According to the recently released report, Water: United States by Freedonia Focus Reports, water use in the US is forecasted to decline 1.1% per year through 2024.
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to significantly reduce the water use in power generation and manufacturing facilities due to the contraction in manufacturing shipments, electricity generation, and site shutdowns. Water use is expected to see a 5.1% annual drop from 2019 levels with water use in utilities expected to fall 5.5% and use in manufacturing to fall 6.2%.[1] The economic downturn associated with the pandemic is forecasted to cause a 7.7% decline in manufacturing shipments in 2020. While water use in the municipal and manufacturing markets is expected to grow after 2020, gains are not expected to entirely offset declines.
Withdrawals will fall due to increases in water reclamation driven by factors such as supply constraints such as drought, improved irrigation efficiency, and regulatory limitations on wastewater effluents. Agriculture will continue to represent a major market for withdrawal, as the vast majority of water diverted for this purpose is not reclaimed; water applied to fields as irrigation or supplied to livestock as hydration is generally lost to the environment due to factors such as evaporative loss and the lack of a viable infrastructure for recovery. To read more on the water use report, click here.
[1] Freedonia Group (2021, January 11). US Water Use Volumes to Contract 5.1% in 2020. Cision PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-water-use-volumes-to-contract-5-1-in-2020–301205559.html
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