Water Resources & Energy: How are they related?

Water Resources and Energy are linked in a variety of ways that may not be commonly understood. Much of our water infrastructure depends upon our energy infrastructure and the converse is true.

We use tremendous amounts of energy to move water, force it through filters and run treatment technologies, all to produce clean water both for drinking water and to treat our wastewater.
We use tremendous amounts of water to create electricity, to cool power plants using nuclear, coal, or petroleum-based fuels, to extract fossil fuels from the earth, and as a source of energy itself in hydropower & hydrokinetic systems.

MassDEP recognizes and believes that proper management of water-based resources is an important element in implementing wise energy policies within the Commonwealth. Water conservation, when aligned with wise energy use by our water utlities, citizens, and businesses can make a significant contribution to advancing our sustainable water resource objectives. Water can also be critical in renewable generation technologies.

The set of energy fact sheets will describe some of the other areas of intersection between water resource policy and energy production/use and how MassDEP's Bureau of Resource Protection is addressing these challenges.