Mayors Water Council

Newsletter of the Mayors Water Council of The United States Conference of Mayors

Winter 2008

SUMMIT from page 11

fall accompanied by less frequent but more intense storms. This

leads to "non-linearity" in flood impact, where increased pre-

cipitation during the intense storm leads to flooding conditions

far above what was previously the situation. Indeed, a number

of mayors participating in the discussion mentioned that they

are experiencing the 100 year flood every year. This would

only be a statistical anomaly under normal conditions. As the

concept of normal conditions change, public infrastructure does

not adequately protect against the non-linear impacts and it is

very costly to modify to mitigate the impacts.

Another question on Balmforth's check-list is- Do we under-

stand the proper balance between adaptation and mitigation?

(left to right) Irvington (NJ) Mayor Wayne Smith and

He stated that some of the impacts of climate change will be

Cupertino (CA) Mayor Kris Wang discuss water issues

with Albuquerque Mayor Martin J. Chávez who co-

so massive that governments will have to make dire choices

chairs the Mayors Water Council.

between abandoning, improving resilience and defending at all

costs the built environment of population centers, big and small.

Each of these strategies has accompanying implications. For

to address the problem. EPA's Water Sense Program promotes

example, efforts to defend at all costs the existing urban environ-

local efforts to reduce water loss.

ment will require new construction that will necessarily result in

The City of Irvington (NJ): Mayor Wayne Smith joined Itron

more greenhouse gas emissions from new construction of public

Water Systems Vice President Pamela Malone in presenting

infrastructure- the very thing we try to minimize to alleviate cli-

how the city is using emerging technologies for comprehensive

mate change impacts. What is the right balance for short-term

water conservation and preservation planning. Irvington (NJ)

adaptation strategies and long-term mitigation strategies?

is situated on the Elizabeth River and was founded in 1692.

The city reached the limits of its historical economic develop-

Water Conservation at the National and

ment around 1930. Since then there has been a major shift in

the socio-economic status of the city's residents. The city covers

Local Level

three square miles and is among the most densely populated

US EPA: Michael Deane, Senior Policy Advisor to the US

cities in a state that has the distinction of being the most dense-

EPA Office of Water discussed how water loss from distribution

ly populated state in the nation.

systems incur multiple resource losses and is not confined to

Mayor Smith elaborated on Irvington's Master Plan and the

water. Deane outlined the energy consumption involved with

6 Guiding Principles intended to: turn it into a "gateway" vista;

water supply. It takes an enormous amount of energy (electric-

encourage widespread reinvestment and employment; establish

ity) to pump water from a source to the treatment plant. Electri-

amenities to attract regional activity; and become a showpiece

cal energy is consumed in treating the water to purity levels

of urban redevelopment. The water infrastructure dates back

that satisfy the Safe Drinking Water Act and the standards

to the earliest city development. American Water operates the

expected at the local level. Next, electricity is used to distribute

water treatment and distribution system. The aging pipes led

the water to users unless they are fortunate enough to be able

to water losses, and the city addressed the problem by team-

to rely on gravity distribution systems.

ing with Itron and American Water to install new technology

Deane commented that when water is lost in transmission

known as Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) coupled

to users, you are essentially loosing the water and the energy

with acoustic monitoring devices.

used to get, treat it and distribute it. Thus the real loss includes

AMI involves deployment of the latest meter reading technol-

the water, the energy involved, the revenues lost to the utility

ogy associated with remote meter reading. It provides timely and

and the impact on global warming from the greenhouse gas

accurate information to the water utility and customer. It reduces

emissions associated with the energy used. This, according to

utility operating costs by making meter reading more efficient.

Deane, is a national problem because water loss in systems

When AMI is linked with acoustic monitoring devices it is capa-

across the country may range from 10 to as much as 40 per-

ble of sensing vibrations in the water distribution pipes and pre-

cent. Investment in the underground infrastructure is one way

see SUMMIT on page 14

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