Here are some staggering facts about groundwater in the United States you may not be aware of yet.
- The United States uses 82.3 billion gallons per day of fresh groundwater for public supply, private supply, irrigation, livestock, manufacturing, mining, thermoelectric power, and other purposes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
2. Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
3. The Ogallala Aquifer stretches more than 450,000 square kilometers (174,000 square miles) through parts of the U.S. states of South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, according to National Geographic. The Ogallala Aquifer holds more than 3,000 cubic kilometers (2.4 billion acre-feet) of groundwater. (Read more about the Ogallala Aquifer here.)
4. The average household’s leaks can account for nearly 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
5. Of the estimated 29 billion gallons of water used daily by households in the US, nearly 9 billion gallons, or 30 percent, is devoted to outdoor water use, according to EPA’s WaterSense program. In the hot summer months, or in dry climates, a household’s outdoor water use can be as high as 70 percent.
Make sure to share these facts about groundwater with your friends and family! Every little bit we can do to conserve our groundwater supply is beneficial!
