Where is all that Good Water?

…And some to be made good

If there ever was a vital subject that developed more conflicting opinions it is the subject of the supply of clean water in the United States. Some say it is nearing it s limits. Some say there are untold and unlimited sources. Some say the ocean is the answer.

To one extent or another – they are all right. It depends on where you are standing when you make your appraisal. And it also depends on what you need that water for; drinking, making electricity, running a factory?

To make matters worse – as if they could be – the TV and radio waves are inundated by commercials from the coal and oil industries telling the worlds how their huge investments in developing clean energy from their fossil findings will save the earth.

We, the government and the people, are in denial.

Seventy Five percent of the earth is covered in water. Together with clean air, clean water is essential for human life. And contrary to the fossil industry proponents, there is enough water to produce all the electricity needed in the US and in many other parts of the earth.

It appears that some very misleading statements about the past, present and future of hydropower have been deliberate. The purpose has been to paint the hydro industry as “fully mature” and not able to add a significant amount of additional capacity rapidly.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

As we have pointed out before between the total of current hydropower in operation in the US and Canada plus the additional hydropower that can be developed in both countries -right now - there would be enough electricity produced to replace all the processes that require the burning of coal; not only power plants but all other coal-based processes.


So where is it? It is everywhere. In every state. A report from INL* in 2006 identified 130,000 stream reaches suitable for “… projects between 10 Kw and 30 Mw and estimated to hold 100,000 Megawatts of annual capacity.” That’s 100 Gigawatts and the total coal capacity of the US is only 313 Gigawatts. These numbers are interesting but what is more vital is the manner in which government interference is keeping the small hydropower developments in a freezer. We’ll examine this problem next.

*(INL is the Idaho National Laboratory whose Water Energy Program is impressive)