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<p>Water conservation has gained attention as a strategy to reduce water stress, yet its effectiveness and the regional factors influencing outcomes remain poorly understood. Here, we analyze county-level water supply and demand across the Contiguous United States, using detailed crop water demand and annual withdrawals from eight economic sectors. We assess how demand changes influenced water stress and identify sector-specific sensitivity. Despite a 7.4 percent population increase, total water demand declined from 1532 to 1465 cubic kilometers per year during 2010–2020. This reduction lowered exposure to extreme water stress in fifty-five counties and decreased the expected duration and severity of stress by 11.9 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively. Water stress was most sensitive to changes in thermoelectric demand, while agricultural demand had broad geographic influence. Regional sensitivity patterns reflected variations in water supply, total demand, sectoral demand composition, evapotranspiration, and temperature. These findings offer guidance for prioritizing region-specific conservation strategies.</p>

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Water stress and its sensitivity to demands across the Contiguous United States

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月18日

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  • Seon-Ho Kim,
  • Naresh Devineni

摘要

Water conservation has gained attention as a strategy to reduce water stress, yet its effectiveness and the regional factors influencing outcomes remain poorly understood. Here, we analyze county-level water supply and demand across the Contiguous United States, using detailed crop water demand and annual withdrawals from eight economic sectors. We assess how demand changes influenced water stress and identify sector-specific sensitivity. Despite a 7.4 percent population increase, total water demand declined from 1532 to 1465 cubic kilometers per year during 2010–2020. This reduction lowered exposure to extreme water stress in fifty-five counties and decreased the expected duration and severity of stress by 11.9 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively. Water stress was most sensitive to changes in thermoelectric demand, while agricultural demand had broad geographic influence. Regional sensitivity patterns reflected variations in water supply, total demand, sectoral demand composition, evapotranspiration, and temperature. These findings offer guidance for prioritizing region-specific conservation strategies.