[Terr_]

More often than not, potable water is drawn up and then literally evaporated.

So from the practical perspective of everybody else who happens to need water from the pipe/aquifer/lake/snowmelt, it's "gone" just as much as if it were dumped into the sea.

[sharpshadow]

Hmm I see. I thought it was tab water running through cooling tubes and back into the sink.

If they actually pump free water from source around their location and release it back how they want to, the points about water consumption are definitely legit.