Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

—The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Colridge

Water is an increasingly scarce resource, and is an issue all states will need to grapple with. There are a multitude of bills focused on energy and water efficiency and conservation, such as US S2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016, but this post will be focusing on water use legislation targeted at specific industries.

Background

Our planet may be a pale blue dot, but though water covers 71% of the surface of our planet, fresh water is surprisingly uncommon.

Ground water is by far the most plentiful and reliable source of fresh water, with the rivers and lakes that we’re used to thinking of as our fresh water representing only about 0.007% of the Earth’s water.

For a delightfully animated summary this information see this video:

 

 

Issues

As we all learned in grade school, the water cycle is a closed system. So we aren’t “running out of water”, as such.

The problem is fresh water is in limited supply. We are facing increasing demand for fresh water from growing global population and developing economies, and decreasing supply due to changes in weather patterns from to global warming. The UN’s World Water Development Report sounds the alarm:

Demand for freshwater is growing. Unless the balance between demand and finite supplies is restored, the world will face an increasingly severe global water deficit.

Global water demand is largely influenced by population growth, urbanization, food and energy security policies, and macro-economic processes such as trade globalization, changing diets and increasing consumption. By 2050, global water demand is projected to increase by 55%, mainly due to growing demands from manufacturing, thermal electricity generation and domestic use.

Competing demands impose difficult allocation decisions and limit the expansion of sectors critical to sustainable development, in particular food production and energy. The competition for water − between water ‘uses’ and water ‘users’ − increases the risk of localized conflicts and continued inequities in access to services, with significant impacts on local economies and human well-being.

Legislation

We in the United States are not immune to these problems, and many states have been trying to meet the challenge with various policy changes. Let’s look at what approaches are being suggested for some of the biggest industrial sectors.

Thermoelectric

In the United States, approximately 89% of the energy produced in power plants is generated by thermoelectric systems, which evaporate water as part of the process of generating electricity. So any reduction in power consumption means less water used. Indeed, CA SB1425 explains the water-energy nexus, namely that a large fraction of the state’s electricity goes to moving water around, and a large fraction of the state’s water goes to generating electricity. “Consequently, saving water saves energy and vice versa”. This bill would set up a voluntary registry for business entities to increase efficiency and reduce emissions.  They also want to “Recognize innovative projects and programs that reduce the carbon intensity of our water system.”

Another interesting bill, WA HB1095 encourages the development of combined heat and power facilities which the legislature believes could “help the state achieve energy independence and comply with new federal electric energy emission efficiency standards by generating both electric power and useful thermal energy from a single fuel source, thereby increasing energy efficiency and decreasing grid-based emissions”.  KY HB339, MI HR0032 and MA S1772 are other examples of states working on combined heat and power.

Pretty much any bill about using electricity efficiently would serve to reduce water use. There are many such bills every year, here’s a few:

Agriculture

After power generation, the next most significant use of fresh water around the world is for irrigation.

Fossil Fuels

Hydraulic fracturing technology treatments are requiring more and more fresh water, a fact which has definitely caught the eye of  environmentalists and statehouses alike. Many bills have been proposed relating to use of fresh water sources for oil and gas development:

• LA HB527 Prohibits certain uses of surface water from a scenic river
• WV SB523 Imposing a privilege tax for using fresh water for fracking, to be put in the Water for Public Works fund
• MI HB5373 Requiring the development of an assessment tool to look at the impact withdrawing water from lakes and rivers

But I’d like to highlight two other bills of interest, looking to reduce the use of fresh water by oil and gas and other industries:

PA SB875 – Providing for the use of treated mine water for oil and gas development. Like the Texas bill in the previous section offering tax breaks for using alternate sources of water, this Pennsylvania bill looks to help reduce the use of fresh water for hydraulic fracturing by making it easier to use mine water (by reducing liability for the mine for providing it). Opportunity well spotted, PA!

OK SB1122 – Requiring agencies to encourage industrial use of water produced in oil and natural gas operations. There’s no specifics in the bill, just the statement that the agencies will cooperate to find ways to use produced water. Produced water is not waste water from hydraulic fracturing, but rather water produced along with oil in the normal operation of a well. There can be quite a lot of it, so if it can be used to replace fresh water for another industry, that could be a big overall win on the water front. This bill just passed in April 2016, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the Corporation Commission to see what ideas are ultimately developed.

Construction

The act of construction necessarily requires planning for the future, assuming you’re building a building meant to last, so concerns about water are bound to crop up in rules about new construction. While the federal government is working on HR291, the Water in the 21st Century Act, several states are also acting now to mitigate foreseeable problems in the future, like WA HB1793 trying to find new practical solutions for new construction in rural areas:

The legislature further finds that since the preferred options of offsetting mitigation, water bank use, or extended physical piped water infrastructure are not always available or practicable, cities and counties should work with local landowners to develop safe and reliable alternative water sources for supplying potable water. Although not preferred or appropriate in every instance, a local portfolio of legally allowable alternative water sources, such as trucked water or rainwater collection systems that are used in conjunction with cisterns and treatment systems, can provide a suite of options to assist landowners with matching their water needs with the physical location and limitations of their geographic location.

Taking more traditional approaches are NJ A2669 which provides tax credits for construction of buildings in accordance with certain energy standards and CA SB1173 which requires water-conserving plumbing fixtures. We also have WA HB2430 laying out a wide variety of approaches to water conservation in building that they plan to enact by 2018.

Innovative Solutions

Several states are looking at trying innovative new ideas, or setting aside money to encourage research and investment around water efficiency and water conservation. A few interesting examples (you be the judge of if they are good ideas or not):

• CA SB20 establishes the California Water Resiliency Investment Program
• CA AB1463 Onsite treated water
• HI SB1225 authorizing a feasibility study and pilot project for water scalping (aka sewer mining).
• HI SB2644 Tax Credit for new Residential Water Conservation Systems 
• NJ A1960 Authorizes water supply public-private partnerships
• TX HB30 Relating to the development of seawater and brackish groundwater

Conclusion

Illinois has the right idea with IL HR0269 declaring Groundwater Awareness Week. Fresh water is going to become an ever more pressing issue what we should all learn about and do our part to solve; but public awareness and personal actions alone aren’t going to be enough. Big industries, small businesses, and entrepreneurs are going to need to continue to create innovative new solutions, and government will need to support the changes with the investment and changes to law and regulations required. As Peter Diamandis said in his very optimistic TED talk, humanity is smart, we can figure this out, but it will take us all working together.

 

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