In the early 1990s the increasing pressure to monitor and improve water quality within
the water distribution system, as evidenced by the Total Coliform Rule and the increasing
cost of energy consumed within the distribution system at East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), sparked the quest for
an integrated water quality and energy management operation. The urgency of this need
was further amplified by the onset of electric deregulation in California and on the East
Coast in the mid 1990s.
In 1993 EBMUD performed a study of water quality in its water distribution system.
This study lead to the development of a number of operating techniques to maintain water
quality in the distribution system. With the advent of Time of Use (TOU)
electric rates, water quality operations had the potential to increase energy costs. Starting in 1995, EBMUD participated in two projects partially sponsored by the American Water
Works Association Research Foundation (AWWARF) aimed at eventually developing an
integrated Energy and Water Quality Management System (EWQMS). The first project
provided an outline for an EWQMS and evaluated the cost benefit of developing an
EWQMS through a forum of users or on an individual basis. The cost benefit indicated a
forum approach is the most effective.
In 1997, EBMUD participated in the second project which developed, through a forum
process, a functional specification for the EWQMS Software. The
complexity of the envisioned EWQMS and the expected cost to develop a system that
could work for multiple utilities essentially put further efforts through a forum process on
hold. An AWWARF Tailored Collaboration Project subsequently developed a prototype
for a portion of the EWQMS. In a parallel effort, EBMUD utilized
knowledge gained from the development of the functional specification to embark on the
development effort for a modified, but fully operational, EWQMS. Since no system
existed capable of optimizing the operation of EBMUD's distribution system for energy
cost and water quality, EBMUD focused the EWQMS system on the optimization of
energy costs while using EBMUD's water quality operating rules to address water
quality. This significantly reduced the complexity of the optimization process. In order
to limit the financial risk associated with state of the art software development, EBMUD
developed a shared savings compensation process for the development effort. EBMUD
issued its first Request for Proposals (RFP) in April 1999. The large costs of
development ultimately lead to the first vendor's bankruptcy, and EBMUD was forced to
reissue the RFP. The second vendor, Derceto Inc., successfully completed development
and installation of the EWQMS in September of 2004. Includes 5 references, table, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 1.2 MB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 13 |
| Published : | 06/17/2005 |
