2008 Joint Annual Meeting (5-9 Oct. 2008): Minimizing Energy Use In Large Water Supply Systems

Energy costs associated with pumping groundwater for water supply and irrigation can be substantial. In this presentation we explore alternate optimization formulations for minimizing energy use including formulations which minimize the product of flow rate and lift and those which maximize the minimum head. Results are also compared with non-optimal pumping strategies to assess the importance of using optimization in this context. These optimization strategies are tested on a field site in California.