Sectoral Allocations - Milk River Basin

The largest sector use of water in the Milk River basin is for agriculture. Overall, 67% of allocations in 2006 were for irrigation purposes, with another 15% allocated to non-irrigation agriculture. The next largest uses are for other use-habitat enhancement (11%) and municipal water supply (4%). Growth in allocations has been fairly consistent since 1910 but have leveled off since 1990. In 2006, approximately 37% of the natural supply, as measured by the average natural supply of the Milk River basin (including Pakowki basin), was allocated for use.

Note that allocations are not a direct measure of actual use, rather they represent the maximum amount of water that can be used under the terms of licenses that have been issued, when and if sufficient water is available in the quantities licensed in a given year.

Allocation totals include data from Pakowki Lake basin, which neither receives any flow from nor contributes any flow to the Milk River, but is still considered part of the Milk River basin.