Guest Bio
Phil Adkins is superintendent of the Morehead Water Treatment Plant in Morehead, Ky., a town of 7,000 residents.
Episode Summary
Host Vic Marinich is joined by Phil Adkins, superintendent of the Morehead Water Treatment Plant in Morehead, Ky., to discuss the challenges rural water facilities face in improving energy efficiency and managing water usage.
Main Points
- In many small rural towns, like Morehead, the population is declining. While all utilities are dealing with aging infrastructure, rural utilities face a greater challenge because they have a smaller customer base to help them absorb increased costs and may not be as competitive with larger utilities when applying for federal and state grants. (4:30)
- Because of the smaller number of customers, it takes longer to see a return on investment in energy efficiency. (9:45)
- All utilities should consider a 3% rate increase each year, to be able to invest in equipment, infrastructure and human resources. (11:25)
- Morehead currently draws its water supply from a river, but supply is dependent on amounts of rain. During heavy rain, nearby flood gates close and affect the water supply and quality, making it difficult to treat. Water quality and level also depends on the seasons. The utility is currently building a new treatment plant to replace its current plant, built in the 1960s and will source its water from a lake. (14:00)
- The new plant will pump water with more energy efficient pumps than the current plant, plus a filtration system to remove natural organic matter, including PFAS, to comply with regulations going into effect in 2026. (17:45)
- The pumps in the new plant will use variable speed drives (VFD), to allow pumps to match community demand for water at different times of the day. The result is savings on energy cost and less wear and tear on pumps and motors. (22:20)
- Morehead started installing VFDs at its current plant about five years ago and has experienced significant energy savings. Operational cost savings can help convince community members to support technology upgrades. (25:10)
Links
Read how one rural utility used variable speed drives to keep water flowing while its tank was out of service: https://www.danfoss.com/en-us/service-and-support/case-stories/dds/keeping-the-water-flowing-with-the-vlt-aqua-drive-fc-202
For information and tools on sustainable practices for water utilities, visit https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-water-infrastructure/energy-efficiency-water-utilities
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For more information and additional episodes of the EnVisioneering Exchange podcast, visit https://www.danfoss.com/en-us/about-danfoss/insights-for-tomorrow/envisioneering-exchange/