Public supply (11) 

Domestic (1) 

Irrigation (31) 

Livestock (Less than 1) 

Aquaculture (2) 

Industrial (4 ) 

Mining (1) 

Thermoelectric power (49) 

2005 withdrawals by category, in percent.

EXPLANATION

Total water withdrawals,

 in million gallons per day

140 to 2,000

2,000 to 5,000

5,000 to 10,000

10,000 to 20,000

20,000 to 46,000

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2009–3098

October 2009

Summary of Estimated Water Use in the United States in 2005

Printed on recycled paper

•	 Total withdrawals were 410,000 million gallons per day

•	 Freshwater withdrawals were 85 percent of the total

•	 Surface water supplied 80 percent of all withdrawals

•	 Thermoelectric-power withdrawals were 201,000 million

gallons per day

About 410,000 million gallons per

day (Mgal/d) of water was withdrawn

for use in the United States during

2005. About 80 percent of the total

(328,000 Mgal/d) withdrawal was from

surface water, and about 82 percent of the

surface water withdrawn was freshwater.

The remaining 20 percent (82,600 Mgal/d)

was withdrawn from groundwater, of

which about 96 percent was freshwater.

If withdrawals for thermoelectric power

in 2005 are excluded, withdrawals were

210,000 Mgal/d, of which 129,000 Mgal/d

(62 percent) was supplied by surface

water and 80,700 Mgal/d (38 percent)

was supplied by groundwater.

Water withdrawals in four States—

California, Texas, Idaho, and Florida—

accounted for more than one-fourth of

all fresh and saline water withdrawn in

the United States in 2005. More than half

(53 percent) of the total withdrawals of

45,700 Mgal/d in California were for irrigation, and 28 percent were for thermoelectric power. Most of the withdrawals in

Texas (26,700 Mgal/d) were for thermoelectric power (43 percent) and irrigation

(29 percent). Irrigation accounted for

85 percent of the 19,500 Mgal/d of water

withdrawn in Idaho, and thermoelectric

power accounted for 66 percent of the

18,300 Mgal/d withdrawn in Florida.

Water Use by Category

During 2005, about 44,200 Mgal/d

of freshwater was withdrawn for public 

supply, which accounted for about

11 percent of the total water withdrawn.

About 67 percent of the freshwater withdrawals were from surface-water sources.

Public suppliers deliver water to users

for domestic, industrial, commercial, and

other purposes. Domestic use includes

indoor and outdoor residential uses, such

as drinking water, sanitation, and lawn

watering. About 58 percent of publicsupply withdrawals, or 25,600 Mgal/d,

was for domestic use. Some residences,

especially in rural areas, are not connected

to public-supply systems, and water for

domestic use is self-supplied from wells

or other private sources. Self-supplied

domestic withdrawals were 3,830 Mgal/d

during 2005, which provided water for

about 42.9 million people, or 14 percent

of the U.S. population. Nearly all of

the water withdrawals for self-supplied

domestic use were from groundwater.

Withdrawals for irrigation totaled

128,000 Mgal/d, second only to total

withdrawals for thermoelectric power,

and represented 31 percent of total

withdrawals and 37 percent of freshwater

withdrawals. Irrigation includes water

applied by irrigation systems used in

agricultural and horticultural practices.

Sprinkler systems were used on about

half of the irrigated acreage nationwide

in 2005, and surface water supplied

about 58 percent of the total irrigation

withdrawals. Of the total irrigation in

the United States, 85 percent of the

withdrawals and 74 percent of the

acres irrigated were in 17 conterminous

Western States.

Combined withdrawals for livestock

and aquaculture were less than 3 percent

of the total water withdrawals in 2005.

Livestock withdrawals include water for

livestock, feedlots, and dairy operations,

and accounted for 2,140 Mgal/d, most

of which (60 percent) was supplied by

groundwater. Aquaculture includes fish

farms and fish hatcheries and accounted

for 8,780 Mgal/d of freshwater withdrawals, about 78 percent of which

were supplied by surface water.

Self-supplied industrial

withdrawals were an estimated

18,200 Mgal/d, about 4 percent of

total withdrawals. Industrial water use

includes water used in manufacturing

and producing commodities, such as

food, paper, chemicals, refined petroleum, wood products, and primary

metals. Although some water for

industrial uses was delivered by public

suppliers, this amount was not estimated

for 2005. Surface water was the source

for 83 percent of self-supplied industrial

withdrawals. Less than 7 percent of total

industrial withdrawals were saline water,

and 97 percent of the saline water used

was surface water.
0 

5,000 

10,000 

15,000 

20,000 

25,000 

30,000 

35,000 

40,000 

45,000 

50,000 

Hawaii

Alaska

Oregon

Washington

California Nevada

Idaho

Arizona

Utah

Montana

Wyoming

New Mexico

Colorado

North Dakota

South Dakota

Nebraska

Texas

Kansas

Oklahoma

Minnesota

Iowa

Missouri

Louisiana

Arkansas

Wisconsin

Mississippi

Illinois

Alabama

Tennessee Indiana

Kentucky

Michigan

Georgia

Ohio

Florida

South Carolina

West Virginia

North Carolina

Virginia

Pennsylvania

MarylandD.C.

New YorkDelaware

New Jersey

Connecticut

Vermont Massachusetts

Rhode Island

New Hampshire

Maine

Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

Total withdrawals, in million gallons per day

WEST EAST

2005 withdrawals by category, in million gallons per day. States are arranged geographically.

Mining water use includes water

used for extracting solid minerals, such

as copper; liquids, such as petroleum;

and gases, such as natural gas. Withdrawals for mining were estimated to be

4,020 Mgal/d for 2005, or about 1 percent

of total withdrawals. Groundwater supplied 63 percent of water withdrawn for

mining purposes, and about 58 percent

of mining withdrawals were freshwater.

Water for thermoelectric power

is used in the process of generating

electricity using steam-driven generators.

Thermoelectric power accounted for

49 percent of total withdrawals, or

201,000 Mgal/d. Surface water was the

source for 99 percent of thermoelectricpower withdrawals, and 28 percent of the

surface water was saline. Thermoelectric

power plants that use once-through

cooling systems accounted for 92 percent

of thermoelectric power withdrawals;

recirculating cooling systems made up

the remainder. Very large volumes of

water are needed for cooling in thermoelectric power plants, which is why they

generally are located near the coasts,

the Great Lakes, and large rivers. Most

(84 percent) of thermoelectric-power

withdrawals in 2005 were in the Eastern

States; many Western States rely on

hydroelectric-power generation for much

of their power needs. Hydroelectric power

is an instream use and is not included in

the 2005 estimates of water use.

A bar graph of water withdrawals

by major category and State, arranged

from west to east, shows the general

geographical pattern of water use. Irrigation dominated withdrawals in many

Western States, especially those with only

minor thermoelectric-power withdrawals.

Generally, thermoelectric power was the

largest category of water withdrawal in

the Eastern States.

Water-Use Trends, 1950–2005

Total withdrawals for 2005 were

less than 1 percent lower than the

revised estimate of withdrawals for 2000

(413,000 Mgal/d). Water-withdrawal

estimates made by the U.S. Geological

Survey (USGS) at 5-year intervals since

1950 peaked in 1975 and 1980, when

major categories of thermoelectricpower generation and irrigation were

largest. Irrigation withdrawals generally

have declined since 1980 even though

the amount of irrigated acreage has

increased. Conversely, thermoelectric

power withdrawals declined sharply in

1985 but have been increasing since and

regained the same level of withdrawal

as in 1975 again in 2005. Withdrawals

for public supply have increased steadily

since 1950 along with the percentage of

the population that is served by publicsupply systems. Domestic withdrawals

also have increased generally since 1950

as increases in per capita use balance or

outweigh declines in the self-supplied

population. Self-supplied industrial water

use is the only category that has declined

consistently since 1985 when the category was first compiled separately from

the commercial, mining, and aquaculture

categories. Industrial withdrawals in 2005

were almost 8 percent lower than in 2000.

Importance of Water-Use Data 

for the United States

Every 5 years, the USGS compiles

and estimates water-use information in

cooperation with State, Federal, and local

agencies to document how the Nation’s

water resources are used. The most recent

publication in the series that began in

1950 and on which this summary is based

is USGS Circular 1344, “Estimated use

of water in the United States in 2005.”

Federal, State, and local agencies

have a key role in the collection and

dissemination of water-use data. By

compiling and publishing water-use estimates for the Nation, the USGS provides

water-resource planners with the information needed to address issues related

to water-resource allocation and environmental impacts at national, regional, and

State levels. Access to these data provides

engineers, scientists, and policy makers

the information they need to assess

current and future water-use needs.

Reference

Kenny, J.F., Barber, N.L., Hutson,

S.S., Linsey, K.S., Lovelace, J.K.,

and Maupin, M.A., 2009, Estimated

use of water in the United States in

2005: U.S. Geological Survey

Circular 1344, 52 p.

By Nancy L. Barber

For More Information

For more information concerning this

publication, contact:

Chief, Office of Groundwater

wu-info@usgs.gov

Or visit the USGS water-use Web site at:

http://water.usgs.gov/watuse

This publication is available online at:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3098/

Public supply

Other

Irrigation

Industrial

Thermoelectric power 

EXPLANATION

Water-use category