Abstract

Energy production in the USA consumes a large volume of water. The  USGS estimated that about 40 percent of the total USA fresh surface- water withdrawal in 2005 was for thermoelectric consumption. This  presentation highlights the critical impacts of energy production on  the water quality and the environment. In particular, this seminar  demonstrates the application of different isotope tools (strontium,  boron, carbon) for delineating the sources and mechanisms of water  contamination associated with  resources extraction (coal,  unconventional shale gas) and utilization (coal combustion).   Highlights from three on-going studies will include (1) selenium  contamination in streams associated with mountaintop coal mining in  West Virginia; (2) characterization of the isotopic imprints  of  leachates derived from coal combustion products and their impacts on  rivers and lakes in North Carolina and Tennessee; and (3) methane  contamination of shallow drinking water wells associated with shale  gas wells and hydro-fracking in Pennsylvania and New York.