Water‐Use Data in the United States: Challenges and Future Directions

Marston, Landon; Abdallah, Adel M.; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Dickson, Kerim; Glynn, Pierre D.; Larsen, Sara; Melton, F. S.; Onda, Kyle; Painter, Jaime A.; Prairie, James; Ruddell, Benjamin L.; Rushforth, Richard; Senay, Gabriel B.; Shaffer, Kimberly H.

doi:10.1111/1752-1688.13004

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…For each analysis, the most reliable publicly available data were used. The greatest source of potential error comes from combining data from multiple sources, different reporting years, different monitoring and collection methods, and different spatial and temporal scales, which are prevalent problems across state and national water use databases …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The greatest source of potential error comes from combining data from multiple sources, different reporting years, different monitoring and collection methods, and different spatial and temporal scales, which are prevalent problems across state and national water use databases. 62 A HUC-12 scale is suitable for this analysis given data accessibility constraints, but water resource decisions are often made on a municipal or county scale where reclaimed water can be shared across watersheds. Using a hydrologic division may exclude opportunities for reuse between WWTPs in one watershed with water users in a neighboring watershed; this boundary problem occurs broadly in spatial analysis and could be potentially solved using finer-resolution location-specific data on water users.…”

Section: Data Challenges and Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying Opportunities for Nonpotable Water Reuse Based on Potential Supplies and Demands in the United States

2023

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Water scarcity threatens the well-being of individuals, the natural environment, and economic systems that function within society. Faced with growing and evolving water supply concerns, many utilities and industries have relied on nontraditional water sources to mitigate severe shortages and combat water quality concerns. Treated municipal wastewater can serve as a reliable supply of water at a predictable quality and quantity and is especially well-suited for nonpotable end uses. In this work, we identify areas within the contiguous United States where water reuse projects are possible on the basis of existing supplies of treated wastewater at known qualities and quantities, estimated nonpotable demands, and state-level policies that outline water quality requirements for reuse. We use publicly available data to develop a geographic information system-based supply-demand assessment that identifies spatial trends and areas of interest for locally focused water reuse analysis. We find that the feasibility of water reuse is highly sensitive to existing state-level policies and the level of wastewater treatment currently in place. Nonpotable recycled water can potentially offset significant water withdrawals within communities where specific policy and technical criteria are met.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Challenges and Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Opportunities for Nonpotable Water Reuse Based on Potential Supplies and Demands in the United States

2023

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“…More complex models require more knowledge of the system and more computational power. Given the intention of this study to evaluate sensitivity of hydrological signatures to streamflow depletion rather than accurately reflect real aquifer conditions and groundwater use (which are in general mostly unknown ;Foster et al, 2020;Marston et al, 2022), we modelled streamflow depletion using the Glover and Balmer (1954) analytical solution, hereafter referred to as the Glover model. The Glover model has low input data requirements and widespread past application including evaluation through comparisons to other analytical and numerical models (Flores et al, 2020;Li et al, 2020Li et al, , 2022Sophocleous et al, 1995;Zipper et al, 2019;Zipper, Gleeson, et al, 2021).…”

Section: Streamflow Depletion Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying hydrologic signatures associated with streamflow depletion caused by groundwater pumping

Lapides

Zipper

Hammond

2023

Hydrological Processes

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Groundwater pumping can reduce streamflow in nearby waterways ('streamflow depletion'), a process which must be accounted for in integrated management of surface and groundwater resources. However, causal identification of streamflow depletion from hydrographs alone is challenging because pumping impacts are masked by other drivers of hydrologic variability. To identify potential indicators of streamflow depletion, we used synthetic hydrographs and an analytical streamflow depletion model to assess potential pumping impacts on specific hydrograph characteristics ('hydrologic signatures') for 215 streamgages spanning the conterminous United States (CONUS). We found that streamflow depletion commonly impacts signatures associated with seasonal and annual low flows and low flow recessions. The largest impacts occurred during dry years, suggesting streamflow depletion may be evident in dry years even where impacts are unmeasurable in wet years. Random forest models indicated that streamflow depletion could significantly impact Annual, Summer, and Fall signatures in most streams. Our finding that multiple hydrologic signatures are consistently responsive to streamflow depletion across CONUS suggests that the underlying hydrological processes linking pumping to streamflow reductions are consistent across diverse settings, information that will aid in identifying indicators of streamflow depletion from streamflow hydrographs.

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“…However, water use has not yet been explicitly addressed. Withdrawal estimates for various use types (domestic, irrigation, livestock, aquaculture, industrial, mining, and thermoelectric power) have been available at 5‐year intervals and the state level (Dieter et al, 2018), but improved spatial and temporal resolution of water use information (Evenson et al, 2018; Marston et al, 2022) could be used to help discern the impacts of interrelated climate and human water use drivers on surface and groundwater quantity trends.…”

Section: Gaps and Potential Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated water resources trend assessments: State of the science, challenges, and opportunities for advancement

Stackpoole

Oelsner

Stets

et al. 2023

J American Water Resour Assoc

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Water is vital to human life and healthy ecosystems. Here we outline the current state of national‐scale water resources trend assessments, identify key gaps, and suggest advancements to better address critical issues related to changes in water resources that may threaten human development or the environment. Questions like, “Do we have less suitable drinking water now than we had 20 years ago?” or “Are flood events more common now than they were in the past?” prompted improvements in data, trend estimation methods, and modeling frameworks to track changes in, and better understand how land use and climate influence four water resources domains: surface and groundwater quantity and quality. However, continued advancement in trend assessments to better address issues related to changes in water availability is needed. Areas of need include more timely and efficient delivery of water resources trend results and improved capacity to estimate trends at unmonitored locations. Additional integration pieces include increased understanding of groundwater–surface water interactions, incorporation of both quantity and quality trends into water availability estimates, and the refinement of trend metrics to account for the competing needs of society and ecological integrity. Coupled with improved driver attribution studies, these components will better inform current and future water resources management.

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Water‐Use Data in the United States: Challenges and Future Directions

Abstract: To inform future decision-making regarding water supplies and uses, we must coordinate efforts to substantially improve our capacity to collect, model, and disseminate water-use data.

Cited by 19 publications

References 24 publications

Identifying Opportunities for Nonpotable Water Reuse Based on Potential Supplies and Demands in the United States

Identifying Opportunities for Nonpotable Water Reuse Based on Potential Supplies and Demands in the United States

Identifying hydrologic signatures associated with streamflow depletion caused by groundwater pumping

Integrated water resources trend assessments: State of the science, challenges, and opportunities for advancement

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