The Central Coastal Plain
Water Use Area (CCPCUA) 2007
The survey was conducted to document water use for the agricultural sector in Beaufort, Carteret, Craven,
Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Onslow, Pamlico, Pitt, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson
Counties. CCPCUA and associated rules were created in May, 2001 to help manage water resources
within the 15 county area (General Statue 143-215-22H). Because limited information was available
on agricultural water use, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was
requested to collect information from farmers who withdraw 10,000 to 100,000 gallons in any one day.
Individual responses remain confidential and are only used in combination with other reports to produce
county totals.
Farmers who use over 100,000 gallons in any one day are required to report their water usage directly to
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Data for 2007 was furnished by DENR
and are summarized on the last page of this report.
Of the farms surveyed in the 15 county area, 229 withdrew between 10,000 and 100,000 gallons of water
in any one day in 2007 compared with 148 farms in 2006. Substantial drought began in May and continued
throughout 2007, dramatically increasing water usage over 2006. However, average and maximum daily
water use remained well below the daily withdrawal capacity. July was the largest water use month in 2007,
averaging 40.0 million gallons daily, with a maximum daily withdrawal of 47.8 million gallons. June was the
largest water use month in 2006, averaging 15.1 million gallons daily, with a maximum daily withdrawal of
16.3 million gallons. July was the largest water use month in 2002 (the year of the most recent substantial
drought), averaging 42.6 million gallons daily, with a maximum daily withdrawal of 81.3 million gallons. The
annual average daily water uses for 2007, 2006 and 2002 respectively are 14.3 million, 6.7 million and 16.1
million gallons. The daily withdrawal capacity for the 229 operations totals 110.2 million, 50.4 million and
102.3 million gallons in 2007,2006 and 2002 respectively.
Contractors in the region were contacted by email and phone. In addition, a questionnaire was mailed to
operations which had previously reported, or had potential for, large water usage in the 15 county area.
Operations that did not respond were contacted by telephone follow-up. For non-responses and refusals,
the size and type of each operation was reviewed in order to estimate the farm’s approximate water usage.
The total number of operations by type, as well as the monthly total across operations for average and
maximum daily water use was summarized in each county. The average daily water use for all operations
was summed for each month. The resulting annual average of these monthly totals is also published. The
type of operations will not add to the total in all counties, because some operations had irrigated cropland
and livestock. The daily withdrawal capacity is the potential amount of ground and/or surface water that
could be utilized in a 24-hour period. The published capacity represents the sum of capacities for all
reporting operations in that county. Data was not disclosed if there were less than three operations in any
category or if one report comprised 60 percent or more of the total.
2007
Month # Operations Total
Avg. Daily-Ground
Total
Avg. Daily-Surface
Total
Max Daily-Ground
Total
Max Daily-Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 145 1,835,028 570,000 1,952,316 595,000
Feb 148 2,062,407 567,321 2,234,325 601,000
March 157 3,678,249 629,698 3,920,601 1,037,594
April 167 3,169,567 7,894,748 3,496,449 8,525,250
May 182 3,558,951 13,790,380 4,068,547 14,918,602
June 215 8,815,874 30,215,807 9,844,338 34,168,673
July 221 8,223,442 31,826,296 9,211,628 38,600,775
Aug 195 5,398,664 24,575,620 5,616,804 29,777,250
Sept 170 3,222,386 6,482,940 3,319,214 7,846,750
Oct 159 2,523,826 4,145,000 2,829,388 4,695,549
Nov 157 2,397,906 1,674,448 2,514,675 1,721,154
Dec 154 2,533,818 1,578,114 2,642,029 1,603,154
Annual Average 3,951,677 10,329,198
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl. ground and surface):
229 total operations 110,263,019 (gallons)
148 livestock
94 irrigation
5 aquaculture
Central Coastal Plain Total Water Use by Month
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
Million Gallons
Average Daily
Maximum Daily
Daily Capacity
Water Use Caparisions
Ground and Surface Combined
2006
Month # Operations Total
Avg. Daily-Ground
Total
Avg. Daily-Surface
Total
Max Daily-Ground
Total
Max Daily-Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 122 1,625,047 240,000 1,848,028 265,000
Feb 124 1,763,838 256,071 2,003,462 265,000
March 127 1,909,680 1,492,290 2,208,388 1,826,000
April 134 2,126,004 8,497,225 2,850,359 8,836,997
May 138 2,799,653 10,921,663 3,475,885 11,322,864
June 141 3,612,831 11,492,957 4,306,480 11,963,968
July 139 3,277,799 7,275,989 3,084,621 7,946,027
Aug 140 3,107,474 6,236,063 3,553,266 7,277,182
Sept 129 2,453,107 1,719,843 2,731,260 1,756,979
Oct 126 1,961,715 1,431,682 2,190,109 1,461,905
Nov 124 1,769,291 1,351,995 1,998,980 1,372,611
Dec 122 1,827,889 1,251,421 2,106,292 1,276,777
Annual Average 4,364,628 4,347,267
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl. ground and surface):
148 total operations 50,368,476 (gallons)
119 livestock
31 irrigation
4 aquaculture
2002
Month # Operations Total
Avg. Daily-Ground
Total
Avg. Daily-Surface
Total
Max Daily-Ground
Total
Max Daily-Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 176 2,369,221 1,288,790 3,052,623 1,326,000
Feb 183 2,475,708 1,429,550 3,153,464 1,496,000
March 195 2,887,374 1,726,070 3,666,590 1,823,760
April 210 3,303,190 6,048,854 4,189,099 6,489,364
May 237 3,938,320 22,205,908 4,963,797 29,267,388
June 269 5,053,872 43,233,863 6,172,900 50,565,971
July 282 5,617,843 36,993,443 6,830,971 74,498,500
Aug 245 4,820,987 25,283,835 5,987,555 46,987,277
Sept 202 4,202,644 7,644,633 5,317,756 8,779,559
Oct 196 3,417,141 1,381,594 4,530,838 1,726,904
Nov 180 2,776,970 1,368,790 3,607,327 1,432,000
Dec 177 2,596,442 1,666,790 3,316,155 1,728,000
Annual Average 3,621,643 12,522,677
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl ground and surface):
314 total operations 106,274,540 (gallons)
171 livestock
151 irrigation
9 aquaculture
Duplin - Water Use by Month 2007
Month # Operations Avg.
# Days Ground
Avg.
# Days Surface
Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 71 31 * 892,895 * 914,037 *
Feb 71 28 * 1,034,876 * 1,055,865 *
March 71 31 * 1,152,178 * 1,185,194 *
April 72 30 * 1,038,665 * 1,062,871 *
May 72 31 * 1,081,242 * 1,103,144 *
June 73 29 * 2,755,257 * 2,800,994 *
July 74 30 * 2,520,330 * 2,568,051 *
Aug 74 30 * 2,071,016 * 2,102,957 *
Sept 72 30 * 1,552,586 * 1,564,790 *
Oct 72 31 * 1,246,903 * 1,263,720 *
Nov 75 30 * 1,241,126 * 1,262,034 *
Dec 75 31 * 1,241,009 * 1,264,006 *
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl. ground and surface):
82 total operations 4,565,348 (gallons)
74 livestock
8 irrigation
* disclosure - one operation is greater than 60% of total OR less than 3 operations
	
	
	
Greene - Water Use by Month 2007
Month # Operations Avg.
# Days Ground
Avg.
# Days Surface
Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 11 31 * 183,708 * 190,093 *
Feb 11 28 * 203,814 * 212,055 *
March 11 31 * 227,335 * 233,406 *
April 12 29 * 198,258 * 210,687 *
May 12 30 * 202,591 * 218,855 *
June 19 28 16 700,435 1,282,617 907,614 1,323,935
July 4 * 13 * 1,135,674 * 1,140,049
Aug * * * * * * *
Sept 12 28 * 257,099 * 265,689 *
Oct 10 31 * 209,963 * 224,561 *
Nov 11 30 * 186,341 * 197,807 *
Dec 11 31 * 204,927 * 211,393 *
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl. ground and surface):
17 total operations 5,238,325 (gallons)
13 livestock
8 irrigation and aquaculture
* disclosure - one operation is greater than 60% of total OR less than 3 operations
Jones - Water Use by Month 2007
Month # Operations Avg.
# Days Ground
Avg.
# Days Surface
Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 10 31 * 125,593 * 126,463 *
Feb 10 28 * 132,346 * 133,239 *
March 10 31 * 156,252 * 157,277 *
April 10 30 * 140,930 * 143,851 *
May 10 31 * 138,833 * 140,424 *
June 10 30 * 236,773 * 237,484 *
July 10 31 * 197,457 * 201,389 *
Aug 10 31 * 217,648 * 220,948 *
Sept 10 30 * 254,920 * 257,232 *
Oct 10 31 * 184,681 * 185,970 *
Nov 11 30 * 175,517 * 176,764 *
Dec 11 31 * 220,645 * 221,711 *
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl. ground and surface):
11 total operations 374,714 (gallons)
11 livestock
* disclosure - one operation is greater than 60% of total OR less than 3 operations
Lenoir - Water Use by Month 2007
Month # Operations Avg.
# Days Ground
Avg.
# Days Surface
Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 4 26 * 43,642 * 47,032 *
Feb * * * * * * *
March 4 27 * 43,696 * 47,200 *
April 10 18 8 1,001,253 4,950,918 1,003,300 5,540,680
May 11 15 * 1,249,000 * 1,253,229 *
June 13 16 9 1,294,661 5,680,704 1,350,143 5,975,532
July 12 16 14 1,231,174 4,917,990 1,318,470 4,917,990
Aug 11 17 9 1,061,205 5,591,497 1,069,092 5,609,497
Sept 7 21 * 69,935 * 77,393 *
Oct 5 23 * 54,854 * 63,894 *
Nov 4 25 * 52,086 * 65,439 *
Dec 4 26 * 53,697 * 66,225 *
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl.ground and surface):
10 total operations 9,806,000 (gallons)
4 livestock
7 irrigation and aquaculture
* disclosure - one operation is greater than 60% of total OR less than 3 operations
Pitt - Water Use by Month 2007
Month # Operations Avg.
# Days Ground
Avg.
# Days Surface
Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 8 31 * 89,481 * 94,931 *
Feb 8 28 * 125,614 * 131,054 *
March 8 31 * 109,387 * 114,621 *
April 8 30 * 107,565 * 112,795 *
May 10 28 * 154,310 * 159,957 *
June 14 24 * 349,111 * 356,837 *
July 18 25 11 340,077 749,595 349,102 803,125
Aug 14 26 * 373,485 * 383,617 *
Sept 12 26 * 347,665 * 358,075 *
Oct 9 31 * 188,831 * 199,864 *
Nov 9 30 * 177,947 * 186,251 *
Dec 9 31 * 178,961 * 186,906 *
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl. ground and surface):
20 total operations 5,609,161 (gallons)
8 livestock
12 irrigation and aquaculture
* disclosure - one operation is greater than 60% of total OR less than 3 operations
Washington - Water Use by Month 2007
Month # Operations Avg.
# Days Ground
Avg.
# Days Surface
Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan
Feb
March 3 31 * 33,374 * 33,374 *
April 3 30 * 29,870 * 29,870 *
May 4 26 * 47,461 * 47,461 *
June * * * * * * *
July * * * * * * *
Aug 3 31 * 52,712 * 52,712 *
Sept 3 30 * 68,300 * 68,300 *
Oct 3 31 * 45,771 * 45,771 *
Nov 3 30 * 42,610 * 42,610 *
Dec * * * * * * *
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl. ground and surface):
5 total operations 559,805 (gallons)
5 livestock and irrigation
* disclosure - one operation is greater than 60% of total OR less than 3 operations
Wayne- Water Use by Month 2007
Month # Operations Avg.
# Days Ground
Avg.
# Days Surface
Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 21 31 * 290,862 * 368,843 *
Feb 21 28 * 314,112 * 442,659 *
March 22 30 * 406,377 * 529,668 *
April 21 29 * 397,613 * 604,476 *
May 26 30 12 409,244 575,794 748,628 654,240
June 31 29 14 2,507,807 3,126,841 3,159,277 4,242,106
July 33 29 13 2,310,234 3,507,717 2,854,536 5,174,325
Aug 25 30 16 541,197 503,467 654,918 503,467
Sept 23 29 * 461,306 * 512,260 *
Oct 22 31 * 345,663 * 413,469 *
Nov 22 30 * 351,512 * 399,121 *
Dec 22 31 * 376,161 * 410,751 *
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl. ground and surface):
34 total operations 17,553,273 (gallons)
23 livestock
19 irrigation and aquaculture
* disclosure - one operation is greater than 60% of total OR less than 3 operations
Wilson- Water Use by Month 2007
Month # Operations Avg.
# Days Ground
Avg.
# Days Surface
Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan * * * * * * *
Feb 5 17 * 13,964 * 15,250 *
March 5 18 * 11,800 * 11,800 *
April 5 22 * 11,833 * 13,600 *
May 10 21 13 12,233 2,525,603 13,500 2,727,772
June 16 22 15 13,500 6,859,104 15,000 7,708,143
July 11 * 12 * 7,209,935 * 7,868,092
Aug 5 * 17 * 2,390,814 * 2,561,172
Sept * * * * * * *
Oct * * * * * * *
Nov * * * * * * *
Dec * * * * * * *
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl.ground and surface):
20 total operations 60,742,615 (gallons)
22 livestock, irrigation and aquaculture
* disclosure - one operation is greater than 60% of total OR less than 3 operations
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Water Use Exceeding 100,000 Gallons Per Day1
(permit required)
Farmers that use in excess of 100,000 gallons of ground water in any one day are required to obtain a
permit from the Department of Environment and to obtain a permit from the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources.
Permits Issued:
25 aquaculture operations with 36,821,440 gallons per day permitted capacity and withdrawals totaling
1,275,435,600 gallons reported in 2007.
24 agricultural irrigation operations2 with 31,723,521 gallons per day permitted capacity and withdrawals
totaling 403,190,422 gallons reported in 2007.
1 Data supplied by Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The data is for calendar year 2007.
2 Includes operations with a combination of irrigation, aquaculture, and/or livestock.
Other Counties - Water Use by Month 2007 1
Month # Operations Total
Avg. Daily
Ground
Total
Avg. Daily
Surface
Total
Max Daily
Ground
Total
Max Daily
Surface
(gallons) (gallons) (gallons) (gallons)
Jan 19 208,847 570,000 210,916 595,000
Feb 28 237,678 567,321 244,203 601,000
March 29 230,150 1,937,398 300,359 2,345,294
April 31 243,579 2,943,831 315,000 2,984,570
May 33 264,037 10,688,982 383,349 11,536,590
June 39 958,331 13,266,542 1,016,990 14,918,957
July 63 1,624,172 12,947,669 1,920,080 17,339,479
Aug 56 1,081,402 14,732,127 1,132,558 19,745,399
Sept 33 210,574 6,482,940 215,476 7,846,750
Oct 27 247,162 4,144,999 432,138 4,695,548
Nov 22 170,768 1,674,447 184,649 1,721,154
Dec 22 258,417 1,578,114 281,037 1,603,154
Operations: Daily Withdrawal Capacity (incl.ground and surface):
30 total operations 5,813,778 (gallons)
10 livestock
23 irrigation
1 Other counties include all data for Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Edgecombe, Martin, Onslow, and
Pamlico as well as non-disclosed data from the published counties.