Another Ethanol Negative - Water Consumption
From the article Ethanol plants come with hidden cost: Water
Since water is not an inexhaustible commodity, there will always be competition for water rights. Ethanol production simply adds another player to that scene and a very glutonous one at that in water consumption. With all the negative results associated with ethanol production and ethanol itself (e.g. agriculure prices, lower gas mileage) one can’t wonder if ethanol is worth the price that society has to pay for ethanol mass production.In Missourt, the former state conservation official was horrified by news that a thirsty ethanol plant might rise up near his home in southwestern Missouri. The plant would draw 1.3 million gallons of water from the ground every day to produce the corn-based fuel.
Then there’s the 400,000 gallons per day of contaminated water from the plant — water that would be sprayed on land around the plant by irrigation equipment and then seep back into the ground.
The ethanol industry says it takes about 3 gallons of water on average to produce a gallon of ethanol and that recycling and other water-saving innovations will reduce that amount.
Sometimes that consumption is understated: In Minnesota, one of the few states that require reporting of water use, a state study in 2005 found that ethanol plants used an average of 4.5 gallons for every gallon of ethanol.
The water drawn for ethanol is a cost borne by communities — or whole regions — and a price sometimes ignored in the planning stages for new plants, experts say.
In St. Louis, National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman said his organization has advised ethanol plant builders about the limitations of water. “The water question will not be an impediment to ethanol expansion overall, but it certainly will limit expansion in certain locations,” he said.
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