Vermont Water Use Data

Data were collected and evaluated at the census-block level and have been aggregated by county, town (MCD), and 12-digit hydrologic unit (watershed). Data for 2005 are provided below (2020 data will be provided in the future).

A census block is a geographic subdivision of a census block group and is the smallest geographic area for which the U.S. Census Bureau collects and tabulates population and housing counts. The census block provides a flexible basis for compiling water-use data, because it can be aggregated to many different watershed or political hierarchies and can be updated with information from more accurate and detailed studies as they become available. There are close to 25,000 blocks in Vermont. [More on Census blocks from the U.S. Census Bureau]

A minor civil division (MCD) is a type of governmental unit that is the primary legal or administrative subdivision of a county (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). In New England, MCDs are generally equivalent to towns or cities except that some MCDs are unincorporated. Vermont has 255 MCDs.

A hydrologic unit, or watershed, is a geographic area that drains water to a specific location. Watersheds can be subdivided into smaller drainage areas. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) together with other federal agencies has developed a nationally consistent watershed dataset called the Watershed Boundary Dataset. It has a heirarchy of 6 subdivisions, the smallest of which has a 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (12-digit HUC) and is generally 20 to 60 square-miles in size. In Vermont, there are 264 twelve-digit HUCs.

Maps showing the geographic boundaries of the units:
Withdrawal and return flow estimates for 2005 summarized by:
County (Microsoft Excel, 24KB)	Town (MCD) (Microsoft Excel, 94KB)	12-Digit HUC (Microsoft Excel, 133KB)