EPIC researches and analyzes water-related energy use and water-related GHG emissions. As water is scarce in California, and most water must still be imported into the southern California regions, these studies help build knowledge and capacity to enhance the understanding of how energy, climate and water regulations and policies interact. EPIC cooperates with state agencies in their development of protocols and methods for this relatively new area of research.
Below are a few of our recent projects related to water-energy.
Although the 2018-2019 brought above average rainfall to the San Diego, filling reservoirs to the brim, the previous year we were concerned about the lack of rain, drought, and water conservation. The interplay between rainfall, water supply, and related energy use a complex, and how much energy is used for water may be quite different at the city level compared with the state-level, not least because definitions of water-energy components vary from state to water district to city-level depending on whether it is about water planning or about climate action planning. Previously we showed some general relationships on water-energy especially in the City of San Diego. This post continues and delves deeper into the relationships between water use and energy use at the state level contrasted with that at the city level in San Diego region.
The Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) at the University of San Diego School of Law recently completed a first-of-a-kind assessment of the energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to water use at the city level in the San Diego region. The results of this study, which was funded by a grant from The San Diego Foundation, will help decision makers understand the GHG emissions effects of policies related to water use. EPIC assessed data and information from 24 water agencies, the San Diego County Water Authority and 10 of 19 jurisdictions in the region, comprising 65% of the population in the region.