USGS is compiling data on locations and volumes of water withdrawals for bottled water production and learning how, when, and where bottled water withdrawals result in changes to groundwater levels, spring flows, and water quality.
New 2023 Data Release
Inventory of water bottling facilities in the United States, 2023, and select water-use data, 1955-2022, https://doi.org/10.5066/P90Z125H.
Background

Bottled water is widely used for convenience and personal preference and is important during water supply emergencies when normal drinking water sources are disrupted. Bottled water is sourced from public supply systems, or from privately owned intakes from streams, lakes, springs, or groundwater wells.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates the quality of bottled drinking water, however, the water withdrawals for bottling from natural water resources are not federally regulated. Thus, there is little information at the national scale about source locations and water withdrawals for bottled water.
Study Plans
USGS is assessing water withdrawals for bottling in relation to water availability – water quality, groundwater levels, and other factors. The research aims to develop tools that can be used to estimate potential changes in the future as withdrawals, climate, and socioeconomic conditions change.
Project components include:
- National inventory of bottling facilities, facility characteristics, and water withdrawals
- Regional assessments of withdrawals for water bottling and changes to local groundwater levels, spring flow, water quality, and other conditions
- East Twin/Strawberry Creek watersheds – California
- Great Lakes watershed – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Wisconsin
- Saco River basin – Maine, New Hampshire
- Sante Fe River basin – Florida
- Trinity and San Jacinto River basins – Texas
- Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province – Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia
- National Synthesis
- Identify relationships between socioeconomic conditions, water availability, ecosystems, and locations of bottling facilities
See "Science" and "Publications" tabs for more information about USGS water use and availability science and previous studies of bottled water.
Related USGS Science
Water Use
Collaborative Science Provides Understanding of Contaminants in Bottled Water-an Increasingly Common Alternate Drinking Water Source
Drinking Water and Source Water Research
Inventory of water bottling facilities in the United States, 2023, and select water-use data, 1955-2022
Related USGS publications from other studies
Bottled water contaminant exposures and potential human effects
Message in a bottle: The story of drifting plastic in the eastern Mediterranean Sea
Estimated use of water in the United States in 2015
U.S. drinking water challenges in the twenty-first century
Bottled water, spas, and early years of water chemistry
Water bottling across the U.S.
This Web Tool explores the count of water bottling facilities across the U.S.
Facility types include bottled water facilities, breweries, distilleries, ice facilities, soft drink manufacturing plants, and wineries.
Reported volumes withdrawn (water use) for bottled water facilities are also explored for the small number of facilities for which data are currently available.
Where can I find information about bottled water?
Bottled water is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and by individual states. For general information about bottled water, sources include the International Bottled Water Association and NSF International. Learn More: Water Use - Withdrawals for Bottled Water
How much water is used by people in the United States?
Since 1950, the USGS has collected and analyzed water-use data for the United States and its Territories. That data is revised every 5 years. As of 2015, the United States uses 322 billion gallons of water per day (Bgal/day). The three largest water-use categories were irrigation (118 Bgal/day), thermoelectric power (133 Bgal/day), and public supply (39 Bgal/day), cumulatively accounting for 90...
- Overview
USGS is compiling data on locations and volumes of water withdrawals for bottled water production and learning how, when, and where bottled water withdrawals result in changes to groundwater levels, spring flows, and water quality.
New 2023 Data Release
Inventory of water bottling facilities in the United States, 2023, and select water-use data, 1955-2022, https://doi.org/10.5066/P90Z125H.
Background
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Bottled water is widely used for convenience and personal preference and is important during water supply emergencies when normal drinking water sources are disrupted. Bottled water is sourced from public supply systems, or from privately owned intakes from streams, lakes, springs, or groundwater wells.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates the quality of bottled drinking water, however, the water withdrawals for bottling from natural water resources are not federally regulated. Thus, there is little information at the national scale about source locations and water withdrawals for bottled water.
Study Plans
USGS is assessing water withdrawals for bottling in relation to water availability – water quality, groundwater levels, and other factors. The research aims to develop tools that can be used to estimate potential changes in the future as withdrawals, climate, and socioeconomic conditions change.
Project components include:
- National inventory of bottling facilities, facility characteristics, and water withdrawals
- Regional assessments of withdrawals for water bottling and changes to local groundwater levels, spring flow, water quality, and other conditions
- East Twin/Strawberry Creek watersheds – California
- Great Lakes watershed – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Wisconsin
- Saco River basin – Maine, New Hampshire
- Sante Fe River basin – Florida
- Trinity and San Jacinto River basins – Texas
- Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province – Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia
- National Synthesis
- Identify relationships between socioeconomic conditions, water availability, ecosystems, and locations of bottling facilities
Trends in total water withdrawals in the U.S. by water-use category, 1950–2015 (Dieter and others, 2018, fig. 16). While not specifically estimated, water withdrawals for bottled water are included in public supply withdrawals if the source is public supply, and if self-supplied from a well or surface water source and reported to a state or local agency, included in industrial (part of "Other") water-use estimates.
See "Science" and "Publications" tabs for more information about USGS water use and availability science and previous studies of bottled water.
- Science
Related USGS Science
Water Use
Through the National Water Census, USGS will provide national information on withdrawal, conveyance, consumptive use, and return flow by water-use category at spatial and temporal resolutions important for risk-informed water management decisions. Water-use data provide a foundation for water managers to analyze trends over time, plan more strategically, identify, and ultimately quantify...Collaborative Science Provides Understanding of Contaminants in Bottled Water-an Increasingly Common Alternate Drinking Water Source
U.S. Geological Survey researchers and public health experts collaborated to determine what contaminants occur in bottled water, which is an increasingly common alternate drinking water source, to broaden their understanding of human exposure to contaminants in drinking water supply chains. Bottled water, like public-supply and private-well tap water supply chains, contained multiple organic...Drinking Water and Source Water Research
Reliable drinking water is vital for the health and safety of all Americans. The USGS monitors and assesses the quality of the water used as a source for our nation's drinking water needs. - Data
Inventory of water bottling facilities in the United States, 2023, and select water-use data, 1955-2022
An inventory of facilities that bottle water or other beverages containing water (including soft drinks, beer, wine, or spirits) or that manufacture ice was compiled by combining available datasets from multiple sources. This water bottling inventory dataset includes facilities within all 50 states of the United States, one federal district (Washington, District of Columbia), and three territories - Publications
Related USGS publications from other studies
Bottled water contaminant exposures and potential human effects
Bottled water (BW) consumption in the United States and globally has increased amidst heightened concern about environmental contaminant exposures and health risks in drinking water supplies, despite a paucity of directly comparable, environmentally-relevant contaminant exposure data for BW. This study provides insight into exposures and cumulative risks to human health from inorganic/organic/micrAuthorsPaul Bradley, Kristin Romanok, Kelly Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Nicola Evans, Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick, Carrie E Givens, Stephanie Gordon, James L. Gray, Emily M. Green, Dale W. Griffin, Michelle Hladik, Leslie K. Kanagy, John T. Lisle, Keith Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Ana Navas-Acien, David A. Roth, Paul F. South, Christopher P. WeisMessage in a bottle: The story of drifting plastic in the eastern Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a closed basin with limited water exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar, and sites along its shores show the greatest densities of marine debris in the world. Plastic bottles, which are a growing concern due to high consumption of soft drinks and bottled water, constitute most of the floating marine debris. In this paper we present the transport mechanisms of floating mAuthorsGalia Pasternak, Dov Zviely, Asaf Ariel, Ehud Spanier, Christine RibicEstimated use of water in the United States in 2015
Water use in the United States in 2015 was estimated to be about 322 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d), which was 9 percent less than in 2010. The 2015 estimates put total withdrawals at the lowest level since before 1970, following the same overall trend of decreasing total withdrawals observed from 2005 to 2010. Freshwater withdrawals were 281 Bgal/d, or 87 percent of total withdrawals, and salinAuthorsCheryl A. Dieter, Molly A. Maupin, Rodney R. Caldwell, Melissa A. Harris, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, John K. Lovelace, Nancy L. Barber, Kristin S. LinseyU.S. drinking water challenges in the twenty-first century
The access of almost all 270 million U.S. residents to reliable, safe drinking water distinguishes the United States in the twentieth century from that of the nineteenth century. The United States is a relatively water-abundant country with moderate population growth; nonetheless, current trends are sufficient to strain water resources over time, especially on a regional basis. We have examined thAuthorsRonnie B. Levin, Paul R. Epstein, Tim E. Ford, Winston Harrington, Erik R. Olson, Eric G. ReichardBottled water, spas, and early years of water chemistry
Although hot springs have been used and enjoyed for thousands of years, it was not until the late 1700s that they changed the course of world civilization by being the motivation for development of the science of chemistry. The pioneers of chemistry such as Priestley, Cavendish, Lavoisier, and Henry were working to identify and generate gases, in part, to determine their role in carbonated beveragAuthorsWilliam Back, Edward R. Landa, Lisa Meeks - Web Tools
Water bottling across the U.S.
This Web Tool explores the count of water bottling facilities across the U.S.
Facility types include bottled water facilities, breweries, distilleries, ice facilities, soft drink manufacturing plants, and wineries.
Reported volumes withdrawn (water use) for bottled water facilities are also explored for the small number of facilities for which data are currently available.
- FAQ
Where can I find information about bottled water?
Bottled water is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and by individual states. For general information about bottled water, sources include the International Bottled Water Association and NSF International. Learn More: Water Use - Withdrawals for Bottled Water
How much water is used by people in the United States?
Since 1950, the USGS has collected and analyzed water-use data for the United States and its Territories. That data is revised every 5 years. As of 2015, the United States uses 322 billion gallons of water per day (Bgal/day). The three largest water-use categories were irrigation (118 Bgal/day), thermoelectric power (133 Bgal/day), and public supply (39 Bgal/day), cumulatively accounting for 90...