Louisiana has a total land and water area of 52,000 square miles with abundant water resources located throughout the State. Every day, large amounts of water are withdrawn from natural sources for public-supply, industrial, power-generation, rural-domestic, livestock, irrigation, and aquaculture uses. Water-use data are essential to appraise the effects of present use and plan the future use of Louisiana’s water resources.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), has collected and published information on water withdrawals and use on a 5-year basis since 1960. The reports present information on withdrawals from ground- and surface-water sources by category, parish, major aquifer or aquifer system, and hydrologic unit in Louisiana. The reports also present trends for total ground- and surface-water withdrawals for each parish and the State