It is disturbing. We know the amount of water these plants use, what
we're unsure of is the real surplus in, and the recharge rates of our
aquifers.
The Ogallala aquifer west of the Mississippi has dropped substantially
since the 50's although it's more stable in recent years. Most of that
drop is thanks to irrigated farming.
Our aquifer, the Mahomet is much smaller and is stable with our current
water use rates. How much will that change as we build ethanol plants?
A great system we've come up with </sarcasm> Not only will the ethanol
plants compete for the food we eat in the short term but with the water
we need farther in the future...
Bill Pearce wrote:
>
> It takes four gallons of water to make one of ethanol. There are currently
> no plants that recycle water, and I don't know of any on the boards. I do
> know of several plants planned and under construction that have no water
> rights.
>
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