A paper on energy use for water supply recently won School of Environment Masters candidate Kate Smith an award for best presentation at the IWA 7th International Young Water Professionals Conference in Taipei (7-11 December, 2014). The YWP conferences, organised by the International Water Association, provide young professionals and researchers in the water sector with an opportunity to discuss and present on current and future water management concerns. 

Kate Smith receives award from IWA President Helmut Kroiss

Kate presented on research that quantifies the energy and greenhouse gas emissions for urban water supply in China and identifies possible influencing factors. Over 6 billion tonnes of water was lost during distribution within China’s cities in 2011. Kate's research found that the energy embedded in this lost water was equivalent to the electricity produced in six months by a typical 500 megawatt coal power plant. This is a pertinent topic given China's target to reduce energy intensity as stipulated in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. This research was conducted as part of the Tsinghua-Veolia Environnement Joint Research Centre for Advanced Environmental Technology under the supervision of Associate Professor Shuming Liu.

Kate entered the Drinking Water Safety Division of the School of Environment in 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science double degree from the University of Melbourne, with majors in Environmental Studies, Applied Mathematics and Physics, and is a recipient of one of Australia's most prestigious scholarships for overseas postgraduate study, the General Sir John Monash Scholarship.

by Kate Smith