Water-use data for Indiana from 1960 to 1990 were analyzed to determine general trends of offstream water use. Since 1960, total withdrawals have increased, although there have been periods of increases and decreases. The largest amount of water use (14,300 Mgal/d) occurred in 1980, which was almost 2.5 times more than in 1960. There has been a general increase in withdrawals by public water suppliers, with a trend toward an increasing percentage of population relying on public supplies as their source of water for domestic use. There was an increase in water use by industries during the 1960's, a leveling off during the 1970's, and a general decrease in the 1980's. Industries and powerplants rely heavily on surface water, in Indiana, more water is used for energy production than all other water-use categories combined. Reliability of the data improved significantly in 1985 when facilities capable of withdrawing 100,000 gal/d were required to report their monthly withdrawals annually to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). IDNR maintains these data and makes these data available to the U.S. Geological Survey and other interested parties. In addition, IDNR publishes these data by county for the entire State annually.
