Energy production typically consumes a large amount of fresh water, which is a critical resource for both human and ecosystem needs. Robust water impact analysis is prudent prior to deploying new energy systems at scale. While there are many water indices representing relative water availability (or scarcity), they are not suitable for analyzing the impact of consumptive water in the context of life-cycle analysis (LCA). The available water remaining (AWARE) concept, developed by the Water Use in LCA Group, enables global water impact analysis (AWARE-Global). However, while AWARE-Global enables consistent comparison internationally, it lacks the high spatial resolution and fidelity needed for decision-making at the local level regarding energy system deployment within the United States (U.S.). In this study, we developed an AWARE system for applications in the contiguous U.S. (AWARE-US) by incorporating measured runoff and human water use data at U.S. county-level resolution. Results of AWARE-US quantify the water stress and the impacts of increase in water consumption in various regions within the U.S. To demonstrate the potential use of AWARE-US, we evaluated the impacts of a potential hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle deployment scenario on the regional water stress in various regions within the U.S.

能源生产通常消耗大量淡水，这是满足人类和生态系统需求的关键资源。在大规模部署新能源系统之前，应进行稳健的水影响分析。尽管有许多水指数代表相对水的可利用性（或稀缺性），但它们不适合在生命周期分析（LCA）的背景下分析耗水量的影响。LCA Group的用水组织开发的可用剩余水（AWARE）概念可以进行全球水影响分析（AWARE-Global）。但是，尽管AWARE-Global能够在国际上进行一致的比较，但它缺乏在美国（美国）进行有关能源系统部署的地方一级决策所需的高空间分辨率和保真度。在这项研究中，我们通过结合美国县级分辨率下测得的径流量和人类用水数据，开发了适用于美国连续性（AWARE-US）的AWARE系统。AWARE-US的结果量化了美国各个地区的水压力和用水量增加的影响。为了证明AWARE-US的潜在用途，我们评估了潜在的氢燃料电池电动汽车部署方案对本地区的影响。美国各个地区的水压力