Irrigation in the American West: Area, Water and Economic Activity

This article examines irrigation in the American West based on consistent Federal data sources. Irrigation is discussed using three measures: irrigated area, water use in irrigation, and the sales value of crops produced. We find that irrigation accounts for about three-quarters of the value of crops sold from about one-quarter of the harvested cropland in the West. In accomplishing the higher sales, irrigated agriculture accounts for three-quarters of the water withdrawn and most of the water use in the West.