Water in United States
Water data, science and context for United States. Every figure carries its source and method, and Hydrionis states what it does not hold.
Headline indicators
Where this number comes from
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.INTR.K3. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).
Method: Renewable internal freshwater resources: the long-term average annual flow of rivers and recharge of groundwater generated from precipitation within the country. Internal resources exclude inflow from upstream countries, so this is the measure of self-sufficiency rather than of total availability. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.
Retrieved 24 August 2026.
Where this number comes from
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.INTR.PC. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).
Method: Renewable internal freshwater resources divided by population. Because the population denominator updates annually while the resource figure is a long-term hydrological average, movement in this series is largely population change rather than hydrological change. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT and World Bank population estimates. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.
Retrieved 24 August 2026.
Where this number comes from
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.FWTL.K3. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).
Method: Total annual freshwater withdrawn for agricultural, industrial and domestic use. Withdrawal is not consumption: much of what is withdrawn is returned to the source catchment. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.
Retrieved 24 August 2026.
Where this number comes from
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.FWAG.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).
Method: Agricultural withdrawal as a percentage of total freshwater withdrawal. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.
Retrieved 24 August 2026.
Where this number comes from
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.FWIN.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).
Method: Industrial withdrawal as a percentage of total freshwater withdrawal. Countries differ in whether thermoelectric cooling is counted here, and where it is the share reflects cooling arrangements rather than manufacturing intensity. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.
Retrieved 24 August 2026.
Where this number comes from
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.FWDM.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).
Method: Domestic and municipal withdrawal as a percentage of total freshwater withdrawal. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.
Retrieved 24 August 2026.
Where this number comes from
This is not a direct measurement. Output of a numerical or statistical model rather than a measurement.
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).
Method: Population using an improved drinking water source that is accessible on premises, available when needed, and free from priority contamination — all three simultaneously. Modelled from household surveys and censuses, not counted. Originating body: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.
Retrieved 24 August 2026.
Where this number comes from
This is not a direct measurement. Output of a numerical or statistical model rather than a measurement.
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator SH.STA.SMSS.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).
Method: Population using improved sanitation facilities not shared with other households, where excreta are safely disposed of in situ or treated off site. Originating body: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.
Retrieved 24 August 2026.
How water is used
Sector shares are reported for varying reference years by country, and countries differ in whether thermoelectric cooling is counted as industrial withdrawal.
View the data behind this chart
| Subject | Value (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 39.7 | — |
| Industry | 47.2 | — |
| Municipal | 13.1 | — |
Measured here
Hydrionis holds records from 2,680 monitoring locations in United States, read directly from the national network rather than reported at country level.
| Measurement | Locations | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Mean river flow | 1,750 | 148,859 |
| Reservoir stored volume | 92 | 54,260 |
| Facility water withdrawal | 834 | 7,414 |
| Facility water consumption | 813 | 6,943 |
| Facility reclaimed water use | 69 | 611 |
See the United States monitoring network — where the stations are, and what each one measures.
Coverage for this place
Entities in United States
Serves Washington DC. Notable for a lead-in-water crisis in the early 2000s traced to a change in disinfectant from chlorine to …
The river of the American south west, and the clearest example anywhere of a river allocated beyond its actual flow. In most yea…
The largest reservoir in the United States by capacity, impounded by the Hoover Dam. Its decline to record low levels in 2022 be…
The aquifer underlying the American High Plains, and the clearest large-scale example of groundwater mining: withdrawal has subs…
The largest documented waterborne disease outbreak in United States history, caused by Cryptosporidium passing through a functio…
A change of water source without corrosion control caused lead to leach from service lines across Flint, Michigan, exposing a ci…
Flooding overwhelmed an already failing treatment plant, leaving a city of roughly 150,000 people without reliable running water…
Levee failure flooded most of New Orleans, destroying water and sanitation services and creating widespread contamination of sta…
Michigan Attorney General action against State and city officials: Charges relating to the decisions and conduct surrounding the…
US courts and state attorneys general action against DuPont, Chemours, Corteva: PFAS contamination of public water systems from …
US federal court action against 3M: PFAS contamination of public drinking water systems.
Purified water from Municipal water supply, treated by reverse osmosis and remineralised. Total dissolved solids around 40 mg/l.
One of Google’s largest campuses. Google publishes site-level water withdrawal and consumption annually, making its US sites amo…
Subject of a multi-year public records dispute over disclosure of its municipal water use, resolved when the figures were releas…
Reported in connection with large-scale AI model training, and cited in academic work estimating the water footprint of training…
The largest concentration of data centre capacity in the world. AWS reports a company-level water usage effectiveness and uses r…
The largest seawater desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, supplying San Diego County — and a standing case study in the…
The dam that created Lake Mead and made large-scale settlement and irrigation of the American south west possible.
Federally enforceable US drinking water standards, expressed as maximum contaminant levels or as treatment technique requirement…
Within this place
- Hugh Butler Lake Near Mc Cook, Nebr. · reservoir site
- Swanson Lake Near Trenton, Nebr. · reservoir site
- Harry Strunk Lake Near Cambridge, Nebr. · reservoir site
- Enders Reservoir Near Enders, Nebr. · reservoir site
- Harlan County Lake Near Republican City, Nebr. · reservoir site
- Teller Reservoir Near Stone City, Co. · reservoir site
- Milford Lake Nr Junction City, KS · reservoir site
- Trinidad Lake Near Trinidad, Co. · reservoir site
- Lake Hefner At Oklahoma City, OK · reservoir site
- John Martin Reservoir At Caddoa, CO · reservoir site
- Lake Eucha Near Eucha, OK · reservoir site
- Lake Hudson Near Locust Grove, OK · reservoir site
- Lake O' The Cherokees At Langley, OK · reservoir site
- Lake Maloya Nr Raton NM · reservoir site
- Eagle Nest Lake Nr Eagle Nest, NM · reservoir site
- Conchas Lake At Conchas Dam N. Mex. · reservoir site
- Stanley Draper Lake Near Oklahoma City, OK · reservoir site
- Ute Reservoir Near Logan, NM · reservoir site
- Lake Ellsworth Near Elgin, OK · reservoir site
- Lake Lawtonka Near Lawton, OK · reservoir site
- Lake Altus At Lugert, OK · reservoir site
- Lake Overholser Near Oklahoma City, OK · reservoir site
- Lk Kemp Nr Mabelle, TX · reservoir site
- Lk Kickapoo Nr Archer City, TX · reservoir site
- Atoka Reservoir Near Stringtown, OK · reservoir site
- Lake Texoma Near Denison, TX · reservoir site
- B. A. Steinhagen Lk At Town Bluff, TX · reservoir site
- Lewisville Lk Nr Lewisville, TX · reservoir site
- Lk Arlington At Arlington, TX · reservoir site
- Benbrook Lk Nr Benbrook, TX · reservoir site
- Belton Lk Nr Belton, TX · reservoir site
- Lk Colorado City Nr Colorado City, TX · reservoir site
- Lk Nasworthy Nr San Angelo, TX · reservoir site
- Lk Brownwood Nr Brownwood, TX · reservoir site
- Hords Ck Lk Nr Valera, TX · reservoir site
- Nambe Falls Reservoir Near Nambe, NM · reservoir site
- Nichols Reservoir Near Santa Fe N Mex · reservoir site
- Mcclure Reservoir Near Santa Fe N Mex · reservoir site
- Cochiti Lake Near Cochiti Pueblo, NM · reservoir site
- Jemez Canyon Res Nr Bernalillo N M · reservoir site
- Lake Avalon Nr Carlsbad N Mex · reservoir site
- Lake Sumner Nr Fort Sumner, NM · reservoir site
- Wolford Mtn Reservoir Nr Kremmling, CO · reservoir site
- Silver Jack Reservoir Near Cimarron, CO · reservoir site
- Red Bluff Res Nr Orla, TX · reservoir site
- Ridgway Reservoir Near Ridgway, CO · reservoir site
- Paonia Reservoir Near Bardine, CO · reservoir site
- Big Sandy Reservoir Near Farson, WY · reservoir site
- Navajo Reservoir Nr Archuleta, NM · reservoir site
- Lemon Reservoir Near Durango CO · reservoir site
- Scofield Reservoir Near Scofield, UT · reservoir site
- Cragin Dam Reservoir Near Pine, Az (Blue Ridge) · reservoir site
- Lake Mohave At Davis Dam, Az-NV · reservoir site
- Lake Havasu Near Parker Dam, Az-CA · reservoir site
- San Carlos Reservoir At Coolidge Dam, AZ · reservoir site
- Horseshoe Reservoir At Horseshoe Dam, AZ · reservoir site
- Bartlett Reservoir At Bartlett Dam, AZ · reservoir site
- Rockport Reservoir Near Wanship, UT · reservoir site
- Pineview Reservoir Near Ogden, UT · reservoir site
- Echo Reservoir At Echo, UT · reservoir site
- Deer Creek Reservoir Near Charleston, Utah · reservoir site
- Piute Reservoir Near Marysvale, UT · reservoir site
- Sevier Bridge Reservoir Near Juab, UT · reservoir site
- Topaz Lake Nr Topaz, CA · reservoir site
- Weber Res Nr Schurz, NV · reservoir site
- Lahontan Res Nr Fallon, NV · reservoir site
- Marlette Lake Nr Carson City, NV · reservoir site
- Rye Patch Res Nr Rye Patch, NV · reservoir site
- Florence Lk Nr Big C CA · reservoir site
- Huntington Lk Nr Big Creek CA · reservoir site
- Shaver Lk Nr Big C CA · reservoir site
- Millerton Lk A Friant CA · reservoir site
- Lk Mcclure A Exchequer CA · reservoir site
- Hetch Hetchy Res A Hetch Hetchy CA · reservoir site
- Lk Eleanor Nr Hetch Hetchy CA · reservoir site
- Don Pedro Res Nr La Grange CA · reservoir site
- Shasta Lk Nr Redding CA · reservoir site
- Bucks Lk Nr Bucks Lodge CA · reservoir site
- Lk Pillsbury Nr Potter Valley CA · reservoir site
- Alder Reservoir At Alder, WA · reservoir site
- Mud Mountain Lake Near Buckley, WA · reservoir site
- Jackson Lake Near Moran, WY · reservoir site
- Mackay Res Nr Mackay ID · reservoir site
- Milner Lake At Milner Dam ID · reservoir site
- Wild Horse Res Nr Gold Cr, NV · reservoir site
- Lake Lowell Nr Caldwell ID · reservoir site
- Cascade Res At Cascade ID · reservoir site
- Arrowrock Res At Arrowrock Dam ID · reservoir site
- Brownlee Res At Brownlee Dam Id-Or State Line · reservoir site
- Dorena Lake Near Cottage Grove, OR · reservoir site
- Cottage Grove Lake Nr Cottage Grove, OR · reservoir site
- Fern Ridge Lake Near Elmira, OR · reservoir site