Per capita water use is generally higher in the western United States than in th

Question

Per capita water use is generally higher in the western United States than in the eastern part of the country, primarily because A) there is a greater amount of irrigation in the western U.S B) there are more people and a higher population density overall in the western U.S C) there are fewer surface water reservoirs and smaller aquifers in the western U. S D) the western and central U.S. receives substantially more rainfall than the east coast of the U.S E) people living in the eastern U.S. do not drink much water.

Explanation / Answer

(A)higher in the West than the East mostly due to the amount of landscape irrigation in the West.The main factor is outdoor watering for lawns and gardens. "Whereas residents in wetter states in the East can often rely on rainwater for their landscaping, the inhabitants of Western states must rely on sprinklers."

The most recent USGS estimates show that in 2005 average water withdrawals was about 410 billion gallons per day (BGD) from fresh and saltwater sources. Forty-nine percent of those withdrawals were for thermoelectric power and thirty-one percent was for agricultural uses. Domestic uses (indoor and outdoor residential uses, such as drinking water, sanitation, and lawn watering) accounted for just over 7% of total withdrawals. While the data does not distinguish between consumptive and non-consumptive uses, it gives a clear picture of how much water we use and just how important water is to the everyday functioning of our society.

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