America's Water Usage Remains Stable Despite Growth

Despite growing population and increasing electricity production, water use in the United States remains fairly stable, according to a new report released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS report shows that in 2000, Americans used 408 billion gallons of water per day, a number that has remained fairly stable since 1985 and a sign that conservation is working. In the report, Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2000, USGS researchers found that the chief water users for the nation are power generation, agriculture and public water supply. The USGS report also finds that the personal use of water is rising, but not faster than population change.

The full report is available online at: http://pubs.water.usgs.gov/ circ1268. Additional water use information is available at: http://water.usgs.gov/watuse