HB 5149 Smart Water Management Conservation and Efficiency Act of 2014

About HB-5149

Smart Water Management Conservation and Efficiency Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish and carry out a smart water management pilot program to award grants to three to five eligible entities (authorities that provide drinking water, wastewater treatment, or water reuse services) to demonstrate and deploy novel and innovative technology-based solutions that will:

• (1) increase the energy and water efficiency of drinking water, wastewater treatment, and water reuse systems;
• (2) improve such systems to help communities make significant progress in conserving water, saving energy, and reducing costs; and
• (3) support the implementation of innovative processes and the installation of advanced automated systems that provide real-time data on energy and water

Directs the Secretary, in selecting grant recipient, to consider: energy and cost savings; the novelty of the technology to be used; the degree to which the project integrates next-generation sensors, software, analytics, and management tools; the anticipated cost-effectiveness of the pilot project in terms of energy efficiency savings, water savings or reuse, and infrastructure costs averted; whether the technology can be deployed in a variety of geographic regions and the degree to which the technology can be implemented on a smaller or larger scale; and whether the project will be completed in five years or less. Requires the Secretary to evaluate, annually, each project for which a grant is provided and make best practices identified available to the public.