Estimating Stock Water Use in Rural Water Systems

Recently there has been an increase in the number of regional water supply systems in the Midwest. These systems often serve large livestock populations in addition to the domestic needs within the region. Peak use periods in a rural water supply system with large livestock populations are longer than those seen in high density residential areas. The increased length of peak use can be attributed to livestock feeding operations, but it is not possible to distinguish between the domestic and livestock influences at any particular time. Peak rates of use were found to occur between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The nomographs indicating daily livestock water consumption developed from data collected in the literature appear to give reasonable predictions of livestock water requirements based on animal weight and average environmental temperature.