River Network – June 27, 2012

A new report by River Network provides the first accounting of how much water is used to generate electricity on an average per-kilowatt basis. The report, Burning Our Rivers: The Water Footprint of Electricity found that for every gallon of water used in an average household, five times more water (40,000 gallons each month) is used to provide that home with electricity via hydropower turbines and fossil fuel power plants. The Burning Our Rivers report summarizes current research on the water consumption of all power production in the U.S., including the water consumption of both non-renewable and renewable energy sources. The water footprint of electricity is highest for hydropower: each day, enough water to meet the demands of more than 50 million people evaporates from reservoirs behind hydroelectric dams. For more information on this report, click here. To download report, click here.