Water and Energy Abstracts

To make a contribution to the combat against the world-wide ecologic crisis, and in particular the shortage of local fresh water potentials, it is indispensable to optimise the utilisation of hydro resources for domestic and industrial purposes, agriculture, energy production, recreation and sports. This goal can be achieved by a combined water utilisation in integrated projects. The example presented of a combination between water supply system and small hydro power station, realised in Santiago de Cali – Colombia – Latin America, shows the advantages and feasibility of this concept. In many cases small water supplies and hydro power stations have got the same hydraulic infrastructures, composed of water intake, desilting basin and water guidance. This circumstance favours the resumption of both installations to one common, integrated one. The ecologic advantages of this proceeding are clearly evident. Civil cost analyses of individual and integrated plants, as well as of their operating and maintenance costs, reveal the advantages of integrated power stations. Experience shows that it is recommendable to consider, throughout the first project studies aiming at the establishment of water supply systems already, the energetic utilisation of the water, in front of or behind the water conditioning plant. Here the planning of the useful heads is particularly concerned, which are decisive in these cases for the energy production.