Water Use and Groundwater

Supply is Dwindling, Demand is increasing population growth industrial development expansion of irrigated agriculture. Irrigation for crops uses percent of fresh supplies Industry uses percent of available freshwater Domestic use accounts for about ten percent of water use

Shallow sand, gravel, rock North China Plain Groundwater levels dropping in many developing countries Finite Resources

Surface water 79% Groundwater 21% United States Abundant ground and surface water resources #1 use of groundwater is for irrigation #1 use of surface water is for power generation

U.S. Thermoelectric power began dominating withdrawals in 1965 Overall withdrawals peaked in the 1980s #1 consumptive use is irrigation Aquifer levels declining Western population centers increasing Ogallala Power

China India Iran Israel Jordan Mexico Morocco Pakistan Saudi Arabia South Korea Spain Syria Tunisia United States Yemen Withdrawals exceed recharge creating deficits in the aquifer Over-exploitation of renewable and non-renewable aquifers Water Mining Lack of contemporary recharge

GROUNDWATER. (Mm 3 /yr) COUNTRYTotal use% Non-renewable Saudi Arabia21,00084% Libya4,28070% Yemen2,20032% Jordan48631% Egypt4,85018% Saudi Arabia and Libya, use 77% of the estimated total world extraction of non-renewable groundwater for urban supply and irrigated agriculture. The Middle East Lack of Contemporary Recharge

United States 1/3 of irrigation water comes from groundwater 3 of the largest aquifers are in arid/semi-arid regions Ogallala AquiferMidwest Central Valley AquiferCalifornia Southwest Aquifer SystemArizona, Utah, Nevada

Central Valley Aquifer (California) Pumping 15% more water than is replaced Southwest Aquifer (Utah, Nevada, Arizona) Pumping 50% more water than is replaced Water storage capacity has declined by 50% High Plains Aquifer (Ogallala) ¼ gone in areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas Water table declines up to 100 feet in some areas

Phoenix Arizona Growing 2 acres/hr Among the highest water users

Tripled in population over the last 40 years Tucson

Canal 335 miles long 44 billion gallons/yr 7% lost to evaporation Central Arizona Project Ends about 15 miles south of Tucson *

Florida

7 Bgal/d Water Withdrawn 1700 rivers and streams (Feet to miles wide) One of the most productive Aquifer systems in the world 4,242 million gal/day groundwater 2,626 million gal/day surface water

The Past

8 million acres >100 miles wide ¼ mile per day Too much water The Everglades 35,000 people in 1830

"The first and most abiding impression is the utter worthlessness to civilized man, in its present condition, of the entire region." Buckingham Smith 1835 First Survey In 1850, the Swamplands Act Passed South Florida and the Everglades Transferred 20 million acres from federal to state control

11 miles (17.7 km) of canal south of Lake Okeechobee towards Miami Hamilton Disston 50,000 acres drained By major canals constructed

Historic Flow

Current Flow

The Present

16 million people withdrawing 7 billion gallons/day Almost 30 M by 2030 #1 user Palm Beach Co. #1 groundwater use is Miami-Dade County

A/C: 1950s first mosquito control district: 1922 DDT introduced: 1949 Bureau of entomology: 1953 Population doubled between 1950 and 1970 Population Changes

38% 62% 43% Public Supply 39% Agriculture 8.5% Industrial/Commercial 4.5% Recreation Irrigation 4.0% Domestic Self-supply 62% Agriculture 20% Power 8% Public Supply 6% Recreation Irrigation 4% Industrial/Commercial Heavy Reliance on Groundwater U.S. Florida 62% is from groundwater

Averaged Recent Trends

Florida # 11 in agricultural water user in the U.S. # 1 in agricultural water user in the East Greatest freshwater withdrawal: Palm Beach County Greatest groundwater withdrawal: Miami-Dade ½ of all agricultural water withdrawal: Palm Beach Hendry St. Lucie Indian River

The Future

Desalinization Reservoirs The Future Tampa’s Reverse Osmosis plant South Florida Water Management District to buy 180,000 acres from U.S. Sugar Corp

The University of Florida currently irrigates approximately 90% of the irrigated areas on campus using reclaimed water from the Water reclamation Facility located on North/South Drive. Reclaimed Water A high quality non-potable water supply that is not meant for potable drinking purposes

St. Petersburg Dual Distribution System – Highly treated reclaimed water is made available in a separate piping system for landscape irrigation, including the irrigation of more than 9,992 residential lawns, 61 schools, 111 parks, and 6 golf courses. This is one of the most widely known reuse systems in the world. The system has been in operation since An average of about 17.7 mgd of reclaimed water was reused in 2003 to irrigate the spring training grounds of a major league baseball team, and in cooling towers at the Tropicana Dome. Reclaimed Water

Reedy Creek Utilities -- This utility provides reclaimed water for irrigation of landscaped areas within the Walt Disney World Resort Complex. Tallahassee Spray Irrigation System -- Florida’s capital city irrigates over 2,200 acres with reclaimed water. Corn, soybeans, coastal Bermuda grass, and other feed and fodder crops are grown. Orlando Wetlands -- Orlando created a 1,640-acre wetlands system using reclaimed water from the Iron Bridge advanced wastewater treatment facility. Reclaimed Water

Gainesville -- The City makes extensive use of reclaimed water from the 10-mgd Kanapaha treatment facility. In the Southwest Reuse Project, Approximately 2.2 mgd of reclaimed water is used to irrigate residential lawns, golf courses, parks, and other landscaped areas. Reclaimed water is used for irrigation and in water features at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. In addition, reclaimed water meeting drinking water standards recharges the Floridan Aquifer via deep wells. 7.9 mgd of reclaimed water is used to recharge the ground water. Reclaimed Water

Redistribution? Florida water managers are considering tapping rivers and lakes to quench the thirst of a growing populace. A plan to pipe water from the Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers and other water bodies to Central Florida communities is moving forward. The project could cost as much as $1.2 billion and pipe up to 262 million gallons a day to three dozen utilities including those serving Leesburg, Orlando and The Villages. St. Johns water withdrawal permit approved Northeast Florida's last-ditch effort to stop plan fails on 5-4 vote The decision allows Seminole County’s utility system to take up to 5.5 million gallons daily for drinking water and lawn watering.

Next: Florida’s Aquifers