Thirsty hybrid and electric cars could triple demands on scarce water resources

March 10, 2008

Electric and hybrid vehicles could raise water consumption in the United States. Scientists are reporting that cars driven with electricity consume about three times more water than those with gasoline. Credit: Courtesy of Austin Energy

Eco-minded drivers in drought-prone states take note: A new study concludes that producing electricity for hybrid and fully electric vehicles could sharply increase water consumption in the United States. It is scheduled for the June 1 issue of ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology.

In the study, Carey W. King and Michael E. Webber note that policy makers often neglect the impact that fleets of hybrid and electric vehicles could have on already-scarce water resources.

They calculated water usage, consumption, and withdrawal during petroleum refining and electricity generation in the United States. Each mile driven with electricity consumes about three times more water (0.32 versus 0.07-0.14 gallons per mile) than with gasoline, the study found.

“This is not to say that the negative impacts on water resources make such a shift undesirable,” King and Webber emphasized. “Rather this increase in water usage presents a significant potential impact on regional water resources and should be considered when planning for a plugged-in automotive economy.”

Source: ACS

• Doug_Huffman - Mar 10, 2008
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  "cars could triple demands on scarce water resources" or maybe not. Not news but agitprop inappropriate to Science, Physics, Tech, Nano NEWS.
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• drivin98 - Mar 10, 2008
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  This "study" makes all kinds of illogical assumptions. It seems like the outcome was a foregone conclusion, but hey, it makes a great headline, no?
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• Serg - Mar 10, 2008
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  You have to ask who sponsered King and Webber's research-- the oil companies themselves,the oil lobbyists, or the think tanks sponsered by the oil companies and lobbyists. Not citing the source of your fundding is highly unethical. In this article they don't cite it at all.
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• HeavyDuty - Mar 10, 2008
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  Calculations based on what data? Where, when and how were the input data determined? There are conclusions here with no hint of how they were determined... I thought this site was for science news, but I detect no science in this item!
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• DrPhysics - Mar 11, 2008
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  Oil company sponsorship or Greenpeace. They would like nothing more than to revert back to bicycles. The hybrid was a stop-gap to no cars.
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• 1bigschwantz - May 05, 2008
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  Who says the oil co's sponsored this?
  I think its another example of panic by the enviros because we are acutually doing the things the've been screaming that we should do, but now their issue (evil Internal combustion). may actually dissapear.
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