This article look into the city of Portland, OR installing energy generating turbines in the city's water pipes. Essentially, flushing your toilet will produce energy. This is a form of hydroelectric energy that doesn't block fish passage or completely disturb river ecosystems, and honestly it's surprising this is the first case of this kind of technology being used in American cities. The company heading this, Lucid Energy, places a small turbine in already existing water pipes and captures energy anytime water is flowing into or out of a residence. The energy produced can be used to offset the cost of delivery water to the city or be diverted to the grid to power homes or businesses. The turbines can be installed in both clean drinking water pipes or waste-water pipes. The electricity generated will be able to power up to 150 homes. I believe that this should be implemented on a larger scale in every major city across the US, or the globe for that matter. It is silly to be wasting the kinetic energy of moving water flowing through a city's plumbing infrastructure.
The only critique of this, along with most other innovative ideas that solve our energy crisis, is the cost factor. It is estimated to cost over a million dollars to retrofit the existing pipes with these turbines that can only power 150 homes. I wonder if they increased the scale of the project if the returns would start to offset the cost of retrofitting or even installing new pipes.
https://www.minds.com/blog/view/415942000412463104/portland-installs-turbines-in-their-city-water-pipes-powers-city-by-flushing-toilets
This is a diagram of what the turbines would look like,
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