Geothermal Water Use: Life Cycle Water Consumption, Water Resource Assessment, and Water Policy Framework

Federal policy documentation and geothermal water consumption: Policy gaps and needs

“…This is the primary federal law related to geothermal resource development in the United States. While the law was intended to clarify and simplify the leasing process, it left unresolved whether or not geothermal resources were included in reservations of mineral rights or whether they constituted water resources (Schroeder et al, 2014a). This uncertainty filtered down to the state level, where these resources are defined in many different ways.…”

“…This agency interpretation can then be compared to the federal statutory definition of geothermal resource from 43 CFR 3200.1, which includes both heat and water and defines geothermal steam and associated geothermal resources as, "(1) All products of geothermal processes, including indigenous steam, hot water, and hot brines; (2) Steam and other gases, hot water, and hot brines resulting from water, gas, or other fluids artificially introduced into geothermal formations; (3) Heat or other associated energy found in geothermal formations; and (4) Any byproducts" (CFR, 2014). Thus, geothermal permitting is a complicated process that can potentially change depending on the state in which development is located and whether it is located on public or private land (Schroeder et al, 2014a). This distinction is especially problematic because, while the federal government may manage the heat resource, state governments generally manage the use and/or consumption of water resources.…”

“…The wide array of definitions around geothermal waters and how they are managed has led to a complex situation of inconsistent tracking of these waters across states (Schroeder et al, 2014a). Table 1 outlines the difference in geothermal definitions for states with active geothermal development as identified by GEA (2014).…”

“…So, while geothermal resources are not defined as water, their development is managed as such. However, the management authority responsible for geothermal energy development is the Division of Minerals, further confusing the situation (Schroeder et al, 2014a(Schroeder et al, , 2014b.…”

“…The reports evaluate a range of water-related issues surrounding geothermal power production (Clark et al, 2011(Clark et al, , 2012(Clark et al, , 2013Schroeder et al, 2014a).…”