Water Main Electricity

I read an article last week in the NYTimes (I know, surprise surprise) about a fascinating new idea for an eco-friendly way of producing electricity.  Now if you haven't figured it out from the title of the post this morning, I will give you a little hint, the electricity would come from generators attached in some way to the water mains that feed New York City.  The way New York City gets its water is from a gravity fed system, similar to an aqueduct, that starts 125 miles away in the Catskill Mountains and makes its way down into the heart of the city.  To feed the thirsty city, nearly a million gallons of water flows down every minute with an initial power of 600 psi.  The momentum is such that it is capable of reaching the sixth story of almost every building in the city.  With this amount of power, some people have theorized that there is tremendous potential for producing electricity from the flow of water.  One company has already been formed that is starting the research and testing phase to see if it is plausible to generate electricity from the water.  While it wouldn't be enough to feed the energy appetite of all of NY city, it would be enough to ease the grid somewhat and provide electricity to pump stations, sewage treatment plants, or other small services.  The question is, would it be worth it to invest the money to install these hydroelectric generators to the water mains.  The only answer for now is, we shall see.

I personally have other questions that weren't necessarily addressed in the article (linked here).  My biggest concern would be the decrease in water pressure if these generators were installed.  I am sure that we all remember a little bit from science class and the lesson about energy.  Energy does not just appear out of no where.  Consequently, if the energy of the flowing water was used to power hydroelectric generators, it would in part decrease the power that the water had because the water would be turning turbines of some sort to create the electricity.  If the power of the water was decreased too much, then it might not reach the sixth story of the buildings in NY as it used to necessitating the installation of thousands of new pumps to provide the necessary lift to bring the water to where it needs to go.  Perhaps I am wrong and the power of the water would not be affected as much as I think it would.  After all, I am not a scientist or anything close to it, so it is merely a question on my part.  However, if this new idea (not entirely new as a few other similar systems are already in place) were to be implemented in NY, it could potentially save a good amount of energy costs.  It seems that innovation has not completely disappeared from out country yet, it has just diminished somewhat.  In any case, I hope that all the necessary tests that will be run prove that it would be worthwhile to install these hydroelectric generators and create some green electricity for New York City.

Unfortunately, not all water systems are gravity fed and as such, this type of generator could not be installed everywhere there are water mains.  However, if a system like this were to take hold in NY City, perhaps it would show other municipalities the benefit of at least investigating a system like it for their own towns.  While not taking the entire burden of electricity production away from fossil fuels and other sources, every little bit would help.  Easing the burden on the grid would be a huge benefit, especially since electricity needs are not getting any smaller and the population keeps on growing.  Another area that might be able to benefit enormously from a system like this would be Southern California.  Much of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas get their water from the mountains outside the city, another gravity fed system, and it could potentially provide much needed relief to their electricity grid as well.  But first NY, then we shall see how it spreads if it does.  I just though this was a fascinating system that could be beneficial to many people.  In this day and age of diminishing fossil fuels and soaring energy costs, we need more innovation when it comes to green, renewable energy.  This is a start, but we need more of it if we are to become energy independent.  It won't happen any time soon, but hopefully it doesn't take too long.