Recycling Treated Municipal Wastewater for Industrial Water Use

Section 2: Recycled Wastewater Demand & Supply
Recycling Treated Municipal Wastewater for Industrial Water Use
Section 2: Recycled Wastewater Demand and Supply
This section answers the question: Is there a sufficient treated wastewater supply in Minnesota to meet the
industrial water demand? Historical water use in the state for major industrial users is reviewed in context
with the location and production capacity of municipal WWTPs. Data are summarized on a state and
watershed basis. General characteristics of area water supplies are summarized to identify areas with a
higher need for alternative water sources. The Twin Cities metro area is also examined focusing on
industries located within a specified radius of each WWTP. Customer inventories were developed for
each watershed in Minnesota and for the areas tributary to each WWTP in the Twin Cities metro area.
This section presents the customer inventory for the Lower Mississippi River watershed and the Empire
WWTP as examples and summarizes demand and supply by watershed. Appendix II-1 provides the
complete customer inventories for the other nine Minnesota watersheds and eight Twin Cities metro area
WWTPs.
2.1 Statewide Inventory
Industrial Water Demand
As discussed in Section 1, this study used the MDNR water
appropriations permit database (MDNR, 2004) to quantify
Minnesota’s industrial water demand. The MDNR categories of
power generation and industrial processing are used to define
the industrial demand. Subcategories further delineate the uses
of industrial water supplies.
The largest use of water in Minnesota is for once-through
cooling at steam power generation plants. As shown in Figure
2.1, these facilities use about half of the water used by the power
generation industry. The next largest use of water for power
generation is for nuclear plant cooling water, followed by other
steam power non-cooling water uses. Almost all of the water
used for power generation is supplied by surface waters, as
Figure 2.1. Power Generation
Facilities Total Water Use, 2004
Nuclear Power Plant
853 mgd
(36%)
Steam
Power Other
than Cooling
327 mgd
(14%)
Steam Power Cooling:
Once through
1,180 mgd (50%)
Steam Power Cooling: Wet Tower
20 mgd (1%)
indicated in Table 2.1. Source: MDNR, 2004
Table 2.1. Power Generation Facilities Water Use in Minnesota, 2004
Water Use, mgd
Ground Surface
Category Water Water Total
Hydropower 0