Water is involved in every aspect of our lives, from farming our food to producing our clothes. This week, I spoke with Allisa Hastie, an expert on all things water and a Graduate Research Assistant in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Why become a water engineer?

We all know water is important but what caused Allisa to become passionate enough about water to make it her career? Was it reading Rainbow Fish and learning about the creatures who call the ocean home? Well, it turns out that reason only applies to me. Growing up in Central California water scarcity was a big deal, explains Allisa. There was no missing just how reliant on water her town was.

Allisa’s interest in water led to her research on the water-energy-nexus. This is the idea that water and energy are interrelated.

Power Plants, Where it Gets Steamy

Allisa explains that power plants boil water and use the steam to rotate turbines that in turn produce electricity. Billions of tons of water are then used to cool the steam, so it condenses back to water, and can be boiled yet again. This is why persistent droughts can result in rolling blackouts, like those California experienced this summer.

Why does water sanitation rely on electricity?
But the reliance is not one way, drinking water treatment facilities rely on electricity produced by power plants to run the technology that cleans and distributes our water. When energy production is reduced so is water availability.

“If our energy supply is unreliable then our water supply is going to be unreliable and vice versa”

Wait, where is my water from?

Allisa’s project focuses on using reclaimed water for agriculture and energy generation.

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Typically, the water from your home is sent to a wastewater treatment facility. It is cleaned then pumped into a river or stream, where it travels to a city downstream. The next city takes in the water from the stream, sanitizing it yet again before distributing it to homes, farms, industrial facilities, and power plants. I knew the water I drank had been “used” at some point before, but had no idea it was my neighbors upstream who were getting first dibs!

“How lucky are we that we have a contraption within our home that just takes all of our fecal waste and shoots it miles away for somebody else to deal with. There’s people collecting all that waste, making sure the water is clean, shooting it back out into the river, for the next town to then treat it and then shoot it right into your home. It’s an awesome system”

Allisa studies how cleaned water can be rerouted to power plants and farms without a pit stop at the downstream wastewater treatment facility, and accompanying second round of sanitation, making the system more efficient.

“Can we link up facilities producing quality recycled water and facilities that would benefit from having non traditional water resources?”

Water is the point of all this research?

But what is the big picture point of Allisa’s work? Is it so she can use words like water-energy-nexus and sound super smart, or so she can prove to the world that she is a water expert, and eventually become an ambassador to the lost city of Atlantis? It turns out, Allisa’s goals are far more altruistic.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure”

Her work has implications that can help solve issues like water scarcity. By measuring how water is used, we are better able to manage it, and can use it more efficiently. This benefits all the industries that rely on water, from farming to textiles. Increasing water use efficiency also leaves more in lakes and streams, giving plants and wildlife the chance to enjoy it too.

It was clear Allisa was passionate about her work, so I asked her to choose what part of her research was her favorite. Allisa shared that what she enjoys most is being a data butterfly catcher. The data she uses is available to the public, floating around on the internet like a butterfly. It’s her role to track it down, take a closer look, and make meaning out of it. (Click here to see Allisa’s raw data on power plants or individual wastewater treatment facilities.)

“Facilities track their water use and electricity use, but just because that information exists doesn't mean it is being utilized”

How can I help?

Convinced Allisa’s research was vital to water conservation, I wanted to know what I could do to help. In Allisa’s home, the saying is “turn off the lights, we are trying to save water”. Generating the energy, aka electricity, that runs our homes and offices involves using massive amounts of water, making this tip crucial to water conservation.

Heating water also uses large amounts of energy, so colder showers, or using cold water for laundry, are both beneficial. Toilets are heavy water users, so only flushing if there is solid waste is another way to conserve water, though giving your housemates a heads up before doing this may be a good idea.

For landscaping, Allisa suggests replacing impervious surfaces such as concrete and pavement with planted areas, to help rid storm water of pollutants. Need another reason to ditch the concrete? Green spaces are beautiful and can attract wildlife! Additionally, avoid purchasing products that need large amounts of water to produce. This lets corporations know water conservation is important to you, and profitable for them.

So, a cold shower and the problem is solved?
Allisa emphasizes that each problem in water sustainability has multiple causes and solutions. There is not a silver bullet that will solve the issues, but rather a silver buckshot. Change must involve the everyday person, as well as corporations, and the government.

“There are a lot of people working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year in fires, blizzards, droughts, lots of people behind the scenes providing drinking water, and treating wastewater”

The work of researchers, hydrologists, and water resource engineers is key to making sure we have the quantity, and quality, of water we need. Their efforts are why we can turn on the sink, shower faucet, or garden hose, and be assured we will be greeted by a fresh stream of water. If we make sustainable choices, we can continue to have access to this vital resource while also leaving enough for nature to provide us with fields of flowers, lakes, rivers, and streams.

Turn Off the Lights, We Are Trying to Save Water