Oklahoma Water Science Center
Estimated Freshwater Withdrawals in
Oklahoma, 2000
by Robert L. Tortorelli
Introduction
This web page presents 2000 freshwater withdrawal estimates for Oklahoma
by source and category. Withdrawal source is either ground water or surface
water. Withdrawal categories include: irrigation, water supply, livestock and
aquaculture, thermoelectric-power generation, domestic and commercial, and
industrial and mining. Withdrawal data are aggregated and tabulated by
county, principal river basin, and major aquifer. Total withdrawals and three
major categories of irrigation, water supply, and livestock, also are
presented in ranked order for the top 10 counties in Oklahoma.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established the National Water-Use
Information Program in 1977 to collect uniform, current, and reliable
information on water use. The USGS has compiled national estimates every 5
years since 1950. The most recent national water use compilation is for 2000
(Hutson and others, 2004). The data presented here are the result of the 2000
compilation effort for Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Water Science Center of the USGS and the
Oklahoma Water Resources Board participate in a cooperative program to collect
and publish water-use information for Oklahoma. Data contained in this web
page were made available through the cooperative program.
Terminology
Withdrawal is the amount of water withdrawn or diverted from a ground- or
surface-water source. Use is the amount of water that is brought into a
facility (or to an irrigation area) for use, and is equal to the withdrawal
plus delivery from water suppliers minus any loss that occurred prior to use.
Fresh water is defined as water containing less than 1,000 milligrams per
liter of dissolved solids.
See
definitions used in this web page.
Approach
Water-use data were estimated using 2000
Oklahoma Water Resources Board data
as the primary data source. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board collects
water-use data through an annual survey of permitted water users.
See a more detailed discussion of the
approach
used to compile water use data.
Estimated Freshwater Withdrawals
During 2000 in Oklahoma:
- Total quantity of freshwater withdrawals for all
purposes was estimated to be 1,772 million gallons per
day.
- Total surface-water withdrawals were estimated to be
998.4 million gallons per day or 56
percent of the total freshwater withdrawals.
- Total ground-water withdrawals were about
773.7 million gallons per day or 44
percent of the total freshwater withdrawals.
For the top four withdrawal categories:
- Irrigation withdrawals accounted for 40
percent of total withdrawals and for 73
percent of ground-water withdrawals.
- Water-supply withdrawals accounted for 38
percent of total withdrawals. Ground water was the source for
17 percent and surface water was the source for
83 percent of water-supply withdrawals.
- Livestock withdrawals accounted for 9
percent of the total withdrawals.
- Thermoelectric-power generation accounted for
8 percent of total withdrawals.
For the top three counties the largest amount of fresh water
withdrawn for:
- Irrigation purposes was in Texas County, followed by
Jackson and Cimarron Counties.
- Water-supply purposes was in Mayes County, followed by
Oklahoma and Atoka Counties.
- Livestock and Aquaculture purposes was in Texas,
Bryan, and Johnston Counties.
- Thermoelectric-power generation purposes was in
Muskogee County, followed by Seminole, and Rogers Counties, which
accounted for over 65 percent of the withdrawals.
TABLES
Table 1:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for 2000 by county
, use, and source for the 77 counties in Oklahoma.
Table 2:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for 2000 by principal
river basin and use for the 10 principal river basins in Oklahoma.
Table 3:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for 2000 by aquifer
and use for 8 major and 2 minor aquifers in Oklahoma.
Table 4:
Amount of total estimated freshwater withdrawals for 2000
by source for the top 10 counties in Oklahoma.
Table 5:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for irrigation
in 2000 by source for the top 10 counties in Oklahoma.
Table 6:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for water supply
in 2000 by source for the top 10 counties in
Oklahoma.
Table 7:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for livestock
in 2000 by source for the top 10 counties in Oklahoma.
For more discussion on water use in the United States see the USGS
water use link.
Selected References.