9861 LX 130 ffsWf«7 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERI* GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 3 0112 098721134 WATER USE IN THE DELTA COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI, 1983 By J. A. Callahan U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-RESOURCES INVESTIGATIONS REPORT 85-4187 JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 1985 Prepared in cooperation with the MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES BUREAU OF LAND AND WATER RESOURCES UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBAN A 3 0112 098721134 WATER USE IN THE DELTA COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI, 1983 By J. A. Callahan U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-RESOURCES INVESTIGATIONS REPORT 85-4187 INTRODUCTION The vast alluvial plain of northwestern Mississip¬ pi, commonly called the Delta, comprises an area of about 7,000 square miles (see map) and includes all or parts of 17 counties. Agriculture is the main con¬ tributor to the area's economy. Historically cotton and soybeans have been the chief cash crops; how¬ ever, during the last 10 years rice farming and aquaculture (catfish farming) have shown rapid growth. In 1983, a total of about 1,400 million gallons of water was used in the Delta each day; this ac¬ counted for about 40 percent of Mississippi’s total water use. Ninety-eight percent of Mississippi's ir¬ rigation and aquaculture occurs in the Delta and of the 898 Mgal/d used for these purposes, 798 Mgal/d was ground water. Almost all ground water used for irrigation is pumped from the underlying shallow alluvial aquifer. The term "water use" as used in this report is equivalent to “water withdrawals”. c-> o JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 1985 varsity q f N Prepared in cooperation with the MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES BUREAU OF LAND AND WATER RESOURCES This report, prepared in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Land and Water Resources, summarizes water use by category and county and examines some variations in water use since 1980. Previous estimates of water use in 5-year intervals since 1950 are available in the USGS Circular series publica¬ tion, “Estimated use of water in the United States.” Now as a result of the National water use informa¬ tion program estimates are available annually. A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 1,400 MIL¬ LION GALLONS OF WATER WAS USED EACH DAY IN 1983. 1983 IRRIGATION 40 PERCENT THE THREE PRINCIPAL WATER USES IN 1983 WERE IRRIGATION, THERMOELECTRIC POWER GENER¬ ATION AND AQUACULTURE. TOTAL WATER USE IN THE DELTA COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI, 1983. IRRIGATION Water used for irrigation, by far the largest use of water in the Delta in 1983, exceeded 566 Mgal/d (see table). Most irrigation water was applied to rice. Bolivar County (see map) leads all counties in rice acreage planted and in irrigation water use. Sun¬ flower County was second in 1983. EXPLANATION RICE IRRIGATION AMOUNTED TO OVER 300 MGAL/D IN BOLIVAR, SUNFLOWER, AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES. AQUACULTURE The rapid expansion of aquaculture in the Delta (principally catfish farming) has resulted in a substantial increase in ground-water use in the area. Ground water is the only source used to maintain pond levels for catfish ponds. In 1981, approximately 54,000 acres of ponds used 376 Mgal/d of ground water. By 1983, pond acreage had increased to over 62,000, but the ground-water withdrawal decreased to about 332 Mgal/d because growers were using water more effi¬ ciently. Water-use estimates are based on data acquired through monitoring representative aquaculture operations in the Delta. Improved management techniques have reduced the water use application rate of water per pond acre from 7.82 ft in 1981 to 6.05 in 1982 and 5.96 in 1983. CATFISH PONDS USED MORE THAN 330 MGAL/D OF GROUND WATER IN 1983. Water-use studies made at 5-year intervals from 1950 to 1975, showed an average use of about 200 Mgal/d before restrictions on rice acreage were lifted. Acreage increased dramatically in 1975 and reached 246,000 in 1980. Acreage peaked in 1981 at 335,000 and declined to 159,000 in 1983. Changes in water use reflect the annual acreage changes and an¬ nual per acre water use. The record high total irriga¬ tion use was 1,047 Mgal/d in 1981. RICE IRRIGATION INCREASED RAPIDLY IN THE LATE 1970’s. RICE IRRIGATION AVERAGED OVER 500 MGAL/D IN 1983. EXPLANATION HUMPHREYS AND SUNFLOWER COUNTIES, WHICH WITHDREW 116 AND 81 MGAL/D, RESPECTIVELY, IN 1983, ACCOUNTED FOR 59 PERCENT OF ALL WATER WITHDRAWN FOR AQUACULTURE. THERMOELECTRIC POWER GENERATION Thermoelectric power plants are second to irriga¬ tion in water use in the Delta. Generating plants are commonly located near major streams, and water is generally used for cooling on a one-time-through basis. The three largest power plants use surface water for cooling and ground water for makeup and boilers. Three smaller power plants use only ground water. The ground-water use at all power plants (total 7 Mgal/d) is small and has shown a decrease since 1980. SURFACE WATER SOURCES SUP¬ PLIED 370 MGAL/D TO THER¬ MOELECTRIC PLANTS—98 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL NEED. EXPLANATION □ WATER USE FOR THERMO¬ ELECTRIC POWER, IN MILLION GALLONS PER DAY PUBLIC SUPPLY The municipal, rural, and private water systems provided 58 Mgal/d (see table) of ground water in 1983. Included in this total are domestic, commer¬ cial, industrial, fire, and sanitary uses. INDUSTRIAL SELF-SUPPLIED Industrial self-supplied water withdrawals in 1983 from ground-water and surface-water sources amounted to 62 Mgal/d (see table). Although many of these industries are located in municipalities and own a source of water supply, some are also con¬ nected to a municipal water system for potable water, sanitary purposes, and fire protection. In some places industrial use is a significant part of the total municipal useage. OTHER USES Combined ground-water and surface-water withdrawals for rural self-supply and wildlife im¬ poundments use (see table) accounted for about 13 Mgal/d in 1983. SELECTED REFERENCES Callahan, J. A., 1983, Water use in Mississippi, 1980: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-224, map, 1 sheet. Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Com¬ merce, 1982, Mississippi agricultural statistics— 1980-1983: Mississippi Department of Agri¬ culture and Commerce, supplement 16, 60 p. Mississippi Municipal Association, 1981, Missis¬ sippi Municipal Directory, 1977-1981: Jackson, Mississippi, 87 p. Solley, W. B., Chase, E. B., Mann W. B., IV, 1982, Estimated use of water in the United States, 1980: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1001, 56 p. U.S. Bureau of Census, 1981, 1980 Census of popu¬ lation and housing: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census PHC80-V-26, Mississippi. 20 p. Xo_ CPnvert English units to International units: Multiply By To obtain foot (ft) gallon (gal) million gallons per day (MgaUd) 0.04381 meter (m) 3.785 liter (L) 0.4381 cubic meter per second (m*/s) THERMOELECTRIC POWER GENER¬ ATION (330 MGAL/D) WAS THE MAJOR USE OF WATER IN WARREN COUNTY. BOLIVAR AND WASHING¬ TON COUNTIES WERE MINOR USERS WITH ABOUT 20 MGAL/D EACH. County WATER USE IN THE DELTA COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI, 1983, BY PRINCIPAL USE AND SOURCE (IN MILLION GALLONS PER DAY). Public Rural Self-Supplied Industrial Thermo-Electric Wildlife County Totals Supply Domestic Livestock Self-Supplied Power Aquaculture Rice Irrigation Other Irrigation Impoundments ^j| GW GW GW SW GW SW Total GW SW Total GW GW SW Total GW SW Total GW SW Total GW SW Water Bolivar 5.01 0.32 0.01 0.02 3.12 0.00 3.12 0.43 20.64 21.07 Coahoma 4.28 .22 .01 .02 1.98 .00 1.98 2.68 .00 2.68 DeSoto 4.23 .20 .12 .19 1.62 2.88 4.50 .00 .00 .00 Grenada 2.06 .00 .00 .00 4.00 .00 4.00 .00 .00 .00 Holmes 2.03 .04 .08 .13 .43 .14 .57 .00 .00 .00 Humphreys .80 .32 .01 .01 .46 .00 .46 .00 .00 .00 Issaquena .06 .08 .01 .01 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Leflore 5.82 .41 .01 .02 .72 .00 .72 3.48 .00 3.48 Panola 2.02 .23 .17 .26 .14 .00 .14 .00 .00 .00 Quitman .76 .31 .01 .01 .42 .00 .42 .00 .00 .00 Sharkey .51 .16 .01 .02 .13 .00 .13 .00 .00 .00 Sunflower 3.96 .36 .03 .05 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Tallahatchie .93 .34 .04 .06 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Tunica .64 .16 .01 .01 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Warren 8.30 .14 .11 .16 .45 24.03 24.48 .00 330.49 330.49 Washington 9.69 .69 .02 .03 6.29 .00 6.29 .24 19.32 19.56 Yazoo 2.72 .10 .18 .26 15.26 .00 15.26 .10 .00 .10 Total 53.82 4.08 .83 1.26 35.02 27.05 62.07 6.93 370.45 377.38 12.83 125.97 27.61 153.58 9.54 1.77 11.31 0.00 0.00 0.00 157.23 .67 25.04 5.50 30.54 3.45 .62 4.07 .00 .00 .00 38.33 .00 .00 .00 .00 1.07 .27 1.34 .00 .00 .00 7.24 .00 .00 .00 .00 .09 .00 .09 .00 .09 .09 6.15 8.09 2.90 .64 3.54 1.46 14 1.60 .00 .00 .00 15.03 116.22 9.76 2.14 11.89 1.13 .06 1.19 .00 .00 .00 128.69 5.06 3.69 .81 4.50 .76 .01 .77 .00 .00 .00 9.66 25.75 35.58 7.81 43.39 4.74 .80 6.54 .83 .00 .83 77.34 1.77 4.22 .93 5.15 .09 .00 .09 .00 .00 .00 8.64 .32 30.57 6.71 37.28 2.92 .47 3.39 .89 .00 .89 36.20 11.91 12.39 2.72 15.11 .44 .07 .51 .49 1.61 2.10 26.04 81.08 74.84 16.43 91.27 2.90 .55 3.45 .00 .00 .00 163.17 5.96 13.44 2.95 16.39 4.43 .86 5.29 .00 .00 .00 25.14 9.07 27.41 6.02 33.43 5.23 1.05 6.28 .00 .00 .00 42.52 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 9.00 30.88 50.07 10.99 61.06 7.55 1.61 9.16 .85 .00 .85 106.28 22.29 4.22 .93 6.15 .27 .01 .28 .00 1.79 1.79 45.14 331.90 420.09 92.19 512.28 46.07 8.29 54.36 3.06 3.49 6.55 901.80 50.04 207.27 6.14 44.47 3.34 10.58 .09 6.24 1.05 16.08 2.21 130.90 -83 10.49 8.63 85.97 1.19 9.83 7.19 43.39 4.42 30.46 17.03 180.20 3.87 29.01 7.08 49.60 354.68 363.68 31.95 138.23 DEPOSITORY 2.99 48.13 SEP 2 91986 502.73 1.404.53 OF ILLINOIS CHAMPAIGN