Rising U.S. water usage worries experts

Rising U.S. water usage is worrying experts who will gather April 15 at this year's intelligent water summit in Washington.

Ironically, water consumption has risen because of the drive toward renewable energy. Solar power generation consumes huge quantities of water, as does production of other forms of energy.

Despite educational programs and official exhortations, waste remains a major issue in water usage for landscaping and gardens, experts who are to attend the summit said ahead of the meeting.

While inefficient use of sprinklers and other devices for landscaping and gardening is an old problem, federal land managers have raised concerns that some types of solar energy projects in the western United States consume far too much water.

The Bureau of Land Management recently warned Nevada officials it wasn't in the public interest to go ahead with solar energy plants that used water-cooled components to produce electricity under the state's abundant sunshine.

Power generation companies favor the water-cooled solar electric plants because they are the most cost-efficient while air-cooled plants use 90 percent less water but are far more expensive to run.

The problem is worse in Arizona, where there are greater pressures on available water resources outside the state's urban centers.

Added to the emerging correlation between solar power generation and water resources is the industry prognosis that solar plants are here to stay, while all traditional projects dependent on hydrocarbon resources eventually will run out of the fuel and shut down, as has happened with coalmines, analysts said.

Rain Bird, the water efficiency company behind the summit, said a global audience of media and consumers will be able to view and participate in the Intelligent Use of Water Summit: State of the Union via a live streaming webcast from the Smithsonian Institution.

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