USGS NAWQA: Water Withdrawals from Principal Aquifers

In aggregate, the principal aquifers being studied by NAWQA accounted for more than three fourths of the estimated withdrawals for public supply in 2000 from all principal aquifers (Maupin and Barber, 2005).

Water withdrawals from select principal aquifers.

[ ---, No information; S & G, Unconsolidated sand and gravel; Semicon. sand, Semiconsolidated sand; SS, Sandstone; Carb, Carbonate; Cry, Crystalline rocks]

Principal or Other Aquifer (listed from largest to smallest area)

Approximate Area of Aquifer, in square miles

Primary Lithologies of the Aquifer

Aquifer Rank¹ by Public Supply Use

Withdrawals for
Public Supply²,
in million gallons per day

2000²

Glacial aquifer system³

953,148

S & G

1,950

Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands aquifer system

197,211

Semicon. sand

724

.	Mississippi Embayment aquifer system

132,552

Semicon. sand

---

576

.	Texas Coastal Uplands aquifer system

64,659

Semicon. sand

---

148

Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system

177,355

590

High Plains aquifer

176,534

S & G

389

Basin and Range basin-fill and carbonate-rock aquifers

163,386

S & G

1,081

.	Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers

147,436

S & G

---

1,010

.	Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifers

15,949

Carb

---

Floridan aquifer system and overlying Surficial aquifer system⁴

112,684

Carb

1,555

.	Floridan aquifer system

101,279

Carb

---

1,330

.	Surficial aquifer system⁵

71,318⁵

S & G

---

225 ⁵

Coastal Lowlands aquifer system

98,752

Semicon. sand

1,010

Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline and carbonate-rock aquifers

87,747

Cry & Carb

110

.	Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline-rock aquifers

86,489

Cry

---

.	Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers

1,258

Carb

---

Edwards-Trinity aquifer system

75,012

SS & Carb

411

New England crystalline-rock aquifers

70,660

Cry

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system

44,189

Semicon. sand

793

Columbia Plateau basin-fill and basaltic-rock aquifers

43,521

S & G; Basalt

223

.	Columbia Plateau basin-fill aquifers

14,389

S & G

---

.	Columbia Plateau basaltic-rock aquifers

29,132

Basalt

---

223

Valley and Ridge and Valley and Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers

3,0621

SS & Carb

226

.	Valley and Ridge aquifers (Sandstone)

3,621

---

.	Valley and Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers

15,357

Carb

---

177

Rio Grande aquifer system

29,249

S & G

240

Central Valley aquifer system

20,305

S & G

839

California Coastal Basin aquifers

10,172

S & G

1,580

Denver Basin aquifer system

6,788

Hawaiian volcanic-rock aquifers

6,439

Basalt

243

Biscayne aquifer

3,572

Carb

698

Snake River Plain basin-fill and basaltic-rock aquifers

---

S & G; Basalt

151

.	Snake River Plain basin-fill aquifers

---

S & G

---

.	Snake River Plain basaltic-rock aquifers

1,952

Basalt

---

¹Rank 1 is largest water use
²Maupin, M.A. and Barber, N.L., 2005, Estimated withdrawals from principal aquifers in the United States, 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1279, 46 p.
³ Includes that part of the glacial aquifer system that was Wisconsinan glaciation by the Laurentide ice sheet; the area of that portion of the glacial aquifer is 670,839 sq. miles (Soller and Packard, 1998, USGS DDS-38).
⁴Includes that part of the Surficial aquifer system that overlies the Floridan aquifer system.
⁵Includes that part of the Surficial aquifer system that overlies the Floridan aquifer system (reported from the states of South Carolina and Florida) (modified from Maupin and Barber, 2005)

References

Maupin, Molly A.; Barber, Nancy L., 2005, Estimated withdrawals from principal aquifers in the United States, 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1279, 52 p.

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