Harmonization of a water withdrawal dataset for the conterminous United States

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
By: , and 

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Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey is developing nationally consistent water-use modeling approaches to replace previous methods relying on locally specific reported and estimated data. These national assessments require datasets that incorporate water withdrawal variability across the United States and over long periods. However, source data often have unclear definitions, missing or varied units, differing temporal resolutions, varied data quality, and inconsistent formats, which hinder automation and require individualized processing. The public-supply datasets described in this paper were used in machine learning models to estimate annual and monthly public-supply water use for 2000–2020 for the conterminous United States (CONUS) and in a model to estimate public-supply deliveries. Public-supply withdrawal data were acquired for the CONUS and the District of Columbia; however, 11 states had annual data for only 1 year, and 10 states had no monthly data. Annual withdrawal data were acquired for 81% of public-supply water service areas, and monthly withdrawal data were acquired for 47% for at least 1 year from 2000 to 2020. These datasets and methods provide the most comprehensive collection of reported public-supply withdrawals to date and can be used by water-use managers, the scientific community, and the broader public. The extensive data processing described herein can be applicable to datasets representing other categories of water use.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Harmonization of a water withdrawal dataset for the conterminous United States
Series title JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
DOI 10.1111/1752-1688.70054
Volume 61
Issue 6
Publication Date December 08, 2025
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Description e70054, 13 p.
Country United States
Other Geospatial conterminous United States
Additional publication details