Prepared in cooperation with the 

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division

Water Use in Georgia by County for 2005; and

Water-Use Trends, 1980–2005

Water use for 2005 for each county in Georgia was estimated using data obtained from various Federal and State agencies 

and local sources. Total consumptive water use also was estimated for each county in Georgia for 2005. Water use is subdivided 

according to offstream and instream use. Offstream use is defined as water withdrawn or diverted from a ground- or surface-water 

source and transported to the place of use. Estimates for offstream water use include the categories of public supply, domestic, 

commercial, industrial, mining, irrigation, livestock, aquaculture, and thermoelectric power. Instream use is that which occurs 

within a stream channel for such purposes as hydroelectric-power generation, navigation, water-quality improvement, fish propagation, and recreation (Solley and others, 1988). The only category of instream use estimated was hydroelectric-power generation.

Georgia law (the Georgia Ground-Water Use Act of 1972 and the Georgia Water Supply Act of 1978 [Georgia Department 

of Natural Resources, 2008a,b]) requires any water user who withdraws more than 100,000 gallons per day on a monthly average 

to obtain a withdrawal permit from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Permit holders generally must report their 

withdrawals by month. The Georgia Water-Use Program collects the reported information under the withdrawal permit system 

and the drinking-water permit system and stores the data in the Georgia Water-Use Data System.

Total Water Use, 2005 

Total offstream water use from ground- and surface-water 

sources was about 5,471 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) in 

2005. Surface water used in the process of thermoelectricpower generation was the largest volume of water withdrawn with withdrawals of 2,717 Mgal/d in 2005. Estimated 

instream water use for hydroelectric-power generation was 

54,096 Mgal/d. Withdrawals for irrigation totaled 752 Mgal/d 

with 65 percent supplied by ground-water sources. Surface 

water provided 78 percent of the 1,180 Mgal/d withdrawn for 

public supply. Many counties in the northern half of the State, 

an area of dense population, had a large percentage of withdrawals from surface-water sources. In contrast, in the southern 

half of the State, many counties had more withdrawals from 

ground-water sources.

Percentage of total water withdrawal by county and source in Georgia, 2005.

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2009–3034

April 2009

Surface water Ground water

0 to 25

Percentage of total

 water withdrawal

EXPLANATION

Greater than 25 to 50

Greater than 50 to 75

Greater than 75 to 100
Water Use by Category, 2005 

Public supply during 2005 was 1,180 Mgal/d, of which 

surface-water withdrawal accounted for about 78 percent 

(926 Mgal/d), and ground-water withdrawal accounted for 

about 22 percent (254 Mgal/d). The largest public suppliers are 

located in counties in the Metropolitan Atlanta area in northern 

Georgia with the largest population in the State, and surface 

water is the principal water source. Public-supply water use 

accounted for 22 percent of the total water use in Georgia.

Industries in Georgia used approximately 554 Mgal/d 

of water during 2005 (including 49 Mgal/d for mining use). 

The largest industrial water users in Georgia are pulp and paper 

mills (concentrated along the coast), textile industries (concentrated in northwestern Georgia), chemical manufacturers, and 

mining and mineral industries.

Agricultural water use during 2005, including water for 

irrigation, livestock, and aquaculture use totaled 819 Mgal/d 

(752 Mgal/d for irrigation, 28 Mgal/d for livestock, and 

38 Mgal/d for aquaculture). The highest rate of irrigation occurs 

in the Coastal Plain physiographic province. Ground water is 

the source of about 65 percent of irrigation use.

Thermoelectric-power water use in Georgia includes 

13 plants that operate using fossil fuels (such as oil, coal, or 

natural gas) and 2 nuclear powered plants. All thermoelectricpower water use in Georgia is self-supplied. Thermoelectricpower water use was estimated to be 2,721 Mgal/d in 2005, 

which is nearly 50 percent of total offstream use.

Hydroelectric power. In Georgia, the only instream use estimated is hydroelectric-power generation. Generating hydroelectric 

power requires significant amounts of water. During 2005, an estimated 

54,096 Mgal/d was used instream to generate hydroelectric power.

Hydroelectric power

EXPLANATION

0 to 500

500 to 1,000

1,000 to 2,000

2,000 to 4,000

4,000 to 8,500

Agriculture

EXPLANATION

0 to 1

1 to 5

5 to 10

10 to 20

20 to 1,100

Industry

EXPLANATION

0 to 1

1 to 5

5 to 10

10 to 20

20 to 1,100

Thermoelectric power

EXPLANATION

0 to 1

1 to 20

20 to 1,100

Domestic/

 commercial

EXPLANATION

0 to 1

1 to 5

5 to 10

Public supply

EXPLANATION

0 to 1

1 to 5

5 to 10

10 to 20

20 to 1,100

Water use in Georgia during 2005, by category by county, in million gallons per day.

Total offstream water withdrawal in Georgia during 2005, 

by category, in million gallons per day. [Figures may not 

sum to totals because of independent rounding]

Total water withdrawals—5,471 Mgal/d

EXPLANATION

Water withdrawal, by category

Ground-water withdrawals—

1,180 Mgal/d

Surface-water withdrawals—

4,291 Mgal/d

2,721

Thermoelectric power

1,180

Public supply

752

Irrigation

Agriculture

604

Industry/mining

149

Domestic/commercial

67

Livestock and aquaculture

2,717

926

486

4

7 254

289

140

9

314

265

60
Consumptive Water Use, 2005

The distinction between the amount of water withdrawn 

for use and the amount of water consumed during use is 

important for water planning and management. Consumptive 

water use is the part of water withdrawn that is evaporated, 

transpired, incorporated into products or crops, consumed by 

humans or livestock, or otherwise removed from the immediate water environment (Hutson and others, 2004, p. 44). 

Because public supply delivered water to domestic, commercial, 

industrial, and thermoelectric-power users, consumptive use is 

estimated for those use categories and not for public supply. 

The total water used in the categories is the sum of water 

withdrawn (self-supplied water) and water delivered from 

public suppliers. 

For domestic and commercial water use, consumptive 

use was estimated at 18 percent of the total use. For industrial

and mining use, consumptive-use coefficients were determined 

by industry type and type of mining activity. Irrigation

and livestock water uses are considered to be 100 percent 

consumed. Consumptive-use coefficients for thermoelectric 

power ranged from 0 to nearly 70 percent, and is determined 

by the type of plant cooling (once-through cooling or cooling 

towers or ponds). Consumptive use is negligible for instream 

hydroelectric-power generation. Consumptive use was 

estimated by county for 2005 and was estimated to be about 

1,310 Mgal/d or 24 percent of total withdrawals in the State. 

Water-Use Trends, 1980–2005

In Georgia, total estimated water use for 1980 was 

6,725 Mgal/d (Pierce and others, 1982). By 1990, total estimated water use had declined about 31 percent to 5,353 Mgal/d. 

Statewide, water use increased in 1995 and 2000 to reach 

6,487 Mgal/d. In 2005, estimated water use was 5,471 Mgal/d, 

a decrease of 1,015 Mgal/d (about 19 percent) since 2000.

Statewide public-supply water use steadily increased from 

1980 to 2000, corresponding to an increase in population (from 

4,189,000 to 8,186,450) during the same period; and slightly 

decreased from 2000 to 2005. Commercial, domestic, and livestock uses remained about the same for the period 1980–2005. 

Industrial water use fluctuated during the period 1980–2005. 

Irrigation water use declined from 1980 to 1985 and again to 

1990, increased from 1995 to 2000, and decreased markedly from 

2000 to 2005 (30 percent). Thermoelectric-power withdrawal 

peaked in 1980, dropped sharply in 1985, and declined again in 

1990 before increasing in 1995 and 2000. This rising trend was 

reversed in 2005 when thermoelectric power decreased by 24 percent from 2000 because of the decommissioning of three power 

plants and retrofitting cooling towers at several other plants.

From 1980 to 1995, hydroelectric-power water use was 

increasing. However, low-flow conditions related to drought in 

1995 and 2000 resulted in a 19,000 Mgal/d decrease in usage. 

In 2005, water used for hydroelectric-power generation rose 

significantly (22,206 Mgal/d or 59 percent) to 54,096 Mgal/d.

EXPLANATION

0 to 1

1 to 5

5 to 10

10 to 20

20 to 1,100

Consumptive water use

Consumptive water use in Georgia during 2005, by county, 

in million gallons per day.

Water-use trends in Georgia for 1980–2005: (A) population 

and source and (B) by category, in million gallons per day.

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Withdrawals

5

6

7

8

9

10

Population, in millions

Ground water

Surface water

Total

Population

A

B

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

Withdrawals

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

Total withdrawals

Livestock Domestic and commercial

Industrial and mining Irrigation Public supply

Thermoelectric power

Total withdrawals
Selected References 

Fanning, J.L., 1997, Water use in Georgia by county for 1995: 

Georgia Geologic Survey Information Circular 101, 95 p.

Fanning, J.L., 2003, Water use in Georgia by county for 2000 

and water-use trends for 1980–2000: Georgia Geologic 

Survey Information Circular 106, 176 p.

Fanning, J.L., Doonan, G.A., and Montgomery, L.T., 1992, 

Water use in Georgia by county for 1990: Georgia Geologic 

Survey Information Circular 90, 98 p.

Fanning, J.L., and Trent, V.P., 2009, Water use in Georgia 

by county for 2005; and water-use trends, 1980–2005:

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2009–5002, 186 p., Web-only publication available at

http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5002/.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental 

Protection Division, 2000, 1998–2000 Georgia drought 

report: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 43 p.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental 

Protection Division, 2008a, Existing rules and corresponding 

laws, 391-3-2 Groundwater Use, accessed July 24, 2008, at 

http://www.georgiaepd.org/Documents/rules_exist.html

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental 

Protection Division, 2008b, Existing rules and corresponding 

laws, 391-3-5 Safe Drinking Water, accessed July 24, 2008, 

at http://www.georgiaepd.org/Documents/rules_exist.html

Hutson, S.S., Barber, N.L., Kenny, J.F., Linsey, K.S., Lumia, D.S., 

and Maupin, M.A., 2004, Estimated use of water in the United 

States in 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1268, 46 p.

Pierce, R.R., Barber, N.L., and Stiles, H.R., 1982, Water use 

in Georgia by county for 1980: Georgia Geologic Survey 

Information Circular 59, 180 p.

Solley, W.B., Merk, C.F., and Pierce, R.R., 1988, Estimated 

use of water in the United States in 1985: U.S. Geological 

Survey Circular 1004, 82 p.

Trent, V.P., Fanning, J.L., and Doonan, G.A., 1990, Water use 

in Georgia by county for 1987: Georgia Geologic Survey 

Information Circular 85, 112 p.

Turlington, M.C., Fanning, J.L., and Doonan, G.A., 1987, 

Water use in Georgia by county for 1985: Georgia Geologic 

Survey Information Circular 81, 110 p.

U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005, Estimates and projections 

of population, 2005: Washington, D.C., U.S. Department 

of Commerce, series P25, variously paged.

This fact sheet is based on U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5002 (Fanning and Trent, 

2009), which provides more detailed descriptions of water use 

in Georgia, including:

• Water-use estimates for selected water-use categories 

during 2005 reported by county, major river basin, 

and principal aquifer; 

• Estimated consumptive use during 2005 reported 

by county; and 

• Water-use trends during the period 1980–2005. 

Data are presented in tabular form, with maps showing locations

of major water users in 2005 and graphs showing 25-year wateruse trends. 

For more information on the Georgia Water-Use Program:

visit the USGS Georgia Water Science Center Web site at 

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/

or contact the

Director, USGS Georgia Water Science Center

3039 Amwiler Road

Peachtree Business Center, Suite 130

Atlanta, Georgia 30360-2824

770-903-9100

By Julia L. Fanning, U.S. Geological Survey, Atlanta, Georgia; and Victoria P. Trent, 

Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Atlanta, Georgia