Irrigation
Agriculture still withdraws nearly half of US freshwater.
Farms applied 81 million acre-feet of irrigation water across 53.1 million acres in 2023. Irrigation accounts for about 47% of the nation’s freshwater withdrawals. Scheduling by calendar, not by soil and crop stage, is how millions of gallons leave the field without feeding a plant.
Source: USDA NASS Irrigation and Water Management Survey 2023; USDA ERS / USGS



