Your campus power plant is hot stuff-literally! The process of generating electricity from steam means that water-usually a huge volume of it-needs to be cooled down before it is released to large bodies of surface water or to sewage treatment works. The water also needs to be acceptable for discharge. To that end, chemicals are added to cooling water to control for pH and metals that sometimes enter the water from piping.

Controls are imposed on these additives and on the temperature of the water being discharged, to ensure that the receiving bodies are not adversely affected. You’ll learn more about the environmental laws, regulations and best practices associated with cooling water discharges as you proceed with this section of the EVC tour.