Matthwe Hiltz,Gabriela de Silva,Dean Shaw,Monique Dube,Todd Pugsley,Shayan Karimipour, University of Saskatchewan, Chemical Engineering, todd.pugsley@usask.ca
ABSTRACT
Integrated Water-Energy Assessment (IWEA) has been used to quantify changes in water quality and quantity associated with thermoelectric electrical power generation. For this water-energy nexus, two indicators of IWEA are defined: the Process Change Index (PCI), which captures the changes in water quality as well as water usage within the power generation facility, and the Environmental Change Index (ECI), which quantifies changes in the surface water quality before and after the power plant is installed. The first application of our approach has been local at the Poplar River Power Plant in the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada: a thermoelectric coal-fired plant. The ECI and PCI values before and after this plant was commissioned in 1981 indicate a reduction in water quality. Separation of the data into seasonal values also allows the indices to capture the influence of high and low flows in the spring and winter months. This is the first successful step of a much larger project with the aim of developing a predictive decision support software tool to assist local governments and industry comanage both energy and water.