Water Management
Guided by our internal Water Management Policy and in line with our focus on sustainable operations, our water-related priorities include:
- Complying with environmental laws and regulations and working with regulatory agencies,
- Making water conservation and protection an important part of our planning and risk management processes,
- Improving the water efficiency of our operations to conserve, recycle and reuse water,
- Considering water management and conservation technologies when building facilities to manage stormwater runoff and control water pollution,
- Reducing effluent concentrations in our water discharges by using new technologies,
- Decreasing water use for power generation by 70% by 2035 as we replace our coal-fired power plants,
- Tracking and reporting water metrics through key performance indicators, such as water withdrawal, discharge and consumption,
- Communicating with government agencies and other stakeholder groups to encourage responsible regulations to protect water,
- Promptly investigating and correcting water quality incidents related to our operations,
- Providing access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene for our employees, and
- Supporting community projects focused on maintaining a clean water supply.


In our Indiana electric utility operations, water is withdrawn from the Ohio River and groundwater sources to support our power plant operations in this water-rich region.
The withdrawn water is mainly used for non-contact cooling water and potable needs, while recirculated water is used for ash transport and process water in the scrubbers. Water is discharged following any necessary treatment to meet regulatory requirements and minimize impacts. Most contact storm water is routed through the plants and treated prior to its discharge. Treatment can include an oily water separator, settling ponds and a physical-chemical treatment system that is optimized for mercury removal.
At our A.B. Brown facility, additional treatment removes copper from the circulating water blowdown that is discharged. This water is monitored regularly, as required by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. If water impacts are detected, the facility works with appropriate parties to determine the cause and implement corrective and preventive measures as quickly as possible.
- At the A.B. Brown facility, water withdrawal is calculated using circulating water flows, outside temperature, percentage of evaporation loss, cooling tower cycles and generating hours.
- At the F.B. Culley facility, water withdrawal is calculated using circulating temperature and flow data.
As CenterPoint Energy’s electric generation portfolio transitions over the next few years with the retirement of coal-fired generation, our water withdrawal and consumption are expected to decrease.
After completion of the following planned activities, we expect all non-stormwater effluent to be eliminated from our electric generation system:
- Early 2023: We completed a Zero Liquid Discharge wastewater treatment system for the Culley 3 coal-fired unit.
- 2023: We plan to retire the A.B. Brown coal-fired units 1 and 2, which will reduce our water consumption by approximately 2,000 million gallons annually. In addition to retiring Brown units 1 and 2, we plan to exit our ownership of Warrick unit 4.
- 2025: We plan to retire the Culley 2 coal unit.
Water Withdrawal | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total Water Withdrawal (Millions of Gallons/Year) | 62,464 | 51,814 | 89,645 | 47,667 |
Total Water Withdrawn (Cubic Meters) | 236,452,756 | 196,137,364 | 339,342,482 | 180,438,733 |
Water Withdrawal by Source Breakdown | ||||
Surface Water Withdrawal (Millions of Gallons/Year) | 61,958 | 51,363 | 89,121 | 47,118 |
Groundwater (Millions of Gallons/Year) | 506 | 451 | 524 | 549 |
Water Discharge (Non-Consumptive) | ||||
Total Water Discharge (Millions of Gallons/Year) | 60,154 | 48,074 | 86,957 | 44,825 |
Water Withdrawal Consumption | ||||
Total Water Consumption (Millions of Gallons/Year) | 2,311 | 3,740 | 2,688 | 2,841 |
Total Water Consumed (Cubic Meters) | 8,746,572 | 14,157,440 | 10,173,938 | 10,768,868 |
Intensity Factors for Water: Water Withdrawal - Consumptive and Non-Consumptive Rate | ||||
Intensity Factor Consumptive Rate (Millions of Gallons/Net MWh) | 0.0005 | 0.00093 | 0.000433 | 0.00058 |
Intensity Factor Non-Consumptive Rate (Millions of Gallons/Net MWh) | 0.013 | 0.012 | 0.014 | 0.009 |