Oklahoma Water Science Center
Estimated Freshwater Withdrawals in
Oklahoma, 1995
by Robert L. Tortorelli
Introduction
This web page presents 1995 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,
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 national water use compilation for 1995 is described
in USGS Circular 1200, Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 1995
(Solley and others, 1998). The data presented here are the result of the 1995
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Withdrawal is the amount of water withdrawn or diverted from a ground- or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 1995
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 1995 in Oklahoma:
- Total quantity of freshwater withdrawals for all
purposes was estimated to be 1,782 million gallons per
day.
- Total surface-water withdrawals were estimated to be
822.5 million gallons per day or 46
percent of the total freshwater withdrawals.
- Total ground-water withdrawals were about
959.6 million gallons per day or 54
percent of the total freshwater withdrawals.
For the top four withdrawal categories:
- Irrigation withdrawals accounted for 49
percent of total withdrawals and for 80
percent of ground-water withdrawals.
- Water-supply withdrawals accounted for 32
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 8
percent of the total withdrawals.
- Thermoelectric-power generation accounted for
7 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
Cimarron and Jackson Counties.
- Water-supply purposes was in Mayes County, followed by
Rogers and Oklahoma Counties.
- Livestock purposes was in Texas, Cimarron, and Caddo
Counties.
- Thermoelectric-power generation purposes was in
Muskogee County, followed by Pawnee, and Mayes Counties, which accounted
for over 60 percent of the withdrawals.
TABLES
Table 1:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for 1995 by county
, use, and source for the 77 counties in Oklahoma.
Table 2:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for 1995 by principal
river basin and use for the 10 principal river basins in Oklahoma.
Table 3:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for 1995 by aquifer
and use for 8 major and 2 minor aquifers in Oklahoma.
Table 4:
Amount of total estimated freshwater withdrawals for 1995
by source for the top 10 counties in Oklahoma.
Table 5:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for irrigation
in 1995 by source for the top 10 counties in Oklahoma.
Table 6:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for water supply
in 1995 by source for the top 10 counties in
Oklahoma.
Table 7:
Amount of estimated freshwater withdrawals for livestock
in 1995 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.