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Water Demands for Expanding Energy Development By George H. Davis and Leonard A. Wood ABSTRACT Water is used in producing energy for mining and recla01<ltion of mined lands, aRsite processing, tr:mspaTlation, refining, and conversion of fuels to other forms of energy. In the East. Soulh, Midwest, and along the seacoasts, mosl water problems are related to pollution rather than to water supply. West of about the IOOth meridian, however, runoff is generally less than poten- tial diversions, and energy industries must {;ompete with other water users. Water demands for extraction of coal, oil shale, uranium, and oil and gas are modest, although large quantities of water are used in secondary recovery operations for 011. The only significant use of water for energy transportation, aside from in-stream navigation use, is for slurry lines. Substantial quanlities of water are required in the retorting and the disposal of spent ou shaJe. The conversion of coal to synthetic gas or oil or to electric power and the generation of electric power with nuclear energy require large quantilies of water, mostly for cooling. Wilhdraw<lls for cooling of thermal-electric plants is by far the largest category of water use in energy industry, totaling about 170 billion gallons (644 million mJ) per day in 1970. Water availability will dictate the location and design of energy-conversion facilities, especi<llly in water deficient areas of the West. WATER DEMANDS FOR EXPANDING ENERGY DEVELOPMENT Much concern has been expressed recently as to whether water supplies will be sufficient to support accelerated energy development foreseen in Operation Independence. Taking the Nation as a whole, sufficient water is available for energy growth. but locaUy, as in arid parts of the Colorado River B:Jsin, limited water supplies will dictate economies in water use and affect plant siting. As Young and Thompson (1973) point out with respect to electric-power generation, the term "water requirements" is misleading because demand for water for cooling is sensitive to price of water and thus is quite flexible rather than inflexible or fixed as implied by the word "requirement." Much the same is true of other energy-conversion systems. Water is used in many aspects of energy production including mining and reclamation of mined lands, onsite processing, transportation, refining, and conversion to other forms of energy. In the East, South, Midwest, and along the seacoasts, water supplies are generally ade- quate for energy industries; most water problems in those regions are related to pollution rather than to sup- ply. West of about the IOOth meridian. however, runoff is generally less than potential diversions, and energy industries must compete with other users for the limited available water supplies. Water is especially short in areas having less than 10 inches (254 mm) mean annual rain- fall, generally not enough for establishing vegetation without irrigation. EXTRACTION The principal categones of extraction comprise coal mining, oil and gas production, uranium mining, and oil. shale mining. Coal-mining water dem:Jnds are modest, and include water for dust control, fire protection, and coal washing. These needs are nominal and quality is not a limiting factor in any of them. In areas where natural precipita- tion is less than 10 inches (254 mm), an additional water demand exists for establishing vegetation on disturbed areas following surface mining. The amount of water needed is related to natural precipitation and area dis- turbed and thus is highly variable. In most arid areas, application of 0.5-0.75 acre.fe/acre (152-229 mm) should be sufficient to establish seedlings that would survive without further water application (National 0460