Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

A Low-Cost Method of Measuring the In Situ Primary Productivity of Periphyton Communities of Lentic Waters
Published on: December 16, 2022
Measuring the embodied energy in drinking water supply systems: a case study in the Great Lakes region
Weiwei Mo1, Fuzhan Nasiri, Matthew J Eckelman
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States.
Abstract:
A sustainable supply of both energy and water is critical to long-term national security, effective climate policy, natural resource sustainability, and social wellbeing. These two critical resources are inextricably and reciprocally linked; the production of energy requires large volumes of water, while the treatment and distribution of water is also significantly dependent upon energy. In this paper, a hybrid analysis approach is proposed to estimate embodied energy and to perform a structural path analysis of drinking water supply systems. The applicability of this approach is then tested through a case study of a large municipal water utility (city of Kalamazoo) in the Great Lakes region to provide insights on the issues of water-energy pricing and carbon footprints. Kalamazoo drinking water requires approximately 9.2 MJ/m(3) of energy to produce, 30% of which is associated with indirect inputs such as system construction and treatment chemicals.
Related Concept Videos
Quality of Water
Testing Water Quality
Energy Considerations in Open Channel Flow
Biological Treatment of Effluent and Waste Water
Laminar Flow
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...

