Historically, the steel industry has used massive amounts of water.
Based on a 2011-member survey taken by the World Steel Association, the average water intake for a U.S. mill was 7,555 gallons per ton of steel — which might not seem like much, until you consider the 88 million tons of American steel produced in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“We [the steel industry] have a huge chance to make an impact,” said Dave Smith, VP and general manager of the Nucor Steel mill…