Irrigation accounts for majority of water withdrawals in more arid Western regions

Water resources consist of surface and groundwater sources that are withdrawn for agricultural, industrial, municipal, and other uses. The proportion of the water used by agriculture varies across the country, in part because agriculture in arid regions is less able to depend on precipitation for water needs. For instance, in the Pacific region from 2005 to 2015, agriculture used about 26 million acre feet of the 36 million acre feet used in an average year—about 72 percent. In contrast, in the High Plains (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas) water for irrigation amounted to 19 million acre feet of the 43 million acre feet of all water withdrawn in an average year—about 44 percent.