Some water points, from the July 21st UPC Wind meeting. Following are the facts presented by Chris Swartley, as taken down in my notes. Some additional comments are from my own research, conducted separately. As noted.

- Water Cooling -

Yes, turbines use water to cool the generators / engines / whatever, however, they do not suck water out of the ground to do it. Water cooling is a completely closed system, requiring no additional water once it has been manufactured. Turbines in operation do not require additional water.

- Evaporation -

One farmer asked about increased evaporation - with the blades spinning up to 180mph at the ends, he thought that would cause increased evaporation over the farmland. On this, Mr. Swartley had no answer, but a resident who is an engineer explained that would not be the case.

Whereas a fan takes still air and pushes it across the land, increasing evaporation, wind turbines take air currents and stop them. The airstream downwind from the turbine is slower-moving than the airstream upwind (which is normal). Taking energy out of the air and turning it into spiral motion is the primary function of a turbine, so evaporation over the farmland beneath the turbine will actually be less, not more.

- Well Disturbance -

As the concrete foundations can go 30' deep (as in Fenner) and more, some residents were concerned about disrupting the water table and possibly drying up wells. Mr. Swartley presented the answer that he didn't think foundations went that deep, and has never heard of such a problem.

My research indicates that yes, foundations do go 30 - 60 ft deep, especially in areas with high water tables. There is evidence of water disruption during the construction process, but the water table almost always returns to normal once the foundation is complete (I have been unable to find any instance where it does not).