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Unlocking Small-scale Hydropower using Water Infrastructure for National Energy Security

Reliable local energy generation and long-duration energy storage are critical to balancing peak demands and providing distributed emergency backup near both urban and rural populations. However, small-scale (< 10 MW) hydropower faces barriers, including siting, permitting, water ...

Stokes-Draut, J., Taylor, M., and Rao, P.

AI-Enhanced Hydropower Systems: Smart Dams for a Resilient Future

This paper focuses on water-energy, using AI for smart, holistic hydropower operations to enhance water for energy resilience. The existing challenges include (a) increasing demand for water and electricity, requiring a shift to flexible, real-time hydropower operations due to ch...

Varadharajan, C., Ajami, N., Brodie, E., Ciulla, F., Falco, N., Feldman, D., Newcomer, M., Dwivedi, D., Li, Y., Nakata, R., Nakata, N., Nico, P., Williams, K., Mahoney, M., Ramakrishnan, L., and Cholia, S.

Gaps Between Western U.S. Reservoir Inflows and Headwater Precipitation Timing, Amount, and Phase

Snowmelt from mountain headwater basins supplies approximately 80% of the runoff to reservoirs in the western United States (WUS), and is therefore a key component of western hydropower. Yet predicting runoff from hydrometeorological data in complex terrain (and its sensitivity to...

Rudisill, W., and Feldman, D.

Integrated Water-Energy Resilience Research and Testbeds

Water availability increasingly constrains the reliability and flexibility of water-dependent energy systems, including hydropower, thermoelectric generation, and grid operations. Hydrologic extremes, shifting demand, aging infrastructure, and cross-sector pressures are intensifyi...

Negron-Juarez, R., Amusat, O., Koven, C., and Viers, J.

Revolutionizing Water-Energy Infrastructure Resilience through Distributed Sensing and Digital Twins

This white paper addresses the intersection of Water for Energy and Energy for Water, proposing foundational technology to enhance the resilience and operational longevity of critical national assets, including hydropower facilities and marine energy systems. The core challenge i...

Luo, L.

Improved quantification of river nutrient loading for better water quality and more efficient energy use

The focus of this paper is multi-sector dynamics involving agriculture practices, water quality and energy. Currently there lacks high-resolution spatiotemporal data regarding water quality and usage, forcing the planning for water treatment to adopt the conservative, worst-case a...

Tang, J., and Zhu, Q.

Building Resilient Energy-Water Systems: Integrated Modeling, Scenario Selection, and Near-Term Decision Support

U.S. energy and water systems are increasingly interdependent, often leading to cascading and compounding system failures when faced with acute and chronic hazards. Such stressors propagate across multiple spatial scales, typically starting with changing earth system dynamics (for...

Rodriguez, L., Szinai, J., Stokes-Draut, J., Dwivedi, D., Ulrich, C., Holm, J., and Vahmani, P.

Harnessing water system flexibility for grid resilience

With new critical infrastructure that require uninterrupted power supplies (such as data centers that support the AI boom) and a rising share of intermittent generation sources on the grid, there is a growing need for flexibility in grid resources which can ramp up or down quickly...

Szinai, J., and Callaway, D.

Aquifer Storage as a Core Strategy for Energy-Water Resilience: Near and Long-Term Development Across U.S. Regions

This research area primarily addresses the "Energy for Water" focus area. Depleted aquifers pose serious economic liabilities if left as is, however, they are a core asset for long term water storage throughout the US. Current efforts to store surface water, while successful are s...

Ulrich, C., Nico, P., Arora, B., Zhang, Y., Singhal, A., Robinson, G., and Stokes-Draut, J.

Sensor Enabled Cured-in-Place (CIPP) Liners: Cutting Leaks Today, Powering Digital Twins and Real-Time Detection for Tomorrow's Resilient Intelligent Water Distribution Systems

Municipal water accounts for roughly 12% of total consumption in the United States (EPA and AWWA averages), yet an estimated 14% of this treated supply is lost through distribution line leaks (AWWA national average). Because municipal water carries significant embedded energy and ...

Robinson, G., Luo, L., Earni, S., and DeJong, M.

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