Many analyses of water uses and their impacts on available resources fail to reflect the contribution of return flow to existing supply, misuse the term “efficiency”, and assume immediate savings by changes in irrigation. Sound resources management requires a method of analysis applicable to all classes of offstream water uses. Drawing on previous analysis, a Water Uses Assessment Equation is proposed: a methodology founded on the principle of rigorous water accounting. Examples of applications are provided together with misleading analyses and conclusions that might be avoided in the future through use of the equation.
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Frederiksen et al. (2011) studied this question.