I turn to one of the more active water markets in the U.S. – Colorado- for great definitions of consumptive use. Summarized below are two definitions of this critical component of water markets. As I’ve mentioned before, consumptive use is king and represents the marketable water. Colorado is a headwaters state with water delivered to 19 other states; so, it is easy to understand why they would take consumptive use seriously.

1. Consumptive Use is the estimated amount of water leaving a managed water system in a specified area due to human activity. Some portion of what might be considered water use will not be consumptive use. In other words, some portion of the water delivered to a municipal area or irrigated field will return to the system in the form of treatment center discharges, sewer run off, ground-water recharges and/or precipitation.

2. Consumptive Use. Any use of water that permanently removes water from the natural stream system. Water that has been evaporated, transpired, incorporated into products, plant tissue, or animal tissue and is not available for immediate reuse.