Making waves: Energy data as an observatory for water system performance

Water utilities are strained by climate variability, aging infrastructure, workforce changes, funding, and dependence on the electric grid. Although utilities routinely collect detailed energy data, they usually treat the data narrowly for billing, compliance, efficiency reporting, or dashboards. What remains surprisingly absent is something more fundamental: a continuous way of seeing how systems behave over time. In this Making Waves article we argue that operational energy data can function as an observatory for water system performance: a continuous signal that integrates hydraulic behavior, water quality management, infrastructure condition, climate exposure, and institutional capacity. The argument reframes energy data from a static efficiency metric to a diagnostic, long-term record of system performance. The observatory emphasizes sensitivity over causal attribution and remains deliberately orthogonal to digital twins and artificial intelligence applications; it emphasizes interpretation over prediction. By articulating this new perspective we aim to improve how the water sector observes, analyzes, and manages the systems it already operates.