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CenterPoint Energy - Water Management - Ohio River, Evansville Indiana
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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.
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In our Indiana electric utility operations, water is withdrawn from the Ohio River and groundwater sources to support our power plant operations in this water-rich region.

The withdrawn water is mainly used for non-contact cooling water and potable needs, while recirculated water is used for ash transport and process water in the scrubbers.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