Water, Power, and Stress: Impacts of Thermoelectric Power Generation on Water Basins in the Coterminous U.S
Abstract
Thermoelectric power cooling represents the highest anthropogenic demand for water in the coterminous United States, accounting for over 41% of all freshwater taken from the environment. In watersheds where multiple power plants require water for cooling, these demands can significantly stress local water resources. Our study uses the Water Supply Stress Index, or WaSSI, to calculate the ratio of water demand to water supply for 2,106 8-digit hydrologic units nationwide (Sun et al. 2008). Water demand is determined by withdrawals from seven major user categories (commercial, domestic, industrial, irrigation, livestock, mining, thermoelectric), while supply is the sum of a) surface water supply; b) groundwater supply, based on historic rates of groundwater withdrawal; and c) return flows from major water users, including cities, agriculture and power plants. Water imported from other basins is not taken into account. To identify the basins where thermoelectric water use adds significantly to the water burden, we calculate the WaSSI for each basin nationwide, both with and without power-plant water use included. We find that power plants substantially exacerbate water stress in 44 basins, primarily located in California, the Great Lakes, the South Atlantic-Gulf, and the Colorado River. Our current work explores various indicators of stress in these "hotspots", in terms of water availability, increased water temperatures, and potential impacts to aquatic species.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AGUFM.H11F1125M
- Keywords:
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- 1819 HYDROLOGY / Geographic Information Systems;
- 1834 HYDROLOGY / Human impacts;
- 1878 HYDROLOGY / Water/energy interactions;
- 1884 HYDROLOGY / Water supply