What is "spray pond"

A spray pond is a reservoir in which warmed water (e.g. from a power plant) is cooled before reuse. This is done by spraying the warm water with nozzles into the cooler air. Evaporation cools the water down before it reaches the pond surface.

The spray pond is the predecessor to the natural draft cooling tower, which is much more efficient and takes up less space but has a much higher construction cost. A spray pond requires between 25 to 50 times the area of a cooling tower. However, some spray ponds are still in use today.