ACE07, The World's Water Event^®, will lead you into the future with an unparalleled professional program and an exposition showcasing the world's newest and most important water technology. The event highlights topics that are most relevant to you, including managing utility assets, meeting water supply challenges, complying with new regulations, and communicating the value of water, the last of which is becoming increasingly critical.

Ashok Gadgil, LBNL

Contact: Ashok Gadgil, 510-486-4651, ajgadgil@lbl.gov

Role in the Energy-Water Nexus

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have invented a process for cost-effectively removing high concentrations of arsenic from drinking water. Arsenic in drinking water is a serious problem in various regions, including Bangladesh and neighboring parts of India and Nepal. The World Health Organization estimates that in Bangladesh alone the problem affects almost 60 million people, rendering it the largest case of mass poisoning in human history. Arsenic removal typically requires significant energy input; the LBNL process requires significantly less energy input.

Specific Connection in Energy-Water Nexus

Athough the delivery of pure and safe drinking water to homes and industries commonly is regarded as a human right, it comes at significant cost. Water resources are depleted, and energy is required to pump, transport, and treat water. Issues connecting water quality to the energy-water nexus include:

• Increasing costs for the energy, raw materials, and disposal associated with water treatment
• Competition for clean water among municipal, agricultural, and environmental sectors
• More stringent clean water standards that require additional energy for treatment
• Impacts of agricultural drainage (salts, trace elements, pesticides), plus environmental regulations that reduce returns to agriculture while increasing the energy costs of compliance
• Mining of groundwater basins, which causes subsidence and long-term degradation of aquifers
• Consumer demands for safe, reliable drinking water that are becoming more exacting as the technology for water quality testing lowers detection limits and reveals more contaminants of concern
• Consumer fears of municipal water reuse

Resource Quantities

As the world's population grows, continually increasing the demands on water resources, maintaining water quality will require investing more energy and resources in water treatment.