Allegheny River Headwaters Watershed Conservation Plan

Allegheny River Headwaters Conservation Plan
Chapter 3. Water Resources
Pennsylvania State Water Plan
In 2008, an updated draft of the Pennsylvania State Water Plan was unveiled, providing a vision to
sustain water supply with goals and recommendations. The plan includes an inventory of water
availability, an assessment of current and future water use demands and trends, and an assessment of
resource management alternatives and proposed methods of implementation. It also provides an analysis
of problems and needs associated with specific water resource uses, such as navigation, stormwater
management, and flood control (PA DEP, 2008c).
In the updated Pennsylvania State Water Plan, information is broken down into six watershed
regions—Ohio River, Great Lakes, Potomac River, Delaware River, upper/middle and lower
Susquehanna River. The Allegheny River is located within the Ohio region, which is subdivided into
smaller regions; the headwater region is located within the upper Allegheny River region.
Water Use
In 2000, it was estimated that Pennsylvania withdrew 9,950 million gallons of water per day. Of the
water withdrawn, 93 percent came from surface water. Table 3-2 shows water withdrawal trends in
Pennsylvania from 1990 to 2000 (Hutson, et al., 2004).
Table 3-2. Water Use
Groundwater Surface Total
Year Fresh Saline Total Fresh Saline Total Fresh Saline Total
1990 1,020 0 1,020 8,810 0 8,810 9,830 0 9,830
1995 860 0 860 8,820 0 8,820 9,680 0 9,680
2000 666 0 666 9,290 0 9,290 9,950 0 9,950
All values are in millions of gallons per day
(Sources: Solley, Pierce, & Perlman, 1993 & 1998; Hutson, et al., 2004)
It was estimated that the largest water withdrawals in the U.S. in 2000 were used for thermoelectric
power—48 percent—and irrigation—34 percent. Public water supply utilized 11 percent, while the
remaining seven percent was utilized for industrial, mining, livestock, and aquaculture purposes (Hutson,
et al., 2004).
The majority of the water withdrawn from the Ohio River region, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. was
utilized for thermoelectric production. The majority of water withdrawn within the upper Allegheny River
region—46 percent—was used to supply water. Another major difference in water use was for
agricultural purposes. The upper Allegheny River region utilized 25 percent of the water withdrawn for
agricultural uses while the Ohio region, Pennsylvania, and U.S. agricultural withdrawals only accounted
for one percent. Figure 3-11 illustrates the withdrawn water uses in the U.S., Ohio River region, and
upper Allegheny River region (PA DEP, 2008c).
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