Water-use data-collection programs and regional data base of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin states and provinces; a comparison of withdrawal-data programs by water-use category and by state and province

Abstract

The Great Lakes form the largest volume of unfrozen freshwater in the world (5,000 cubic miles of water) and supply drinking water for 26 million people in the United States and Canada. The Great Lakes also form a major shipping corridor and water supply for many uses, the largest of which are public supply; domestic, commercial, and industrial use; irrigation and livestock; recreation and tourism; powerplant cooling; hydroelectric-power generation; and mining extraction. The size and importance of this resource and the need for careful management by States and Provinces and the federal governments highlight the need for a data-collection program to provide a basis for future management decisions. The Great Lakes Commission was recommended to be the regional database repository to the governors and premiers by the Water Resources Management Committee after cost estimates and proposals were reviewed. Questionnaires were sent to more than 30 agencies and ministries to evaluate their interest and ability to house and maintain the data base.

Water resources of the Batavia Kill basin at Windham, Greene County, New York

“…Water-use estimates for single-family homes and apartments range from 40 to 150 gal/d per person (Snavely, 1986). A value of 50 gal/d per person was used to estimate water use by year-round and occasional-use residents and by the motel and inn population (assuming that the estimate includes local restaurant water use).…”

Estimation, analysis, sources, and verification of consumptive water use data in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin

“…As a result of the Great Lakes Charter, the Great Lakes Regional Water-Use Data Base (hereafter referred to as the data base) was designed by the Geological Survey and translated into computer language by Acres International Ltd. 1 of Niagara Falls, Ont. The data base is maintained and operated by the Great Lakes Commission in Ann Arbor, Mich., and is described in Snavely (1986). The designated agency in each State and ministry in each Province will transmit data annually; the coding sheet is illustrated in figure 3.…”

“…One caution is that the data-collection methods and threshold levels (withdrawals below which data are not collected) differ from place to place; another is that, because many agencies and ministries are estimating the consumptive-use component, their methods of estimation and the facilites inventoried would need to be documented to assess the reliability of the data. Many of these methods are described in Snavely (1986).…”

“…Both are subject to restrictions imposed by privacy considerations and the agencies' or facilities' willingness to participate in the project. The availability of data and the accuracy, format, and characteristics of information from public agencies are discussed in Snavely (1986).…”