News and Information
 Newsletter
 Water Planning Process History
 Historical Planning Documents
 Wyoming Water Facts

River Basin Plans
 Statewide Products
 Bear River Basin
 Green River Basin
 NE River Basin
 Platte River Basin
 Powder/Tongue River Basin
 Snake/Salt River Basin
 Wind/Bighorn River Basin
 Groundwater Reports

Basin Advisory Groups
 Mission and Purpose
 Calendar
 Agendas
 Meeting Records
 Reference Material

Planning Products
 GIS Web Mapping
 Framework Water Plan
 Platte Water Atlas
 Water Search Engine
 Send Us Your Comments

Partners
 State Engineer's Office
 Water Resources Data System

Contact Us

Water Plan Home Page

Water Development Office

Wyoming Water Facts

Water Use By Activity

Typical quantities of agricultural, domestic, and industrial water use are shown below. Agricultural activities, on average, account for 90 percent or more of the water used throughout the western United States. Only a portion of water "used" (withdrawn) is consumed. Water not consumed is called return flow and contributes to downstream surface and ground water supplies. Approximately half of the water applied by surface irrigation is consumed, and only one to twenty percent of water withdrawn for industrial processing or cooling is consumed. Individual water applications an consumptive use rates vary widely.

Crop Production Typical Quantities of Water Withdrawn
One acre of hay 3.3 acre feet
One acre of corn 2.7 acre feet
One acre of barley2.0 acre feet
One acre of sugar beets2.7 acre feet
Livestock
Beef cattle 15 gal/head/day
Sheep 1.5 gal/head/day
Horse 10 gal/head/day
Domestic Water Use
Average use per residence0.57 af/year
505 gal/day
Total use per person158 gal/day
Indoor use per person78 gal/day
Toilet27 gal/day
Laundry17 gal/day
Showers14 gal/day
Misc.20 gal/day
Outdoor use per person80 gal/day
 
Industrial Water Use (process, transportation, cooling)
Petroleum refining770 gal/barrel
Coal gasification (250 mmcf/day)4,750-13,900 af/year
Coal hydrogenation-liquefication
(dry cooling 100,000 barrels fuel/day)
10,000-12,000 af/year
Coal slurry pipeline (one million tons/year) 600 af/year
Electric generating plant (1,000 mw) 7,000-29,000 af/year

   Citizen    Government    Business    Visitor   Privacy Policy