What is meant by consumptive use, when referred to in the context of irrigation or ag water conservation?
The official definition of the U.S. Geological Survey for ‘consumptive use’ is: water lost from the immediate water environment through evaporation, plant transpiration, incorporation in products or crops, or consumption by humans and livestock. In the context of agricultural crops, and particularly irrigated crops, consumptive use generally refers to water actually ‘used’ by the crop through evapotranspiration. Not all water which is pumped, withdrawn, or diverted for irrigation and not all water which falls on an agricultural crop field is ‘consumed’ or ‘lost’ from the immediate water environment.
