Water Use in the Tennessee Valley River Operations & Renewables Amanda K. Bowen Water Use in 2010 and Projected Use in 2035 Alabama Water Resources Conference & Symposium Orange Beach, Alabama September 5, 2013

Presentation Topics Why does TVA do a Water Use Report? What are the results of the 2010 Study? What are the results of the 2035 Projections?

“The principal water problem in the early twenty-first century will be one of inadequate and uncertain supplies…” —National Research Council Reference: National Research Council (2001) Why the concern?

The quality of life in our region depends upon ample water for homes, businesses, farms, meeting places, and recreational activities Dependable water is as fundamental to the economic growth of the region as is dependable, low-cost electricity It is anticipated that water supply and water-quality issues, coupled with emerging water-use conflict over a fixed supply, will continue to increase across the southeast

1990 Population 2010 Population Growth Rate (percentage) Georgia North Carolina Tennessee Virginia U.S. Average Alabama Kentucky Mississippi 6,478,149 6,632,448 4,877,203 6,189, ,790,925 4,040,389 3,686,892 2,575,475 9,687,653 9,535,483 6,346,105 8,001, ,745,538 4,779,736 4,339,367 2,967, Source: U.S. Census Population Growth Rate

Can the Tennessee River continue to meet the increasing water-supply demands throughout the watershed for the short- and long-term? The BIG Question

The Tennessee River System 49 Dams for Integrated River Management – 29 Hydroelectric Dams – 19 Non-Power Dams – 1 Pumped-Storage Plant 800 Miles of Navigable Waterway 7

Intakes and Discharges

4 Non-Power Dams Bear Creek Upper Bear Creek Little Bear Creek Cedar Creek The Tennessee River System in Alabama 3 Hydroelectric Dams Guntersville Wheeler Wilson 6 Locks Serve ~60 Alabama Ports and Terminals 3 Main Locks and 3 Auxiliary Locks (1 each at each dam) 25 Municipalities and 11 Industries Withdrawal Water 9

Water Use Report Timeline Water Use Study Initiated with 2000 Water Use Estimates and 2030 Projections Validates estimates from the 2000 Report and verifies projections to 2030 Validates estimates from the 2000 Report and increases projections to

Water Use in 2010 Reference: Bohac and Bowen (2012) All Units in mgd

2010 Water Use Withdrawal: 11,951 mgd Return: 11,480 mgd (96.1% of WD) Consumptive Use: 471 mgd (3.9% of WD) Reference: Bohac and Bowen (2012)

Comparing 2010 Water Use in Alabama to Valley States Drainage Area (percentage) Withdrawals (mgd) Consumptive Use (mgd) Alabama (45.9%) 147 (31.2%) Georgia4 19 (0.2%) 15 (3.2%) Kentucky2 31 (0.3%) 30 (6.4%) Mississippi1 3 (0.02%) 2 (0.4%) North Carolina (3.5%) 48 (10.2%) Tennessee (49.8%) 212 (45%) Virginia8 44 (0.4%) 13 (2.8%)

2010 Water Use in Alabama ThermoelectricIndustrial W/DRTCUW/DRTCU Public SupplyIrrigation W/DRTCUW/DRTCU Total W/DRTCU All units in MGD

Projected Water Use in (mgd) 2000 (mgd) 2005 (mgd) 2010 (mgd) 2030* (mgd) 2035 (mgd) Estimated % Change by 2035 Total Withdrawal 10,00812,21112,43711,95113,9909,449-21% Thermoelectric8,01010,27610,53110,04611,4016,963-31% Industrial1,0301,2051,1791,1481,5731,502+31% Public Supply % Irrigation % Consumptive Use Unknown % Consumptive Use as % of WD 5.3%3.5%3.9%7.0%7.5% *This is the projected information utilized in the Reservoir Operations Study using 2000 data. Reference: Bohac and Koroa (2004); Bohac and McCall (2008); Bohac and Bowen (2012)

References Bohac, C. E. and Bowen, A. K., 2012, Water Use in the Tennessee Valley for 2010 and Projected Use in 2035, River Operations and Renewables, Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, Tennessee, July. Bohac, C. E. and McCall, M. J., 2008, Water Use in the Tennessee Valley for 2005 and Projected Use in 2030, River Operations, Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, Tennessee, November. Bohac, C. E., Water Supply and Demand in the Tennessee River Watershed, River Operations, Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, Tennessee, May Bohac, C. E., and Koroa, M. C., 2004, Water Supply Inventory and Needs Analysis, River Operations, Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, Tennessee, November. National Research Council, 2001, Envisioning the Agenda for Water Resources Research in the Twenty-First Century, Washington D.C.

“When the well is dry, we’ll know the true worth of water.” – Benjamin Franklin Questions? For a copy of “Water Use in the Tennessee Valley for 2010 and Projected Use in 2035” please go to