Water management

TransAlta uses water for cooling in our coal-fueled generation plants, for steam in cogeneration facilities and for power generation at hydro plants. Across our operations, we continue to look for ways to optimize our water use.

In the summer of 2009, some of TransAlta’s Alberta hydro facilities had the lowest levels of water since they were built, due to low precipitation. Through the fall and into winter, water flows were managed carefully so that commitments of minimum water flow through the cities of Edmonton and Calgary could be met.

TransAlta actively participates on regional watershed associations in Alberta, and is contributing to watershed management plans in development.

In Centralia, through a re-engineering project, we exceeded our goals of increasing the volume of wastewater recycled. Approximately 115,000 U.S. gallons of wastewater were recycled.

At Sarnia, an ultra-filtration system was installed to further purify the water to reduce water treatment chemical usage and blow downs. In addition, a closed-loop cooling system was installed to further reduce the possibility of oil contamination to rivers.