ESTIMATED USE OF WATER IN 

LINCOLN COUNTY, WYOMING, 1993

By Kathy Muller Ogle, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, and 

Christopher J. Busing

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Water-Resources Investigations Report 96-4162

Prepared in cooperation with the 

Wyoming State Engineer

Cheyenne, Wyoming 

1996
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Gordon P. Eaton, Director

For additional information 

write to:

Copies of this report can be 

purchased from:

District Chief

U.S. Geological Survey, WRD 

2617 E. Lincolnway, Suite B 

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001-5662

U.S. Geological Survey 

Branch of Information Services 

Box 25286, Denver Federal Center 

Denver, Colorado 80225
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract.....................................................................................................................^ 1

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Purpose and scope....................................................................................................................................................... 1

Description of study area ............................................................................................................................................ 2

Acknowledgments...................................................... 2

Water-use estimates............................................................................................................................................................... 2

Total use ............................................................................ 2

Public supply....................................................................................................................^ 2

Self-supplied domestic................................................................................................................................................ 4

Commercial................................................................................................................................................................. 6

Irrigation.....................................................................................................................................................^ 6

Livestock........................................................................................................................................................^ 7

Industrial..................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Mining......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Thermoelectric power................................................................................................................................................. 10

Hydroelectric power.................................................................................................................................................... 10

Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................^ 10

References............................................................................................................._^ 11

Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................^ 13

FIGURES

1. Map of Lincoln County, Wyoming ........................................................................................................................... 3

2. Diagram showing percent of surface water and ground water used in estimated total water use,

excluding hydroelectric power, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993 ...................................................................... 4

3. Map showing estimated water use (1993) and census population (1990) for selected communities,

Lincoln County, Wyoming................................................................................................................................... 5

4. Graph showing number of domestic wells penetrating to selected depth intervals, Lincoln County,

Wyoming, 1993 ..................................................................... 7

5. Map and diagrams showing conservation districts, estimated percent of surface-water and groundwater irrigation water use, and estimated percent of flood and sprinkler irrigation, Lincoln County, 

Wyoming, 1993 .................................................. 8

6. Diagrams showing water source and supplier for estimated industrial water use, Lincoln County,

Wyoming, 1993.................................................................................................................................................... 9

TABLES

1. Estimated ground-water, surface-water, and total water use, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993.............................. 2

2. Water source, estimated usage, and estimated percentage of domestic, commercial, and industrial water

use from public supplies, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993................................................................................ 6

3. Estimated number of livestock, water-use coefficients, and estimated livestock water use, Lincoln County,

Wyoming, 1993.................................................................................................................................................... 9

CONTENTS
ESTIMATED USE OF WATER IN LINCOLN COUNTY, 

WYOMING, 1993

By Kathy Muller Ogle, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, and Christopher J. Busing

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION

Total water use in Lincoln County, Wyoming in 1993 was estimated to be 405,000 Mgal 

(million gallons). Water use estimates were 

divided into nine categories: public supply, selfsupplied domestic, commercial, irrigation, livestock, industrial, mining, thermoelectric power, 

and hydroelectric power.

Public-supply water use, estimated to be 

2,160 Mgal, primarily was supplied from wells 

and springs. Shallow ground-water wells were the 

primary source of self-supplied domestic water, 

estimated to be 1.7 Mgal, with 53 percent of those 

wells drilled to depths of 100 feet or less. Commercial water use, estimated to be 117 Mgal, was 

obtained from public-supply systems.

Surface water supplied an estimated 

153,000 Mgal of the total estimated water use of 

158,000 Mgal for irrigation in Lincoln County in 

1993. Sprinkler and flood irrigation technology 

were used about equally in the northern part of 

Lincoln County, and flood irrigation was the primary technology in the southern part.

Livestock, industrial, and mining water use 

were not major in Lincoln County in 1993. Livestock water use totaled an estimated 203 Mgal. 

Industrial water use was estimated to be 120 Mgal 

from self-supplied water sources and 27 Mgal 

from public-supplied water sources. Mining water 

use was an estimated 153 Mgal.

Thermoelectric and hydroelectric power 

generation used surface-water sources. Thermoelectric power water use in 1993 was an estimated 

5,900 Mgal. An estimated 238,000 Mgal of water 

was used to generate hydroelectric power in 1993 

at Fontenelle Reservoir on the Green River.

Water use was estimated in Lincoln County, 

Wyoming for 1993. Water-use estimates are categorized by: public supply, self-supplied domestic, 

commercial, irrigation, livestock, industrial, mining, 

thermoelectric power, and hydroelectric power. 

Lincoln County has a diverse topography, economy, 

and population. Likewise, water use in Lincoln County 

is diverse, depending on the category examined.

Water-use data are essential to management of 

water resources. The data provide information on the 

amount of water used for specific activities. Water-use 

data are needed for planning purposes by government, 

business, public interest groups, and individuals. 

Water-use information can be used to evaluate 

economic-development possibilities and conservation 

opportunities. This report summarizes estimates of 

water use in Lincoln County in 1993 as part of a cooperative study between the Wyoming State Engineer's 

Office and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Purpose and Scope

This report describes the water use for Lincoln 

County in 1993. Water-use estimates are summarized 

for nine categories, and the source of water used in 

each category is identified. The nine categories are: 

public supply, self-supplied domestic, commercial, 

irrigation, livestock, industrial, mining, thermoelectric 

power, and hydroelectric power. Within each category, 

the estimated amount of surface and ground water used 

are presented. Water use in this report refers to the 

amount of water withdrawn for a specific use. Federal, 

State, county, local entities, businesses, public interest 

groups, and individuals need quantitative data on water 

use for planning purposes. The report is limited to the 

categories compiled for water use in 1993.

ABSTRACT
Description of Study Area Total Use

Lincoln County, which has an area of 4,182 square 

miles (Wyoming Department of Administration and 

Information, 1991, p. 250), is located in western Wyoming (fig. 1) and borders Idaho and Utah. The 1990 

census reported a population of 12,625 (Wyoming 

Department of Administration and Information, 1991, 

p. 6). The topography of the county ranges from a flat, 

intermontane valley in the west, to high mountains in 

the center, and to flat grasslands and desert in the south 

and east. Altitudes range from about 5,600 feet above 

mean sea level near Star Valley to 11,378 feet above 

mean sea level at Wyoming Peak. Green River, Bear 

River, and Snake River and their tributaries are the 

principal drainages in Lincoln County.

Lincoln County was developed as a result of 

mining, westward expansion, and settlement by 

members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day 

Saints (Wyoming Historical Records Survey, 1941). 

Mining, agriculture, light manufacturing, and tourism 

currently are the primary industries in this rural county.

Acknowledgments

The assistance of the Wyoming State Engineer's 

Office, the Soil Conservation Service (now Natural 

Resources Conservation Service), the Star Valley and 

Lincoln County Conservation Districts, the Wyoming 

Tourist Bureau, John P.R. Holland II, and the companies and residents of Lincoln County in providing 

data and information gratefully is acknowledged.

WATER-USE ESTIMATES

Total water use in Lincoln County in 1993 was 

estimated to be 405,000 Mgal (million gallons) by 

summing the water use in individual categories 

(table 1). Hydroelectric power and irrigation used the 

largest amount of water. Self-supplied domestic 

accounted for the smallest amount of water used. The 

primary water source in Lincoln County was surface 

water (fig. 2).

Table 1 . Estimated ground-water, surface-water, and total 

water use, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993

Estimated Water Use, 1993 

(million gallons)

Category

Public supply

Self-supplied 

domestic

Commercial

Irrigation

Livestock

Industrial

Mining

Thermoelectric 

power

Hydroelectric 

power

TOTAL

Ground 

water

1,870

1.7

2(72)

5,170

163

3 (27) + 49

68

0

0

7,321.7 

! 7,320

Surface 

water

299

0

2(45)

153,000

40

71

85

5,900

238,000

397,395 

1 397,000

Total

^,160

1.7

2(117)

1 158,000

203

3 (27) + 120

153

5,900

238,000

404,537.7

Uos.ooo

Rounded total.

2A11 commercial water use was from public supply; thus the numbers

are reported but not added in the total. 

3Part of the industrial water use was from public supply; thus the

numbers are reported but not added in the total.

Water-use estimates were made for nine categories: public supply, self-supplied domestic, commercial, irrigation, livestock, industrial, mining, thermoelectric power, and hydroelectric power. The amount 

of surface-water and ground-water use in each category 

also was estimated. Estimates within each category 

were summed to provide an estimated total water use 

for each category.

Public Supply

Public supply is defined as water withdrawn by 

public and private water suppliers and delivered to 

multiple users for domestic, commercial, and industrial 

uses. Public water suppliers were contacted to determine the amount of water supplied, population served, 

percent of domestic, commercial, and industrial use,

ESTIMATED USE OF WATER IN LINCOLN COUNTY, WYOMING, 1993
LJ

LJ 

0)

eo

D)O)

3 

8_
Ground Water (4%)

Surface Water (96%)

Figure 2. Percent of surface water and ground water used in estimated total water use, 

excluding hydroelectric power, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993.

water source, and method of measurement. Publicsupply water use was estimated to be 2,160 Mgal in 

1993, with the largest use being domestic. Publicsupply water use estimates in Lincoln County in 1993 

are summarized for the communities of Afton, Alpine, 

Cokeville, Kemmerer and Diamondville, La Barge, 

Opal, Thayne, Star Valley Ranches, and an aggregate 

of six water districts in Star Valley (Etna, Freedom, 

Grover, Osmond, Fairview, and Smoot) (fig. 3).

The largest percentage of public supply in 

Lincoln County in 1993 was used for domestic purposes, but small percentages were used by commercial 

and industrial businesses (table 2). No public supply 

water was used in thermoelectric power generation. 

The primary source of public water supplies in Lincoln 

County, in 1993, was ground water obtained from wells 

and springs (table 2). An exception is the Kemmerer 

and Diamondville system, which was supplied by surface water from the Hams Fork River. Communities 

generally use master meters, pump meters, or outflow 

meters to measure the total amount of water delivered 

from a source to their system.

Self-Supplied Domestic

Self-supplied domestic water is water withdrawn 

from a source by the user rather than a public supplier. 

The self-supplied domestic water use for Lincoln 

County in 1993 was estimated using population and 

public water-use information. The number of people 

using self-supplied water was estimated by subtracting 

the number of people using a public supply from the 

total population of Lincoln County. The per capita selfsupplied domestic water use was estimated using a 

population-weighted average per capita water use from 

all public supplies in the county.

The estimated 3,000 people who had a selfsupplied, domestic water supply used an estimated 

1.7 Mgal of water in 1993. The primary source of 

water for self-supplied domestic use was ground water. 

Domestic well permit information was obtained from 

the Wyoming State Engineer's Office (WSEO) data 

base (Wyoming State Engineer's Office, 1993). A total 

of 633 wells used for domestic water supply were 

identified by the WSEO. Fifty-three percent of the

ESTIMATED USE OF WATER IN LINCOLN COUNTY, WYOMING, 1993
nroo'

4000

 NX . Base from U.S. Geological Survey

*x^ , 29 1:500,000 State base map, 1980

EXPLANATION

WATER USE, 1993

(MILLION GALLONS)

CENSUS POPULATION, 1990

R.120W. 119 117 116 115 114 113 R. 112W.

Figure 3. Estimated water use (1993) and census population (1990) 

for selected communities, Lincoln County, Wyoming.

WATER-USE ESTIMATES
Table 2. Water source, estimated usage, and estimated percentage of domestic, commercial, and 

industrial water use from public supplies, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993

[NA, data not available]

Public water 

supply

Afton

Alpine

Cokeville

Kemmerer and 

Diamondville

La Barge

Opal

Thayne

Star Valley 

Ranches

Star Valley 

Water Districts

aggregate

Source

Periodic 

spring

spring and 

two wells

spring

Hams Fork 

River

collection 

gallery1

wells

springs

springs

springs and 

wells

Estimated 

use 

(million 

gallons)

550

66

230

300

72

3.6

55

470

418

Estimated percent of use, 1993

Domestic

90

67

95

85

NA

100

80

100

NA

Commercial

5

33

5

15

NA

0

20

0

NA

Industrial

5

0

0

0

NA

0

NA

0

NA

Collection gallery one or more horizontal wells which remove water to a common vertical shaft. May 

be located close to a stream or lake to take advantage of aquifer filtration.

wells were drilled to less than 100 feet below land 

surface. The distribution of those wells by depth is 

shown in figure 4.

Commercial

Commercial water use is water used for motels, 

hotels, restaurants, office buildings and other commercial facilities, and institutions. Total estimated 

commercial water use in 1993 was 117 Mgal (table 1). 

For this report, all commercial water use was obtained 

from public supply (table 2). No self-supplied commercial users were identified.

Irrigation

Irrigation was the second largest water use in 

Lincoln County (table 1). Irrigation water use is

limited to the artificial application of water on land to 

assist in the growing of crops and pastures. An estimated total of 158,000 Mgal of water was used for 

irrigation in 1993 in Lincoln County, on the basis of 

data and information provided by the Conservation 

Districts. Water was used for irrigation in two areas: 

the Star Valley Conservation District and the Lincoln 

County Conservation District (fig. 5).

In the Star Valley Conservation District, the 

primary source of irrigation water was surface water. 

Ken Mills (Soil Conservation Service, Star Valley 

District Conservationist, oral commun., 1993) 

estimated that 96 percent of the irrigation water was 

surface water and the remaining 4 percent was ground 

water. About 55 percent of the irrigated acreage was 

applied by sprinkler irrigation and 45 percent by flood 

irrigation (fig. 5).

6 ESTIMATED USE OF WATER IN LINCOLN COUNTY, WYOMING, 1993
400

0-100 101-200 201-300 301-400 401-500 

TOTAL DEPTH DRILLED, IN FEET

501-600 600+

Figure 4. Number of domestic wells penetrating to selected 

depth intervals, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993.

In the Lincoln County Conservation District, 

surface water also was the primary source of irrigation 

water. DeMont Grandy (Soil Conservation Service, 

Lincoln County District Conservationist, oral commun., 

1993) estimated that 97 percent of the irrigation water 

was surface water and 3 percent was ground water. 

However, in contrast to the Star Valley Conservation 

District, the Lincoln County Conservation District 

primarily used flood irrigation to apply the water 

(fig. 5). Flood irrigation was used on an estimated 

94 percent of the irrigated acreage and sprinkler irrigation on the remaining 6 percent.

Livestock

Livestock water use is water used for livestock 

watering, feed lots, dairy operations, fish farming, and 

other on-farm needs. Livestock water use was estimated for dairy cattle, beef cattle, and sheep (table 3). 

Water use for hogs and chickens was not included; the 

quantity of water used by these animals was small 

compared to total livestock water use. An estimated 

203 Mgal of water was used for livestock in 1993. 

Livestock water use was calculated using a coefficient 

of estimated water use for each animal per day 

(Cheeke, 1991, p. 278, and Holechek and others, 1989, 

p. 327). The number of animals in the county was 

obtained from the Wyoming Agricultural Statistics 

(Burger, 1993, p. 36-60). An 80 percent ground-water 

and 20 percent surface-water distribution of the total 

livestock water use was estimated (DeMont Grandy, 

Soil Conservation Service, Lincoln County Conservation District, oral commun., 1995). The number of 

livestock in the county, the water-use coefficient for 

each type of livestock, and the total livestock water use 

are summarized in table 3.

WATER-USE ESTIMATES
nroo'

STAR VALLEY 

CONSERVATION DISTRICT

Irrigated Acres

(Ken Mills,

Soil Conservation Service, 

oral commun., 1993)

42°00-

LINCOLN COUNTY 

CONSERVATION DISTRICT

Irrigated Acres

(DeMont Grandy,

Soil Conservation Service,

oral commun., 1993)

5 10 MILES

_j

0 5 10 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

1:500,000 State base map, 1980

Fossil ( 

Butte 

-i National 

~i Monument

T. 19 N.

R. 120 W. 119 118 117 116 115 114 113 R. 112W.

Figure 5. Conservation districts, estimated percent of surface-water and ground-water 

irrigation water use, and estimated percent of flood and sprinkler irrigation, 

Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993.

8 ESTIMATED USE OF WATER IN LINCOLN COUNTY, WYOMING, 1993
Tables. Estimated number of livestock, water-use 

coefficients, and estimated livestock water use, Lincoln 

County, Wyoming, 1993

Livestock

type

Dairy

cattle

Beef

cattle

Number 

of

animals

3,800

39,200

Water-use 

coefficient .

(gallons 

per day per

animal)

19.5

11

Estimated water use, 1993

Ground 

water

Surface 

water Total

(million gallons)

22

126

5.4 27

31 157

Sheep 35,000 1.5 15 3.8 19

Industrial

Industrial water use is defined as water used for 

industrial purposes such as fabrication, processing, 

washing, and cooling. Industrial water use was estimated by contacting individual users. An estimated 

147 Mgal of water was used for industrial purposes in 

Lincoln County in 1993 (table 1). The source of the 

water was approximately evenly divided between

ground water and surface water (fig. 6). However, 

most of the industrial water was self-supplied rather 

than obtained from public-water systems (fig. 6).

Mining

Mining water use includes water used for the 

extraction of minerals, liquids, and gases. Mining 

water use estimates in Lincoln County were limited to 

coal mining, and oil and gas production. Mining water 

use was estimated to be 153 Mgal in Lincoln County in 

1993. The water use for coal mining was estimated 

from data obtained from the individual companies. 

The oil and gas water use was estimated from data 

published by the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation 

Commission (1993).

Two mines in the county the Skull Point Coal 

Mine and the Kemmerer Coal Mine together used an 

estimated 113 Mgal of water in 1993. At both mines, 

this water was obtained by pumping pit inflow that was 

a result of both ground-water seepage and surfacewater runoff. The primary use of this water was for

SOURCE SUPPLIER

Figure 6. Water source and supplier for estimated industrial 

water use, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1993.

WATER-USE ESTIMATES 9
dust suppression, but other uses included mining operations and fire suppression. An estimated 4.1 million 

tons of bituminous and subbituminous coal were mined 

in Lincoln County in 1993 (Wyoming State Geological 

Survey, 1994, p. 24).

For this report, water use associated with oil and 

gas production includes all co-produced water. Estimated water use for oil and gas production in Lincoln 

County was 40 Mgal in 1993. Oil production in 

Lincoln County in 1993 was 1,040,918 barrels (Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 1993, 

p. 1). Natural gas production in Lincoln County in 

1993 was 101,575,970 million cubic feet (Wyoming 

Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 1993, p. 1).

Thermoelectric Power

Thermoelectric power water use is water used in 

the process of the generation of electricity. Thermoelectric power is defined as electricity generated from 

fossil fuels, nuclear energy, or geothermal energy. The 

primary use for water in thermoelectric plants is in 

cooling reactors and condensers. Generally, the plants 

recycle water through cooling towers or discharge the 

water to a surface-water body.

The Naughton power plant, the only thermoelectric plant in Lincoln County, has an estimated average annual water use of 5,900 Mgal. The Naughton 

power plant is a coal-fired, steam generating thermoelectric plant. Water withdrawn from the Naughton 

Reservoir is used for the cooling towers, and then is 

reused in an industrial metallurgical coke plant.

Hydroelectric Power

Hydroelectric power water use is the use of water 

in the generation of electricity at power plants where 

turbine generators are driven by falling water. Water 

used for this purpose is not withdrawn from the source 

and therefore, is classified as nonwithdrawal use. The 

Fontenelle Reservoir Dam in Lincoln County produced 

57 gigawatt hours of electricity in 1993 using an estimated 238,000 Mgal of water (table 1). Naughton 

Reservoir also has a hydroelectric plant, but water-use 

data were unavailable.

SUMMARY

Total water use in Lincoln County in 1993 was 

estimated to be 405,000 Mgal. Water use was estimated for nine categories; public supply, self-supplied 

domestic, commercial, irrigation, livestock, industrial, 

mining, thermoelectric power, and hydroelectric power. 

The largest uses of water were for hydroelectric power 

generation and for irrigation.

Public-supply water use, estimated to be 

2,160 Mgal, was supplied primarily from ground water 

obtained from wells and springs, except for Kemmerer 

and Diamondville, where water is obtained from the 

Hams Fork River. Self-supplied domestic water use, 

estimated to be 1.7 Mgal, was supplied primarily by 

shallow wells with 53 percent of the wells drilled to 

depths of 100 feet or less. Commercial water use, 

estimated to be 117 Mgal, was delivered from publicwater suppliers.

Irrigation water use, estimated to be 

158,000 Mgal, was obtained primarily from surfacewater sources. Flood and sprinkler irrigation technology were used about equally for irrigation in northern Lincoln County within the Star Valley Conservation District. Flood irrigation was the primary application technology for irrigation in the southern part of 

Lincoln County in the Lincoln County Conservation 

District.

Livestock, industrial, and mining water use were 

not major in Lincoln County in 1993. Livestock water 

use was estimated to be 203 Mgal. Industrial water use 

was estimated to be 147 Mgal. Mining water use was 

estimated to be 153 Mgal.

Surface water was used for power generation at 

one thermoelectric and two hydroelectric plants. 

Thermoelectric power water use was estimated to be 

5,900 Mgal. Hydroelectric power water use was estimated to be 238,000 Mgal.

10 ESTIMATED USE OF WATER IN LINCOLN COUNTY, WYOMING, 1993
REFERENCES

Burger, Michele, ed., 1993, Wyoming Agricultural Statistics 

1993: Wyoming Department of Agriculture, 98 p.

Cheeke, P. R., 1991, Applied animal nutrition-feeds and 

feeding: New York, Mcmillan Publishing Co., 504 p.

Holechek, J. L., Pieper, R. D., and Herbel, C. H., 1989, 

Range management principles and practices: 

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 501 p.

Solley, W.B., Pierce, R.R., and Perlman, H.A., 1993, 

Estimated use of water in the United States in 1990: 

U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1081, 76 p.

Wyoming Historical Records Survey, 1941, Inventory of the 

county archives of Wyoming No. 12 Lincoln County 

(Kemrnerer): Cheyenne, Wyoming, Work Projects 

Administration, 12 p.

Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 1993, 

1993 Statistical summaries, State of Wyoming: Casper, 

Wyoming, Wyoming Oil and Gas Commission, 410 p.

Wyoming State Engineer's Office, 1993, Ground water 

computer data base, July 1993: Cheyenne, Wyoming, 

Wyoming State Engineer.

Wyoming State Geological Survey, 1994, Wyoming Geonotes, No. 43: Laramie, Wyoming, Wyoming State 

Geological Survey, August 1994, 49 p.

Wyoming Department of Administration and Information, 

Division of Economic Analysis, 1991, Wyoming data 

handbook, 1991, (10th ed.): Cheyenne, Wyoming, 

285 p.

REFERENCES 11

GLOSSARY

(from Solley and others, 1993)

COMMERCIAL WATER USE water for motels, hotels, 

restaurants, office buildings, other commercial facilities, and institutions. The water may be obtained from 

a public supply or may be self supplied.

DOMESTIC WATER USE water for household purposes, such as drinking, food preparation, bathing, 

washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, and 

watering lawns and gardens. Also called residential 

water use. The water may be obtained from a public 

supply or may be self supplied.

GROUND WATER generally all subsurface water as 

distinct from surface water; specifically, that part of the 

subsurface water in the saturated zone (a zone in which 

all voids are filled with water) where the water is under 

pressure greater than atmospheric.

HYDROELECTRIC POWER WATER USE the use of 

water in the generation of electricity at plants where the 

turbine generators are driven by falling water. Hydroelectric water use is classified as a nonwithdrawal use in 

this report.

INDUSTRIAL WATER USE water used for industrial 

purposes such as fabrication, processing, washing, and 

cooling, and includes such industries as steel, chemical 

and allied products, paper and allied products, mining 

and petroleum refining. The water may be obtained 

from a public supply or may be self supplied.

IRRIGATION WATER USE artificial application of 

water on lands to assist in the growing of crops and 

pastures or to maintain vegetative growth in recreational lands such as parks and golf courses.

LIVESTOCK WATER USE water for livestock

watering, feed lots, dairy operations, fish farming, and 

other on-farm needs. Livestock as used here includes 

cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry.

MINING WATER USE water used for the extraction of 

minerals occurring naturally including solids, such as 

coal and ores; liquids, such as crude petroleum; and 

gases, such as natural gas. Also includes uses associated with quarrying, well operations (dewatering), 

milling (crushing, screening, washing, floatation, and 

so forth), and other preparations customarily done at the 

mine site or as part of a mining activity. Does not 

include water used in processing, such as smelting, 

refining petroleum or slurry pipeline operations. These 

uses are included in industrial water use.

NONWITHDRAWAL USE water that is used, but not 

withdrawn, from a ground- or surface-water source for 

such purposes as hydroelectric power generation, navigation, water-quality improvement, fish propagation, 

and recreation. Sometimes called instream use or inchannel use.

PER CAPITA USE the average amount of water used per 

person during a standard time period.

PUBLIC SUPPLY water withdrawn by public and private 

water suppliers and delivered to users. Public suppliers 

provide water for a variety of uses, such as domestic, 

commercial, thermoelectric power, industrial, and 

public water use.

PUBLIC WATER USE Water supplied from a publicwater supply and used for such purposes as firefighting, 

street washing, and municipal parks and swimming 

pools.

SELF-SUPPLIED WATER water withdrawn from a 

surface- or ground-water source by a user rather than 

being obtained from a public supply.

SURFACE WATER an open body of water, such as a 

stream or a lake.

THERMOELECTRIC POWER WATER USE water 

used in the process of generation of thermoelectric 

power. The water may be obtained from a public 

supply or may be self supplied.

WATER USE (1) In a restrictive sense, the term refers to 

water that is actually used for a specific purpose such as 

for domestic use, irrigation, or industrial processing. In 

this report, the quantity of water used for a specific category is the combination of self-supplied withdrawals 

and public-supply deliveries. (2) More broadly, water 

use pertains to human's interaction with and influence 

on the hydrologic cycle, and includes elements such as 

water withdrawal, delivery, consumptive use, wastewater release, reclaimed wastewater, return flow, and 

nonwithdrawal use.

GLOSSARY 13

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1996 - Ilk-211 I 01014 REGION NO. 8