Use Measured Inputs
Use metered evaporation or a defensible operating estimate and the actual target cycles established for the cooling system.
Resource // Screening Tool
Cooling Tower Blowdown Calculator
Estimate makeup demand, blowdown volume, and potentially recoverable water using a simplified cooling-tower water balance.
Operating Inputs
Estimated Daily Water Balance
Estimated Makeup Demand133,333 gal/day
Estimated Blowdown33,333 gal/day
Potential Recovered Water26,667 gal/day
Remaining Liquid Discharge6,667 gal/day
Potential Annual Recovery9,733,333 gal/year
Simplified estimate: makeup = evaporation + blowdown, and blowdown = evaporation / (cycles - 1). Drift, leaks, process losses, treatment losses, seasonal variation, and water-quality limits are excluded.
How to Use the Estimate
Screening Math, Not a Treatment Design.
Check Water Quality
Cycles are constrained by hardness, silica, chlorides, pH, corrosion, treatment chemistry, temperature, and system materials.
Validate the Boundary
Add drift, leaks, treatment losses, seasonal conditions, storage, residuals, and downtime in project-level engineering.