Mini Nuclear Reactors to Power Remote Areas

[Aliantha]

But the water wont necessarily come into contact with the reactor. The reactor will be used to power a pump or something to bring up ground water wont it, in which case it could be quite some distance from the actual water itself.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

The reactor will be used to power a pump or something

Powering a pump means running radioactive steam through it which makes the pump contaminated. Or a turbine & generator to make electricity which is expensive... probably more than the cost of the nuke. Then you need the equipment to transmit the power, knock it down to a usable voltage, and a shitload of maintenance by highly trained people.

Oh, and the "or something" is equally complicated and expensive, ie a pressurized water reactor.