On the Water-Energy Relationship in the Case of Water Supply Systems

Energy and water are the main resources that support human well-being. But energy and water systems have a major contribution to intensifying climate changes and climate instability. That is why it is necessary to find a balance between the demand and supply of water and energy. In this paper an analysis of the energy-water relationship is made. There is shown that the growing demand for water and energy makes the interaction between water and energy systems stronger and stronger. The factors influencing this multidimensional connection, defined as water-energy nexus (WEN), are assessed for the general case of energy and water production systems, and for the particular case of urban water supply systems. In the case of a water pumping station, as the main consumer of electricity in the urban water supply system, the energy intensity of WEN is obtained by using monitoring data for a period of one month. The energy intensity value of 0.632 kWh/m
³
is compared with existing data in the literature and new ways to reduce energy and water losses are highlighted.