This project will identify analytic approaches that best meet the needs of Department of Defense (DoD) to improve water resilience through the application of advanced monitoring and controls in water microgrids. Water microgrids improve water resilience by adding a layer of sensing capability that provides the necessary monitoring and controls to operate water systems appropriately in the event of a major outage. This project will deploy advanced monitoring and controls at a water microgrid at U.S. Army Garrison Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. This project will add to existing water infrastructure in place, including hardware (meters, sensors, control valves), software, and logic protocols that are capable of fully or semi-autonomous operations during islanding from, and subsequent reconnection to, off-site primary water supply networks. The project will also use hydraulic modeling of installation water infrastructure to identify the best approach for an installation-wide understanding of critical and non-critical water demands and determining requirements to sustain installation operations.

Water microgrids are composed of a network of integrated components, including water supply, storage, treatment, distribution, backup power, and advanced monitoring controls to operate independently of an existing primary water system during an outage. Water microgrids provide a solution to ensure that infrastructure is in place to meet critical mission needs. The innovative feature of a water microgrid is the configuration of the physical infrastructure in tandem with advanced metering, monitoring, and controls equipment that allow for real-time data to be used to prepare and respond to a disruption. This project will focus on proper incorporation and enhancement of advanced metering and monitoring infrastructure to collect real time water use data. The data will be used as inputs into hydraulic model simulations to conduct contingency analyses of critical system components during normal operation and at disruption. The hydraulic model will examine water distribution system performance under varying conditions, providing a deeper understanding of the interconnection between water microgrid infrastructure and advanced monitoring and controls to identify additional needs.

As DoD planners work to enhance the water security of mission critical sites, identifying proven methods and processes to produce, treat, and distribute water to meet critical mission needs is vital. A water microgrid provides a reliable source of water during times of disruption, thereby improving installation readiness and resilience while supporting broader sustainment and environmental objectives. Understanding advanced metering, monitoring, and controls is key to the deployment of water microgrids at DoD installations. This project’s focus on this element will provide the key technologies and operational control strategies that will help make water microgrids fully functional. Fully integrated water microgrids with advanced metering and automation have wide applicability across all ranges of DoD installations in a variety of locations and climates. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2026)