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Understanding Municipal Water Use and Data Availability: a Case Study across North Dakota, USA

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Abstract

Tremendous variation exists in how cities, states, countries, and other jurisdictional areas classify water use and consumption. Additionally, water conservation measures have become more common in the past few decades, but little is known about how these conservation measures are implemented across the landscape. The goal of this study is to increase the breadth of knowledge regarding municipal water-use data: retention, storage, availability, and delving into water conservation measures, along with the impact of shale oil extraction on municipal water use in the Bakken region. Two questionnaires were developed and administered to all municipalities in the state of North Dakota, USA with populations greater than 1000 residents, and between 500 and 1000 residents in the Bakken region (total number (n) =59) willing to participate. Results indicate water conservation measures are inconsistent across the landscape, and data categorization at the municipal level is minimal which limits the analysis, interpretations, and projections that can be made from the data. Additionally, the Bakken region is different from the rest of the state in how they acquire water and sell water to other large scale users. Results from this study will aid water use professionals worldwide by providing valuable information on water-use data, access, storage, and impacts of large water users, such as shale oil extraction, on municipal water. This information will also help researchers to understand availability of data for making comparisons across different areas, assessing trends, and making water use projections.

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Acknowledgements

Authors would like to thank United States Geological Survey for funding; as well as the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project number ND02396. Additional thanks to Kathie Rowland, Bill Schuh for their guidance and Amy Gnoinsky and Savannah Fritz for assistance on the project.

Statement of Contributed

All authors contributed to the design of the study. The study was part of Nicole Ellingson’s Master of Science thesis work, advised by Christina Hargiss. Christina Hargiss wrote the proposal for funding, Nicole Ellingson conducted data collection and analysis with assistance from Jack Norland. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Nicole Ellingson and all authors commented, edited, and contributed to final document. All authors approve of the final manuscript.

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  1. School of Natural Resources Sciences, North Dakota State University, Department 7680, P.O. Box 6050, Fargo, ND, 58108, USA

    Nicole Ellingson, Christina L. M. Hargiss & Jack Norland

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  1. Nicole Ellingson
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  2. Christina L. M. Hargiss
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  3. Jack Norland
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Correspondence to Christina L. M. Hargiss.

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Ellingson, N., Hargiss, C.L.M. & Norland, J. Understanding Municipal Water Use and Data Availability: a Case Study across North Dakota, USA. Water Resour Manage 33, 4895–4907 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-019-02411-8

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