Report: Want to save a trillion gallons of water, American West? Here's how
Southwestern states could save more than 1 trillion gallons of water a year by cutting use in four key areas, a report released today by Environment New Mexico suggests.
According to the authors of "Using Water Wisely," the region might reduce water use by 5.7 million acre-feet per year — 1.8 trillion gallons — by doing the following:
Help farmers make the switch to drip irrigation
Help homeowners embrace low-water landscaping
Reduce the use of coal and natural gas to make electricity
Provide conservation incentives to businesses
“There is vast potential to reduce water consumption from every sector in the Southwest. By making these investments now, we can help to ensure New Mexico will have water for future generations,” said Lauren Ketcham of Environment New Mexico.
The biggest potential savings are in agriculture, the study found. The industry accounts for about 71 percent of all water use in the six-state region examined in the report (New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Nevada), but it relies mainly on two forms of irrigation that waste water through excessive evaporation — flooding and sprinklers.
Some farmers in the region already use drip irrigation that apply water directly to the ground through flexible pipe, the study says. If others joined them, it could reduce water use by 2.9 million acre-feet a year. (An acre-foot is almost 326,000 gallons, and about the yearly usage of four or five U.S. families.)
Almost as much would be saved if homeowners throughout the Southwest would embrace xeriscaping. Replacing water-hungry lawns, trees and shrubs with native grasses and plants could save another 2.7 million acre-feet, the report says.
Smaller savings would result from reducing the use of coal- and natural-gas-burning power plants. If the region got 20 percent of its electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources, the region could save 140,000 acre-feet of water, the study says.
Another 25,000 acre-feet could be saved through efficiency measures in other industries.
To achieve these various goals the report suggests policy recommendations such as tax credits for farmers who make the switch to drip irrigation and allowing farmers to lease water that they have conserved. Cities should adopt programs, such as the one in Albuquerque, that offer rebates for xeriscaping and adjust water rates to encourage conservation. Businesses should be rewarded for conservation, and utility companies should be required to generate more power from renewable sources, as New Mexico already has.
"Improving the efficiency with which we use water in the Southwest can alleviate our water scarcity problems," Ketcham said. "From watering lawns at home to watering crops in the field, significant opportunities to save water exist throughout the Southwest. A comprehensive set of water-efficiency policies is the single best step Southwestern states can take to ensure adequate water for ourselves and our environment.”
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