Reflections on Water
The Water Wheel
by
ACWD Water Conservation Supervisor Stephanie Nevins
Recently, my husband and I found ourselves scrambling to come up with ideas for a science fair project.
Nothing too complex, as this was for our Kindergartener. At first we tried to encourage her to figure out
for herself what concept she wanted to explore. When that didn’t work, the lobbying began. Water is
my profession, so I attempted to steer her in that direction. My husband worked on the energy angle.
Needless to say, my poor child became overwhelmed.
Then, one day, while we were out in the back yard, the kids were playing with water – kids love to play
with water. They placed a few full buckets on the edge of the deck; all three tipped over like dominoes
sending a gush of water down the side of the patio toward a discarded pinwheel. The pinwheel started
spinning, and voila! We had our project – a homemade water wheel.
Of course, building a model that could be demonstrated at school was something else entirely. It took
many failed attempts (which, unfortunately, failed to amuse our Kindergartener) before we met with
success. In the end, it was a nice combination of two interests: water and energy.
The water wheel, a simple yet profoundly important device, embodies the intrinsic link between water
and energy. The movement of one generates the other and the generation of the other yields modern
comforts like that hot shower you took this morning.
We can’t ignore this connection, we must embrace it. It takes a lot of energy to move and purify the
water we use every day. We can reduce some of that energy use by reducing the amount of water we
use.
Saving water means saving energy. Remember that hot shower? If you shorten that shower by a minute
or two, you double your savings - using less water means using less energy (gas or electricity) to heat
that water. But it doesn’t stop there. By reducing your water use you help reduce the amount of energy
that would have been needed to treat, pump, and distribute that water. And in the process you’ll
reduce your carbon footprint!
For quite a while now, ACWD has recognized the water and energy connection. For example, we
generate hydropower from the water we receive from the South Bay Aqueduct and use it to run one of
our treatment plants. In addition, we’ve been partnering with Pacific Gas & Electric Company on several
water conservation programs that have an energy/water savings link. These include high-efficiency
clothes washer rebates, a home energy and water audit program, and incentives for businesses to
upgrade to water and energy efficient equipment.
We also offer other programs that will get you that combined savings, such as our water conservation
device distribution program (showerheads and faucet aerators) and our water-efficient landscape
rebate program (less water coming out of automatic sprinkler systems saves energy too!). Our new
Water Savings Assistance Program is a water survey and fixture/device retrofit program geared toward
our low income customers. Stay tuned, as you are likely to see many more programs like these in the
future.
Governor Brown also publicly recognized the water/energy connection and took it statewide in a
campaign this past summer. At www.savewaterandenergycalifornia.org you can find out even more
about this connection and what you can do to save.
From spilled buckets of water and a discarded pinwheel to a water wheel that makes bubbles (as our
Kindergartener’s project did), the water/energy connection is a concept we should all take time to
reflect upon. For more ideas on how to save both water and energy, please visit ACWD’s website at
www.acwd.org or call one of our water conservation staff at 510-668-6534 or 510-668-4207. We’d love
to hear from you.
Oh, and don’t worry, no water was wasted in the making of the science fair project. All water, including
that which spilled from the buckets, was in the end used to water landscaping. And if you’re wondering
whether or not we won the science fair, I am happy to report that we did! In Kindergarten, every
student submitting a project is a winner!