Water and Electricity - Lifeblood and Lifeline
In the first edition of this blog, I noted that “the electric sector underpins every other essential industry sector, and it also relies on many of them. I…think of the overlaps like the Olympic rings – all interlinked, with some overlapping more than others.”
In thinking about those overlaps in more detail, I’m going to focus on each critical infrastructure sector in relation to electricity. I decided to discuss water first – because, well, none of us can live more than a few days without water and, historically speaking, water just might be the first critical infrastructure sector to develop. Deliberate emphasis on infrastructure.
But first, some fun facts about water…and its infrastructure. Aside from a very small amount released into space over billions of years, the same water exists today as was here when the earth was formed. It’s kind of wonderful. Water is the ultimate recyclable. According to a professor at Washington State University, forms of water can be found well below the earth's surface, including in fossil fuels (spoiler alert – first overlap between water and electricity).
Given this situation, the discussion around water “loss” and water conservation can be confusing. Water can be static, or it can move and get redirected – it melts or freezes. There is also the difference between salt water and fresh water, the latter of which is only about 2.5 percent of the total. And, the quality of water has changed dramatically through the ages – from the much warmer eras that enabled the rise of the dinosaurs, to the extreme cold of the Ice Age, to now. One key issue in modern times is the uneven distribution of fresh water around the world and how different societies have managed to control that fresh-water supply. This is where the discussion about water conservation comes into play, for example at the local, regional or nation-state level where water is scarce to begin with or when a particular area experiences drought conditions. Contrast this situation with discussions about truly finite resources that are difficult or impossible to recycle, such as certain critical minerals.
In terms of water infrastructure, we all know about the Roman aqueducts, some of which are still standing today over 2,000 years after they were built. The Romans optimized the aqueduct concept after it was originally devised in India and Egypt. Aqueducts met a need for the Romans that still exists today – getting fresh water to population centers when the local water supply is insufficient.
The other type of ancient water infrastructure was developed to contain water, to prevent flooding and create reservoirs as a hedge against drought conditions. According to National Geographic, the first known dam to be constructed was known as the Jawa Dam, was located in what is now Jordan and was built about 2,400 years ago.
Modern water infrastructure keys off these two concepts – transport and containment. We still use a variation of conduits as conceptualized by the Roman aqueducts to transport fresh water, especially used in agriculture. We also now have mazes of water pipes underground throughout the world that transport fresh water all the way into homes and businesses from centrally located reservoirs. Dams are still used to contain water from flooding and to provide reservoirs. Those reservoirs also provide good fishing, boating and gathering places. Many dams are also used – wait for it – to produce electricity!
Historically, our ability to harness electricity is a much more recent development than our ability to harness water. But observations about electric fish (catfish and rays) were recorded over 4,700 years ago and other electrical properties of these fish were noted later by ancient Greek, Roman and Arabic naturalists and physicians. Between those ancient observations and until about 1600 AD, however, electricity was little understood and thus was not put to any practical use. The Age of Enlightenment is not just about intellectual progress, but literally about the initial conceptualization of harnessing electricity to bring light – a double entendre if there ever was one. In 1600, English scientist William Gilbert studied electricity and magnetism, coining the term electricus, referring to the Greek elektron, or amber (alluding to the static electricity produced by rubbing amber together). Ben Franklin conducted his famous kite experiments in the mid-1700s. By the latter half of the 1800s, Thomas A. Edison, Nikola Tesla, Charles Parsons and others had fully harnessed electricity such that it could power homes and businesses. By the 1880s, both public power and privately owned utilities were up and running in the U.S. (rural cooperatives formed during the 1930s to get to the last mile of service in sparsely populated areas).
Since the 1880s and up until the last 15 years or so, electricity itself has been extremely difficult to store effectively and efficiently on a large scale. Therefore, the nature of electricity is that it must be generated and consumed instantaneously. Electric infrastructure is wired, with high voltage wires connecting power plants to lower voltage distribution systems, then to homes and businesses, where the voltage has been stepped down by transformers enough to be used safely. Electric power is created when an electro-mechanical turbine interacts with a magnet to create kinetic electrical current that is then directed into a wire. The amount of current in that wire must be delicately balanced at all times. Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, so this is a layman’s interpretation and simplification of a complex process.
In order to put the electro-mechanical turbine in motion, other types of energy must be used – falling water, burning of fossil fuels to create steam, wind to turn a turbine, etc. One of the simplest ways is using falling water to turn the turbine. The first hydro-electric dam to serve a group of customers was put in place on September 30, 1882, on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, following a proof of concept demonstration in Northumberland, England, when a hydro-electric dam powered a single lamp in 1878. Dams have been foundational to producing reliable, affordable, and clean electric power ever since. Interestingly, they have some of the same benefits for electricity as they do for water. They function almost like a battery in the sense that the water stored behind a dam can be used to jump-start turbines and, in turn, a local or regional power grid, after a power outage (more on that in a later blog). The Niagara Hydropower Project in New York served a crucial role in restoring power after the 2003 Northeast-Midwest blackout because other types of power generation needed more time to safely power back up (or they were not available), while the water was there and easily put into use.
Water is needed to cool the heat generated by both fossil fuel-fired power plants and nuclear power plants, which has resulted in regulation of those cooling water intake structures and discharges via the Clean Water Act – another story for another day. But the story of hydropower is not only foundational to electricity development in the eastern half of U.S., it also helped to open up the arid western states to irrigation and, ultimately, massive population growth. Dams such as Hoover and Glen Canyon on the Colorado River provide drinking water to Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and smaller cities and towns across the Southwest. And they also power irrigation districts that enable water pumping via conduits (thanks again to the Romans). This combination of water and electricity has made the Central Valley of California arguably one of the most fertile and abundant agricultural areas in the world.
Just like the Romans expanded on the work done by the Indians and Egyptians when building their famous aqueducts, electricity in the U.S. has exponentially enabled us to redirect and use fresh water to sustain greater populations in formerly arid areas. And the combination of reservoirs for both water and power needs has unleashed agricultural abundance in the West, uplifted impoverished areas in the East (for example, the Tennessee Valley), and enabled higher levels of cleaner and more reliable electricity throughout the country.
The overlap between these two essential industries is undeniable and, as such, they also face similar challenges as the future unfolds:
Aging infrastructure, especially on the water side, and pushback from customers who are often reluctant to fund the capital investments needed to upgrade, especially given current inflationary trends.
Siting and permitting, especially on the electric side, and including relicensing permits for existing dams.
Workforce challenges and the knowledge drain that has resulted from retirements in recent years.
Supply chain constraints that impact every aspect of infrastructure deployment and maintenance.
How to best use technology to create efficiencies, extend the life of infrastructure, and minimize expenses.
How to manage the cybersecurity risk that comes with those technology deployments.
Given the workforce challenges, how to hire skilled workers who can understand both technology and the infrastructure itself.
Changing weather and climactic conditions that can impact regional water availability.
I can attest to the fact that these two industries have worked together in the past to meet great challenges and I’m sure can and will do so again. I had the privilege of getting a behind-the-scenes tour of Hoover Dam several years ago and the vision and shear force of will it took to complete such a massive project is almost unfathomable. I highly recommend a visit.