US agriculture is facing water shortage, here's how much water produces Americans' food
The U.S. reported a record level of drought in 2021 leading to water scarcicty. Of course agriculture felt the most impact. U.S. agriculture output depends a lot on irrigation.
So how much water is used for irrigation in the country annually? Hint: A lot. I mean a whole lot. It is a volume that would take the entire U.S. population more than a century to drink.
Half of irrigation water for US farmlands comes
from rivers and lakes
= 1 trillion gallons
Over one third
of the 27 trillion
gallons
of water used
for irrigation
go to farms
in California
Irrigation water sources
Off-farm surface water
Wells
On-farm surface water
50%
10
40
More than half of agriculture output in states like
California and Arkansas depend on irrigation
Each American drinks
an average of
182.5
galllons of water annually
% of farmland irrigated
40
60
30
50
70
1 trillion gallons
of water would
take the entire
U.S population
16.5 years
to drink
Half water for US farmlands’ irrigation comes from rivers and lakes
= 1 trillion gallons
Irrigation water sources
%
50
Wells
Farms in California
alone use over
1/3 of the
27 trillion gallons
of water used
in irrigation
40
Off-farm surface water
10
On-farm surface water
More than half of agriculture output in states
like California and Arkansas depend on irrigation
% of farmland irrigated
30
50
70
60
40
1 trillion gallons
of water would
take the entire
U.S population
Each American drinks
an average of
182.5
galllons of water annually
16.5yrs
to drink
Experts say there may be more drought in the coming years, causing more water scarcity which would affect crops production. Consumers might have to braze for impact on their pockets due to the likely effect on food prices.
I am doing more reporting on this story and analyze additional data on drought, water scarcity and irrigation in the U.S.