Water Use Information

The ability to calculate the typical amount of water needed for a specific task is important in water management planning. Water rights are limited to the quantity of water that can be beneficially used. Here are some water use standards used by IDWR to evaluate water right applications and claims. Typically, applicants and claimants seeking more than these amounts will be asked for supplemental documentation explaining the need for more water.

Note:
CFS (Cubic Foot Per Second) = 448.8 gallons per minute
AF (Acre Foot) = 325,851 gallons

Stock Watering

• Cattle, Other Than Dairy - 12 gallons per day per cow
• Dairy Cattle - 35 gallons per day per cow
• Horses - 12 gallons per day per horse
• Mules - 12 gallons per day per mule
• Hogs - 4 gallons per day per hog
• Goats - 2 gallons per day per goat
• Sheep - 2 gallons per day per sheep
• Chickens - 5-10 gallons per day per 100 chickens
• Turkeys - 10-18 gallons per day per 100 turkeys

Some Other Uses

• Hotels with private bath (two persons per room) - 60 gallons per room per day
• Motels with bath - 40 gallons per day per bed space
• Hospitals - 250-400 gallons per day per bed
• Swimming pools - 10 gallons per day per swimmer
• Picnic grounds with bathhouses, showers & flush toilets - 20 gallons per day per person
• Restaurants with bar/lounge, toilet facilities - 9-12 gallons per day per patron
• Schools (day) with cafeteria, gym and showers - 25 gallons per day per student
• Schools (boarding) - 75-100 gallons per day per student
• Churches - 5 gallons per day per person
• Service Stations - 10 gallons per day per vehicle
• Stores - 400 gallons per day per restroom
• Airports - 3-5 gallons per day per passenger
• Irrigation - A total diversion of 0.02 CFS per acre irrigated, unless the applicant or claimant can demonstrate that more is required. For irrigated tracts of 5 acres or less, no additional justification is required for up to 0.03 cfs per acre. For irrigation of public spaces, such as parks and school grounds, IDWR will authorize a diversion rate of 0.02 cfs per acre times 24 divided by the number of hours irrigation actually occurs each day. For example, a park irrigated for 8 hours overnight could divert up to 0.06 cfs per acre.

Domestic Use Diversion Rates

These figures show diversion rates typical for in-house domestic use. These figures do not include water for domestic stockwater or lawn and garden irrigation. Applicants seeking to divert water in excess of these rates for in-house domestic use should provide information explaining why the additional quantity is needed.

• 1 Household - 0.04 CFS
• 2 Households - 0.06 CFS
• 3 Households - 0.08 CFS
• 4 Households - 0.10 CFS
• 10 Households - 0.15 CFS
• 20 Households - 0.20 CFS
• 30 Households - 0.25 CFS
• 40 Households - 0.30 CFS
• 50 Households - 0.33 CFS