Thermoelectric Water Supply

The amount of water used for the production of energy from fossil fuels, nuclear energy, or geothermal energy is classified within the category of thermoelectric power generation. Most water withdrawn for thermoelectric power production is used for condenser and reactor cooling.

More than 99% of the water used for thermoelectric power production comes from self-supplied surface water. In 1990, water used for thermoelectric power production represented close to 39% of total offstream freshwater use in the U.S., but only about 3% was consumed. The Great Lakes water resource region along with the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Gulf regions use the largest amounts of water for thermoelectric production.

(source: http://www.epa.gov:80/)