Water Use in Tennessee, 2010

The water resources in Tennessee are likely to be stressed in the future by factors such as population increase, urban and suburban development, climate change, and other competing demands. Water-resource managers and policy makers will need accurate water-use data for regional water-supply planning including infrastructure investment, conservation, and cost-recovery strategies. Quantifying public-supply and self-supplied industrial water use and relating the use to effects on -water resources and natural hydrologic systems; is important for the public and policy makers. This dataset includes public-supply water-use and self-supplied industrial water-use information for the State of Tennessee in 2010. Public supply refers to water that is withdrawn by suppliers to furnish water year round to at least 25 people or has at least 15 service connections (U.S. Geological Survey, 1978). To assess public-supply water use in Tennessee, data were collected and analyzed for public-supply water systems active between January 1 and December 31, 2010. The public-supply water systems included investor-owned water companies, private water companies, municipal water departments, regional water authorities, residential developments, mobile-home parks, homeowner associations, and institutions such as schools and prisons. Self-supplied industrial water use refers to surface-water and groundwater withdrawals by facilities with total usage values greater than or equal to 10,000 gallons per day (gal/d) (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, 2015) with mean withdrawals greater than or equal to 10,000 gal/d. To assess self-supplied industrial water use in Tennessee, data were collected and analyzed for industrial-water users active between January 1 and December 31, 2010. Industrial facilities use water for purposes such as fabrication, processing, washing, diluting, cooling, or transporting a product; incorporating water into a product; or for sanitation needs within a manufacturing facility (Maupin and others, 2014). Other industries that use large amounts of water produce commodities such as chemicals, food, metals, paper, or refined petroleum. Data in this release were used to support the analysis published in the companion report Robinson (2017).

References
Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405, 56 p. [Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/cir1405.]

Robinson, J.A., 2017, Public-supply water use and self-supplied industrial water use in Tennessee, 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigation Report 2017xxxx, xx p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir2017XXXX.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, 2015, Water Withdrawal Registration Program: Nashville, Tenn., Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, accessed July 2015 at http://www.tn.gov/environment/article/wr-wq-water-withdrawal-registrati….

U.S. Geological Survey, 1978, Public water supply, chap. 11.C of National handbook of recommended methods for water data acquisitionChapter 11Water use: U.S. Geological Survey, accessed December 17, 2013, at http://pubs.usgs.gov/chapter11/chapter11C.html.