Skip to main content

Person

Melissa A Harris

Physical Scientist
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Email: mharris@usgs.gov
Office Phone: 615-837-4792
Fax: 615-837-4799
ORCID: 0000-0003-2659-9763

Location
Grassmere V1
640 Grassmere Park Drive
Suite 100
Nashville , TN 37211
US

Supervisor: Richard B Henry
thumbnail
Previous work by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed models to estimate the amount of water that is withdrawn and consumed by thermoelectric power plants (Diehl and others, 2013; Diehl and Harris, 2014; Harris and Diehl, 2019 [full citations listed in srcinfo of the metadata file]). This data release presents a historical reanalysis of thermoelectric water use from 2008 to 2020 and includes monthly and annual water withdrawal and consumption estimates, thermodynamically plausible ranges of minimum and maximum withdrawal and consumption estimates, and associated information for 1,360 water-using, utility-scale thermoelectric power plants in the United States. The term “reanalysis” refers to the process of...
thumbnail
This dataset combines three Federal datasets of thermoelectric, non-industrial, power plant water withdrawals and associated plant information for the United States in 2010, excluding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Historically, thermoelectric water withdrawal has been estimated by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) through surveys of plant operator-reported data, and the Department of Interior's U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) 5-year water-use reports including data compiled from state water agencies, plant operators, and the EIA. Recently, the USGS developed models for estimating withdrawal at thermoelectric plants to provide independent estimates from plant operator-reported...
thumbnail
Water withdrawal and consumption estimates for thermoelectric power plants in the United States, 2015 (ver. 1.2, August 2023)
This dataset presents water withdrawal estimates, consumption estimates, and associated information for 1,122 water-using, utility scale thermoelectric power plants in the United States for 2015. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed models to estimate thermoelectric water use based on linked heat-and-water budgets, including thermodynamically plausible ranges of minimum and maximum withdrawal and consumption, to provide a consistent method for water-use estimation across the fleet of U.S. thermoelectric plants. Historically, thermoelectric water withdrawal and consumption has been estimated by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) based on surveys of plant operator-reported data...
thumbnail
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed models to estimate the amount of water that is withdrawn and consumed by thermoelectric power plants (Diehl and others, 2013; Diehl and Harris, 2014; Harris and Diehl, 2019). The thermoelectric water use models are based on linked heat-and-water budgets that are constrained by power plant generation and cooling system technologies, the amount of fuels consumed and electricity generated, and environmental variables. The heat-budget side of the models calculates the amount of waste heat (fuel heat that is not converted to electricity) that is removed from the steam used to drive the turbines that generate electricity and transferred to the cooling system in a thermoelectric...
thumbnail
This dataset contains water-use estimates for 2015 that are aggregated to the county level in the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS's) National Water Use Science Project is responsible for compiling and disseminating the Nation's water-use data. Working in cooperation with local, State, and Federal agencies, the USGS has published an estimate of water use in the United States every 5 years, beginning in 1950. Water-use estimates aggregated to the State level are presented in USGS Circular 1441, "Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2015" (Dieter and others, 2018). This dataset contains the county-level water-use data that support the state-level estimates in Dieter and others 2018. This...
ScienceBase brings together the best information it can find about USGS researchers and offices to show connections to publications, projects, and data. We are still working to improve this process and information is by no means complete. If you don't see everything you know is associated with you, a colleague, or your office, please be patient while we work to connect the dots. Feel free to contact sciencebase@usgs.gov.