As of late summer 2011, Texas had suffered the driest 10 months since record keeping began in 1895 (LCRA 2011). Some rivers, such as the Brazos, actually dried up (ClimateWatch 2011). The dry weather came with brutal heat: seven cities recorded at least 80 days above 100°F (Dolce and Erdman 2011). With air conditioners straining to keep up, the state’s demand for electricity shattered records as well, topping 68,000 megawatts in early August (ERCOT 2011).
An energy-water collision wasn’t far behind. One plant had to curtail nighttime operations because the drought had reduced the amount of cool water available to...
Power plants are thirsty. Every day in 2008, on average, water-cooled thermoelectric power plants in the United States withdrew 60 billion to 170 billion gallons (180,000 to 530,000 acre-feet) of freshwater from rivers, lakes, streams, and aquifers, and consumed 2.8 billion to 5.9 billion gallons (8,600 to 18,100 acre-feet) of that water.15 Our nation’s large coal fleet alone was responsible for 67 percent of those withdrawals, and 65 percent of that consumption.
Where that water comes from is important. In the Southwest, where surface water is relatively scarce, power plants withdrew an average of 125 million to 190 million gallons...
Gaps add up. Power plants that did not report their water use to the EIA accounted for 28 to 30 percent of freshwater withdrawals by the electricity sector, and at least 24 to 31 percent of freshwater consumption by the sector, according to our calculations. Gaps in the 2008 information included all water use by nuclear power plants.
Discrepancies are widespread. Reported freshwater use by power plants across the country fell outside the bounds suggested by our analysis, including plants in 22 states for withdrawal, and 38 states for consumption. The discrepancies were especially large in the Lower Colorado River...
Power plants across the country contribute to water-supply stress. Based on our analysis, in 2008, 400 out of 2,106 watersheds across the country were experiencing water-supply stress. Power plants, by tapping this overstretched resource for cooling purposes, contributed to water-supply stress in one-fifth of those. We focused on 25 watersheds in 17 states in which power plants were the primary driver of water-supply stress based on our analysis. Several states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, and Michigan had more than one of those watersheds, including the Catawba and Seneca Rivers.
Good analysis requires good information. Using the available data...
Electricity’s thirst for water, along with pressure from growing populations, is putting freshwater resources and the reliability of our energy supply in jeopardy. From Arizona to Alabama, from North Carolina to New York, the use of water to cool many of today’s power plants is contributing to the stress we are placing on water resources.
Pressure on both the energy and water sectors stands to rise as populations continue to grow. The effects of climate change—including regional fluctuations in freshwater supplies, higher water temperatures, and more frequent and intense droughts—have the potential to compound these demands (USGCRP 2009)....
