Saving water could help cut air emissions at Texas power plants, according to a joint report issued by University of Texas at Austin and Environmental Defense Fund researchers.

The groups recommended Monday state planners better study how Texas’ water supply and electric needs intertwine ahead of a hearing on proposed changes to the way the state permits new power plants.

Modern water systems crave electricity to treat and pump their supply. Lubbock residents pay a premium for energy to draw their water from well fields – lake water from the parched Lake Meredith reservoir costs almost half as much.

Low-quality water can consume thousands of kilowatt-hours to treat. Treating salty, brackish water, a proposed long-term supply for Lubbock and other cities, can consume 10 times the amount of power cleaner processes require. Treating 1 million gallons uses enough electricity to power nine Texas homes for a month, according to the study.

Dropping power consumption will also save water. Texas power plants demand steam, and older plants may use the water they draw inefficiently.

As drought has shut down power plants in other parts of the country, residents are starting to better appreciate the relationship, said Amy Hardberger, a researcher with the Environmental Defense Fund in Austin.

“I think as water needs become scarce and those power needs are growing, suddenly this connection is starting to sort of surface,” Hardberger said.

So the report encourages both water and electric planners to reconsider how each system uses the other resource. Water-efficient power plants preserve a drinking supply – energy-efficient water systems may help do the same.

The House will hold a committee meeting today on legislation authored by State Rep. David Farabee, D-Witchita Falls, which would require any planners constructing new electrical generation to show that the region’s water supply could accommodate the new project.

Panhandle residents, where irrigation causes an electric demand surge during growing season and farmers try to wring the most from every drop stored under their property, have watched the relationship for decades.

Xcel Energy, which generates most of the region’s wholesale electric supply, chose the location of now-ancient generator facilities because of their access to water, spokesman Wes Reeves said.

The company draws electricity from a new plant using water-efficient processes in New Mexico because of the region’s water supply, Reeves said.