How does energy relate to water use? Water and Energy are often managed separately, despite the important links between the two. Water is used in the production of nearly every major energy source. Likewise, energy is used in multiple ways and multiple steps in water delivery and treatment systems, as well as wastewater collection and treatment.

The Department of Energy (DOE) describes this as the Water-Energy Nexus which is the relationship between water and energy. It means that water and energy are linked almost inextricably. Every step of the water cycle – producing, moving, treating, and heating water, then collecting and treating wastewater – consumes energy. So if one wants to develop new water resources (desalination, reverse osmosis of saline groundwater, or water reuse) it is going to require considerable energy resources.

When severe drought affected more than a third of the United States in 2012, limited water availability constrained the operation of some power plants and other energy production activities. Hurricane Sandy demonstrated the compounding ramifications of vital water infrastructure losing power. Energy production uses lots of water whether it be from the production of oil from tar sands, use of cooling water for nuclear power, coal liquefaction or gasification, or recovery of natural gas from coal beds. Energy production frequently uses considerable quantities of water and/or degrades the quality of return water.

IX Power Clean Water cost-effectively treats industrial wastewater so it can be reused onsite. This way companies don’t have to take and use our dwindling freshwater resources and dump the contaminated water into our waterways. IX Water is currently crowdfunding at https://www.startengine.com/offering/ix-water