Treated Wastewater for Thirsty Power Plants
Around 50 power plants are using treated wastewater for cooling, according to a study of the subject last year by Argonne National Laboratory, with the quantity of water going into power plants being roughly the same as that being used to irrigate crops.
While some of the water is returned to the source after it is used in cooling, withdrawing such large quantities can still be a problem — in times of drought, for example.
