Water and Energy Nexus

From a WRRI e-mail newsletter: Water & Energy Nexus: Renewable and Sustainable Options for Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities Wastewater Treatment Plants

Since we experienced drought in North Carolina we've heard a lot about rain barrels and water conservation. Not long ago I was more involved in residential energy efficiency, so I attended several forums and panel discussions about green building and energy efficiency. What struck me was how little was mentioned about energy savings that occurs when we use less water. Or, how water use and ecological impact near power plants could be reduced by conserving energy.

The EPA has thought about it some. Here is their assessment.

University of Iowa, PIV

The University of Iowa has an impressive hydraulics laboratory.

Here is a 1/16th scale channel they used to test their Large Scale Particle Image Velocimetry system.

They have also created a tipping bucket rain gauge calibrator. The description of this calibration system is here.

Ground, Water, Stream, Gauge, Gage?

I bumped into the WaterWired blog today. I also bumped into this blog while trying to determine the correct spelling(s) of ground water. I'm still slightly uncertain.

The same thing happened earlier this year when I started reading about stream gauges. USGS seems to favor "gage", at least on this part of their website.

Town of Cary Storm Drain Stenciling

You can find out how to help here.

You will also find links to the Neuse River Foundation and Cape Fear River Assembly.

I also learned about Cary's sludge dryer here.

PIV Research In Iowa - Need for Image-based Stream Stage Cited

The Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has been conducting exciting research with Particle Image Velocimetry methods. Engineers and Scientists in Iowa, in collaboration with others, have taken a well-established laboratory measurement method to a field setting. [1] Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) uses mass conservation principles to determine the velocity of particles moving through a given region.[1]

Because they are looking at water in natural settings, they are experiencing some of the challenges we expect to face with the GaugeCam project. The effects of variable lighting, glare and shadows must be addressed.[2] Wind and rain effects are also concerns.[2] In addition, PIV requires observable particles, whether natural or seeded. [1] In some cases, natural occurrences, such as bubbles in the water can be recognized and tracked as particles.[2]

One particular challenge noted by researchers is the incorporation of stage measurement.[3] Specifically, stage measurement using image-based techniques is mentioned as an ideal solution because an image-based solution could utilize the same type of data transmission as the PIV camera system. [3]



References
[1] Bradley, A. A., Kruger, A., Meselhe, E., & Muste, M. (1999). Low flow measurement in streams using video imagery. Water Resources Research,

[2] Creutin, J. D., Muste, M., Bradley, A. A., Kim, S. C., & Kruger, A. (2003). River gauging using PIV techniques: A proof of concept experiment on the Iowa river. Journal of Hydrology, 277(3), 182. doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(03)00081-7

[3] Hauet, A., Kruger, A., Krajewski, W. F., Bradley, A., Muste, M., Creutin, J., et al. (2008). Experimental system for real-time discharge estimation using an image-based method. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 13(2), 105-110. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1084-0699(2008)13:2(105)