Irrigated agriculture is the major consumer of water in Texas.
Indeed, the total irrigation water used in the state is well over 10 million acre-feet per year. This use compares with the 5.1 million acre-feet total surface water used annually in Texas. This staggering total for irrigation use fosters increasing concern about the influence of irrigated agriculture on both the quantity and quality of the state's water resources. Texas cities and industries are demanding more and more of the limited water in the state. Water sources can be contaminated by fertilizers and pesticides carried by irrigation or rainfall runoff from agricultural lands or moved into underground reservoirs through the percolation of the water through the soil.