7 Cities, on average, use 3,300-3,600 kWh/million gallons of water delivered and treated. electricity use goes towards pumping and treating water and wastewater, a 52% increase in electricity use since 1996.

4 Florida, New York, and Maryland accounted for 50% of saline water withdrawals. 4 These states along with Idaho, Florida, Arkansas, New York, Illinois, Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, Montana, and Nebraska account for more than 50% of U.S. In 2015, California and Texas accounted for 16% of U.S.4 Irrigation includes water applied to agricultural crops along with the water used for landscaping, golf courses, parks, etc. Though 41% of daily water use is for power generation, only 3% of these withdrawals are consumptive. 4 Thermoelectric power plants use water for cooling. Thermoelectric power (133 Bgal/d) and irrigation (118 Bgal/d) accounted for the largest withdrawals. water use was approximately 322 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d), 87% of which was freshwater. 2 In marine systems such as south Florida, increased fresh water demand has led to the use of desalinization plants. 1 The arid southwest faces droughts, and decreasing water levels at the U.S.’s largest reservoirs Lake Powell and Lake Mead are impacting hydropower production. Failure by the government to enforce drinking water regulations and promptly protect public health resulted in lead contamination and cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint, MI. The problems and solutions to maintaining water supply vary significantly by region. Over the last century, the primary goals of water treatment have remained the same-to produce water that is biologically and chemically safe, appealing to consumers, and non-corrosive and non-scaling. For some of these uses, the available water requires treatment prior to use. Human uses include drinking, bathing, crop irrigation, electricity generation, and industrial activity.

Age of water mains