How drinking water systems are an untapped resource for grid stability
Water utilities have flexibility as to when they turn the pumps on.
The pumps that move drinking water through city pipes and into storage tanks are a largely overlooked asset that could help balance electricity supply and demand, improving grid reliability and reducing costs, among other benefits. That’s the key finding in a University of Michigan-led study that won a best paper award at the 2025 Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
The paper’s premise is this: Drinking water distribution systems use electric pumps to move water into elevated storage tanks, which then rely on gravity to supply water to homes. Because water can be stored and used later, utilities have flexibility in deciding when to run the pumps. By shifting operations to times when grid demand is lower, water systems can act as a controllable load, helping to balance fluctuations in supply and demand without disrupting water service.
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“(P)eople have been questioning whether this is a large enough resource to care about. This paper tries to get at that issue—we find, yes, it is big enough. It matters,” said Johanna Mathieu, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and study co-author.
The analysis estimated the demand response potential of drinking water distribution systems in Wisconsin and Arizona and used that to develop a nationwide estimate. Most water utilities are equipped with systems for monitoring and automation that could streamline shifting operations.
“I think some of the challenges to taking advantage of water system utilities as a flexible electric load include providing enough support and enough resources that these utilities are comfortable changing their operation,” said study co-author Anna Stuhlmacher (MS PhD ECE ‘19 ‘23) who is now an assistant professor at Michigan Technological University. “Their first and primary goal is making sure they’re delivering safe, clean drinking water to customers.” Read more about the work.
This is a summary of the article Johanna Mathieu and Anna Stuhlmacher receive HICSS Best Paper Award for work on the potential of drinking water networks as flexible electric loads.