DataPoint: Irrigated Area Increased 10-fold, Per Acre Water Use has Declined

Irrigated agriculture in the U.S. has expanded significantly since it was first included in the Census of Agriculture in 1890, according to USDA. 

This expansion reflects investments at the Federal, state, and local levels in infrastructure to deliver surface water to farms and ranches, as well as expansions in groundwater irrigation driven in part by improvements in well drilling and pumping technologies, reports Nicholas Potter. 

However, water supply and other constraints have limited expansion since about 1997, when the growth of irrigated area began to stall. 

In 2022, there were 54.9 million acres of irrigated agricultural land in the U.S., down from the peak of 58 million acres in 2017 and also below the 56.3 million acres reported in 1997. 

During this same period (beginning in 1969), water use intensity — the amount of water applied per acre in acre-feet — has generally declined. 

The average water use per acre irrigated was more than 2 acre-feet in 1969 and decreased to a low of 1.49 acre-feet in 2018 before increasing slightly to 1.52 in 2023. 

Potter says the reduction in water use per acre of irrigated land is driven by farmers’ adoption of pressurized irrigation systems and other improvements in water application technologies.