Idahoans Use the Most Water

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Americans are using less water, though people in the Northwest individually use more than the national average, and Idahoans use more than people in any other state. That's the finding of a study by local, state and federal officials tracking everything from collective sips at the public fountain to irrigation to water used to cool nuclear power plants.

The 56-page U.S. Geological Survey report released this month is a snapshot taken at five-year intervals with the most recently compiled information covering 2010. Officials say the U.S. used an average of 355 billion gallons of water per day that year.