A Wall Street Journal article on water use for ethanol production points out that the industry is taking steps to address the concerns.
Ethanol producers say they are prepared for the challenges as the business expands and are ready to adapt quickly. Producers, plant designers and water engineers are all teaming up to try to reduce water consumption, says Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, a Washington, D.C.-based group that represents ethanol producers.
Producers as small as newcomer US BioEnergy of St. Paul, Minn., and as big as Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. of Decatur, Ill., have discussed measures to reduce their impact.
The article points out that advancements in engineering and new technology are being developed to reduce water usage.
Significant technical innovations are required to reduce the amounts of water that ethanol plants consume. One ethanol plant designer, Delta T Corp., based in Williamsburg, Va., says it has created a system that will reduce consumption to just one-and-a-half gallons of water per gallon of ethanol, down from four gallons of water.
To further reduce the plants’ impact on drinkable water, engineers also can route more low-quality water — even waste water — to functions where high purity is unnecessary. In the past two years, demand for engineers experienced in this kind of work has skyrocketed in the ethanol industry.
And the WSJ report notes that even without increased ethanol production, the nation still needs to get fuel somehow.
Canadian oil reserves, seen as a possible source of conventional fuel for the U.S., produce a thick grade of oil that requires just as much — if not more — water for refining than ethanol does, says Mr. Hartwig.
“The water from that [refining] process is so toxic that it has to be put into holding ponds so large they can be seen from space — and it takes 200 years to separate,” he says.
Chrysler has handed out a $150,000 grant to alternative energy incubator company NextEnergy.
Kearney, Nebraska’s Tri-City Storm hockey team is planning to host an “Ethanol Awareness Night” in conjunction with a February home game, according to the 
Martin Tobias, Imperium’s chief executive officer, said he was “pleased that we have a way to put our process byproducts to good use — especially with a company that shares our ideals and is building products that are environmentally friendly.”
Maryland’s State Highway Administration will be moving those white snowdrifts off the gray concrete of the state’s roads running on the green fuel of biodiesel.
Farm implement maker New Holland announced today that it supports the use of 100 percent biodiesel in all equipment with New Holland-manufactured diesel engines. That would include electronic injection engines with common rail technology. 
The Missouri Soybean Association (MSA) is applauding the House of Representatives’ 361-54 override vote and the Senate’s 79-14 vote:
The statement was issued jointly by Gordon Quaiattini, President, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, Canada; Robert Vierhout, Secretary General, European Bioethanol Fuel Association (eBIO), European Union; Bob Dinneen, President, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), United States; and Marcos Jank, President, Sugar Cane Industry Association (UNICA), Brazil.
The money is going to help Western Biodiesel Inc. build a plant near Aldersyde, Alberta that will crank out about five million gallons of biodiesel a year.