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Water is critical for human survival and well-being and important to many sectors of the economy including recreation and tourism, transportation, real estate, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and mining. It is essential to balance the rate of water use with the rate at which it can be renewed by natural hydrological processes and by human reuse/recovery efforts. The United States as a whole has a favorable ratio of renewable water supply to withdrawals, but some parts of the country (e.g., the arid West) do not.
Estimates of surface and ground water withdrawals in the United States show continued increases from 1950 through 1980, but a drop in overall use in both 1985 and 1990; but public supplies of water have increased continuously since 1950, reflecting the growth in the U.S. population. Thermoelectric power generation plants withdraw the greatest amounts of surface water, while agriculture withdraws the highest amounts of ground water and the second highest amounts of surface water. The average amount of water applied per acre for agricultural irrigation in the United States during 1985 was about 2.1 acre-feet. This is about the same as in 1990, slightly less than the 1985 average of 2.2 acre-feet, and well below the 1975 and 1985 average of 2.5 acre-feet. Irrigation application rates depend on annual rainfall, surface water availability, energy costs, farm commodity prices, application technologies, and on farmers’ understanding of the advantages of conserving water.
In the context of national sustainable development, it may be important to recognize not only problems that affect all regions of the country, but also problems that affect the ability of specific regions and communities to meet their basic needs.
Reference:
Link(s) to be added, when feasible, to data at level of detail suitable
for use at the community level.
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http://www.sdi.gov/indicators/lc_h2o.htm Last Modified: May 13, 2002 |