Steven A Conrad

Colorado State University | CSU · Department of Systems Engineering

Water-related energy accounts for around one-quarter of California's energy use. Most of the influence is within cities. This project aimed to identify research and policy needs associated with managing energy related to urban water. A workshop was convened with diverse representation from water and energy sectors in federal (US), state (California...

Farmers can play a crucial role in water management during water shortages, yet little is known concerning the preferences of farmers for various options in drought response planning. In this paper we demonstrate the use of a discrete choice experiment to investigate the preferences of farmers about options for drought response policies in the Okan...

This paper contributes to the study of water use and policies governing land use in residential landscapes. We employed a discrete choice experiment to examine the effect existing lawn attributes have on stated preferences of residents of detached homes in the City of Kelowna, British Columbia, for four approaches to reducing the irrigation require...

Research on heuristics and energy labels shows that the decision context and the meaningfulness of energy information can affect decision-making. In this experiment, we test whether home energy labels that differ in how they present context information about energy savings, and whether those labels include energy cost information that matters to co...

Concomitant with decarbonising the global economy, the water industry is increasingly subject to ambitious renewable electricity targets. This will be a significant transition, requiring major investments in new technology, new business models, and unprecedented rates of technology rollout. In this work, we seek to elucidate the key barriers and en...

There is an urgent need for innovation in the sanitation sector because the conventional model (toilet-to-sewer-to-treatment) is too time-consuming and costly, and alternatives are lacking. We estimate the challenge ahead by developing scenarios for 60 of the fastest-growing urban conglomerates in the World. We find that the majority would need to...

Interest in renewable energy adoption in the water industry is growing amid numerous barriers. Overcoming these barriers requires an understanding of the influencing factors that drive renewable energy adoption, namely i) what drives the industry to uptake renewable energy projects, ii) what policies and regulations are perceived by the industry as...

Glossary of terms for Opportunities and Barriers for Renewable and Distributed Energy Resource Development at Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities

Drawing on utility experiences, this project provides guidance for drinking water and wastewater utilities, related stakeholders, and policy makers interested in incorporating distributed energy resources (DERs) into their operations. The project methods included (1) a literature review, (2) stakeholder interviews, (3) a survey of utilities and sta...

Presents Case studies focused on key opportunities of Distributed Energy Resource Recovery: anaerobic digestion, co-digestion, solar, heat recovery, and hydropower.

Distributed Energy Resources (DER) are an emerging opportunity for water utilities to offset the increasing energy demand and costs for water services. Self-generation of energy may reduce costs, improve system resilience and reliability, and reduce GHG emissions. Renewable forms of DER available to utilities can include organic matter in wastewate...

To improve the behavioural realism of a water resource model, this study coupled hydrologic modelling with stated preference research, thereby incorporating an empirical estimate of behavioural parameters to represent residents’ landscape decisions in an urban environment. The stated preference data came from a discrete choice experiment in which r...

The guidebook provides guidance on how water and electric utilities may engage in integrated planning and the associated costs and benefits. It provides tools, knowledge, and recommendations to advance opportunities for water and electric utility collaboration in strategic and project-level integrated planning. Ten case studies from utilities in th...

This document contains 10 case studies from utilities in the United States, Canada, and Australia, all of which are pursuing varying forms and degrees of Water Electic Utility Integrated Planning (WEUIP). The case study data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and from public and previously published information. These case studies are...

This book described outcomes from the Water Research Foundation research project 4380 that investigated how adaptive management techniques could be applied to managing water assets and infrastructure that were subject to potential climate change impacts.

The purpose of this project was to connect with residential and agricultural water users in the Okanagan basin, British Columbia to determine perceptions and preferences of water demand management alternatives and to gauge which alternatives residents and farmers would most readily accept. This project was jointly funded through the Natural Resourc...

This report describes residential descriptive results for the Regional Adaptation Collaborative Project - Assessing the effectiveness of climate change adaptation policies: a survey of residential and farmer preferences. This project was conducted as part of a larger research project on Integrated Hydrological-Behavioural Water Demand Modeling: Exa...

The purpose of this project was to survey water users in the Kelowna, BC area to determine public perceptions and preferences of water demand management alternatives and to gauge which alternatives the community would most readily accept. As policymakers develop new water management strategies for climate adaptation, it is crucial that proposed sol...

During the past decade, water scarcity and urban growth have led to a great shift in the paradigm of water resource management. Low-cost surface and/or groundwater sources are practically depleted in many urbanized regions of the world. Further dependence on highly energy-intensive technologies and practices for wastewater treatment is no longer su...

Develops an energy management decision support system (DSS) to help water utilities make better decisions for sustainable energy management. Designs the DSS to identify economic, environmental, and social issues and impacts (i.e., triple-bottom line approach) and necessary parameters and methods for analysis to evaluate energy management options.

This paper summarizes the development and piloting of a decision support system (DSS) tool to address sustainable energy management in the water/wastewater industry. The DSS was developed as part of the Water Research Foundation project 4090 “Decision Support System for Sustainable Energy Management,” co-funded by the Water Environment Research Fou...

This paper summarizes the outcomes of the international sustainable energy management workshop as part of the Water Research Foundation project "Decision Support System for Sustainable Energy Management." This paper provides a review of key decisions and barriers to water utility energy management. This paper also provides a discussion of a decisio...

This research provides a review of key decisions and barriers to water utility energy management. The paper presented defines a system boundary for energy and green house gas management (GHG) and illustrates how various governance frameworks can be constructed to address sustainable energy management in the water/wastewater industry. The need for s...

This paper summarizes the development of a decision support framework to address sustainable energy management in the water/wastewater industry. The framework was developed as part of the Water Research Foundation project 4090 “Decision Support System for Sustainable Energy Management.” This paper outlines the key decisions and barriers to utility...

This paper describes various aspects of energy use within water utilities and examines options for managing and reducing this use. Because utilities face significant difficulty managing energy across their entire water systems, this paper concludes by discussing barriers to implementing energy management decisions.

By moving from a reactive (consumption-following) to a proactive operating strategy using short-term consumption forecasting (STCF), utilities can save millions of dollars in energy costs. Accurate forecasting techniques and tools are required to realize these cost savings.Edison Electric Institute (EEI), 2006. 2005 Financial Review Plus 2006 Devel...

Identifies, tests, and evaluates available methods and tools for making Short-Term Water Consumption Forecasts (STCF) to support the implementation of an Energy and Water Quality Management System (EWQMS). Describes STCF systems in operation at four water utilities. Also evaluates neural network, regression, similar day, and heuristic methodologies...

Operations Optimization has been used by the electric utilities for over 40 years, but has only recently been applied to water utilities. By using a "systems" approach, water utilities can achieve economic benefits by several avenues. • Reduced energy costs - Using accurate forecasts of consumption, pumps are run only the amount necessary to meet d...

For many reasons, including growth, increasing environmental awareness, and mounting local, state, and federal regulations, managing a water system has become more complex. Having the right tools is essential to properly managing a water system in this environment. An operations optimization system is such a tool that offers water utilities a strat...

With the introduction of Genetically Modified (GM) food, the agricultural industry is entering a new era, not only in terms of technology application, but in terms of its ability to manipulate the pace and scale of commercialization. At the heart of the issue is whether the process of genetically modifying food is simply the latest step in a long l...

Expands a previously developed software for optimized system controls of aquifer resources (OSCAR) that was developed to minimize cost while improving water quality and better managing water resources. Describes benefits of optimizing operations and includes functional software specifications. Also documents experience and lessons learned in the im...

JEA's Operation Optimization System (OOS) project is an important advance in real-time water supply and distribution system automation. The challenge in implementation was to draw a balance between the theory and practice of forecasting, modelling, simulation and optimization. The result is a highly practical realization of the AWWA EWQMS model tha...

Quantifies the projected benefits of an Energy and Water Quality Management System (EWQMS) at a major water utility. Reports on designing, modeling, implementing, measuring results from, and documenting the Operations Planner and Scheduler (OPS) function modeled in previous EWQMS phases. Develops site-specific specifications of OPS software, with a...