Water Use in Alabama, 2005
Water is one of the most important of Alabama's natural resources. Water is not only a vital component of human existence, it is critical to the overall quality of life. In order to protect and preserve this resource for future generations, we must have a baseline of information to make decisions. Decision and policy makers must know the answers to three fundamental questions: where is the water used, how it is used, and how much is used. These Web pages detail the overall withdrawals of groundwater and surface waters that occurred in Alabama in 2005.
Water use in Alabama was about 9,958 million gallons
per day (Mgal/d) during 2005. Estimates of withdrawals by
source indicate that total surface-water withdrawals were
about 9,467 Mgal/d (95 percent of the total withdrawals)
and the remaining 491 Mgal/d (5 percent) were from
ground water.
Water Use, by Category, in Alabama in 2005
 More surface water than ground water was
withdrawn
for all categories except aquaculture, mining, and
self-supplied residential. During 2005, estimated withdrawals
by category and in descending order were: thermoelectric
power, 8,274 Mgal/d; public supply, 802 Mgal/d; self-supplied
industrial, 550 Mgal/d; irrigation, 161 Mgal/d; aquaculture,
75 Mgal/d; self-supplied residential, 39 Mgal/d; livestock,
28 Mgal/d; and mining, 28 Mgal/d. Figures may not sum to totals because of independent rounding.
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During 2005, about 83 percent of the water used in Alabama was for thermoelectric power to generate about
114,144 net gigawatt-hours of energy. Almost all of the
thermoelectric-power water use (about 8,274 Mgal/d) was
from surface water; nearly all of the water (98 percent) was
used for once-through cooling, and most of that water was
returned to a surface-water source.
Public-supply and self-supplied residential withdrawals
were about 8 percent of total water withdrawals and about
50 percent of total water withdrawals for all categories
excluding thermoelectric power. The combined public supply
and self-supplied residential ground-water withdrawals
were about 64 percent of total ground-water withdrawals for
Alabama. Public-supply deliveries to residential customers
were 41 percent of total public-supply withdrawals, or about
326 Mgal/d; combined industrial and commercial deliveries
were 44 percent, or about 355 Mgal/d; and public use and losses
accounted for the remaining 15 percent, or about 120 Mgal/d.
Self-supplied industrial (550 Mgal/d) and mining (28 Mgal/d) withdrawals were about 6 percent of total water withdrawals and about 33 percent of total water withdrawals for all categories excluding thermoelectric power. Paper and allied products accounted for the largest self-supplied industrial surface-water withdrawals (301 Mgal/d), and chemical and allied products (12 Mgal/d) accounted for the largest ground-water withdrawals.
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Trends in freshwater withdrawals, 1960-2005
Water withdrawals have more than doubled in Alabama
from 1960 to 2005 from about 4,220 million gallons per
day (Mgal/d) to 9,958 Mgal/d (fig. 1). The entire increase
in withdrawals actually occurred from 1960 to 1980
(4,220 Mgal/d to more than 10,350 Mgal/d), while withdrawals
in subsequent years have declined somewhat,
then increased slightly, but remained nearly constant from
2000 to 2005 (8,593 Mgal/d in 1985; 8,074 Mgal/d in
1990; 8,286 Mgal/d in 1995; 9,990 Mgal/d in 2000; and
9,958 Mgal/d in 2005). Population increased about 19 percent
from 1960 to 1980 and increased another 17 percent from
1980 to 2005. As a result of the leveling off of withdrawals as
population has increased, gross per capita use has declined.
The data indicate that gross per capita water use increased
from about 1,292 gallons per day (gal/d) for 1960 to a high
of about 2,661 gal/d for 1980, and then decreased to about
2,185 gal/d for 2005.
Information Resources
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
