TXU captures, monitors, treats when necessary, and then releases all water at its generating facilities, mines, and other operations to ensure outstanding water quality and compliance with state and federal regulations. In fact, TXU's water quality program goes far beyond what is required. With a 2005 water compliance ratio of 99.9 percent, TXU continues to focus on effective management of water quality. (see chart)
EXEMPLARY BIOMONITORING RECORD
One of the ways TXU ensures protection of the environment is by conducting biological monitoring of water released from its power plants. In biological monitoring, or biomonitoring, two different kinds of animals - water fleas and fathead minnows - are placed in water collected from power plant discharges. These organisms are kept in the water for one to seven days while their survival, reproduction, and growth are measured. Since the inception of the biomonitoring program in 1989, 1,669 tests have been performed, including 130 during 2005. Only 10 chronic failures and three acute failures have occurred in the 15 years of testing. Further testing of the acute failures was unable to confirm the toxicity of the discharge water. The 99.9 percent chronic compliance rate that TXU has achieved is exemplary and comes from good housekeeping practices and intense scrutiny of all chemicals used at its power plants that could affect the quality of the discharge waters.
COMMUNITY WATER QUALITY MONITORING
TXU's Comanche Peak nuclear generating station sponsors monthly monitoring of two sample sites on the Paluxy River by a Glen Rose high school environmental systems class. Since the program's inception in 2002, four classes have conducted routine testing for pH, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity. More than 40 junior and senior students have participated in the program, which includes field sampling and class discussions of the data with Comanche Peak officials and corporate environmental experts.
