Water Use for Irrigation in Michigan, 2001

Each year, water-use data for Michigan are compiled or 

estimated by the Michigan Department of Environmental 

Quality (MDEQ), working in cooperation with the U. S. 

Geological Survey (USGS). The resulting information provides a category-by-category profile of over 4,200 facilities 

throughout the State. The data are reported in the Michigan 

Water Use Reporting Program, which provides needed 

information for water-resources planning and enhances 

public understanding of the value of sustaining water 

resources within the Great Lakes Basin. The primary goal 

of the program is to inventory, analyze, and report baseline 

data for major water uses. 

Irrigation — divided into two primary types: agricultural 

and golf course — is one of Michigan’s major water-use 

sectors for which data are compiled or estimated. Agricultural and golf-course irrigation are seasonal, generally 

occurring from May thru September, with withdrawal rates 

reaching their peaks in July and August. Because Michigan’s temperate climate does not always provide adequate 

rainfall during the summer, irrigation is often necessary 

to relieve, balance, or eliminate moisture stress and create optimal growing conditions for crops and golf-course 

grasses. 

The heaviest irrigation in Michigan is in the southwest, 

where soil texture is generally coarser than it is in other 

irrigated parts of the State (fig. 1). Sources of water for 

irrigation include ground water, inland lakes and streams, 

and the Great Lakes and their connecting waters (fig. 2). 

The major source of withdrawals in 2001 was ground 

water, which accounted for 64 percent of the total; about 

34 percent of total irrigation withdrawals were from inland 

lakes and streams; and only 2 percent were from the Great 

Lakes and connecting waters.

Irrigation accounted for 2.3 percent of Michigan’s total 

water withdrawals in 2001. This relatively small percentage is due to the high volume of water withdrawn by other 

sectors, particularly thermoelectric powerplant cooling, 

which accounts for 81 percent. Irrigation water withdrawals, although a small percentage of the total withdrawals, 

are seasonal and have a high consumptive water-use rate. 

Withdrawals are highest during the summer when stream, 

lake, and ground-water levels typically are lowest. Because 

withdrawals for irrigation are from surface water or from 

ground water that may supply water to a surface-water 

body, water-resources managers need to consider watersupply issues for effective water-resources planning.\

Water Withdrawals for Agricultural 

Irrigation, 2001

Although precipitation in Michigan is often adequate 

for crop nourishment during the growing season, farmers use irrigation as a supplement for greater control 

of water application and to ensure adequate moisture 

during critical crop-development periods. Agricultural 

water use in the State changes from year to year on the 

basis of several factors, including

• water-resource availability

• soil moisture

• crop type

• variations in weather

• irrigation-system development and operational costs

Prepared in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Figure 1. Total irrigation withdrawals for Michigan, by county, 2001.

WATER WITHDRAWALS 

(Million gallons per day)

 EXPLANATION

0.00 − 1.00

1.01 − 2.50

2.51 − 5.50

5.51 − 12.44

12.45 − 40.97

0 40 80 120 160 MILES

0 40 80 120 160 KILOMETERS

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet FS 2005-3079

September 2005 Printed on recycled paper
To estimate annual water withdrawals for agricultural 

irrigation, Michigan State University (MSU), working 

with the Michigan Departments of Environmental Quality 

(MDEQ) and Agriculture (MDA), developed a model to 

calculate agricultural irrigation crop-water demand statewide (Andresen and others, 2000, unpublished report). 

Federal Agricultural Census data for farmers irrigating 

14 or more acres were combined with Next Generation 

Weather Radar (NEXRAD) weather data, soils data, and 

other information to generate crop-specific estimates. 

Farms with less than 14 irrigated acres were not included 

in the initial model analysis during 1997—2001, because 

they represented less than 3 percent of the total irrigated 

acreage in the State. The remaining irrigated acreage was 

included for 1,712 reporting farms.

According to 2001 model estimates, agricultural water 

withdrawals totaled 206.96 million gallons per day 

(Mgal/day) throughout the State (figs. 3 and 4) and 

accounted for 85 percent of the total water withdrawals 

for irrigation in Michigan. The majority of withdrawals 

(65 percent) were from ground water, followed by 

31 percent from inland lakes and streams, and less than 

4 percent from the Great Lakes and their connecting 

waters. St. Joseph County, in southwestern Michigan, 

accounted for the largest water withdrawals and had 

94,908 of the total 384,828 irrigated acres in Michigan. 

Eleven counties reported no farms irrigating 14 or more 

acres, and data could not be disclosed for another 18 

counties because of census requirements that protect individual farm data. The St. Joseph Basin (HUC 04050001)a

had the largest reported withdrawals for agricultural irrigation, with 80.31 Mgal/day withdrawn by 574 farms irrigating 184,225 acres in 2001. The basin with the smallest 

reported withdrawals was the Little Calumet-Galien Basin 

(HUC 04040001), with four farms using 0.07 Mgal/day. 

————————————

a HUC (Hydrologic Unit Code) denotes the geographic area representing part 

or all of a surface drainage basin or distinct hydrologic feature as delineated on 

the State Hydrologic Unit Maps produced by the USGS.

 EXPLANATION

WATER WITHDRAWALS 

(Million gallons per day)

0.00 − 0.39

0.40 − 1.34

1.35 − 5.19

5.20 − 29.66

29.67 − 80.31

0 40 80 120 160 MILES

0 40 80 120 160 KILOMETERS

 EXPLANATION

WATER WITHDRAWALS 

(Million gallons per day)

0.00 − 0.85

0.86 − 2.67

2.68 − 5.77

5.78 − 12.30

12.31 − 40.65

0 40 80 120 160 MILES

0 40 80 120 160 KILOMETERS

Figure 3. Agricultural irrigation for Michigan, by county, 2001.

Figure 4. Agricultural irrigation for Michigan, by hydrologic 

basin, 2001.

Figure 2. Sources of water for irrigation withdrawals 

in Michigan, 2001.

Great 

Lakes 2%

Inland 

lakes and 

streams

34%

Ground water

 64 %
Water Withdrawals for Golf-Course 

Irrigation, 2001

Michigan ranks third in the Nation in the number of 

golf courses. Most golf courses irrigate some combination of greens, tees, and fairways. Healthy turf grass is 

necessary for a successful golf course, and supplemental 

irrigation is an essential factor in overall turf-grass maintenance, particularly for the higher water requirements of 

greens. The amount of water withdrawn for golf-course 

irrigation depends on several factors, including

• water-resource availability

• course design and acreage

• grass and soil types

• irrigation-system development and operational costs

The Great Lakes Charter and Michigan’s water-use 

reporting law require all golf courses with the capacity to 

withdraw 100,000 gallons a day during any 30-day period 

to report water withdrawals on an annual basis. This 

includes 622 golf courses, or about 65 percent of the total 

in the State. Many of these are in southeastern Michigan. 

Golf courses that do not report their withdrawals either 

irrigate below the reporting threshold or are supplied by 

public water systems. 

In 2001, water withdrawals for golf-course irrigation 

accounted for 36.27 Mgal/day throughout the State (figs. 

5 and 6), about 15 percent of the water withdrawals for 

irrigation in Michigan. The majority of withdrawals 

(57 percent) were from ground water, followed by 41 percent from inland lakes and streams and 2 percent from the 

Great Lakes and their connecting waters. Oakland County 

had both the greatest number of golf courses (63) and the 

largest withdrawal rates (4.55 Mgal/day). Withdrawals 

from the Kalamazoo Basin (HUC 04090003) were the 

largest withdrawals for any basin, 3.53 Mgal/day used to 

irrigate 47 golf courses. The Tahquamenon Basin (HUC 

04020202) ranked lowest in withdrawals for 2001, with 

one reporting golf course using 0.01 Mgal/day. 

As is the case for agricultural irrigation, water withdrawals for golf-course irrigation represent a very small 

percentage of Michigan’s total water withdrawals 

(0.34 percent in 2001). However, water withdrawals for 

golf-course irrigation can have substantial impact because 

they occur during the summer, when stream and lake levels generally are lower than at other times of the year.

Water Withdrawals for Irrigation, 

1997 — 2001

Water withdrawals for agricultural and golf-course 

irrigation varied greatly over 1997—2001 (fig. 7). Total 

withdrawals were highest in 1998 for both irrigation 

 EXPLANATION

WATER WITHDRAWALS 

(Million gallons per day)

0.00 − 0.15

0.16 − 0.51

0.52 − 0.97

0.98 − 1.83

1.84 − 4.55

0 40 80 120 160 MILES

0 40 80 120 160 KILOMETERS

 EXPLANATION

WATER WITHDRAWALS 

(Million gallons per day)

0.00 − 0.08

0.09 − 0.23

0.24 − 0.62

0.63 − 1.43

1.44 − 3.53

0 40 80 120 160 MILES

0 40 80 120 160 Kilometers

Figure 5. Golf-course irrigation for Michigan, by county, 2001.

Figure 6. Golf-course irrigation for Michigan, by hydrologic 

basin, 2001.
types, whereas withdrawals for golf-course irrigation were 

lowest in 1997 and withdrawals for agriculture were lowest in 

2000. Demand for both agricultural and golf-course irrigation water depends in part on variations in weather, specifically between May to September (fig. 8). Because annual and 

growing season precipitation was lower for 1998, withdrawals 

for irrigation were larger. 

Water sources for irrigation varied from 1997—2001 

(fig. 9), with withdrawals from all sources highest in 1998 and 

lowest in 2000. The majority of withdrawals for golf-course 

and agricultural irrigation are from ground-water sources; 

however, withdrawal amounts from each source remained 

relatively consistent from year to year during 1997—2001.

References Cited

Andresen, Jeff; Moen, Tom; Ritchie, Joe; Baer, Brian; Johnson, Jim; 

Savona, Chris; Swartz, Mark; and Van Til, Ron, 2000, Estimated 

Water Use for Agricultural Irrigation in Michigan: 1997-1999. 

MDEQ, MDA, and MSU (unpublished report).

National Climatic Data Center, 2004, Climate at a Glance, accessed 

on March 17, 2004, at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ climate/

research/cag3/MI.html 

U.S. Geological Survey, 1974, Hydrologic Unit Map – State of 

Michigan, HU0022, 2 pl.

—by Michele L. Morenz, Ron L. Van Til1, and Carol L. Luukkonen

 1 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

For additional information contact

U.S. Geological Survey

Michigan Water Science Center

6520 Mercantile Way, Suite 5

Lansing, MI 48911

http://mi.water.usgs.gov

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality 

Water Bureau

Constitution Hall, 2 North

525 West Allegan Street

P.O. Box 30273

Lansing, MI 48909

http://michigan.gov/deqmichiganwateruse

Figure 9. Source of water withdrawals for irrigation in Michigan, 

1997-2001.

Figure 7. Total withdrawals for agricultural and golf-course 

irrigation for Michigan, 1997-2001.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Golf course

Agriculture

WITHDRAWALS IN MILLION GALLONS PER DAY

Figure 8. Average monthly precipitation for the growing season 

(May-September) and year for Michigan, 1997-2001. (National 

Climatic Data Center)

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Annual mean

Season mean

PRECIPITATION IN INCHES PER MONTH

0

50

100

150

200

250

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

WATER WITHDRAWALS IN MILLION GALLONS PER DAY

Great Lakes

Inland lakes and streams

Ground water