The Virtual Water Dilemma: Act 2 – Energy
When we flip on the TV and hear about water scarcity, the suggested ways to conserve are usually to water our yard less and use less water in our home. It might interest you to know that even turning on that TV is using water in the form of virtual water. Virtual water is all the water that goes into the production of a product; and it often goes unnoticed by consumers.
Like food, energy consumption is another area where we are guilty of using virtual water. Because the production of both electricity and fuel use large amounts of water when consumed, we increase our virtual water footprint on an ongoing basis. As already discussed in Act One, more than 50 percent goes into our food production. But water is also used up in the production of the energy that we rely on to support our everyday lives. On average, an American relies on about 670 gallons of water a day just in energy consumption.
You might find yourself wondering how water consumption is related to gas consumption. But the fact of the matter is that most of our industrial processes, including gas production, use extensive amounts of water. Water is intimately related to the production of fuel and in the case of oil water is used in the following ways:
- Injection: During injection water is injected into the reservoir to compensate for the drop in reservoir pressure after production is started. It’s also used to displace and aid with oil extraction.
- Refining: During refining water is used in the boiler to generate superheated steam, to power the equipment through heat transfer. Water is also used to dilute the salt content of crude oil before the distilling process. And lastly, water is used in cooling.
The sources of water that are used in these processes include: seawater, rivers, estuaries, aquifers and waste water in certain cases. But all the water is treated depending on what it is going to be used for. Ultimately, it takes about 13 gallons of water to make one gallon of gasoline. Estimates also indicate that the US uses 1 to 2 billion gallons of water to refine 800 million gallons of petroleum products every day.
But petroleum products are not the only energy products that we use every day. Most of the electricity in the US is generated by thermoelectric power plants. These power plants use water to make the steam that turns turbines and generates electricity. Some 49 percent of water withdrawals in the US are for thermoelectric power plants.
So what can consumers do to reduce water consumption? Trying to carpool, driving a fuel efficient car or driving less will help cut down on our virtual water waste that goes into transportation. To cut back on energy related virtual water waste make sure your home has energy efficient light fixtures, don’t leave the lights on and turn off your electronics when not in use. Not only will it save on your electricity bill but it will also help to reduce your virtual water impact. Knowing the impact of our daily activities is key to helping us make the right kind of changes. We can all help to save virtual water.
related: alternative energy
