Agricultural Water Demand in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint and Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basins

Abstract

Water demands are increasing rapidly in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basins in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. A dependable water supply is vital to the continued well-being and economic development of the area. Proposals to develop water resource projects and to change water uses in north Georgia have raised concerns between water users groups in the three states.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, formerly Soil Conservation Services, conducted an analysis of agricultural water demand. The results indicate that agricultural water demand was 400 million gallons per day in 1992, and could approach one billion gallons per day by the year 2050 in the ACT/ACF river basins. Georgia’s water demand has accounted, and is expected to continue accounting, for 72% of this demand, while Alabama’s and Florida’s demands are approximately 21% and 7%, respectively.