Indiana County Water Withdrawals and Consumptive Use 

Introduction

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) collects data for each significant water withdrawal facility, yet the public does not have an easy way to visualize the impact of these withdrawals. The goal of these visualizations is to increase public understanding of water use in Indiana, and provide a foundation for informing policy recommendations related to water withdrawals. 

Water Withdrawals and Consumptive Use by County

Graphs are available in two formats: A pdf file (9 MB, 31 pages) with all graphs, and in Google Photos which allows each graph to be viewed individually, for example on a phone. 

Water Withdrawals and Consumptive Use by County (pdf format) - This is a large pdf file (9 MB), with 4 columns. 

Water Withdrawals by County and Use (Google Photos format)

Consumptive Water Use by County (Google Photos format)

Methods

Data source: IDNR Significant Water Withdrawal Facility Data for 2021-2023. Online at https://www.in.gov/dnr/water/files/IN-SWWF.zip

R code: All calculations were done in R, with plotting in R using ggplot2.

Calculating withdrawals by use and month: Individual facility data (reported in thousand gallons per month) were summed by use code, then divided by days in each month and the 3 years of data included in the spreadsheet, to determine million gallons per day (MGD) by use for each month and annually.

Calculating consumptive use: Withdrawals were multiplied by consumptive use coefficients from USGS, 2008: Consumptive Water Use in the Great Lakes Basin. National Water Availability and Use Program. U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2008–3032. https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3032/

• Public water supply: 12%

• Industrial: 10%

• Irrigation: 90%

• Energy Production: 2%

• Rural Use: 83%

• Miscellaneous: 10%