DOVER, N.H. (AP) – Seacoast communities are awaiting details of a report on how demands on the region’s water supply will change in coming decades – and on how to avoid running out.

“That’s the big question,” says Marilee Horn, water use specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, the federal agency leading the study, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

She says data collected so far indicate “people will need to be very thoughtful in making sure there’s enough water. Managing available water resources will become more and more critical.”

According to the study, the Seacoast population has grown significantly during the past 20 years, resulting in a 50 percent increase in water demand.

It is hoped that the report, which will forecast domestic and commercial water demands for 10 and 25 years out, helps the 40 Seacoast area communities improve water resource planning.

Already the study has demonstrated that the impact of water use is spread over a larger area than previously suspected and solutions may require regional collaboration, says Ted Diers, manager of the New Hampshire Coastal Program.

“We’re not going to have more water than we do today,” Diers said. But the water can be used in different ways.

He said the study was prompted by recent droughts in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Drought Management Team declared a drought emergency in March 2002.

Horn said the reports will offer community-by-community data on water use, including the amount imported and exported and the supply of public versus private wells.

Matt Davis, associate professor of hydrogeology at the University of New Hampshire, says it is uncertain whether the region’s water resources can support additional growth, but a better understanding of the system might lead to an answer.