PUB00017

• Year: 1997
• Title: Colorado Water Development Study
• CWCB Section: Finance
• Author: Buford Rice, Ray Christensen
• Description: Study to assist Colorado Farm Bureau in developing recommendations and strategies for dealing with future water resource issues
• Publications - Doc Type: Brochure

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Section 5
Colorado
Water Use
Trends

LL 14,000
<(
g 12,000
o
~ 10,000
'0
~ 8,000
,2:
a; 6,000
o
;;; 4,000
10
;,':

Approxirootely 60 percent
of the state's daily water
use is attributed /0
irrigated agriculture,

16,000

2,000

Agricultural Water Use

For every tifth year from 1950 to 1990, the U.S. Geological Sur-
vey (USGS) estimaled the magnitude of water use in Ihe United
States by states and calegories (MacKichan, 1951, 1957;
MacKichan and Kammerer, 1961; Murray, 1968; Murray and
Reeves, 1972, ]977; and Solley et a!., 1983, 1988, and 1990),
Figure 9 illustrates the estimaled irrigalion water withdrawn in
Colorado as published by Ihe USGS, Estimated historical usage
is compiled based on information about the number of acres irri-
galed and the quanlity of water withdrawn. These data were ob-
tained from a variely of sources such as State agencies, the U,S,
Soil Conservation Service, U,S. Bureau of Reclamation, county
Cooperative Extension Service, individual farmers, agriculIural
research stations, and the U,S, Bureau of the Census, Agricul-
tural Census, and Farm and Ranch Survey.

o

... ...
.---
-
- -
- - - - - h
- - - - - - - 1-
<-- - - - - - f---- I~
.---
Ie- - - - - - - - - I~
k- - - - - - - - - 1-:
l--- - - - - - - - - 1-
'..-

1950

1955

1960

1965

1970
Year

1975

1980

1985

1990

Figure 9
Historical Irrigation Water Use in Colorado

A similar, yel more refined, study on water use in 1985 for the
entire State of Colorado was published by USGS (Litke and
Appel, 1989), Figure 10 illustrales one of the findings of this
report, This figure shows that of the 20,844 million gallons used
each day in 1985, approximately 60 percent is used by irrigated
agriculIure. Irrigation in Mesa County and Weld County each
used aboullO percent oflhe Stale's lotal agricultural waler(l,300

5-1

__ COloraDO
,._ Farm Bureau