Estimated use of water in the United States in 1975

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:5073709

Murray, C R; Reeves, E B

Estimates of water use in the United States in 1975 indicate that an average of about 420 bgd (billion gallons per day) or about 1,900 gallons per capita per day, was withdrawn for the four principal off-channel uses which are: public supply (for domestic, commercial, and industrial uses); rural (domestic and livestock); irrigation; and self-supplied industrial (including thermoelectric power). In 1975, withdrawals for these uses exceeded by 11.5 percent the 370 bgd estimated for 1970. Increases in the various categories of off-channel water use since 1970 were: approximately 12.8 percent for self-supplied industry (mainly in electric-utility thermoelectric plants), 7.6 percent for public supplies, 10.0 percent for rural supplies, and 10.8 percent for irrigation. Industrial water withdrawals included 70 bgd of saline water, a 30 percent increase in 5 years. The fifth principal withdrawal use, hydroelectric power (an in-channel use), amounted to 3,300 bgd, a 5-year increase of 20.7 percent. In computing total withdrawals, recycling within a plant (reuse) is not counted, but withdrawal of the same water by a downstream user (cumulative withdrawals) is counted. The quantity of freshwater consumed, that is, water made unavailable for further possible withdrawal because of evaporation, incorporation in crops and manufactured products, and other causes, was estimated to average 95 bgd for 1975, an increase of about 10 percent since 1970. Estimates of water withdrawn from the principal sources indicated that 82 bgd came from fresh ground water, 1 bgd came from saline ground water, 260 bgd came from fresh surface water, 69 bgd came from saline surface water, and 0.5 bgd was reclaimed sewage.

• Research Organization: Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5073709
• Report Number(s): USGS-CIRC-765
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290400* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Energy Resources
CONSUMPTION RATES
FORECASTING
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
WATER
WATER REQUIREMENTS
WATER RESOURCES