The ruthless individualistic predilection of humans has defied the limits. This narcissistic methodology has quenched our greed but has contributed in paving our way into the dark and bleak world with some serious repercussions. The limited water and the exploding global population necessitate the judicious utilisation of the liquid gold. Contrary to it, we are just neglecting the warning signals and have already headed half of the world to the drought situation. Auroop Ganguly, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University held deliberations over the affiliation of thermo-electric power plants with the droughts and suggested remedial measures in his latest research.
For every flip of a light switch, thermostat adjustment, and preheated oven, we have a thermo-electric power plant to thank. Thermo-electric plants constitute coal, nuclear, oil, and natural gas. These plants account for 90 percent of the electricity generated in the United States—each one of them call for water for cooling. Using a new approach in computational modeling, Ganguly and his comrades explored that by the 2030s, nearly 27 percent of America’s power production will be severely impacted by future droughts and warmer, scarcer water.
In drought conditions when water is scarcer and warmer, there may be an escalation in the need for air conditioning—which further stresses power production. A hike in utility bills may be the unambiguous and immediate consequence. In severe cases, power rationing may become the order of the day. Outages, both planned and unplanned, are likely, which may in turn impact other lifeline sectors comprising transportation and water distribution or wastewater, in conjunction with communication and cyber infrastructures. Barring technology advances in power production, water conservation along with optimisation and regulation of water use across multiple sectors should be the first priority.
Harminder Singh