The annual celebration of Groundwater Awareness Week is just around the corner from March 10 – 16, 2024. During Groundwater Awareness Week we highlight how Americans depend on groundwater and its responsible development, management, and use.
In 2015, the USGS estimated Americans used about 322,000 million gallons of water per day. Only 27% of this water use comes from groundwater sources, however the amount of groundwater is 20 to 30 times greater than the amount in surface waters of the United States(lakes, streams, and rivers). While this illustrates our under-utilizing of groundwater, it is important to prevent groundwater pollution and the impacts it can have to households and industries, especially rural populations and agriculture.
Who depends on groundwater?
The U.S. Geological Survey breaks total groundwater withdrawals in use categories. This highlights the the use of groundwater in rural areas – 64% of groundwater is used for irrigation to grow crops. Additionally, not depicted on the graph, groundwater supplies drinking water for 99% of the rural population via private wells.
A natural “withdrawal” of groundwater occurs through the recharge of lakes and rivers, surface water sources where human water withdrawal occurs. While these statistics point to high use of surface waters, we can see how groundwater is an important contributor to our general water use.
Let’s work this coming March and every day to prevent groundwater pollution and promote policies that protect our groundwater!
