This dataset presents water withdrawal estimates, consumption estimates, and associated information for 1,122 water-using, utility-scale thermoelectric power plants in the United States for 2015. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed models to estimate thermoelectric water use based on linked heat-and-water budgets, including thermodynamically plausible ranges of minimum and maximum withdrawal and consumption, to provide a consistent method for water-use estimation across the fleet of U.S. thermoelectric plants. Historically, thermoelectric water withdrawal and consumption has been estimated by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) based on surveys of plant operator-reported data, and the USGS's 5-year water-use reports based on compiling data from State water agencies, plant operators, and the EIA. The USGS models provide independent estimates from plant operator-reported data. The total estimated withdrawal for 2015 was about 103 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d), and total estimated consumption was about 2.7 Bgal/d. This data release supports the findings published in Harris and Diehl (2019).

This dataset presents water withdrawal estimates, consumption estimates, and associated information for 1,122 water-using, utility-scale thermoelectric power plants in the United States for 2015. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed models to estimate thermoelectric water use based on linked heat-and-water budgets, including thermodynamically plausible ranges of minimum and maximum withdrawal and consumption, to provide a consistent method for water-use estimation across the fleet of U.S. thermoelectric plants. Historically, thermoelectric water withdrawal and consumption has been estimated by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) based on surveys of plant operator-reported data, and the USGS's 5-year water-use reports based on compiling data from State water agencies, plant operators, and the EIA. The USGS models provide independent estimates from plant operator-reported data. The total estimated withdrawal for 2015 was about 103 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d), and total estimated consumption was about 2.7 Bgal/d. This data release supports the findings published in Harris and Diehl (2019).

This dataset combines three Federal datasets of thermoelectric, non-industrial, power plant water withdrawals and associated plant information for the United States in 2010, excluding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Historically, thermoelectric water withdrawal has been estimated by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) through surveys of plant operator-reported data, and the Department of Interior's U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) 5-year water-use reports including data compiled from state water agencies, plant operators, and the EIA. Recently, the USGS developed models for estimating withdrawal at thermoelectric plants to provide independent estimates from plant operator-reported data. The three Federal datasets include plant-level data for 1,349 plants derived from EIA's 2010 Form EIA-860 and Form EIA-923 databases, USGS 2010 compilation-reported data (hereafter referred to as the USGS-compilation dataset), and USGS 2010 model-estimated data (hereafter referred to as the USGS-model dataset). The plant-level USGS-compilation data provided in this dataset were disaggregated from county-level data published in USGS Circular 1405 (Maupin and others, 2014). The USGS-model data and the EIA data presented in this dataset were previously published in USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5184 (Diehl and Harris, 2014). The year 2010 was chosen because it is the most recent year the USGS 5-year compilation report was published and the only year for which the USGS model estimates have been calculated.

This dataset combines three Federal datasets of thermoelectric, non-industrial, power plant water withdrawals and associated plant information for the United States in 2010, excluding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Historically, thermoelectric water withdrawal has been estimated by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) through surveys of plant operator-reported data, and the Department of Interior's U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) 5-year water-use reports including data compiled from state water agencies, plant operators, and the EIA. Recently, the USGS developed models for estimating withdrawal at thermoelectric plants to provide independent estimates from plant operator-reported data. The three Federal datasets include plant-level data for 1,349 plants derived from EIA's 2010 Form EIA-860 and Form EIA-923 databases, USGS 2010 compilation-reported data (hereafter referred to as the USGS-compilation dataset), and USGS 2010 model-estimated data (hereafter referred to as the USGS-model dataset). The plant-level USGS-compilation data provided in this dataset were disaggregated from county-level data published in USGS Circular 1405 (Maupin and others, 2014). The USGS-model data and the EIA data presented in this dataset were previously published in USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5184 (Diehl and Harris, 2014). The year 2010 was chosen because it is the most recent year the USGS 5-year compilation report was published and the only year for which the USGS model estimates have been calculated.

This dataset presents the total monthly water withdrawal and consumption estimates for surface-water and groundwater sourced utility-scale thermoelectric power plants by 12-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC12) in the United States for 2015. The water withdrawal and consumption estimate methods and data are published in USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5103 "Withdrawal and Consumption of Water by Thermoelectric Power Plants in the United States, 2015" available at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195103. The data release described by this metadata documents the summation of the monthly water withdrawal and consumption estimates by the HUC12 in which the facilities reside. These monthly estimates by HUC12 support USGS National Integrated Water Availability Assessments Water Use Maps.

This dataset presents the total monthly water withdrawal and consumption estimates for surface-water and groundwater sourced utility-scale thermoelectric power plants by 12-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC12) in the United States for 2015. The water withdrawal and consumption estimate methods and data are published in USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5103 "Withdrawal and Consumption of Water by Thermoelectric Power Plants in the United States, 2015" available at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195103. The data release described by this metadata documents the summation of the monthly water withdrawal and consumption estimates by the HUC12 in which the facilities reside. These monthly estimates by HUC12 support USGS National Integrated Water Availability Assessments Water Use Maps.