Idaho Water Fast Facts

Idaho's 53 million acres include 500,000 acres of lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. The water surface area amounts to 880 square miles or 1.1% of the state.

There are more than 2,000 lakes, with Pend Oreille being the largest at 158 square miles and the deepest at more than 1,100 feet.

There are 93,000 miles of streams and rivers. The longest river is the Snake River at 779 miles.

The highest waterfall is found on the South Fork of the Boise River-Big Fiddler Creek is 600 feet.

The annual precipitation in Idaho varies from 10 to 50 inches (more like the 10 than the 50) and the reservoirs in the state can store 12,384,000 acre-feet.

Irrigation accounts for 87.7% of the water withdrawals, followed by aquaculture at 10.1%, public supply at 1.3%; and domestic self-supply, industrial and livestock all under 1.0%.

Idaho's per capita water use in 2000 was 263 gallons per day. While this figure is considered relatively high, it includes landscaping and garden irrigation uses.