U.S. Water Use Drops to Lowest Level in more than 40 Years

ALL GOV.

Water use in the United States has fallen 13% since 2005 and is at its lowest level since before 1970, according to a report(pdf) from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Americans use 355 billion gallons of water each day. As large as that number is, it has fallen from 410 billion gallons a day because of numerous conservation measures taken and a drop in the amount used for thermoelectric power—turning water into steam to drive a turbine. Thermoelectric is the biggest use of water nationally, accounting for 20% of the water used.

California, as might be expected, uses more water than any other state at 38 billion gallons a day—11% of the nationwide total—with 28.5 billion gallons of that going toward irrigation. (California also accounts for 12% of the nation’s population.) That total is down from 46 billion gallons a day in 2005. Texas is next at 24.8 billion gallons a day, or 7% of the U.S. total.

The decline in use was greatest in thermoelectric use, where it fell by 20%. Getting the credit for that is power plant closures, less use of coal-fired plants and more efficient cooling technologies. Next was irrigation use with a 9% drop and public supply, which fell by 5%. The decline in public supply usage was a first and came despite a 4% population increase.

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