The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Overview

Power plants consume a large chunk of the available water supply in the arid Western United States. While the consumption is small relative to agricultural users, power plants can have a significant impact on available source water in localized areas where drought conditions exist.

This course examines the uses of water in power plants and the water use conflicts that can arise when power plants compete with other water consumers for finite amounts of available water. Technologies are examined which allow power plants to reduce water consumption. The student will study the attached document The Last Straw: Water Use by Power Plants in the Arid West* published by Western Resource Advocates.

The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of ten (10) questions at the end of this course to obtain PDH credits.

*Copyright, 2003, Western Resource Advocates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Last Straw: Water Use by Power Plants in the Arid West is a copyrighted work owned by Western Resource Advocates. Without advanced written permission from the copyright owner, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including, without limitation, electronic, optical or mechanical means (by way of example, and not limitation, photocopying, or recording by or in an information storage retrieval system). For information on permission to copy material exceeding fair use, please contact Western Resource Advocates, 2260 Baseline Road, Suite 200, Boulder, CO 80302.

The Last Straw: Water Use by Power Plants in the Arid West is reproduced and made available on this website by permission of Western Resource Advocates.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Attained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

  · Power plant water use rates in the Western U.S.
  · How power plants use water in the process
  · Water competition and water use conflicts
  · Environmental impacts of power plant water suctions and discharges
  · Technologies available for power plants to reduce water consumption

State Board Acceptance

This course can be used by professional engineers to fulfill PDH requirements mandated by state and provincial licensing boards. Decatur Professional Development is an approved provider of continuing education in all states that pre-approve course providers. In all other states that mandate continuing education for engineers, it is the individual engineer's responsibility to determine the suitability of activities for PDH credit. The state boards typically accept online* courses that cover technical, managerial** or ethical content and which are relevant to the practice of engineering. The course must have a clear purpose or objective with a content that will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge of the licensee's field of practice. For questions about your mandatory PDH requirements, visit the website of your state licensing board.

*Online courses are accepted by all state licensing boards that mandate continuing education. Other than New York (which limits online courses to 18 PDH) and Iowa (which limits online courses to 6 PDH), there are no limits placed by other states on the number of hours that can be earned through online continuing education. Consult with your state licensing board if you have any questions about the acceptability of online courses.

**The New York State Board of Engineers does not accept general office management courses, but will accept project management courses that are offered by an approved provider and that are technical in nature and contribute to the engineer's professional practice.