America’s Water Crisis: Cities Where Water Demand Far Outpaces Supply

Published on August 2, 2025 12:49 by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social

America’s Water Crisis: Cities Where Water Demand Far Outpaces Supply

By Evan Comen • July 31, 2025

https://climatecrisis247.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Annual-Baseline-Water-Stress-for-Watershed-Sub-Basins-150x150.png

Nationwide, a majority of the U.S. population lives in sustainable water basins. Water supply outweighs demand in most counties, and on a national level the U.S. ranks 71st out of 181 countries in baseline water stress.

Hot property? From Maui to Malibu, These Affluent Enclaves Are Becoming Wildfire Hotspots
Whence the next pandemic? Cities Where the Next Pandemic Is Most Likely to Break Out

In some municipalities, however, the net consumption of water is far greater than renewable freshwater available at the sub-basin level, putting serious strain on water systems. In several cities – like Chandler, Arizona, and Lubbock, Texas – year-round water consumption outweighs renewable water supply by sevenfold. In these water scarce cities, residential and industrial consumers depend on non-renewable and imported water sources, relying on river diversions from hundreds of miles away or groundwater pumps that can draw down aquifers and result in overdrafting. A closer look at the data reveals the cities where water demand outpaces supply the most.

To determine America’s thirstiest cities, Climate Crisis 247 reviewed data on water demand and supply from the World Resources Institute. Cities are ranked based on average baseline water stress – the ratio of net water consumption to available renewable freshwater available to a sub-basin, which includes surface flow, interflow, and groundwater recharge. Data was aggregated from the sub-basin level to cities using QGIS. Supplemental data on drought conditions are from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Only cities with at least 100,000 residents were considered, with only the highest-ranking city in each county included.