Saving water can save energy, but a three-year effort by the California Public Utilities Commission to develop specific, quantifiable strategies for doing so has met with limited success. The last of three studies on the potential to join California water and energy savings strategies at the hip shows there is limited potential to cut peak energy demand by saving water. The study--discussed April 21 by CPUC officials and the consultants who performed the research--follows earlier studies that were inconclusive, including one finding that many of the pilot water saving projects utilities undertook under CPUC orders in 2006 were not cost-effective ways to save energy (Current, Jan. 7, 2011). A carefully targeted water saving effort during times of peak demand could shave load on the state’s grid, but for the most part researchers at Aquacraft who studied the problem for the CPUC found the potential is limited. They found that most water use occurs outside periods of peak energy use, except at a few facilities like car washes, laundries, and farms. “Water systems are fundamentally different than energy systems because you can store water,” said Bill DeOreo, Aquacraft consultant. He said that the link between peak water and energy use varies from water system to water system--depending upon such factors as when water is pumped and treated for storage and subsequently used. In some cases, he said, there is no linkage at all. CPUC and utility officials credited the effort with providing useful data they can use to assess whether specific water-saving measures in specific areas can save energy in a cost-effective way, but the studies pointed to no cookie cutter approach, with researchers indicating that further research is needed.