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By Adam Watson
The precise origins of beer are a mystery long lost to time, but its prominence in human history is undeniable. Early grain-based cultures found their lives enriched by the invention of beer as it allowed them to concentrate grain-wealth, sanitize drinking water, and improve their social and religious ceremonies.1 American poet John Ciardi even went so far as to proclaim that “fermentation and civilization are inseparable.”2 While the definition of beer is dynamic and its recipes wildly diverse, there is one ingredient that beer simply cannot do without: water. As the American brewing industry continues to make a strong showing second only to China in the ever growing global beer market,3 the demand for adequate water supplies also grows. In the context of increasing household and industrial water demands, widespread drought, pollution concerns, and allocation conflicts in the eastern United States, an understanding of the water needs and responsibilities of eastern American breweries is necessary to maintain an adequate supply of beer. Read on.