Total water withdrawals by State, 2010. 

EXPLANATION

Water withdrawals, in

 million gallons per day

0 to 2,000

2,001 to 5,000

5,001 to 10,000

10,001 to 20,000

20,001 to 38,000

Public supply 42,000

Self-supplied domestic 3,600

Irrigation 115,000

Livestock 2,000

Aquaculture 9,420

Self-supplied industrial 15,900

Mining 5,320

Thermoelectric power 161,000

2010 withdrawals by category,

 in million gallons per day

Values do not sum to 355,000 Mgal/d 

because of independent rounding

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2014–3109

November 2014

Summary of Estimated Water Use in the United States in 2010

• Total withdrawals were 355,000 million gallons per day 

(355 billion gallons per day)

• Thermoelectric power, irrigation, and public supply 

account for 90 percent of the total withdrawals

• Withdrawals declined in all categories except mining

and aquaculture

• Freshwater withdrawals were 86 percent of the total,

or 306,000 million gallons per day

• Surface water supplied 78 percent of all withdrawals

About 355,000 million gallons per day 

(Mgal/d) of water was withdrawn for use in 

the United States during 2010, a decline of 

13 percent from 2005 and a substantial change 

from the level of about 400,000 Mgal/d 

reported from 1985 to 2005. Withdrawals for 

2010 were lower than withdrawals estimated 

for 1970. Fresh surface-water withdrawals 

(230,000 Mgal/d) were almost 15 percent 

less than in 2005, and fresh groundwater 

withdrawals (76,000 Mgal/d) were about 

4 percent less than in 2005. Saline surfacewater withdrawals were 45,000 Mgal/d, 

or 24 percent less than in 2005, and saline 

groundwater withdrawals in 2010, mostly 

used for mining, were 3,290 Mgal/d.

As in 2005, water withdrawals in 

four States — California, Texas, Idaho, and 

Florida—accounted for more than one-quarter 

of all fresh and saline water withdrawn in the 

United States in 2010. California accounted 

for 11 percent of the total withdrawals 

nationwide and 10 percent of the total freshwater withdrawals. More than 60 percent of 

California’s withdrawals were for irrigation, 

and 17 percent, almost exclusively saline 

water, was for thermoelectric power. In Texas, 

about 45 percent of withdrawals were for 

thermoelectric power, and 28 percent was for 

irrigation. Irrigation accounted for 81 percent 

of water withdrawn in Idaho, and thermoelectric power accounted for 61 percent of 

water withdrawn in Florida. 

Water Use by Category

During 2010, about 42,000 Mgal/d of 

freshwater was withdrawn for public supply, 

which accounted for almost 12 percent of the 

total water withdrawn. About 63 percent of 

public-supply withdrawals were from surfacewater sources. Public suppliers deliver water 

to users for domestic, industrial, commercial, 

and other purposes. About 57 percent of 

public-supply withdrawals, or 23,800 Mgal/d, 

was delivered for domestic use, which 

includes indoor and outdoor residential 

uses, such as drinking water, sanitation, 

and landscape watering. 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 about 

3,600 Mgal/d during 2010, 

which provided water 

to about 44.5 million 

people, or 14 percent 

of the U.S. population. 

More than 98 percent of 

the water withdrawals for 

self-supplied domestic use 

were from groundwater. 

Withdrawals for irrigation totaled about 

115,000 Mgal/d and represented 33 percent of 

total withdrawals and 38 percent of freshwater 

withdrawals. Irrigation includes water applied 

by irrigation systems to assist crop and pasture 

growth or to maintain vegetation in parks and 

golf courses. Sprinkler and microirrigation 

systems, more efficient than surface-irrigation 

methods, were used on about 58 percent of 

the irrigated acreage nationwide in 2010, and 

surface water supplied about 57 percent of 

the total irrigation withdrawals. Of the total 

irrigation in the United States, 83 percent of 

withdrawals and 74 percent of the acres irrigated 

were in the 17 conterminous Western States. 

Combined withdrawals for livestock 

and aquaculture were 3 percent of the total 

water withdrawals in 2010. Livestock

withdrawals include water for livestock, 

feedlots, and dairy operations and accounted 

for 2,000 Mgal/d, most (60 percent) supplied 

from groundwater. Aquaculture includes 

fish farms and fish hatcheries and accounted 

for 9,420 Mgal/d of freshwater withdrawals, 

about 81 percent supplied by surface water.

Self-supplied industrial withdrawals 

were an estimated 15,900 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 2010. Surface water was 

the source for 82 percent of self-supplied 

industrial withdrawals, primarily from 

freshwater sources. About 6 percent of total 

industrial withdrawals were saline water, 

primarily from surface-water sources.

Printed on recycled paper
2010 withdrawals by category, in million gallons per day. States are arranged geographically from west to east.

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

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 York

Delaware

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

Public supply

Other

Irrigation

Industrial

Thermoelectric power

EXPLANATION

Mining water use includes water used 

for extracting solid minerals such as copper, 

liquids such as petroleum, and gases such as 

natural gas and also includes the injection of 

water for unconventional oil and gas recovery 

such as hydraulic fracturing. Withdrawals for 

mining were estimated to be 5,320 Mgal/d for 

2010, or about 1 percent of total withdrawals. 

Groundwater supplied 73 percent of water 

withdrawn for mining, and 58 percent of 

mining withdrawals were saline water.

Water for thermoelectric power is used 

in the process of generating electricity using 

steam-driven generators. Thermoelectric 

power accounted for 45 percent of total 

withdrawals, or 161,000 Mgal/d. Surface 

water was the source for almost 100 percent 

of thermoelectric-power withdrawals, and 

73 percent of the surface water used was 

freshwater. Thermoelectric powerplants 

that use once-through cooling systems 

accounted for 94 percent of thermoelectricpower withdrawals; recirculating cooling 

systems made up the remainder. Large 

volumes of water are needed for cooling in 

thermoelectric powerplants, which is why 

facilities typically are located near the coasts, 

large lakes, or large rivers. About 86 percent 

of thermoelectric-power withdrawals in 2010 

were in Eastern States; many Western States 

rely on hydroelectric-power generation for 

much of their power needs.

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 withdrawals were 

predominant in many Western States, especially those with only minor thermoelectricpower withdrawals. Generally, thermoelectric 

power was the largest category of water 

withdrawal in the Eastern States.

Water Use Trends, 1950–2010

Total withdrawals for 2010 of 

355,000 Mgal/d were 13 percent lower than 

the revised estimate of withdrawals for 2005 

of 409,000 Mgal/d. Water withdrawals, 

estimated at 5-year intervals since 1950 by the 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), peaked in 

1975 and 1980, but then remained fairly stable 

from 1985 through 2005 before dropping in 

2010. Withdrawal estimates in 2010 were 

substantially lower than 2005 for the largest 

categories of use. Thermoelectric-power 

withdrawals declined 20 percent and reflect 

shifts to cooling systems and generation 

technologies with lower water requirements, 

and a new estimation method using linked 

heat and water budget models for some 

powerplants. Irrigation withdrawals declined 

9 percent as the shift to more water-efficient 

irrigation systems continued. Although the 

population served by public supply continued 

to increase, total public-supply withdrawals 

declined 5 percent. Self-supplied industrial 

water use was 12 percent less than in 2005, 

continuing a consistent decline since 1985. 

Withdrawals also declined for self-supplied 

domestic use (3 percent) and livestock 

(7 percent). Withdrawals increased for mining 

(39 percent) and aquaculture (7 percent).

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 the basis of this 

summary, is USGS Circular 1405, “Estimated 

use of water in the United States in 2010” 

(Maupin and others, 2014).

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. 

Water use also is a key component of the 

water-budget approach of the National Water 

Census (http://water.usgs.gov/watercensus/), 

which supports research focused on improving 

methods of collection and estimation of 

water-use data.

Reference

Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., 

Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and

Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of

water in the United States in 2010: U.S. 

Geological Survey Circular 1405, 56 p., 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/cir1405.

By Nancy L. Barber

For More Information

For more information concerning this 

publication, contact:

USGS National Water-Use Leadership Team

wu-info@usgs.gov

Or visit the USGS Water-Use Web site at:

http://water.usgs.gov/watuse/

ISSN 2327– 6916 (print)

ISSN 2327– 6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143109