Ethanol and Water
Ethanol could severely strain aquifers in the Midwest, increasing demand for scarce water supplies by more than 2 billion gallons a year.
The Ogallala aquifer that stretches from Texas to South Dakota could be severely reduced. The Ogallala feeds one-fifth of all the irrigated land in the United States, and is critical to farmers growing corn, cotton, wheat, soybeans and other crops.
Between three and six gallons of water are needed to produce one gallon of ethanol, potentially increasing demand on the already declining Ogallala by as much as 2.6 billion gallons a year just to process the corn and produce the fuel. Another 120 billion gallons a year could be needed for irrigation to grow more corn in the region.
Some of the water used to make ethanol is returned to the environment in the form of steam. Demand for ethanol has spiked as the U.S. works to wean itself from foreign oil.
There are 132 ethanol plants currently in operation with a capacity for 6.8 billion gallons a year and 79 under construction with capacity for 5.7 billion gallons. Most of the ethanol development is in the Midwest. The report and research comes for the Environmental Defense.
September 21, 2007 2:43 PM | Category: Water