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Idaho livestock water use

61,480 acre-feet

Water withdrawn for livestock in Idaho, 2022 (estimate)

Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Livestock water-use withdrawal estimates, 2022. Data period 2022. Status: estimate. Published . Newest release as of .

Modeled water withdrawn for livestock (including poultry) per year, converted from USGS's published million-gallons-per-day annual mean.

Comparison

Among 50 states and the District of Columbia, Idaho ranked 11th highest in 2022. Texas was highest at 256,970 acre-feet and the District of Columbia lowest at 0 acre-feet.

Idaho's figure is 2.9% of the national figure of 2.11 million acre-feet.

Among 44 Idaho counties in 2022, Gooding County was highest at 11,262 acre-feet and Shoshone County lowest at 4 acre-feet.

The largest category in withdrawals by source is Groundwater at 50,335 acre-feet; next is Surface water at 11,145 acre-feet.

By county

Ada County: 1,547 Acre-feet (2022)Adams County: 217 Acre-feet (2022)Bannock County: 260 Acre-feet (2022)Bear Lake County: 288 Acre-feet (2022)Benewah County: 17 Acre-feet (2022)Bingham County: 1,314 Acre-feet (2022)Blaine County: 176 Acre-feet (2022)Boise County: 46 Acre-feet (2022)Bonner County: 75 Acre-feet (2022)Bonneville County: 1,052 Acre-feet (2022)Boundary County: 71 Acre-feet (2022)Butte County: 105 Acre-feet (2022)Camas County: 73 Acre-feet (2022)Canyon County: 3,701 Acre-feet (2022)Caribou County: 376 Acre-feet (2022)Cassia County: 6,472 Acre-feet (2022)Clark County: 188 Acre-feet (2022)Clearwater County: 46 Acre-feet (2022)Custer County: 321 Acre-feet (2022)Elmore County: 3,578 Acre-feet (2022)Franklin County: 973 Acre-feet (2022)Fremont County: 276 Acre-feet (2022)Gem County: 264 Acre-feet (2022)Gooding County: 11,262 Acre-feet (2022)Idaho County: 372 Acre-feet (2022)Jefferson County: 1,663 Acre-feet (2022)Jerome County: 7,715 Acre-feet (2022)Kootenai County: 75 Acre-feet (2022)Latah County: 79 Acre-feet (2022)Lemhi County: 367 Acre-feet (2022)Lewis County: 65 Acre-feet (2022)Lincoln County: 2,033 Acre-feet (2022)Madison County: 128 Acre-feet (2022)Minidoka County: 1,633 Acre-feet (2022)Nez Perce County: 135 Acre-feet (2022)Oneida County: 325 Acre-feet (2022)Owyhee County: 3,573 Acre-feet (2022)Payette County: 1,679 Acre-feet (2022)Power County: 546 Acre-feet (2022)Shoshone County: 4 Acre-feet (2022)Teton County: 99 Acre-feet (2022)Twin Falls County: 7,753 Acre-feet (2022)Valley County: 117 Acre-feet (2022)Washington County: 421 Acre-feet (2022)
  • 4 to 76
  • 77 to 225
  • 226 to 374
  • 375 to 1,668
  • 1,669 to 11,262

Source: USGS, Livestock water-use withdrawal estimates, 2022.

Data table (44 rows)
County2022
Gooding County11,262
Twin Falls County7,753
Jerome County7,715
Cassia County6,472
Canyon County3,701
Elmore County3,578
Owyhee County3,573
Lincoln County2,033
Payette County1,679
Jefferson County1,663
Minidoka County1,633
Ada County1,547
Bingham County1,314
Bonneville County1,052
Franklin County973
Power County546
Washington County421
Caribou County376
Idaho County372
Lemhi County367
Oneida County325
Custer County321
Bear Lake County288
Fremont County276
Gem County264
Bannock County260
Adams County217
Clark County188
Blaine County176
Nez Perce County135
Madison County128
Valley County117
Butte County105
Teton County99
Latah County79
Bonner County75
Kootenai County75
Camas County73
Boundary County71
Lewis County65
Boise County46
Clearwater County46
Benewah County17
Shoshone County4

Compared with other states

Acre-feet

  1. Texas256,970
  2. Iowa200,807
  3. Idaho61,480
  4. Montana38,331
  5. Washington31,335
  6. Wyoming17,015
  7. Oregon16,712
  8. Utah16,295
  9. Nevada5,591
  10. Rhode Island93
  11. Alaska64
  12. District of Columbia0

Source: USGS, Livestock water-use withdrawal estimates, 2022.

Data table (52 rows)
State2022
United States2,114,019
1. Texas256,970
2. Iowa200,807
3. California193,706
4. Nebraska126,654
5. Kansas118,762
6. Oklahoma81,153
7. Missouri77,161
8. Wisconsin76,487
9. North Carolina73,360
10. Minnesota64,996
11. Idaho61,480
12. South Dakota53,508
13. Indiana48,664
14. Pennsylvania46,918
15. Illinois39,590
16. Arkansas39,448
17. Kentucky39,011
18. Montana38,331
19. Colorado35,587
20. New Mexico33,044
21. Washington31,335
22. Alabama30,054
23. Ohio29,752
24. Georgia29,169
25. New York27,915
26. Michigan27,872
27. Florida26,351
28. Virginia25,391
29. Tennessee23,946
30. North Dakota21,768
31. Wyoming17,015
32. Oregon16,712
33. Mississippi16,517
34. Utah16,295
35. Arizona15,038
36. South Carolina11,558
37. Louisiana10,149
38. Maryland7,689
39. Nevada5,591
40. Vermont5,133
41. West Virginia4,638
42. Hawaii1,689
43. Maine1,629
44. Delaware1,443
45. Connecticut1,191
46. Massachusetts900
47. New Hampshire762
48. New Jersey722
49. Rhode Island93
50. Alaska64
51. District of Columbia0

Withdrawals by source

Modeled water withdrawn for livestock per year, broken out by groundwater and surface-water source, converted from USGS's published million-gallons-per-day annual mean.

Share of withdrawals

  • Groundwater: 82%
  • Surface water: 18%

Source: USGS, Livestock water-use withdrawal estimates, 2022.

Data table (2 rows)
Source2022 (acre feet)Share of total
Groundwater50,33581.9%
Surface water11,14518.1%

Source

Organization
U.S. Geological Survey
Dataset
Livestock water-use withdrawal estimates, 2022
Geography
Idaho (statewide and every county), every other state, United States
Time coverage
2022
Update frequency
Irregular
Published
Newest release as of
Original file
https://doi.org/10.5066/P1YUVSRN
Methodology
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/66e47b09d34e1cc1f894ed22
License
Public domain. Marked CC0 1.0 Universal by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Our copy
Livestock water-use withdrawal estimates, 2022

Caveats

  • This dataset covers livestock, including poultry, water use only; other categories such as irrigation, public supply, and industrial are not included.
  • These are modeled estimates: state-level per-head water-use coefficients multiplied by county animal inventories, not reported or metered withdrawals.
  • This is not the same series as the 1985-2015 Water Use Circular figures; it uses a different, more recent county base and is not comparable.
  • USGS publishes withdrawals in million gallons per day (Mgal/d); values here are converted to acre-feet per year (1 Mgal/d = 1,120.14 acre-feet per year).

Cite as Understand Idaho, “Idaho livestock water use”, https://understandidaho.com/water/livestock-water-use/; cite the publisher above for the figures. See the data catalog.

This page was last updated .