is that they can be mitigated through treatment process adjustments, and for very little costs compared to other measures. Therefore, N2O is the single most obvious, best, and least costly way to reduce GHG emissions, and our secret weapon for reducing water utility GHG emissions is the N2O Risk Model. The N2O Risk Model, one of our TotalWATER AI products, uses AI to read data from the WRRF process and propose control actions to avoid N2O emissions and reduce a large fraction of the WRRF GHG emissions. We have achieved 40% - 70% reduction in multiple WRRFs' total GHG emissions with the N2O Risk Model from adjustments that essentially cost nothing to the water utilities. With the climate crisis on hand and water utility climate action eminent, 2020 looks to be an important year for taking our N2O mitigation work to the next level!
Now, the secret in putting together a plan for carbon neutrality is nitrous oxide (N2O). N2O produced from converting the ammonia in our urine to less harmful forms of nitrogen for the receiving water environment. N2O emissions can make up the majority of a water resource recovery facility’s (WRRF) carbon footprint, but the best part is that they can be mitigated through treatment process adjustments, and for very little costs compared to other measures. Therefore, N2O is the single most obvious, best, and least costly way to reduce GHG emissions, and our secret weapon for reducing water utility GHG emissions is the N2O Risk Model. The N2O Risk Model, one of our TotalWATER AI products, uses AI to read data from the WRRF process and propose control actions to avoid N2O emissions and reduce a large fraction of the WRRF GHG emissions. We have achieved 40% - 70% reduction in multiple WRRFs' total GHG emissions with the N2O Risk Model from adjustments that essentially cost nothing to the water utilities. With the climate crisis on hand and water utility climate action eminent, 2020 looks to be an important year for taking our N2O mitigation work to the next level!
Silver Bullet?
Carbon neutrality for a water utility will require several measures (integrated water management, water efficiency, water reuse, energy efficiency, biogas, N2O mitigation, solar, wind, renewable energy purchases, beneficial biosolids reuse, etc.). However, the N2O Risk Model is part of the low hanging fruit and can help achieve immediate reductions. It is no silver bullet, but it should be the first bullet fired because it can quickly help a water utility determine how much it can reduce with just process adjustments to the WRRF, what kind of capital-intensive GHG reduction measures are needed to reduce the rest of their emissions, and how much it needs to spend to hit desired milestones and ultimately, carbon neutrality. For example, let’s say you are able to reduce 50% of the WRRF’s GHG emissions with the N2O Risk Model, then you may only need to add one or zero additional digesters and/or equipment to produce enough biogas to reach carbon neutrality, as opposed to one or two digesters and/or equipment to produce enough biogas to offset the N2O emissions that would not be mitigated without the N2O Risk Model. This is where the N2O Risk Model can literally help save water utilities millions of dollars. That is why it is a secret weapon and a critical part of carbon neutrality master planning.
Carbon neutrality for a water utility will require several measures (integrated water management, water efficiency, water reuse, energy efficiency, biogas, N2O mitigation, solar, wind, renewable energy purchases, beneficial biosolids reuse, etc.). However, the N2O Risk Model is part of the low hanging fruit and can help achieve immediate reductions. It is no silver bullet, but it should be the first bullet fired because it can quickly help a water utility determine how much it can reduce with just process adjustments to the WRRF, what kind of capital-intensive GHG reduction measures are needed to reduce the rest of their emissions, and how much it needs to spend to hit desired milestones and ultimately, carbon neutrality. For example, let’s say you are able to reduce 50% of the WRRF’s GHG emissions with the N2O Risk Model, then you may only need to add one or zero additional digesters and/or equipment to produce enough biogas to reach carbon neutrality, as opposed to one or two digesters and/or equipment to produce enough biogas to offset the N2O emissions that would not be mitigated without the N2O Risk Model. This is where the N2O Risk Model can literally help save water utilities millions of dollars. That is why it is a secret weapon and a critical part of carbon neutrality master planning.
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of our TotalWATER Outlook.
Image credit: Visualizing Climate Change
Image credit: Dmytro Vikarchuk
Image credit: Dmytro Vikarchuk