Water consumption by the energy industry in the Netherlands, 1976-1996

	Total	Groundwater			Surface water			Drinking water
		total	of which for		total	of which for		total	of which for
			cooling			cooling			cooling
	million m³
1976	8 590	4	2	8 584		8 530	2		0
1981	10 097	2	1	10 093		10 077	2		0
1986	9 203	1	0	9 200		9 190	2		0
1991	8 392	2	0	8 387		8 383	4		0
1996	6 199	1	0	6 194		6 170	3		0

Source: CBS.							CBS/EDC/Oct02

Fall in cooling water consumption

Water consumption by energy companies has fallen by almost 40% since 1981 as a result of more efficient use of cooling water. Most of the water consumed by far is surface water. The target sector does not play any role in the Desiccation theme. Furthermore, more than half of the cooling water is taken from marine waters. Virtually all of the cooling water that is taken in is discharged again.

Impact

During warmer periods, the discharge of cooling water can raise the temperature of surface water to excessive levels. This can result in oxygen concentrations that are too low, with a negative impact on fish numbers. The aquatic environment can also suffer from the fact that cooling-water additives are also discharged in cooling water. Cooling-water additives are biocides (used to stop mussel growth, for example), anticorrosion agents and agents for preventing deposits in cooling-water systems.

References

CBS (1998) Statline. Watervoorziening van industrie, delfstoffenwinning en elektriciteitscentrales. Statistics Netherlands, Voorburg/Heerlen.
RIZA (1995). Industriële koelwaterlozingen - koelsystemen en emissies. Institute for Inland Water Management and Wastewater Treatment, memorandum no. 95.050, Lelystad.

Relevant sections and indicators in the Environmental Data Compendium

Relevant information outside of the Environmental Data Compendium

More data about the consumption of water can be found on Statline (Statistics Netherlands).