Biofuels Drying Up Lake Mead

An ethanol plant with its giant corn silos next to a cornfield in Windsor, Colorado July 7, 2006.

Agriculture uses 87% of Colorado water.

Water Uses | Colorado Water Knowledge | Colorado State University

A large percentage of that water is used to grow corn for biofuels.

“Water used in energy extraction, processing and conversion is a significant share of overall demand for water demand in the United States. It is likely to rise as we increase reliance on water-intensive fuels. Some of the fuels that have been promoted by government policies have larger-than-average water consumption, especially biofuels for transportation fuels. Corn ethanol has by far the highest water consumption of any fuel analyzed, largely due to irrigation during the corn-growing stage.”