The Water Footprint of Electricity
by Wendy Wilson, Travis Leipzig, and Bevan Griffiths-Sattenspiel

It takes water to produce electricity. This report is a snapshot of the current water impacts of electrical production and an introduction to the choices we face as a nation trying to sustain water and energy in a warming world. Many watersheds in the United States are already running out of water to burn – especially in the Southeast, the Great Lakes, and in many parts of the West.