Infographic: State Legislatures Bridge Water-Energy Gap

Sixteen states enacted legislation to address conflicts between rising energy demand and diminishing freshwater resource.

Profligate water use from conventional energy sources–added to an even greater thirst from alternative fuel sources such as biofuels and wet-cooling solar projects–stands to tax water resources in different regions of the country. Though no cohesive policy on U.S. water use for energy production exists nationally, select state governments have passed legislation to address water-energy choke points. C

Click through the map below to see what individual states, shown in blue, are doing.

Graphic created by Ball State University undergraduate student, Amanda DePrisco , with data compiled by Circle of Blue’s Molly Walton. Reach Walton at circleofblue.org/contact.