It's not a direct process, there's these steps.
First off, you gotta understand that moving water's got kinetic energy. That's the key, the motion.
Now, we're not talking about sticking some wires in a creek and powering your house.
It's more complex.
You need a hydroelectric dam. Big concrete bastard blocking a river.
Creates a reservoir behind it, building up potential energy in all that stored water. When you release it through tunnels in the dam, that potential energy converts to kinetic.
The water rushes through those tunnels, hits these massive turbines.
Like giant ship propellers, but reversed.
The water's force spins these babies fast.
Real fast.
Those turbines are connected to generators.
Inside, you've got magnets and copper wire coils. When the turbines spin, so do the magnets.
This creates a magnetic field that moves relative to the wire coils. That movement induces an electric current in the wires.
Basic electromagnetic induction, but on a massive scale.
That current is your electricity.
It gets sent out to transformers, pumped up to higher voltages for long-distance transmission, then stepped back down for use in homes and businesses.