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FSH 2509.21 - NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM WATER RIGHTS HANDBOOK
R2 AMENDMENT 94-1
EFFECTIVE 6/1/94
CHAPTER 70 - QUANTIFICATION PROCEDURES AND METHODOLOGIES
71 - CONSUMPTIVE USE. When the format for the Water Use Inventory was
developed, it became apparent that a uniform procedure was needed for
determining how much water was required for Forest Service uses. A "Planning
Guide for Water Use." contained in a Public Health Service publication titled, the
Manual of Individual Water Supply Systems, was chosen as the base for the method
to be used in the determination of volume needs. This publication, NEW No. 24,
has since been reissued by EPA under the same title. It is now identified as EPA430-9-73-003. A copy of the "Planning Guide for Water Use" follows this chapter.
In the "Planning Guide for Water Use" the amount of water needed for the various
uses is given in gallons per day. Because water rights in the States in the Rocky
Mountain Region are measured in cubic feet per second or acre-feet, the gallon per
day amounts had to be converted to cubic feet per second. The Regional Office made
this conversion and then determined to what degree each of the Forest Service type
uses could be satisfied with .001 cubic feet per second. A chart presenting what the
.001 cubic feet per second would satisfy was then developed in a Region 2
Supplement. It is no longer in the Manual, but it is still the most valid and
defensible system we have in determining our water needs. In the Colorado Water
Divisions 4, 5, and 6, adjudication proceedings for this system was explained to and
accepted by the Water Court and the opponents. It is the system still in use in the
Rocky Mountain Region and the chart is presented here.
ESTIMATED AVERAGE WATER REQUIREMENTS
001 cubic feet per second will supply enough water for the following:
Type of Use
Picnic area
Without flush toilets
With flush toilets
With bath house, flush toilets, and showers
People per Day
100
50
25
Camping area
Without flush toilets
With flush toilets
With flush toilets and showers
35
20
15
Resorts
10
Guard stations
Family dwellings
5
(If lawn sprinkling is needed, add .001 cubic feet per second)
R2 AMENDMENT 2509.21-94-1
EFFECTIVE 6/1/94
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Trailer Camps
Livestock Use
Cattle
Horses
Sheep
5
Animals per day
43
43
325
Note: Above estimates include 25 percent safety factor.
Keep in mind the fact that the figures presented on the chart are not absolute.
They are an estimate, subject to adjustments resulting from professional judgment
for each given situation. When it is necessary to deviate from them, there must be a
legitimate rationale for the deviation. Also, keep in mind that these figures are for
average use. They do not represent the capacity of the diversion system, pump, or a
spring. In most instances, the State will require the system capacity figures when
the Forest Service attempts to acquire a water right. They want to know how much
water can be diverted or stored, not how much we say we are going to use. For this
reason, measurements of diversions should be made to verify the amounts and to
assure that the amounts comply with the water right.
Planning Guide for Water Use
Types of establishments
Gallons per day
Airports (per passenger)
3-5
Apartments, multiple family (per resident)
60
Bath houses (per bather)
10
Camps:
Construction, semipermanent (per worker)
50
Day with no meals served (per camper)
15
Luxury (per camper)
100-150
Resorts, day and night, with limited plumbing (per camper)
50
Tourist with central bath and toilet facilities (per person)
35
Cottages with seasonal occupancy (per resident)
50
Courts, tourist with individual bath units (per person)
50
Clubs:
Country (per resident member)
100
Country (per nonresident member present)
25
Dwellings:
Boardinghouses (per boarder)
50
Additional kitchen requirements for nonresident boarders 10
Luxury (per person)
100-150
Multiple-family apartments (per resident)
40
Rooming houses (per resident)
60
Single family (per resident)
50-75
Estates (per resident)
100-150
Factories (gallons per person per shift)
15-35
Highway rest area (per person)
5
Hotels with private baths (2 persons per room)
60
R2 AMENDMENT 2509.21-94-1
EFFECTIVE 6/1/94
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Hotels without private baths (per person)
Types of establishments
50
Gallons per day
Institutions other than hospitals (per person)
75-125
Hospitals (per bed)
250-400
Laundries, self-serve (gallons per washing, i.e., per customer)
50
Livestock (per animal):
Cattle (drinking)
12
Dairy (drinking and servicing)
35
Goat (drinking)
2
Hog (drinking)
4
Horse (drinking)
12
Mule (drinking)
12
Sheep (drinking)
2
Steer (drinking)
12
Motels with bath, toilet, and kitchen facilities (per bed)
50
With bed and toilet (per bed space)
40
Parks:
Overnight with flush toilets (per camper)
25
Trailers with individual bath units, no sewer connection
(per trailer)
25
Trailers with individual baths, connected to sewer (per person) 50
Picnic:
With bathhouses, showers, and flush toilets (per picnicker)
20
With toilet facilities only (gallon per picnicker)
10
Poultry:
Chickens (per 100)
5-10
Turkeys (per 100)
10-18
Restaurants with toilet facilities (per person)
7-10
Without toilet facilities (per patron)
2.5-3
With bars and cocktail lounge (additional quantity per patron) 2
Schools:
Boarding (per pupil)
75-100
Day with cafeteria, gymnasium, and showers (per pupil)
25
Day with cafeteria, no gymnasium or showers (per pupil)
20
Day without cafeteria, gymnasium or showers (per pupil)
15
Service stations (per vehicle)
10
Stores (per toilet room)
400
Swimming pools (per swimmer)
10
Theaters:
Drive-in (per car space)
5
Movie (per auditorium seat)
5
Workers:
Construction (per person per shift)
50
Day (school or offices per person per shift)
15