tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/irrigation-1821/articlesIrrigation – The Conversation2024-02-26T13:39:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2172532024-02-26T13:39:14Z2024-02-26T13:39:14ZWhat ancient farmers can really teach us about adapting to climate change – and how political power influences success or failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576820/original/file-20240220-22-4dkk2z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C15%2C5160%2C3391&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A farmer paddles to his fields on an artificial island among canals, part of an ancient Aztec system known as chinampas, in 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ae1d688be96145e38f16681367992bca?ext=true">AP Photo /Marco Ugarte</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In dozens of archaeological discoveries around the world, from the once-successful reservoirs and canals of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101166">Angkor Wat</a> in Cambodia to the deserted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209615120">Viking colonies</a> of Greenland, new evidence paints pictures of civilizations struggling with unforeseen climate changes and the reality that their farming practices had become unsustainable.</p>
<p>Among these discoveries are also success stories, where ancient farming practices helped civilizations survive the hard times. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209615120">Zuni farmers</a> in the southwestern United States made it through long stretches of extremely low rainfall between A.D. 1200 and 1400 by embracing small-scale, decentralized irrigation systems. <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520343757/the-scarcity-slot">Farmers in Ghana</a> coped with severe droughts from 1450 to 1650 by planting indigenous African grains, like drought-tolerant pearl millet. </p>
<p>Ancient practices like these are gaining new interest today. As countries face unprecedented heat waves, storms and melting glaciers, some farmers and international development organizations are reaching deep into the agricultural archives to revive these ancient solutions.</p>
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<img alt="A canal running through a mountain side with snowy peaks in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An ancient irrigation method used by the Moors involving water channels is being revisited in Spain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/water-channel-for-irrigation-known-as-an-acequia-sierra-news-photo/525482563?adppopup=true">Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Drought-stricken farmers in Spain have reclaimed medieval <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/world/europe/spain-drought-acequias.html">Moorish irrigation</a> technology. International companies hungry for carbon offsets have paid big money for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ancient-farming-practice-draws-cash-from-carbon-credits-a803aee1">biochar made using pre-Columbian</a> Amazonian production techniques. Texas ranchers have turned to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/29/rio-grande-valley-farmers-study-ancient-technique-cover-cropping-climate-crisis">ancient cover cropping</a> methods to buffer against unpredictable weather patterns.</p>
<p>But grasping for ancient technologies and techniques without paying attention to historical context misses one of the most important lessons ancient farmers can reveal: Agricultural sustainability is as much about power and sovereignty as it is about soil, water and crops.</p>
<p>I’m an archaeologist who studies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10814-019-09138-5">agricultural sustainability</a> in the past. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1914211117">Discoveries in recent years</a> have shown how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.022">the human past</a> is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145941">full of people</a> who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03190-2">dealt with climate change</a> in both sustainable and unsustainable ways. Archaeologists are finding that ancient sustainability was tethered closely to politics. However, these dynamics are often forgotten in discussions of sustainability today.</p>
<h2>Maya milpa farming: Forest access is essential</h2>
<p>In the tropical lowlands of Mexico and Central America, Indigenous Maya farmers have been practicing milpa agriculture for thousands of years. Milpa farmers adapted to drought by gently steering forest ecology through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/120344">controlled burns</a> and careful <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gVyTDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Maya+milpa+forest+garden&ots=1ozG6sVYyg&sig=KZNXSDWX2ZR_Em7qGY37CqdeIG0#v=onepage&q=Maya%20milpa%20forest%20garden&f=false">woodland conservation</a>.</p>
<p>The knowledge of milpa farming empowered many <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cX7SEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=chan+Cynthia+robin&ots=yErzYIWFsz&sig=vNrtsYW7IC0X2UnieHxor4Hiiiw#v=onepage&q=chan%20Cynthia%20robin&f=false">rural farmers</a> to navigate climate changes during the notorious <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1114838109">Maya Collapse</a> – two centuries of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419133112">political disintegration and urban depopulation</a> between A.D. 800 to 1000. Importantly, later Maya political leaders worked with farmers to keep this flexibility. Their light-handed approach is still legible in the artifacts and settlement patterns of <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Political_Geography_of_the_Yucatan_M.html?id=52BlAAAAMAAJ">post-Collapse farming communities</a> and preserved in the flexible <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00134-8">tribute schedules</a> for Maya farmers documented by 16th century Spanish monks.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/96rIEVptFwo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Maya farmers and researchers explain milpa farming.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520395879/rooting-in-a-useless-land">my book</a>, “Rooting in a Useless Land: Ancient Farmers, Celebrity Chefs, and Environmental Justice in Yucatán,” I trace the deep history of the Maya milpa. Using archaeology, I show how ancient farmers adapted milpa agriculture in response to centuries of drought and political upheaval.</p>
<p>Modern Maya milpa practices began drawing public attention a few years ago as <a href="https://www.cimmyt.org/news/helping-farming-families-thrive-while-fighting-climate-change-in-mexico/">international development organizations</a> partnered with celebrity chefs, like <a href="https://www.cimmyt.org/es/noticias/el-restaurante-noma-llega-a-tulum-y-utilizara-maices-sustentables-de-yaxunah-2/">Noma’s René Redzepi</a>, and embraced the concept. </p>
<p>However, these groups condemned the traditional milpa practice of burning new areas of forest as unsustainable. They instead promoted a “no-burn” version to grow certified <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/dining/noma-tulum-pete-wells-mexico-rene-redzepi.html">organic maize for high-end restaurants</a>. Their no-burn version of milpa relies on fertilizers to grow maize in a fixed location, rather than using controlled fire ecology to manage soil fertility across vast forests.</p>
<p>The result restricted the traditional practices Maya farmers have used for centuries. It also fed into a modern political threat to traditional Maya milpa farming: land grabs. </p>
<p>Traditional milpa agriculture requires a lot of forested land, since farmers need to relocate their fields every couple of years. But that need for forest is at odds with hotel companies, industrial cattle ranches and green energy developers who want cheap land and see Maya milpa forest management practices as inefficient. No-burn milpa eases this conflict by locking maize agriculture into one small space indefinitely, instead of spreading it out through the forest over generations. But it also changes tradition. </p>
<p>Maya milpa farmers are now fighting to practice their ancient agricultural techniques, not because they’ve forgotten or lost those techniques, but because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12520">neocolonial</a> land <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2016.1215305">privatization policies</a> actively undermine farmers’ ability to manage woodlands as their ancestors did. </p>
<p>Milpa farmers are increasingly left to either adopt a rebranded version of their heritage or quit farming all together – as many have done.</p>
<h2>Mexico’s fragile artificial islands: Threats from development</h2>
<p>When I look to the work of other archaeologists investigating ancient agricultural practices, I see these same entanglements of power and sustainability.</p>
<p>In central Mexico, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24931564?casa_token=Mnjg8lpMxdEAAAAA:xtiTRUNdJVlBTAR3voVS3IszoyqO-VSb8MSohjUlxpYEdNtVKu0QPefJMjiSyvobBMO94-zcDj2E6DOXbNoUl1d-MNm3UO6TDKVsG4JLVxpWkHtFIg">chinampas</a> are ancient systems of artificial islands and canals. They have enabled farmers to cultivate food in wetlands for centuries. </p>
<p>The continuing existence of chinampas is a legacy of deep ecological knowledge and a resource enabling communities to feed themselves.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chinampa techniques use canals and artificial islands. This photo shows one in 1912.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinampas.jpg">Karl Weule, Leitfaden der Voelkerkunde via Wikimedia</a></span>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A well-maintained farming island among canals near Mexico City." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The chinampas of Xochimilco are a UNESCO world heritage site today, but development expanding from Mexico City has put their survival in danger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sergiosf/12546098673">Sergei Saint via Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>But archaeology has revealed that generations of sustainable chinampa management could be overturned almost overnight. That happened when the expansionist Aztec Empire decided to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00101164">re-engineer Lake Xaltocan</a> for salt production in the 14th century and rendered its chinampas unusable.</p>
<p>Today, the future of chinampa agriculture hinges on a pocket of protected fields <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/07/in-mexico-city-the-pandemic-revived-aztec-era-island-farms">stewarded by local farmers</a> in the marshy outskirts of Mexico City. These fields are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.07.018">now at risk</a> as demand for housing drives informal settlements into the chinampa zone.</p>
<h2>Andean raised fields: A story of labor exploitation</h2>
<p>Traditional Andean agriculture in South America incorporates a diverse range of ancient cultivation techniques. One in particular has a complicated history of attracting revival efforts.</p>
<p>In the 1980s, government agencies, <a href="https://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/30-3/Raised.pdf">archaeologists</a> and development organizations spent a fortune trying to persuade Andean farmers to <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315810997/inventing-indigenous-knowledge-lynn-swartley">revive raised field farming</a>. Ancient raised fields had been found around Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and Bolivia. These groups became convinced that this relic technology could curb hunger in the Andes by enabling back-to-back potato harvests with no need for fallowing.</p>
<p>But Andean farmers had no connection to the labor-intensive raised fields. The practice had been abandoned even before the rise of Inca civilization in the 13th century. The effort to revive ancient raised field agriculture collapsed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A view from a plane shows the outlines where fields were raised." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An aerial photograph shows pre-Colombian raised fields in Bolivia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/861590">Umberto Lombardo, University of Bern, Switzerland</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Since then, more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2005.03.002">archaeological discoveries</a> around Lake Titicaca have suggested that ancient farmers were forced to work the raised fields <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2004.08.001">by the expansionist Tiwanaku empire</a> during its peak between AD 500 and 1100. Far from the politically neutral narrative promoted by development organizations, the raised fields were not there to help farmers feed themselves. They were a technology for exploiting labor and extracting surplus crops from ancient Andean farmers.</p>
<h2>Respecting ancient practices’ histories</h2>
<p>Reclaiming <a href="https://www.soulfirefarm.org/media/farming-while-black/">ancestral farming</a> techniques can be a <a href="https://www.icollectiveinc.org/">step toward sustainable food systems</a>, especially when descendant communities lead their reclamation. The world can, and I think should, reach back to recover agricultural practices from our collective past.</p>
<p>But we can’t pretend that those practices are apolitical.</p>
<p>The Maya milpa farmers who continue to practice controlled burns in defiance of land privatizers understand the value of ancient techniques and the threat posed by political power. So do the Mexican chinampa farmers working to restore local food to disenfranchised urban communities. And so do the Andean farmers refusing to participate in once-exploitive raised field rehabilitation projects. </p>
<p>Depending on how they are used, ancient agricultural practices can either reinforce social inequalities or create more equitable food systems. Ancient practices aren’t inherently good – it takes a deeper commitment to just and equitable food systems to make them sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217253/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chelsea Fisher has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the Fulbright-Hays Program.</span></em></p>Agricultural sustainability is as much about power and sovereignty as it is about soil, water and crops.Chelsea Fisher, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2208162024-01-24T16:09:16Z2024-01-24T16:09:16ZHumans are depleting groundwater worldwide, but there are ways to replenish it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570486/original/file-20240121-27-v80ph8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C24%2C5504%2C3495&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Circular irrigation for growing hay and alfalfa near Corcoran, Calif. − a water-intensive system that relies on groundwater pumping. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/circular-irrigation-system-for-growing-hay-and-alfalfa-is-news-photo/1482425392">George Rose/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you stand at <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1186/html/gen_facts.html">practically any point on Earth</a>, there is water moving through the ground beneath your feet. <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water/brief/understanding-the-value-of-groundwater-in-a-changing-climate">Groundwater provides</a> about half of the world’s population with drinking water and nearly half of all water used to irrigate crops. It sustains rivers, lakes and wetlands during droughts.</p>
<p>Groundwater is a renewable resource, but it can take <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gw/how_a.html">decades or even centuries</a> for some aquifers to recover after they are depleted. Current understanding of this challenge is based mainly on where and how frequently people record measurements of water levels in wells. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06879-8">newly published study</a>, our team of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9lzSDgcAAAAJ&hl=en">data scientists</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=43AJs30AAAAJ&hl=en">water specialists</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BmbVaAgAAAAJ&hl=en">policy experts</a> compiled the first global-scale dataset of these levels. We analyzed millions of groundwater level measurements in 170,000 wells located in over 40 countries and mapped how groundwater levels have changed over time.</p>
<p>Our study has two main findings. First, we show that rapid groundwater depletion is widespread around the world and that rates of decline have accelerated in recent decades, with levels falling by 20 inches or more yearly in some locations. Second, however, our research also reveals many cases where deliberate actions halted groundwater depletion. These results show that societies are not inevitably doomed to drain their groundwater supplies, and that with timely interventions, this important resource can recover.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H1OhKb3qEPA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Communities in Bangkok, Tucson and Albuquerque have found ways to replenish their groundwater sources.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Portrait of a thirsty planet</h2>
<p>Many factors determine groundwater levels, including geology, climate and land use. But groundwater levels that are dropping deeper and deeper in a particular location often signal that people are pumping it out faster than nature can replenish it.</p>
<p>Some of the 300 million measurements we compiled were recorded by automated measuring devices. Many others were made in the field by people around the globe. And these measurements paint a worrying picture.</p>
<p>They show that groundwater levels have declined since the year 2000 in far more places than they rose. In many locations, especially arid zones that are heavily farmed and irrigated, groundwater levels are falling by more than 20 inches (0.5 meters) per year. Examples include Afghanistan, Chile, China, Peninsular India, Iran, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the U.S. Southwest. </p>
<p>Our second and more concerning finding is that in about one-third of the areas where we compiled measurements, the rate of groundwater decline is accelerating. Accelerated groundwater decline is common in dry climates where large swaths of land are used for agriculture. This suggests a potential link between groundwater-fed irrigation and intensifying groundwater depletion.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570487/original/file-20240121-29-uex7t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Infographc showing various uses of groundwater." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570487/original/file-20240121-29-uex7t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570487/original/file-20240121-29-uex7t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570487/original/file-20240121-29-uex7t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570487/original/file-20240121-29-uex7t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570487/original/file-20240121-29-uex7t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570487/original/file-20240121-29-uex7t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570487/original/file-20240121-29-uex7t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Groundwater is an essential but underappreciated resource worldwide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2022/03/23/groundwater-vital-but-invisible">World Bank</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What happens when groundwater is overused?</h2>
<p>Rapid and accelerating groundwater-level declines have many harmful effects.</p>
<p>Drinking-water supplies from wells and springs <a href="https://theconversation.com/water-wells-are-at-risk-of-going-dry-in-the-us-and-worldwide-160147">can run dry when groundwater levels decline</a>. People and communities who rely on those wells can lose access to what may be their sole source of accessible fresh water for drinking.</p>
<p>For example, wells that supply fresh water to homes are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-climate-and-environment-e49c8c5c34ead7ef7f83b770082f20bc">running dry in California’s San Joaquin Valley</a>, where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35582-x">groundwater depletion has accelerated</a> since the early 2000s. This problem is likely to continue and worsen unless action is taken to stabilize groundwater reserves. </p>
<p>Wells that run dry can also <a href="http://dx.doi.org/%2010.1126/sciadv.abd284">threaten crop production</a>. Groundwater depletion has long been viewed as one of the <a href="https://wwnorton.co.uk/books/9780393319378-pillar-of-sand">greatest threats to global irrigated agriculture</a>, because wells supply nearly half of the water used for irrigation globally. </p>
<p>In areas where groundwater typically drains to rivers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032831">falling groundwater levels can reverse this flow</a> and cause rivers to leak into the subsurface. This affects the river’s ecology and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1594-4">reduces water supplies downstream</a>. In the U.S., leaky streams are more common <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03311-x">where groundwater withdrawal rates are high</a>, highlighting how groundwater pumping can directly reduce the amount of water that flows underground into nearby rivers.</p>
<p>Groundwater declines can also cause land surfaces to sink. Land subsidence has increased flood risks in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098477">dozens of coastal cities worldwide</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/sea-levels-are-rising-fastest-in-big-cities-heres-why-157077">including Jakarta, Tokyo</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098477">Istanbul, Mumbai, Auckland and the Tampa Bay area of Florida</a>. </p>
<p>Farther from the coast, land subsidence can damage infrastructure. It poses a critical challenge in areas where groundwater levels have declined, including <a href="https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/493254/Land-subsidence-in-Iran-five-times-global-average">Tehran</a> and <a href="https://eos.org/articles/groundwater-pumping-is-causing-mexico-city-to-sink">Mexico City</a>. In many cases, the main culprit is excessive groundwater pumping.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CeEa_Q-MbOO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Finally, falling groundwater can cause seawater to move inland underground and contaminate coastal groundwater systems – a process known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-seawater-intrusion-a-hydrogeologist-explains-the-shifting-balance-between-fresh-and-salt-water-at-the-coast-214620">seawater intrusion</a>. When seawater intrudes, coastal aquifers can become too saline to use for drinking water without energy-intensive desalination.</p>
<h2>How to replenish groundwater supplies</h2>
<p>We also found places where groundwater levels are recovering. The strategies that communities used to replenish their groundwater sources included developing new alternative water supplies, such as local rivers; adopting policies to reduce demand for groundwater; and intentionally replenishing aquifers with surface water.</p>
<p>The town of El Dorado, Arkansas, saw its groundwater levels drop by roughly 200 feet (60 meters) from 1940 through 2000 as local industries pumped water from the aquifer. In 1999, a new policy established a pumping fee structure, giving businesses an incentive to find a new water supply. By 2005, a pipeline had been built to <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3102/">divert water from the Ouachita River to El Dorado</a>. This new source reduced demand for groundwater, and groundwater levels have risen in the area since 2005.</p>
<p>In Bangkok, so many private wells were drilled <a href="https://www.un-igrac.org/resource/thailand-controlling-gw-abstraction-and-related-environmental-degradation-metropolitan">for domestic, industrial or commercial purposes</a> between 1980 and 2000 that <a href="https://www.un-igrac.org/resource/thailand-controlling-gw-abstraction-and-related-environmental-degradation-metropolitan">groundwater pumping doubled</a> and groundwater levels fell. Officials responded by <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-4-431-53904-9_14">quadrupling groundwater extraction fees between 2000 and 2006</a>. Total groundwater pumping declined, and levels began to recover as users found other water sources.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0HPrKqRBhS4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In wet years, water managers in Fresno, Calif., pump water out of rivers and canals into recharge basins. There, the water can sink slowly into the ground and recharge groundwater supplies.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a valley near Tucson, Arizona, groundwater levels declined by 100 feet (30 meters) as withdrawals for irrigation increased after the 1940s. To help replenish the depleted groundwater, <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/sir20185154">leaky ponds were constructed</a>. These ponds are filled with water from the Colorado River that is moved hundreds of miles to the area via canals. As these ponds leak, they refill the depleted aquifer. Because of these leaky ponds, groundwater levels in the valley have risen by about 200 feet (60 meters) in places.</p>
<p>Our analysis shows how important it is to monitor groundwater levels in many locations. With groundwater levels declining in many places, communities and businesses that depend on it need accurate information about their water supplies so they can act in time to protect them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220816/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Jasechko receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Zegar Family Foundation. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Geological Survey through the California Institute for Water Resources . The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of USGS/CIWR. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by USGS/CIWR. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Debra Perrone receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Taylor receives funding from the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research through a Fellowship under the Earth 4D: Subsurface Science and Exploration Program. He is also supported by a research grant from the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada. </span></em></p>Rapid and accelerating groundwater level declines are widespread in dry climates where groundwater is used for irrigation. But some communities have found ways to turn things around.Scott Jasechko, Associate Professor of Water Resources, University of California, Santa BarbaraDebra Perrone, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa BarbaraRichard Taylor, Professor of Hydrogeology, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169262024-01-16T14:14:57Z2024-01-16T14:14:57ZAn ancient system that could bring water to dry areas<p>Some of Africa’s dry areas face serious water shortages due to minimal rainfall. An ancient system of drawing water from aquifers, the “qanat system”, could help. Gaathier Mahed, an environmental scientist and expert on the management of groundwater, has <a href="https://waqfacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SaniBook_Draft_2Aug09_1c_Part2_chapter13.pdf#page=2">studied the feasibility</a> of these systems. He tells us more._</p>
<h2>How does the qanat system work?</h2>
<p>There are bodies of water underground known as aquifers, some of which can be found at the tops of valleys or near mountains. A qanat system taps these aquifers and, using underground tunnels, moves the water, using gravity, over many kilometres. The tunnel then exits at a lower-lying area. </p>
<p>When the water exits the tunnel, farmers can use it to irrigate their crops. People can also access the water along the stretch of the tunnel using wells.</p>
<p>It’s a system that’s managed by everyone, and its benefits are shared. Everybody has a vested interest and a role to play. Community bonds can be strengthened – in stark contrast to tensions we see over water resources today.</p>
<p>It’s a highly complex communal system to manage. Laws governing the system have existed since the <a href="https://www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/English-1968-Origin.pdf">9th century</a>. These laws relate to the construction and proximity of <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-00268-8_3">qanat tunnels</a> to each other. They also govern the exits of the qanats. For instance, land owners at the exits can use the water first and must aid in managing them. </p>
<h2>Where did it come from and where is it used?</h2>
<p>The qanats have been used <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1506/">for centuries</a> in arid and semi-arid parts of north Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where water supplies are limited. It’s known by a variety of names, “foggara” in north Africa, “falaj” in Oman and “qarez” in parts of Asia. </p>
<p>It’s thought to have been <a href="https://www.mei.edu/publications/harvesting-water-and-harnessing-cooperation-qanat-systems-middle-east-and-asia">developed</a> in Persia in the first millennium BC. As the Islamic Empire <a href="https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/islamic-conquest-of-the-maghreb/">spread</a> across the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, north Africa, and parts of Europe from 661 to 750 CE, so did knowledge about qanats.</p>
<p>Today, some of the region’s qanat systems, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1506/">like those in Iran</a>, are protected under heritage status. Some of these qanats, although declining in number, are still used. They are <a href="https://environmentalsystemsresearch.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40068-015-0039-9">largely protected</a> for historical and cultural reasons.</p>
<h2>Why is it not being more widely used?</h2>
<p>There are several reasons why the tunnel system is not more widely used in Africa. </p>
<p>Qanats need to be built somewhere with the right geological formations. These generally seem to be fractured sandstones. The level of groundwater is also important for the flow of water in the qanat. The volume of water in the aquifer stems from the rainfall in the mountainous regions. </p>
<p>Qanats can only be built where there’s a slope, like a mountain or a valley. And the slope must have a <a href="https://www.livius.org/articles/misc/qanat/">specific angle</a>. If it’s too steep, erosion of the qanat will occur and it will collapse. If it’s not steep enough the water will not flow fast enough and could become chemically altered due to interaction with minerals in the ground. </p>
<p>The digging of the tunnel and development of the system over large areas of land is labour intensive and can take many years. The qanats cover many kilometres and need to be maintained every year, by cleaning out the silt build-up. </p>
<p>Knowledge of building qanats and maintaining them is being lost. People have migrated from rural areas to cities and adopted boreholes in certain areas instead. </p>
<p>Some qanats are drying up due to over exploitation of the water resource.</p>
<h2>Why should the system be used more widely?</h2>
<p>In most instances people in arid areas drill wells to access groundwater. These boreholes have a lifespan and eventually new wells have to be drilled. Pumps and materials don’t last forever, and wells can get clogged by microbial organisms and fine material in the subsurface.</p>
<p>First, the qanat is sustainable as it works with gravity and no electricity is needed. It can even be used to create clean energy. For instance, in Iran cold air that comes out of qanat tunnels is <a href="https://clubofmozambique.com/news/irans-ancient-wind-catchers-beat-the-heat-naturally-241589/">used to cool</a> the interior of large buildings. </p>
<p>Second, water lost to evaporation is minimal in comparison to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11269-011-9850-x">surface water</a> supplies.</p>
<p>Third, it can have a wide scale impact. Qanats are multiple kilometres long and once this water hits a floodplain, it can <a href="https://core.ac.uk/reader/82487040">irrigate multiple</a> hectares of land.</p>
<p>Fourth, it fosters social cohesion. Many people, with different skills, are involved in maintaining the system. </p>
<p>Fifth, the lifespan of the system <a href="https://environmentalsystemsresearch.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40068-015-0039-9">extends beyond</a> that of a deep water well, which is only about 20 years. Tunnels do not clog as easily as wells. </p>
<p>Finally, the quality of water coming from the mountains is much better than water on the plains. It’ll have lower salinity and be better for crops and people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216926/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gaathier Mahed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Qanats are an ancient system which could be a useful way of getting water to farms in arid areas.Gaathier Mahed, Senior lecturer, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170022023-11-27T04:12:56Z2023-11-27T04:12:56ZThe government’s Murray-Darling bill is a step forward, but still not enough<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561714/original/file-20231126-21-rluebs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C3058%2C2032&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sunrise-on-murray-river-near-kingstononmurray-1207917046">Philip Schubert, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week, the Senate is debating changes to Australia’s most important water laws. These changes seek to rescue the ailing A$13 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan to improve the health of our nation’s largest river system. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7076">Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill 2023</a> is a crucial step forward. It proposes to lift the Coalition-era cap on water buybacks, allowing the federal government to recover more water for the environment through the voluntary purchase of water entitlements from irrigators.</p>
<p>It also proposes to extend the deadlines for the many beleaguered water-offsetting projects put forward by state governments.</p>
<p>Through the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists – an independent group working to secure the long-term health of Australia’s land, water and biodiversity – we strive to restore river health for the basin’s communities, industries and ecosystems. Here we ask whether the bill can fulfil the Albanese government’s <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-to-future-proof-australias-water-resources-butler">2022 election promise</a> to deliver the plan.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1728928333243781591"}"></div></p>
<h2>Securing support of the Greens and crossbenchers</h2>
<p>The bill is central to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-to-future-proof-australias-water-resources-butler">five-point election promise</a> to deliver the plan, and Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s <a href="https://www.tanyaplibersek.com/media/media-releases/media-release-plibersek-decade-of-liberal-national-sabotage-puts-murray-darling-basin-plan-behind/">subsequent commitment</a> to implement the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full.</p>
<p>With the Coalition <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7076">voting against the bill</a> in the lower house, the federal government <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/joint-media-release-strengthening-restoring-our-rivers-bill">secured the support</a> of the Greens with measures that considerably strengthen the bill.</p>
<p>It is now up to key crossbench Senators to secure passage through parliament. But they have said the bill doesn’t go far enough, citing serious concerns it <a href="https://www.lidiathorpe.com/mr_water_legislation">excludes First Nations water rights and interests</a> and <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/MDBAWaterBill2023/Report">ignores climate change</a>.</p>
<p>The federal government must pass the bill in the next two sitting weeks to avoid triggering a statutory deadline, after which unfinished water offset projects would be cancelled and water recovery would be required instead.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/labors-new-murray-darling-basin-plan-deal-entrenches-water-injustice-for-first-nations-212261">Labor’s new Murray-Darling Basin Plan deal entrenches water injustice for First Nations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Water Act and Basin Plan: where are we at?</h2>
<p>Born of the crisis of the Millennium drought, the Water Act 2007 was announced by the Howard government to “<a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/howards-full-speech-to-the-national-press-club/news-story/cfd6aa4761027929545602a96dc04254">once and for all</a>” address over-allocation of water in the Murray-Darling Basin.</p>
<p>Five years later, the Basin Plan 2012 was established to recover 3,200 billion litres of water for the environment from other uses, or to implement projects that deliver “equivalent” outcomes. That includes securing 450 billion litres for the health of the River Murray, Coorong and Lower Lakes.</p>
<p>But this volume of water fell substantially short of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s best estimate of what was needed to “<a href="http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/wa200783/s3.html">ensure the return to environmentally sustainable levels of extraction</a>”, and did not take climate change into account.</p>
<p>All water recovery targets were expected to be met by June 2024. But while some progress has been made, water recovery has <a href="https://wentworthgroup.org/2017/11/review-of-water-reform-in-the-murray-darling-basin/">almost stalled</a> in the past decade.</p>
<p>Only <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/policy/mdb/progress-recovery">26 billion litres have been recovered</a> of the crucial 450 billion litres. </p>
<p>Of the 36 water offset projects meant to be operational by 2024, <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/2023-sdlam-annual-assurance-report.pdf">16 are not likely to be complete</a>, contributing to a likely shortfall of between 190 billion and 315 billion litres.</p>
<p>No onground work has commenced to alleviate flow “constraints”, leaving thousands of hectares of floodplain forests in the River Murray disconnected from their channels and at risk of drying out and dying.</p>
<p>The Water Act and the plan <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-14/lawyers-academics-first-nations-rights-murray-darling-basin-plan/103098066">do not provide for First Nations people’s water rights and interests</a>. And they <a href="https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/67496/2/01_Pittock_The_Murray-Darling_Basin_Plan_2015.pdf">fail to deal with climate change</a>.</p>
<p>Reforms to both the legislation and the plan are desperately needed to address these major shortcomings.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/murray-darling-basin-plan-to-be-extended-under-a-new-agreement-without-victoria-but-an-uphill-battle-lies-ahead-212002">Murray-Darling Basin Plan to be extended under a new agreement, without Victoria – but an uphill battle lies ahead</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Voluntary buybacks are necessary</h2>
<p>The new bill represents a clear step towards the first of the Albanese government’s <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-to-future-proof-australias-water-resources-butler">five-point promises</a> to “deliver on water commitments” by removing the cap on buybacks.</p>
<p>Without buybacks, it is unlikely the federal government will be able to deliver the 3,200 billion-litre plan in full.</p>
<p>While the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/MDBAWaterBill2023/Report">Senate Committee</a> acknowledged the impacts of buybacks on communities, the committee found some concerns were “overinflated and not supported by the high-quality evidence base”, referring to a <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/mdb-outlook-economic-literature-review2.pdf">literature review</a>.</p>
<p>The Wentworth Group has <a href="https://wentworthgroup.org/2010/06/sustainable-diversions-in-the-murray-darling-basin/">long argued</a> for funding to establish a regional transition fund to support impacted communities through these reforms. As part of these reforms, “significant transitional assistance” was <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/speeches/speech-introducing-restoring-our-rivers-bill">announced</a> by Plibersek.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1728946516616962316"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/water-buybacks-are-back-on-the-table-in-the-murray-darling-basin-heres-a-refresher-on-how-they-work-200529">Water buybacks are back on the table in the Murray-Darling Basin. Here's a refresher on how they work</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Statutory guarantees are needed</h2>
<p>The bill requires <a href="https://wentworthgroup.org/2023/10/submission-to-senate_inquiry_water_amendment_bill_2023/">additional measures</a> to guarantee the unfinished business to which parliament agreed more than a decade ago:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>a legally binding 450 billion litre water recovery target</strong>. The public needs a legal recourse if governments fail to deliver the full volume. We understand the intent of today’s <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/joint-media-release-strengthening-restoring-our-rivers-bill">announcement</a> is to make the target a statutory requirement, in line with other water recovery targets under the plan.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>improved integrity of the water offset method and withdrawal of unviable water offset projects</strong> The <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/joint-media-release-strengthening-restoring-our-rivers-bill">agreement</a> reached today allows the Commonwealth to remove non-viable projects. <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/Fulltext/MF22082">Significant flaws</a> in the method used to calculate water offsets still need to be addressed. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>milestones in the bill’s proposed “constraints roadmap”</strong> which specify targets linked to incentive payments.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>transparency and accountability measures</strong> to restore public confidence in water reform, such as whole-of-basin hydrological modelling, water accounting and auditing, and validation of annual permitted take models. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Several of these measures were <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/joint-media-release-strengthening-restoring-our-rivers-bill">announced today</a>. We’re yet to see details but the high-level agreement is encouraging.</p>
<h2>Urgent reforms can’t wait to 2027</h2>
<p>Australia’s water laws have <a href="https://theconversation.com/labors-new-murray-darling-basin-plan-deal-entrenches-water-injustice-for-first-nations-212261">failed to address</a> the rights and interests of Indigenous people. Indigenous peoples <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719319799">own a mere 0.2%</a> of surface water entitlements in the Murray-Darling Basin.</p>
<p>In 2022, the Albanese government <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-to-future-proof-australias-water-resources-butler">committed</a> to “increasing First Nations ownership of water entitlements and participation in decision making”.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/MDBAWaterBill2023/Report">Senate Committee</a> found “overwhelming support […] that significantly more needs to be done to incorporate the values and interests of First Nations people in Basin Plan management”.</p>
<p>Many solutions can be readily incorporated into the bill. It should be amended so the legislation is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and recommendations of Indigenous organisations, such as the Murray-Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations.</p>
<p>The $100 million <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/joint-media-release-strengthening-restoring-our-rivers-bill">announced</a> today for the Aboriginal Water Entitlement Program is welcome, although much was already <a href="https://www.tonyburke.com.au/media-releases/2019/5/6/media-release-labornbspwillnbspget-the-basin-plan-back-on-tracknbsp">committed</a> and the remainder won’t make up for the lost value given entitlement prices, according to <a href="https://mldrin.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/WEB_20230829-MLDRIN-Slide-Deck-FINAL-STC.pdf">analysis</a> commissioned by the Murray-Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations.</p>
<p>The bill also needs to provide greater clarity for basin communities on how climate change will be incorporated into the Basin Plan review, and strategies for adapting to climate change. This cannot wait until 2027 – communities need to prepare now for their future.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-plans-for-engineered-wetlands-on-the-murray-are-environmentally-dubious-heres-a-better-option-204116">Victoria’s plans for engineered wetlands on the Murray are environmentally dubious. Here’s a better option</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217002/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Celine Steinfeld is Director of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Vanderzee is a Water Policy Analyst with the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. He is a former water policy adviser to the Victorian goverment with more than 12 years experience in national and Murray-Darling Basin water reform.</span></em></p>With the support of the Greens, there’s a chance the ‘Restoring Our Rivers’ Bill will pass. Will it be enough to put the Murray-Darling Basin Plan back on track?Celine Steinfeld, Director, Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists & Adjunct Lecturer, UNSW SydneyMichael Vanderzee, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2149702023-11-05T09:27:02Z2023-11-05T09:27:02ZGrowing African vegetables on buildings can save space and feed cities – new study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554793/original/file-20231019-21-c6blch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4771%2C3183&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Eco Green Wall is an example of a sustainable living wall system.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Karen Botes</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>As cities grow, more people <a href="https://globalaffairs.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/report_growing-food-for-growing-cities.pdf#page=13">need</a> food. However, space for farming is <a href="https://www.focusingfuture.com/eco-city/urban-farming-solves-lack-of-agriculture-space/">limited</a> in cities. Building facades can offer a solution for growing food. We asked landscape architect Karen Botes to tell us about her research – cultivating traditional African vegetables on walls.</em> </p>
<h2>What are ‘living wall systems’ and why did you study them?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ajlajournal.org/articles/traditional-african-vegetables-living-walls">Living wall systems</a> are vertical growing platforms which usually form part of a building façade. Some are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032114006637">continuous, others modular</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as/article/view/5801/4204#page=147">Continuous systems</a> are lightweight screens with pockets that can contain wet <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132316305108">felted substrate layers</a>, or rock wool, for the plants to grow in, or the plants’ exposed roots are kept wet with nutrient-rich fluids. An example of a continuous system is <a href="https://www.nal.usda.gov/farms-and-agricultural-production-systems/hydroponics#:%7E:text=Hydroponics%20is%20the%20technique%20of,%2C%20coconut%20coir%2C%20or%20perlite.">hydroponics</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as/article/view/5801/4204">Modular living wall systems</a> are irrigated plant trays or pots containing soil and fixed onto a supporting structure on the building’s vertical surface. Modular systems are widely used because they make an immediate aesthetic impact. The plants are pre-grown offsite and individual plants are easily replaced. </p>
<p>To learn more about which modular living wall systems work best, I compared two during the 2021/2022 growing season in Pretoria, South Africa. My <a href="https://www.ajlajournal.org/articles/traditional-african-vegetables-living-walls#:%7E:text=Living%20wall%20food%20systems%20involving,social%2Cenvironmental%20and%20educational%20benefits.">six-month study</a> also compared traditional African vegetable crops with a mainstream crop. </p>
<h2>What are the benefits of living walls?</h2>
<p>Benefits of living walls include <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1101/2/022051">food production</a>, <a href="https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/61145">biodiversity, cooling, air purification and noise reduction</a>. They also have aesthetic value and are known to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866719302894?casa_token=y4OCy-Fm0QYAAAAA:4Hw1JE3WdPN-jq2yt_7N_hN2-eYsWPvqLe99lWUuDpW2SkKxS0do0OjFmI5a8_qi3MckNMAN">reduce stress and improve productivity and wellbeing</a>. </p>
<p>When households grow edible crops in living walls, it reduces the environmental impact of food because it doesn’t have to come from far away. And it reduces waste. Growing vegetables has also been found to encourage urban gardeners to eat a more balanced diet in <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/5610">Honduras</a>, <a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jrm/13/2/13_2960/_article/-char/ja/">Japan</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hpja.207?casa_token=RbOlOoyUaUoAAAAA%3AkFEtqYg4Q4KR5MfSlWne6LfeJZZjLb4VKiaU6TIv69QABUjGd7m55KQz-12bDaa1HxgxJpMX2NBuSYo">Australia and elsewhere</a>.</p>
<p>I’m interested in whether <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1101/2/022051">living walls with traditional African vegetables</a> could improve local household food production and contribute to dealing with climate change, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-loss-of-vegetation-is-creating-a-dangerous-heat-island-over-nairobi-150622">urban heat islands</a> and urban <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-buildings-in-johannesburg-could-benefit-from-green-roofs-122877">microclimates</a>.</p>
<h2>What did you discover in your study in Pretoria?</h2>
<p>The study compared the performance of traditional African vegetable crops in two types of living wall system, the Vicinity wall and the Eco Green Wall, in terms of crop yields and health. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.modularverticalgarden.com/">Vicinity</a> wall is an all-in-one system, with water tanks at the bottom, a pump and a filter. The top row of pots is drip irrigated and the water gravitates into each row, before circulating back to the top row. The Vicinity pots are clipped onto an aluminium rail fixed to the building. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as/article/view/5801/4204">Eco Green Wall</a> comprises interlocking, lightweight blocks made out of recycled polystyrene aggregate-and-cement mixture, and plant pots with a soil volume of roughly 1.5 litres. It is designed with economic feasibility and sustainability in mind. </p>
<p>I compared the living wall systems’ performance to traditional soil-based agriculture. Variables included minimum and maximum daily temperatures, relative humidity, precipitation, soil temperature, water content and electrical conductivity, leaf biomass yield and plant stress. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/articlesystem's%20components/10.1088/1755-1315/1101/2/022051">study</a> found that local production of the living wall components reduced their cost and carbon footprint. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ajlajournal.org/articles/traditional-african-vegetables-living-walls#:%7E:text=Living%20wall%20food%20systems%20involving,social%2Cenvironmental%20and%20educational%20benefits.">Low technology</a> that requires basic assembly, and a basic irrigation system to limit dependency on electricity and water, can enhance performance.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1101/2/022051/meta">appropriate plant selection</a> can further improve the living wall’s resilience, feasibility and sustainability. The study identified seven <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12231-019-09448-1">traditional African vegetable</a> species suitable for household food production in living wall systems: creeping foxglove, Indian borage, jute plant, pink ribbons, water mint, dwarf elephant’s food and black-eyed pea. </p>
<h2>How feasible is it? What are the biggest barriers?</h2>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-008-0063-x">Building facades</a> make up roughly double the area of building footprints in urban areas. This means that walls have more potential for local food production than traditional soil-based urban agriculture. They also have environmental benefits. </p>
<p>But the efficiency, resilience and sustainability of current living wall systems have been <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1101/2/022051">questioned</a> globally and need improvement. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>They are costly to install and maintain. </p></li>
<li><p>They seldom provide optimal conditions for plants to flourish. </p></li>
<li><p>They rely on electricity and water.</p></li>
<li><p>Some systems require specialised skills and technology.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What could make it work for cities on the continent?</h2>
<p>Sun exposure of plant pots should be limited so that the soil doesn’t get too hot. The <a href="https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as/article/view/5801/4204">Eco Green Wall</a> system is an example where sun exposure is limited and the structure protects the crops.</p>
<p>Pots need to have at least three litres of <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/fp/FP12028">soil</a> with a depth of 200mm. This increases yield and reduces plant stress. The soil must be lightweight and meet the plant’s requirements. Aeration, texture and drainage must be right. The pots’ drainage holes must limit blockages. </p>
<p>A drip or wick irrigation system for each plant level reduces maintenance and increases resilience.</p>
<p>Selecting <a href="https://www.ajlajournal.org/articles/traditional-african-vegetables-living-walls#:%7E:text=Living%20wall%20food%20systems%20involving,social%2Cenvironmental%20and%20educational%20benefits.">traditional African vegetables</a> increases the feasibility and resilience of crop performance. These crops can tolerate sub-Saharan Africa’s harsh climate conditions. </p>
<p><a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1101/2/022051">Traditional African vegetables</a> also have a high nutritional value, don’t need much irrigation or chemicals, and are resistant to disease. </p>
<p>These vegetables prefer full sun and no frost. Well-drained, aerated potting soil that allows for movement of air, water and nutrients works well for them. They require moderate irrigation.</p>
<p>The system should be positioned to avoid possible contamination of crops by <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1101/2/022051">polluted environments</a>. It must be orientated to provide <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866717304156">efficient sun exposure</a> for the selected plants.</p>
<h2>So, are living wall systems worth considering to grow vegetables?</h2>
<p>I concluded from my research that growing traditional African vegetables in modular living walls saves space compared to standard soil-based food production on a household scale. Considering the horizontal footprint area occupied in terms of yield per square metre, living wall systems with larger pot volumes produced over four times the yield of conventional soil-based agriculture. And they use space that would otherwise not have been used productively.</p>
<p>I also concluded that <a href="https://www.ajlajournal.org/articles/traditional-african-vegetables-living-walls#:%7E:text=Living%20wall%20food%20systems%20involving,social%2Cenvironmental%20and%20educational%20benefits.">outdoor modular living wall systems with selected traditional African vegetable crops</a> might be one way of improving food security and urban environments in sub-Saharan Africa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Botes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Growing traditional African vegetables on building facades is feasible and can improve food supply in cities.Karen Botes, Lecturer in Landscape Architecture, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2117682023-10-04T03:56:59Z2023-10-04T03:56:59ZBradfield’s pipedream: irrigating Australia’s deserts won’t increase rainfall, new modelling shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549959/original/file-20230925-19-sjqj2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C8%2C5467%2C3647&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/long-awaited-rain-storm-one-drop-1541576591">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For generations, Australians have been fascinated with the idea of turning our inland deserts green with lush vegetation. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/leaders-tout-bradfield-scheme-options-in-queensland-election-fight-20191101-p536o2.html">Both sides</a> of politics have supported proposals to irrigate the country’s centre by turning northern rivers inland. Proponents have argued water lost to evaporation would rise through the atmosphere and fall back as rain, spreading the benefits throughout the desert. But this claim has hardly ever been tested.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL103913">recently published research</a> shows irrigating Australia’s deserts would not increase rainfall, contrary to a century of claims otherwise. </p>
<p>This provides a new argument against irrigating Australia’s deserts, in addition to critiques on economic and environmental grounds.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">What is the Bradfield Scheme? Featuring Griffith University’s Professor Fran Sheldon.</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-bradfield-rerouting-rivers-to-recapture-a-pioneering-spirit-127010">'New Bradfield': rerouting rivers to recapture a pioneering spirit</a>
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<h2>The Bradfield scheme</h2>
<p>Proposals to irrigate the country’s centre by diverting water inland date back to at least the 1930s. The person most widely credited with the idea is John Bradfield, the civil engineer who designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97050378">proposed a series of dams and tunnels</a> that would transport water from northern Queensland to Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.</p>
<p>Variants of the original scheme have been proposed <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/a-turning-point-lnp-vows-to-irrigate-drought-addled-western-qld-20201018-p5665l.html">as recently as 2020</a>. The Queensland Liberal National Party campaigned on a policy to build a Bradfield-like scheme in the last state election. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An aerial view of the Queensland LNP’s ‘new Bradfield scheme’ (Liberal National Party of Queensland, October 2020)</span></figcaption>
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<p>Despite our fascination with it, the Bradfield scheme has well-documented problems. It is not cost-effective and would likely be a disaster for the environment. These findings have been confirmed repeatedly by <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97099323">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/natural-environment/water/water-resource-assessment/the-bradfield-scheme-assessment">reviews</a>, as recently as <a href="https://www.rdmw.qld.gov.au/water/consultations-initiatives/bradfield-regional-assessment-development-panel">2022</a>.</p>
<p>Yet the idea resurfaces <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-bradfield-rerouting-rivers-to-recapture-a-pioneering-spirit-127010">over and over again</a> and the debate around it remains active and ongoing. </p>
<p>Crossbencher Bob Katter, the federal member for Kennedy in Queensland, is a prominent supporter of the scheme. He <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-09/queensland-government-abandons-bradfield-scheme-after-report/101751678">rejected the critical findings</a> of a <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/natural-environment/water/water-resource-assessment/the-bradfield-scheme-assessment">recent CSIRO review</a> that found the scheme and others like it were not economically viable. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-cant-we-just-build-a-pipe-to-move-water-to-areas-in-drought-123454">Curious Kids: why can't we just build a pipe to move water to areas in drought?</a>
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<h2>Would it increase rainfall?</h2>
<p>Would the Bradfield scheme increase rainfall in central Australia? Given all the debate about the scheme, this question has received surprisingly <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-964034842/view?partId=nla.obj-964065417">little</a> <a href="https://www.cmar.csiro.au/e-print/internal/mcgregor_x2004a.pdf">attention</a>.</p>
<p>Bradfield argued the added irrigation water would effectively <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97050378">double or triple the region’s rainfall</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This irrigation water would augment the average rainfall of the district from 10 to 20 inches per annum […] Sceptics and croakers say the water will evaporate or seep away […] [but] it will not go far.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To test Bradfield’s claim, we turned to climate models. In a collaboration between scientists at the University of Melbourne, Harvard University, National Taiwan University and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, we simulated two worlds: one with a Bradfield-like scheme and one without it. </p>
<p>In our model of the Bradfield-like scheme, we permanently filled the region around Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre with water. That differs a bit from Bradfield’s original scheme but captures the basic idea. If anything, it is more extreme than Bradfield’s scheme. If Bradfield is right, we would expect our scheme’s effects on rainfall to be even larger.</p>
<p>Our simulations showed no significant increase in rainfall. This may sound surprising but can be explained with basic physical arguments.</p>
<h2>Why no rain?</h2>
<p>Rain forms when moist air rises. As it rises, temperatures drop, water condenses from vapour to liquid and clouds form. </p>
<p>Hot air rises, so high temperatures near the surface can promote rainfall. But in our simulations, irrigating the surface led to evaporative cooling of the air. The colder air did not rise as much, and rainfall was suppressed.</p>
<p>Where does all that extra water go? In our simulations, the water evaporated and was blown all over the Australian continent by wind. The additional water ended up being spread thinly over a large area. When it did eventually rain out, the effect on local rainfall was tiny.</p>
<p>Climate models aren’t perfect and have known weaknesses in simulating rainfall. But the basic explanation for the small change in rainfall can be understood without appealing to climate models. </p>
<p>Could irrigating a larger region, or a different part of the country, change the results? Maybe, and we are looking into it. But the Bradfield scheme is already <a href="https://www.rdmw.qld.gov.au/water/consultations-initiatives/bradfield-regional-assessment-development-panel">not cost effective</a>. Making the scheme larger or moving it away from natural flow paths would only make this problem worse.</p>
<p>Previous reviews of the Bradfield scheme have mainly focused on the economics of the scheme. Australian economist <a href="https://www.rdmw.qld.gov.au/water/consultations-initiatives/bradfield-regional-assessment-development-panel">Ross Garnaut’s report</a> in December 2022 is the most recent to find the scheme is economically unviable. </p>
<p>Our study provides a new argument against the Bradfield scheme, separate to economic arguments.</p>
<p>The idea of transforming our dry continent is seductive. But our study shows no plausible engineering scheme would be capable of making it rain enough to do so. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-drought-proof-australia-and-trying-is-a-fools-errand-124504">We can’t drought-proof Australia, and trying is a fool's errand</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaighin McColl receives funding from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Sloan Foundation, the Sahara Project, and Harvard University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dongryeol Ryu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows turning northern rivers inland to irrigate Australia’s dry interior would not increase rainfall. This is another argument against the Bradfield scheme.Kaighin McColl, Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Environmental Science and Engineering, Harvard UniversityDongryeol Ryu, Professor, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2128162023-09-12T12:29:30Z2023-09-12T12:29:30ZWhat Arizona and other drought-ridden states can learn from Israel’s pioneering water strategy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546411/original/file-20230905-364-hcc2rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5491%2C3655&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Suburban development in Maricopa County, Arizona, with lakes, lush golf courses and water-guzzling lawns. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/aerial-view-of-suburban-development-named-ocotillo-in-news-photo/1410152052">Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Arizona is one of the <a href="https://www.prb.org/resources/growth-and-migration-in-the-american-southwest-a-tale-of-two-states/">fastest-growing states in the U.S.</a>, with an economy that offers many opportunities for workers and businesses. But it faces a daunting challenge: a water crisis that could seriously constrain its economic growth and vitality. </p>
<p>A recent report that projected <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/us/arizona-water-development-desert.html">a roughly 4% shortfall in groundwater supplies</a> in the Phoenix area over the next 100 years prompted the state to <a href="https://www.azwater.gov/phoenix-ama-groundwater-supply-updates">curtail new approval</a> of groundwater-dependent residential development in some of the region’s <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-colorado-river-drought-climate-change-groundwater-52860198c654d7308137c6c7836707f4">fast-growing suburbs</a>. Moreover, negotiations continue over <a href="https://www.azwater.com/colorado-river-updates/">dwindling supplies from the Colorado River</a>, which historically supplied more than a third of the state’s water. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of the full Colorado River watershed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Colorado River’s watershed extends across seven U.S. states and into Mexico. Use of river water is governed by a compact negotiated in 1922.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://qcnr.usu.edu/coloradoriver/files/perspectives-map.pdf">Center for Colorado River Studies</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a partial solution, the <a href="https://www.azwifa.gov/">Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority</a> is exploring a proposal to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/10/climate/arizona-desalination-water-climate.html">import desalinated water from Mexico</a>. Conceptualized by <a href="https://ide-tech.com/en/">IDE, an Israeli company</a> with extensive experience in the desalination sector, this mega-engineering project calls for building a plant in Mexico and piping the water about 200 miles and uphill more than 2,000 feet to Arizona. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the project is slated to <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2022/12/21/arizona-piping-mexico-water-desalination-colorado-river-dwindles/69745907007/">cost more than US$5 billion</a> and provide fresh water at nearly 10 times the cost of water Arizona currently draws from the Colorado River, not including long-term energy and maintenance costs. </p>
<p>Is this a wise investment? It is hard to say, since details are still forthcoming. It is also unclear how the proposal fits with Arizona’s plans for investing in its water supplies – because, unlike some states, Arizona has no state water plan.</p>
<p>As researchers who focus on water <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kYqOHrMAAAAJ&hl=en">law</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sharon-Megdal">policy</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JZBqTFcAAAAJ&hl=en">management</a>, we recommend engineered projects like this one be considered as part of a broader water management portfolio that responds holistically to imbalances in supply and demand. And such decisions should address known and potential consequences and costs down the road. Israel’s approach to desalination offers insights that Arizona would do well to consider.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6sidQzMicXY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A 20-year drought in the Colorado River basin poses critical questions for Arizona’s water future.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lands and waters at risk</h2>
<p>Around the world, water engineering projects have caused large-scale ecological damage that governments now are spending heavily to repair. Draining and straightening <a href="https://www.evergladesrestoration.gov/restoration-program-overview">the Florida Everglades</a> in the 1950s and ′60s, which seriously harmed water quality and wildlife, is one well-known example. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Maps showing historic, current and planned water flows in south Florida" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">State and federal agencies are spending billions of dollars to restore the Everglades, reversing water control projects from 1948-1963 that channelized and drained these enormous wetlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/blog/tell-me-about-everglades-restoration/">US Army Corps of Engineers/Florida Museum</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Israel’s <a href="https://en.parks.org.il/reserve-park/hula-nature-reserve/">Hula wetlands</a> is another. In the 1950s, Israeli water managers viewed the wetlands north of the Sea of Galilee as a malaria-infested swamp that, if drained, would eradicate mosquitoes and open up the area for farming. The project was an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/05/world/israel-restoring-drained-wetland-reversing-pioneers-feat.html">unmitigated failure</a> that led to dust storms, land degradation and the loss of many unique animals and plants.</p>
<p>Arizona is in crisis now due to a combination of water management gaps and climatic changes. Groundwater withdrawals, which in much of rural Arizona remain unregulated, include unchecked pumping by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/16/fondomonte-arizona-drought-saudi-farm-water/">foreign agricultural interests</a> that ship their crops overseas. Moreover, with the Colorado River now in its <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-colorado-river-drought-crisis-5-essential-reads-203651">23rd year of drought</a>, Arizona is being forced to reduce its dependence on the river and <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06052023/arizona-water-sources-drought/">seek new water sources</a>.</p>
<p>The desalination plant that Arizona is considering would be built in Puerto Peñasco, a Mexican resort town on the northern edge of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Gulf-of-California">Gulf of California</a>, also known as the Sea of Cortez. Highly saline brine left over from the desalination process would be released into the gulf. </p>
<p>Because this inlet has an elongated, baylike geography, salt could concentrate in its upper region, harming endangered aquatic species such as <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/totoaba">the totoaba fish</a> and the vaquita porpoise, <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/vaquita">the world’s most endangered marine mammal</a>. </p>
<p>The pipeline that would carry desalinated water to Arizona would cross through <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orpi/index.htm">Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument</a>, a fragile desert ecosystem and UNESCO biosphere reserve that has already been damaged by <a href="https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/border-wall-damage-water-west/">construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall</a>. To run the facility, IDE proposes to build a power plant in Arizona and lay transmission lines across the same fragile desert. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing location of proposed plant and pipeline route." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The proposed desalination plant in Mexico would pipe fresh water 200 miles to Arizona.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.enr.com/articles/55659-arizona-advances-55b-mexico-desalination-plant-proposal">Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona/ENR Southwest</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>No single solution</h2>
<p>Israel has adapted to water scarcity and has learned from its disastrous venture in the Hula wetlands. Today the country has a <a href="https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/isr204034.pdf">water sector master plan</a> that is regularly updated and draws on water recycling and reuse, as well as a significant desalination program.</p>
<p>Israel also has implemented extensive water conservation, efficiency and recycling programs, as well as a broad economic review of desalination. Together, these sources now meet most of the nation’s water needs, and Israel has become a leader in both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3193">water technology and policy innovation</a>. </p>
<p>Water rights and laws in Arizona differ from those of Israel, and Arizona isn’t as close to seawater. Nonetheless, in our view Israel’s approach is relevant as Arizona works to close its water demand-supply gap. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A worker in a hard hat surrounded by valves, adjusting one." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A worker at the Sorek seawater desalination plant south of Tel Aviv, Israel, which provides 20% of the nation’s municipal water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/worker-is-seen-at-the-sorek-desalination-plant-in-palmachim-news-photo/1236763628">Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Steps Arizona can take now</h2>
<p>In our view, Arizona would do well to follow Israel’s lead. A logical first step would be making conservation programs, which are <a href="https://new.azwater.gov/conservation">required in some parts of Arizona</a>, mandatory statewide. </p>
<p>Irrigated agriculture uses <a href="https://www.arizonawaterfacts.com/water-your-facts">more than 70% of Arizona’s water supply</a>, and most of the state’s irrigated lands use <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/edu/irmethods.html">flood irrigation</a> – pumping or bringing water into fields and letting it flow over the ground. Greater use of <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/edu/irmethods.html">drip irrigation</a>, which delivers water to plant roots through plastic pipes, and other water-saving techniques and technologies would reduce agricultural water use. </p>
<p>Arizona households, which sometimes use as much as 70% of residential water for <a href="https://www.waterforarizona.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Investing-in-Arizonas-Water-final.pdf">lawns and landscaping</a>, also have a conservation role to play. And the mining sector’s groundwater use presently is <a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/arizona-must-stop-the-400b-giveaway-of-groundwater-to-the-world-s-largest-foreign-based-mining-companies">largely exempt from state regulations and withdrawal restrictions</a>. </p>
<p>A proactive and holistic water management approach should apply to all sectors of the economy, including industry. Arizona also should continue to expand programs for agricultural, municipal and industrial <a href="https://wrrc.arizona.edu/reuse-whats-in-store">wastewater reuse</a>. </p>
<p>Desalination need not be off the table. But, as in Israel, we see it as part of <a href="https://rnrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/RRJV37N3.pdf">a multifaceted and integrated series of solutions</a>. By exploring the economic, technical and environmental feasibility of alternative solutions, Arizona could develop a water portfolio that would be far more likely than massive investments in seawater desalination to achieve the sustainable and secure water future that the state seeks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212816/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clive Lipchin is affiliated with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Eckstein and Sharon B. Megdal do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Arizona is considering a multibillion-dollar desalination project to address its urgent water needs. Three water experts call for a go-slow approach and point to Israel as a role model.Gabriel Eckstein, Professor of Law, Texas A&M UniversityClive Lipchin, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies, Tel Aviv UniversitySharon B. Megdal, Professor of Environmental Science and Director, Water Resources Research Center, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2120022023-08-22T09:19:16Z2023-08-22T09:19:16ZMurray-Darling Basin Plan to be extended under a new agreement, without Victoria – but an uphill battle lies ahead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543904/original/file-20230822-17-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C33%2C7326%2C4869&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Federal Minister for Water Tanya Plibersek today <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/historic-deal-struck-guarantee-future-murray-darling-basin">announced a new agreement</a> to restore Australia’s largest and most important river basin. It comes just months before the original Murray-Darling Basin Plan was to be completed. </p>
<p>This was a plan to benefit people and nature, to protect river communities, industries and the environment against future droughts. It was forged in response to the gruelling <a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/river-murray/dry-conditions/millennium-drought">Millennium Drought</a>, when the Murray River stopped flowing to the sea. </p>
<p>It was clear too much water was being taken out of the system and everyone would suffer if Basin states could not find a better way to share. But it has been much harder to strike the right balance than first hoped. </p>
<p>When it became clear in July it was <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/news-and-events/newsroom/authority-advice-basin-plan-implementation">no longer possible</a> to deliver the plan in full and on time, the federal government started hatching a new plan. </p>
<p>Now Plibersek is offering “more time, more money, more options, and more accountability”, acutely aware that “the next drought is just around the corner”. But she faces an uphill battle, with Victoria still holding out. Further, the legislation is yet to go before parliament and needs to be passed before Christmas. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-less-than-a-year-to-go-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-is-in-a-dreadful-mess-these-5-steps-are-needed-to-fix-it-209328">With less than a year to go, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is in a dreadful mess. These 5 steps are needed to fix it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How did we get here?</h2>
<p>Management of the Basin rivers today is a far cry from the hope engendered in 2007 when Prime Minister <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22media%2Fpressrel%2FK81M6%22;src1=sm1">John Howard announced</a> the National Plan for Water Security, at the peak of the Millenium Drought.</p>
<p>He proposed reforms to Basin water governance, saying “nothing can change the basic facts of our continent” and calling for action to end “the tyranny of incrementalism and the lowest common denominator” governance. These “once and for all” reforms were intended to prevent “economic and environmental decline”. </p>
<p>But the Basin states were loathe to hand their powers over to the Commonwealth. Victoria and New South Wales resisted reallocating water from agriculture. Amid navigating the complex science and trade offs, it was another five years before the controversial Basin Plan was adopted in 2012.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the plan then languished over the past decade as the federal, New South Wales and Victorian governments <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020208">frustrated measures</a> originally agreed to return water from agricultural use to the environment.</p>
<p>This week’s announcement represents the federal government taking firm steps to implement the first part of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-to-future-proof-australias-water-resources-butler">five-point election commitment</a> for the Basin.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543906/original/file-20230822-21-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="darling river" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543906/original/file-20230822-21-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543906/original/file-20230822-21-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543906/original/file-20230822-21-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543906/original/file-20230822-21-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543906/original/file-20230822-21-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543906/original/file-20230822-21-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543906/original/file-20230822-21-1crsil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A plan for the water: the politics of the Murray-Darling Basin have long been fraught.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now the federal government has reached agreements with most states who share management of the river system – Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia – but not Victoria. The Victorian government appears to be rivalling the National Party in its <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-04-20/victorian-government-hold-murray-darling-basin-projects/102247494">opposition</a> to buying more water entitlements from irrigators (water buybacks). </p>
<p>The federal government is looking to purchase water entitlements from willing sellers. This is because past investments in water efficiency projects have proven to be too slow, very expensive and have had unexpected outcomes for agricultural industries and the rivers.</p>
<p>Victoria continues to argue its irrigation-based industries would be harmed by more water buybacks, and that the state has borne an unfair share of the burden compared to New South Wales. The Victorian government has knowledgeable staff and is well resourced, and resistance could be fierce.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/water-buybacks-are-back-on-the-table-in-the-murray-darling-basin-heres-a-refresher-on-how-they-work-200529">Water buybacks are back on the table in the Murray-Darling Basin. Here's a refresher on how they work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Plibersek appears to be counting on her alliance with other states enabling required amendments to the Water Act and Basin Plan to be passed before Christmas. Given almost certain rejection by the Opposition of more water reallocation, she will require the support of cross bench Senators who may demand stronger environmental measures. The Greens have already <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/water-buybacks-scare-off-victoria-from-basin-agreement/news-story/882a81acfbb21dbc8631a5a031b6ab28">criticised</a> the minister’s announcement as a move that “kicks the can down the road”, but buying such a large volume of water will take years.</p>
<p>If the legislation is not amended, and existing deadlines remain, the federal government may be forced into <a href="https://www.npc.org.au/speaker/2022/1090-andrew-mcconville">recovering even more water</a>. In particular, they would need to respond to the states’ failure to deliver on projects that are supposed to conserve wetland with less water by building water supply infrastructure.</p>
<h2>A welcome development</h2>
<p>The new agreement is welcome in doubling down on the original plan to recover 3,200 billion litres a year of additional water essential to maintain the health of the rivers and the people who rely on them. The federal government has focused on recovering 450 billion litres a year of water within this target that was agreed with the former South Australian premier. Premier Jay Weatherill drew on scientific advice to insist the minimum volume of water was recovered that is needed to keep the lower River Murray floodplain, lower lakes and Coorong healthy.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the past decade of stalling by the federal, NSW and Victorian governments means the 2023-24 Basin Plan deadlines must be extended by two to three years if key projects are to be completed.</p>
<p>Much greater public assurance with transparency and accountability measures is needed if the new targets are to be met. The federal government needs to find more effective carrots and sticks to engender state compliance. This time it would be wise to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2014.999725">withhold payments to the states</a> until they deliver the promised action.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543907/original/file-20230822-21-l2fetn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="murray darling rivers meeting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543907/original/file-20230822-21-l2fetn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543907/original/file-20230822-21-l2fetn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543907/original/file-20230822-21-l2fetn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543907/original/file-20230822-21-l2fetn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543907/original/file-20230822-21-l2fetn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543907/original/file-20230822-21-l2fetn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543907/original/file-20230822-21-l2fetn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The muddy waters of the Darling meet the clearer Murray at Wentworth in New South Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The federal government’s intention to redouble efforts to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-less-than-a-year-to-go-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-is-in-a-dreadful-mess-these-5-steps-are-needed-to-fix-it-209328">relax constraints</a>” and enable more water to flow to where it’s most needed to conserve flora and fauna is crucial. This is essential to get the most benefits for freshwater ecosystems by allowing environmental water to spill out of river channels onto floodplain wetlands. Despite a recent flurry of activity, NSW and Victoria have not delivered promised agreements with river side land owners to enable this watering.</p>
<p>The one disappointing aspect of the agreement is the proposal to allow more water offset projects (under the <a href="https://getinvolved.mdba.gov.au/SDLAM">Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism</a>). These ecologically dubious projects have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-plans-for-engineered-wetlands-on-the-murray-are-environmentally-dubious-heres-a-better-option-204116">problematic</a>, with at least one being abandoned and many delayed. It is inconceivable that new projects could be identified and delivered by 2026.</p>
<p>But the new agreement only deals with the most immediate problems in implementing the Basin Plan. The Plan is due to be revised in 2026. The current measures do not deal with <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-less-than-a-year-to-go-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-is-in-a-dreadful-mess-these-5-steps-are-needed-to-fix-it-209328">two major issues</a>. First, ways need to be found to restore the rights of Indigenous nations to own and manage water. Currently they hold only 0.2% of issued entitlements. Second, a new Plan is needed to manage the project loss of a lot of water to climate and other environmental change.</p>
<p>The federal government’s agreement with most states (but not Victoria) is a really welcome initiative to get Basin Plan implementation back on track. However, even harder decisions await.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-plans-for-engineered-wetlands-on-the-murray-are-environmentally-dubious-heres-a-better-option-204116">Victoria’s plans for engineered wetlands on the Murray are environmentally dubious. Here’s a better option</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212002/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Pittock is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. Jamie holds roles in a number of non-government environmental organisations. He is also the independent Chair of the ACT Natural Resources Management Advisory Committee. </span></em></p>Knowing the ‘next drought is just around the corner’, Australia’s Water Minister Tanya Plibersek is striking a new agreement to return water and health to the Murray-Darling Basin.Jamie Pittock, Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093282023-07-17T20:03:25Z2023-07-17T20:03:25ZWith less than a year to go, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is in a dreadful mess. These 5 steps are needed to fix it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537445/original/file-20230714-15-hsnhzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C2591%2C1724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Murray Darling Basin Plan is an historic deal between state and federal governments to save Australia’s most important river system. The A$13 billion plan, inked over a decade ago, was supposed to rein in the water extracted by farmers and communities, and make sure the environment got the water it needed. </p>
<p>But now, less than a year out from the plan’s deadline, it’s in a dreadful mess. Projects have not been delivered. Governments cannot agree on who gets the water, or how. All the while, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128181522000127">water</a> in the Murray-Darling Basin will become scarcer as climate change worsens.</p>
<p>The Albanese government was elected on a promise to <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-to-future-proof-australias-water-resources-butler">uphold</a> the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
But earlier this month, Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-07-05/murray-darling-basin-plan-targets-advice-request-tanya-plibersek/102559824">conceded</a> the plan is “too far behind” and needs a “course correction”.</p>
<p>I have studied and promoted sustainability measures in the Murray-Darling Basin for 35 years. Here, I outline the five steps needed now to ensure the health of the river system and the people who depend on it. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="man overlooks river bend" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537446/original/file-20230714-23-47mt53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537446/original/file-20230714-23-47mt53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537446/original/file-20230714-23-47mt53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537446/original/file-20230714-23-47mt53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537446/original/file-20230714-23-47mt53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537446/original/file-20230714-23-47mt53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537446/original/file-20230714-23-47mt53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Water in the Murray Darling Basin will become scarcer as climate change worsens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A refresher: what is the Murray-Darling Basin Plan?</h2>
<p>The Murray-Darling Basin covers <a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/murray-darling-basin-plan/">about a seventh</a> of the Australian land mass: most of New South Wales, parts of Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, and all of the Australian Capital Territory. It includes the Murray River and Darling River/Baarka and their tributaries. </p>
<p>These lands and waters are the traditional lands of <a href="https://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/announcements/new-indigenous-rangers-murray-darling-basin">more than 40 Indigenous nations</a>. Around <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MF03075">5% of the basin</a> consists of floodplain forests, lakes, rivers and other wetland habitats. Vast amounts of water are extracted from the rivers to supply around <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/why-murray-darling-basin-matters">three million Australians</a>, including irrigating farms. </p>
<p>The Murray-Darling Basin Plan <a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/murray-darling-basin-plan/:%7E:text=The%20Basin%20Plan%20was%20signed,needs%20such%20as%20drinking%20water.">became law</a> in 2012, under the Labor government. It is due to be fully implemented and audited by the end of June 2024.</p>
<p>The plan limits the amount of water extracted from the basin. It aims to both improve the condition of freshwater ecosystems and maintain the social and economic benefits of irrigated agriculture.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1569277751542300680"}"></div></p>
<p>Under the plan, <a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/river-murray/basin-plan/whats-in-the-basin-plan/history-of-the-basin-plan#:%7E:text=The%20Australian%20Government%20subsequently%20committed,river%20communities%20and%20environmental%20works.">3,200 billion litres a year</a> would be returned to rivers – about 14% of <a href="https://doi.org/10.4225/08/585ac631207f7">total surface water</a> in the basin. </p>
<p>The water was largely to be recovered by buying back water entitlements from farmers. Some <a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/river-murray/basin-plan/whats-in-the-basin-plan/history-of-the-basin-plan">450 billion litres</a> would be retrieved through water efficiency projects.</p>
<p>The plan has twice been amended to reduce the amount of water taken from farmers. The first change, made on <a href="https://wentworthgroup.org/2018/01/advice-on-basin-plan-amendment-instrument-2017/">questionable grounds</a>, reduced the water recovery target by 70 billion litres a year. The second reduced it by 605 billion litres, with the water to instead be recovered through <a href="https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water/basins-catchments/murray-darling/supply-efficiency-measures">36 water-saving offset projects</a>. </p>
<p>Further, the Victorian and NSW governments committed to reaching agreements with farmers to enable water for the environment to safely spill out of river channels and across privately owned floodplains, to replenish more wetlands.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-an-ugly-legacy-of-denying-water-rights-to-aboriginal-people-not-much-has-changed-141743">Australia has an ugly legacy of denying water rights to Aboriginal people. Not much has changed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="man stands on flooded road" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536383/original/file-20230708-17-3g0q3m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536383/original/file-20230708-17-3g0q3m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536383/original/file-20230708-17-3g0q3m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536383/original/file-20230708-17-3g0q3m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536383/original/file-20230708-17-3g0q3m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536383/original/file-20230708-17-3g0q3m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536383/original/file-20230708-17-3g0q3m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Getting water into floodplain wetlands is crucial for flora and fauna. Pictured: a colleague of the author stands on a road at Tocumwal, NSW, as water inundates the River Murray floodplain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jamie Pittock</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So how’s the plan going?</h2>
<p>Things are not going well. As of November last year, the offset projects were likely to deliver between <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/news-and-events/newsroom/address-national-and-rural-press-club">290 and 415 billion litres</a> of the 605 billion litres required. And <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20172">very little water</a> is getting to floodplains.</p>
<p>And of the 450 billion litres to be retrieved through water-efficiency projects, only 26 billion litres has been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-07-05/murray-darling-basin-plan-targets-advice-request-tanya-plibersek/102559824">recovered</a>.</p>
<p>It means of the 3,200 billion litres of water a year to be returned to the environment, only <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/climate-and-river-health/water-environment/water-recovery/factors-water-recovery/progress-water">2,100 billion litres</a> was being achieved as of March this year – plus the small amount of projected water from offset projects, if it’s delivered. </p>
<p>At a meeting in February this year, the nation’s water ministers <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-24/states-fail-to-agree-as-murray-darling-basin-plan-deadline-looms/102018886">failed to agree</a> on how to meet the plan’s deadline.</p>
<p>As governments quibble, the rivers and floodplains of the Murray-Darling suffer. In the past decade, millions of fish have perished in <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-did-millions-of-fish-die-gasping-in-the-darling-after-three-years-of-rain-202125">mass die-offs</a>. <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/climate-and-river-health/water-quality/blue-green-algae">Toxic algae</a> has bloomed, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/MF21057">wildife</a> and <a href="https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/despite-challenging-conditions-thousands-waterbirds-breeding-throughout-nsw">waterbirds</a> have declined in numbers and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/this-magnificent-wetland-was-barren-and-bone-dry-three-years-of-rain-brought-it-back-to-life-20221115-p5bydw.html">wetlands</a> have dried up. These are all signs that too much water is still being taken from the system.</p>
<p>So how do we get the basin plan back on track? Below, I identify the top five priorities.</p>
<h2>1. NSW must get its act together on water plans</h2>
<p>Integral to implementing the broader basin plan are 33 “<a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/water-management/basin-plan/water-resource-plans">water resource plans</a>” devised by the states. These plans bring the basin plan into legal force and detail how much water can be taken from the system and how it is divided between users such as farmers, communities and the environment. </p>
<p>NSW must produce 20 plans. To date, <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/water-management/basin-plan/water-resource-plans/list-state-water-resource-plans">just five</a> are in place. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/09/nsw-withdraws-seven-flawed-water-resource-plans-throwing-doubt-on-murray-darling-basin-plan">At least seven plans</a> by NSW were recently withdrawn to be re-drafted. </p>
<p>Until they’re finalised, key measures of the basin plan cannot be implemented. The new NSW Minns government must prioritise the remaining water resource plans and have them accredited by the Commonwealth government. </p>
<h2>2. Federal water buybacks must ramp up</h2>
<p>The Albanese government is taking steps to improve water recovery under the plan, such as <a href="https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/ideas-to-deliver-the-basin-plan">consulting stakeholders</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-22/federal-government-water-buybacks-murray-darling-basin-plan-730/102007496">restarting</a> water buybacks. But it must do more.</p>
<p>Both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/22/murray-darling-basin-plan-on-the-brink-after-nsw-says-it-cannot-meet-water-savings-deadline">NSW</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/23/murray-darling-basin-plan-victoria-will-struggle-to-meet-water-delivery-obligations-by-deadline">Victoria</a> will almost certainly miss the 2024 deadline for delivering all infrastructure projects they promised to offset 605 billion litres of water. </p>
<p>The federal government is legally obliged to – and should – purchase additional water from farmers to cover any gap. It must also acquire more than 400 billion litres of water to make up for the shortfall in water efficiency projects.</p>
<p>For this to occur, a <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/policy/mdb/commonwealth-water-mdb">Coalition-era cap</a> must be lifted from 1,500 billion litres to enable more federal government water purchases from farmers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="machine waters crops" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537448/original/file-20230714-14892-q74jlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537448/original/file-20230714-14892-q74jlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537448/original/file-20230714-14892-q74jlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537448/original/file-20230714-14892-q74jlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537448/original/file-20230714-14892-q74jlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537448/original/file-20230714-14892-q74jlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537448/original/file-20230714-14892-q74jlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The federal government must buy more water entitlements from farmers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Abandon questionable water-saving projects</h2>
<p>At least six water-saving projects look unlikely to meet the deadline. </p>
<p>They include a large project proposed by the former NSW government to reduce evaporation at <a href="https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/491679/Menindee-Lakes-evaporation-fact-sheet.pdf">Menindee Lakes</a>, which <a href="https://www.theland.com.au/story/7172211/menindee-sdl-project-discussions-suspended/">appears doomed</a>. </p>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/water/water-infrastructure-nsw/sdlam/yanco-creek-modernisation-project">project at Yanco Creek</a> in NSW has also fallen behind, and four of the nine Victorian projects have been <a href="https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=WTWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weeklytimesnow.com.au%2Fnews%2Fwater%2Fshing-halts-floodplain-works-fears-federal-funding-will-be-cut%2Fnews-story%2Fe22a38442f6ab2c7c7f4a5fd0073f996&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">paused</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/130259">ecological merit</a> of these projects are contested – as is the scientific rigour of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22082">proposed auditing</a> method. These projects <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-plans-for-engineered-wetlands-on-the-murray-are-environmentally-dubious-heres-a-better-option-204116">should be abandoned</a> in favour of reconnecting rivers to their floodplain. </p>
<h2>4. Reconnect rivers and floodplains</h2>
<p>For floodplain wetlands to function, they must be regularly inundated with water. To date, just <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MF20172">2% of these parts</a> of the basin are inundated each year by managed flows (or in other words, intentional water releases by authorities).</p>
<p>The federal government holds water for this purpose. Delivering the water requires compensation for the owners of inundated properties, as well as upgraded roads, bridges and levee banks. Managed inundation can benefit landholders, such as by reducing the impacts of natural floods. But governments must do a better job of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2020.1832723">communicating these benefits</a> to win support.</p>
<p>The federal government needs NSW and Victoria to help implement their agreement for watering floodplains, but this cooperation has been extremely slow. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/damning-royal-commission-report-leaves-no-doubt-that-we-all-lose-if-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-fails-110908">Damning royal commission report leaves no doubt that we all lose if the Murray-Darling Basin Plan fails</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="river at sunset" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537449/original/file-20230714-15-ubu6du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537449/original/file-20230714-15-ubu6du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537449/original/file-20230714-15-ubu6du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537449/original/file-20230714-15-ubu6du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537449/original/file-20230714-15-ubu6du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537449/original/file-20230714-15-ubu6du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537449/original/file-20230714-15-ubu6du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rivers must be connected to floodplains.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Make information transparent</h2>
<p>The data and modelling used to manage water in the basin is complex and is often not publicly available. </p>
<p>In its final report in 2019, a South Australian <a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/river-murray/basin-plan/murray-darling-basin-commission">royal commission</a> into the Murray-Darling Basin was highly critical of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. The report found the authority failed to act on “the best available science” when determining how much water could be returned to the environment, and withheld modelling and other information that should have been made public. </p>
<p>Making such information freely available is crucial for accountability and to build public trust. </p>
<h2>Time for tough decisions</h2>
<p>Each key element of the basin plan has encountered trouble at the implementation stage. The five steps I’ve outlined are essential to rectifying this. </p>
<p>Attention must now also turn to a review of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which is legally required in 2026. As well as addressing the problems detailed above, it must address two big issues essentially ignored in the plan to date: the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2021.1970094?src=recsys">lack of</a> Indigenous rights over water, and water losses due to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2023.2190493">global warming</a> and other environmental change. </p>
<p>If the Albanese government is to uphold its election promise to deliver the plan, hard decisions – and trade-offs – will be required. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-plans-for-engineered-wetlands-on-the-murray-are-environmentally-dubious-heres-a-better-option-204116">Victoria’s plans for engineered wetlands on the Murray are environmentally dubious. Here’s a better option</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Pittock is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and holds other voluntary roles with non-government environmental and natural resource management organisations. He is Chair of the ACT Natural Resource Management Advisory Committee.</span></em></p>Projects have not been delivered. States are bickering. If the Albanese government is to uphold its election promise to deliver the Murray plan, hard tradeoffs are needed.Jamie Pittock, Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2086292023-07-07T12:28:34Z2023-07-07T12:28:34ZKakhovka Dam breach in Ukraine caused economic, agricultural and ecological devastation that will last for years<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535849/original/file-20230705-19-fgbepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C6%2C4466%2C3017&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A well in Afanasyeva village, Mykolaiv region, damaged by flooding after the Kakhovka Dam breach. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photograph-shows-a-well-in-afanasyeva-village-mykolaiv-news-photo/1501982154">Anatolii Stepanov /AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When an explosion <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-nova-kakhovka-dam-destruction/32446609.html">breached the Kakhovka Dam</a> in Ukraine on June 6, 2023, much analysis focused on near-term impacts, including the flooding of the city of Kherson, threats to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and consequences for Ukrainian military forces’ expected spring offensive against Russian troops. </p>
<p>But the most severe long-term effects will fall on Southeast Ukraine’s farmers.</p>
<p>Villages there were flooded. Roads, train tracks and irrigation canals were washed away. Crops in fields and orchards in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia region were inundated, then left to shrivel after the water drained.</p>
<p>The long-term ecological disaster will unfold over decades to come. Crimea, once a region known for its sunny beaches and rice fields, <a href="https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/backgrounder-the-water-crisis-in-crimea/">could dry up without irrigation</a>.</p>
<p>We are a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vqb_FxYAAAAJ&hl=en">U.S. political scientist</a> with research expertise on the post-Soviet region and a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Vitalii-Dankevych-2147613519">Ukrainian economist</a> who studies agriculture. While the long-term effects of the dam break are difficult to calculate, we believe that it will have a lasting impact on the <a href="https://superagronom.com/news/17266-opustelyuvannya-ruynuvannya-sistem-zroshennya-bagatorichnih-nasadjen-znijennya-agrovirobnitstva--nazvano-naslidki-pidrivu-kahovskoyi-ges?utm_source=superagronom&utm_medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR27Z9kKLogJf01C3C2q71B5mYBPGqcjNW8xbccKjxAhN0oJdeH4yc_rEVc">climate of southern Ukraine</a>. </p>
<p>Farmland that is no longer irrigated and cultivated because canals are destroyed and the reservoir drained will dry up, becoming more vulnerable to soil erosion and dust storms. Agricultural production could be reduced for years to come, with impacts that <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-dam-breach-will-sow-huge-problems-food-security-uns-griffiths-2023-06-13/">ripple through supply chains</a> and affect food security around the world.</p>
<p>As we see it, the dam explosion has all the hallmarks of a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/scorched-earth-policy">scorched-earth strategy</a>, intended to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. It is hard to imagine any country inflicting damage this sweeping on its own soil. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A panoramic image showing the size of the dam and reservoir." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Panorama of the dam with reservoir in the background before the breach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakhovka_Dam#/media/File:%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%93%D0%AD%D0%A1.jpg">Artemka/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A fertile farming region</h2>
<p>Like other Soviet hydroelectric projects, the Kakhovka Dam and power plant were hailed as harbingers of progress and a bright socialist future when they were built in 1956 on the Dnieper River. The North Crimean and Dnieper-Kryvyi Rih canals, constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, transported water from the Kakhovka reservoir to Crimea in the south and the Kryvvi Rih iron ore basin and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the north.</p>
<p>Local villages and towns came to <a href="https://www.eurozine.com/flooded-earth/">depend on water and electricity</a> from the dam and its reservoir. Some 545,000 acres (220,000 hectares) of arable land in these two regions <a href="https://forbes.ua/company/vsi-naygirshi-naslidki-pidrivu-dambi-poperedu-forbes-opitav-khersonskikh-agrariiv-shchodo-zbitkiv-y-skilki-rokiv-pide-na-vidnovlennya-06062023-14031">are irrigated</a>, including over 20% of Kherson’s farmland. </p>
<p>Kherson’s farms grow watermelons and tomatoes. The region’s cherry, apricot, peach, apple and plum orchards produce Ukraine’s sweetest fruits. Southeast Ukraine also grows vast quantities of soy and sunflower seeds, mostly destined for global markets.</p>
<h2>Flooded fields, toxic water</h2>
<p>The dam breach inundated fields along the Dnieper’s banks. By July 1, the Dnieper River near the Kherson post had returned to its natural level, although a number of settlements in the territory temporarily occupied by Russian forces remained submerged.</p>
<p>Based on conditions that have been reported so far, we expect that this year’s crops in the flooded zone will be waterlogged, and much of the harvest will be destroyed. Valuable perennial crops that relied on irrigation infrastructure fed by the reservoir will be flooded and then parched. Rich and productive topsoil may be washed away. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/64NsrW3AVB8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A news report a week after the dam breach shows the scale of the initial flooding.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Farther downstream, the lower Dnieper, Southern Bug and Inhulets river basins have been polluted, imperiling agriculture and drinking water for southern Ukraine. During the dam breach, 150 tons of oil leaked out, and at least 17 gas stations have been flooded. There is widespread concern about <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/kakhovka-dam-destruction-wildlife">impacts on the region’s wildlife</a>, including many types of nesting and migratory birds.</p>
<h2>After the flood, water shortages</h2>
<p>Flooding from the reservoir also imperiled infrastructure that is critical for Ukraine’s agricultural exports, including <a href="https://www.planet.com/pulse/navigating-the-kakhovka-dam-collapse-nasa-harvest-consortium-assesses-agriculture-impacts-with-satellite-imagery/">irrigation canals</a>, hydraulic pumping stations, river ports and grain terminals. </p>
<p>Most importantly, without water from the reservoir, the fields of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea will dry out. Coastal towns on the Sea of Azov, most importantly <a href="https://rubryka.com/article/pidryv-kahovskoyi-ges">Berdyansk</a>, have lost their main source of drinking water.</p>
<p>Crimea is particularly <a href="https://glavred.net/ukraine/vse-mozhet-byt-huzhe-chto-budet-s-krymom-posle-podryva-kahovskoy-ges-10477531.html">dependent on irrigation</a>. Before Russia annexed it in 2014, Crimea’s farms planted rice and corn. After the annexation Ukraine blocked water from flowing to Crimea. When Russia captured Kherson in March 2022, it <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/12/1104418128/russia-ukraine-crimea-water-canal">reopened the North Crimean Canal</a> and allowed the peninsula’s reservoirs to fill. </p>
<p>Without the Kakhovka Reservoir, however, Crimea is <a href="https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-economy/3719250-kahovskij-ekocid-kostuvatime-ukraini-dodatkovo-desatki-milardiv-griven.html">unlikely to receive irrigation water for at least a decade</a>. Effectively, the peninsula will turn into a desert with a naval base.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1667121998697250818"}"></div></p>
<h2>Fewer exports, higher prices</h2>
<p>Beyond Ukraine, the dam breach will critically affect global food supplies. Southern Ukraine’s sunflower seeds, soy and cereals are major ingredients for industrially processed foods and livestock feed. They provide the proteins and lipids that are the building blocks of the 21st-century diet. </p>
<p>After these commodities are harvested, they have to be dried, transported domestically, stored and then shipped internationally. Many facilities along the Dnieper and its tributaries are key nodes in the supply chains that connect Ukrainian farms with world markets. </p>
<p>Storage elevators and loading terminals at the <a href="https://landlord.ua/news/cherez-terakt-na-kakhovskii-hes-zatopleno-perevantazhuvalnyi-terminal-nibulonu/">port of Kozatske</a>, located just downstream of the dam, were inundated within hours of the breach. The upstream ports of Kamianets-Dniprovska, Nikopol and Enerhodar are closed and <a href="https://defence-ua.com/people_and_company/scho_mozhe_buti_dali_pislja_pidrivu_kahovskoji_ges_z_vodopostachannjam_zaes_i_krimskim_kanalom-11802.html">likely will be inoperable for years to come</a>.</p>
<p>Global food commodity prices <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/wheat-and-corn-prices-jump-following-collapse-of-major-dam-in-ukraine/3245740/">shot up</a> hours after the dam broke, as global grain traders anticipated food commodity shortages. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths told the BBC that the impact on food security could be significant. </p>
<p>“… That whole area going down towards the Black Sea and Crimea is a breadbasket not only for Ukraine but also for the world,” Griffiths told the BBC. “It is almost inevitable that we are going to see huge, huge problems in harvesting and sowing for the next harvest. And so what we are going to see is a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-dam-breach-will-sow-huge-problems-food-security-uns-griffiths-2023-06-13/">huge impact on global food security</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large machine cuts wheat plants in a field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Harvesting grain in Odessa, Ukraine, in July 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/farm-implement-harvests-grain-in-the-field-as-russian-news-photo/1241712082">Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>An uncertain future</h2>
<p>Loss of the Kakhovka Dam is the latest blow to a region that has suffered heavily during the war. Most fields along the lower Dnieper are littered with mines. NASA satellite images show crops planted in 2022 that <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/map#5/43.700/36.241">were never harvested</a>. </p>
<p>Before the dam breach, the area under cultivation in 2023 in Ukraine <a href="https://www.ucab.ua/ua/pres_sluzhba/novosti/prognoz_u_2023_rotsi_posivni_ploschi_pid_zernovimi_v_ukraini_skorotyatsya_na_45_a_valoviy_zbir__na_60">had already contracted by 45%</a>, and overall yields had fallen by as much as 60% compared with 2021 before the war. With the loss of the dam and reservoir, harvests are likely to shrink further. </p>
<p>Many residents of the area’s <a href="https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/novyny-pryazovya-kakhovska-hes-ekolohya-kontrnastup-zsu/32447037.html">80 inundated villages</a> are farmers. If and when they are able to return to their land, the fields and orchards may not be able to produce and earn enough to sustain their families, who have already <a href="https://www.ponarseurasia.org/russias-war-on-ukrainian-farms/">suffered grievously</a> during heavy fighting in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.</p>
<p>In 1941, Joseph Stalin ordered Soviet troops to <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/european-remembrance-day-ukraine-little-known-ww2-tragedy/25083847.html">destroy the predecessor of the Kakhovka Dam</a> to slow the advancing German army. It was not rebuilt until 1956. Even if postwar relief efforts can replace the Kakhovka Dam more quickly, we expect that droughts between now and then will virtually destroy rural life in southeastern Ukraine as it existed before June 6.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208629/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susanne Wengle receives funding from the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies and the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, at the University of Notre Dame. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vitalii Dankevych does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Breaching the Kakhovka Dam and reservoir had all the hallmarks of a scorched-earth strategy. Two expert observers of the Russia-Ukraine war explain this event’s destructive long-term effects.Susanne Wengle, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Notre DameVitalii Dankevych, Doctor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Law, Public Administration and National Security, Polissia National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067872023-06-15T14:00:23Z2023-06-15T14:00:23ZNigeria is Africa’s leading rice producer, but still needs more - reusing wastewater for irrigation would boost farming<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530601/original/file-20230607-21-xre1jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rice is widely eaten in Nigeria. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/general-view-of-grains-of-rice-at-paul-chinedus-shop-in-a-news-photo/1233761507?adppopup=true">Benson Ibeabuchi/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rice is one of the staple foods globally, ranking <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277450587_Rice_Production_and_Water_use_Efficiency_for_Self-Sufficiency_in_Malaysia_A_Review">third after wheat and maize</a> in terms of production and consumption. It contributes <a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jnsv/65/Supplement/65_S2/_pdf/-char/en">over 20% of the total calorie intake</a> of the human population.</p>
<p>In sub-Saharan Africa <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/a0869t/a0869t.pdf#page=51">rice ranks fourth in production</a> after sorghum, maize and millet. Nigeria is the continent’s <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1322372/rice-production-in-africa-by-country/">leading rice producer</a> and produces <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340620325_Effect_of_urea_deep_placement_technology_on_paddy_yield_of_rice_farmers_in_north_central_Nigeria">over 46% of west Africa’s harvest</a>. </p>
<p>The country is also a big consumer. Nigeria is one of the world’s largest markets for parboiled rice, consuming on average <a href="https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/nigeria-agriculture-sector">US$4 billion worth of it each year</a>.</p>
<p>With production of <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1134510/production-of-milled-rice-in-nigeria/">5.4 million metric tonnes in 2022</a> and consumption of <a href="https://ideas.darden.virginia.edu/rising-rice-consumption-in-nigeria">almost 7 million metric tonnes</a>, Nigeria had to import the <a href="http://grainnet-com.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pdf/grain.pdf#page=12">shortfall</a>.</p>
<p>There are various reasons it’s difficult for Nigeria to produce all the rice it needs. High inflation and production costs, insecurity, policy uncertainty, and artificial scarcity caused by middlemen are some of them. Also, some consumers prefer the imported varieties. </p>
<p>Another major reason is water scarcity. The <a href="https://agricincome.com/rice-farming-in-nigeria-beginners-guide/#:%7E:text=Clay%20or%20clay%20loamy%20soils,are%20ideal%20for%20rice%20cultivation.&text=Moist%20the%20land%20area%3B%20this,by%20irrigation%20or%20by%20rainfall.">soil for rice cultivation</a> should ideally be slightly wet and this can be achieved by rainfall or irrigation. In parts of Nigeria there’s already a <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/05/25/improving-water-supply-sanitation-and-hygiene-services-in-nigeria">shortage</a> of water for drinking, so people don’t use this precious resource on a thirsty crop.</p>
<p>A possible solution to the problem is to use wastewater for irrigation. Around the world, the <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/wastewater-resource-may-2022">idea is growing</a> that wastewater can be a resource rather than something to be discarded. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher-Akinbile">As a researcher</a> working on wastewater treatment for reuse to increase rice production, I believe Nigeria ought to embrace the idea. It could boost rice production and enhance food security. It would also help in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of <a href="https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals?gclid=CjwKCAjwsvujBhAXEiwA_UXnAIdXCRGZ_FgwPqKvA2ALsMEti6Io1cq3J4ovAoFVtsRvFi83dbj7JxoCvhIQAvD_BwE">zero hunger</a> before 2030.</p>
<p>In this article I offer five steps towards this.</p>
<h2>Wastewater for irrigation</h2>
<p>Information is scanty on the amount of wastewater generated in Nigeria but Lagos, the most populous state, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350034778_Sustainable_groundwater_management_in_Lagos_Nigeria_the_regulatory_framework">produces 350 million gallons (1.3 billion litres) of wastewater daily</a>. </p>
<p>If one-quarter of that water were to be recycled for rice production, nearly 75% of Nigeria’s rice shortage would be eliminated. This is based on an <a href="https://www.medwelljournals.com/abstract/?doi=rjagr.2007.71.75">estimated average water applied of 450mm, and maximum consumptive water use of 3.35mm/day to produce 1.36 tonnes per hectare</a> from a rice field in Ibadan, south-west Nigeria. </p>
<p>In many parts of the world, especially in developing countries such as China, India and Mexico, wastewater has become an important source for <a href="https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wat2.1234">agricultural irrigation</a>. It is estimated that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311921638534">20 million hectares of cropland are irrigated with wastewater globally</a>, accounting for nearly 10% of the irrigated agricultural land. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.hydrotech-group.com/blog/wastewater-treatment-across-the-world-which-countries-recycle-the-most-and-where-is-the-best-water-quality#:%7E:text=Israel%20is%20the%20world%20leader,of%20it%20in%20agricultural%20irrigation.">Israel recycles nearly 90% of its wastewater</a> and uses most of it for irrigation. Europe recycles <a href="https://www.hydrotech-group.com/blog/wastewater-treatment-across-the-world-which-countries-recycle-the-most-and-where-is-the-best-water-quality">60% of its wastewater</a>. <a href="https://iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JEDS/article/viewFile/30832/31665#page=1">Most African countries</a>, except Egypt, Morocco and Algeria, are yet to tap into the benefits of wastewater treatment for reuse, especially for agriculture. </p>
<p>Different methods of wastewater treatment have been tried for use in irrigation with various degrees of success. The most cost-effective is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/biological-wastewater-treatment">treatment using plants</a>, known as phytoremediation. This process uses various types of plants to remove, transfer, stabilise or destroy contaminants in soil and wastewater. It is economically feasible, environmentally and eco-friendly, prevents erosion, and improves soil fertility.</p>
<h2>Nigerian rice production</h2>
<p>Based on my research I suggest Nigeria could increase rice production by following these steps.</p>
<p><strong>1. Identify reliable sources of wastewater supply</strong></p>
<p>For wastewater to be a major alternative source of water for rice irrigation, it has to be reliable and dependable. So, the first step is to identify sources and ascertain their reliability. Rice has to be irrigated for a minimum of 90 days (depending on the variety). </p>
<p><strong>2. Structured harvesting of wastewater</strong></p>
<p>There needs to be an organised way of collecting wastewater. In an organised society, waste is collected strategically and sorted to make processing and recycling relatively easy. </p>
<p><strong>3. Wastewater treatment using phytoremediation</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/phytoremediation-17359669/#:%7E:text=Phytoremediation%20basically%20refers%20to%20the,cost%2Deffective%20environmental%20restoration%20technology.">Phytoremediation</a> is the use of plants and associated soil microbes to reduce the concentrations or toxic effects of contaminants in the environment. It is widely accepted as a cost-effective environmental restoration technology. </p>
<p>All the different categories of wastewater (domestic, industrial and so on) should be treated before administering to plants, except aquaculture wastewater, which already has nutrients that are beneficial to rice crop growth. Extreme caution must be taken when using wastewater for irrigation, especially on some vegetables and fruits that tend to accumulate contaminants that could harm human health. </p>
<p><strong>4. Increase rice cultivation using wastewater for irrigation</strong></p>
<p>Administering the treated wastewater into rice fields in a pre-determined manner and quantity is necessary for growth and optimum yield. Irrigation scheduling can ensure rice cultivation all year round irrespective of climatic variability.</p>
<p><strong>5. Increase land under cultivation using irrigated wastewater</strong></p>
<p>Rice is cultivated on <a href="https://farmcenta.com/shop/prod/31">about 3.7 million hectares of land in Nigeria</a>, representing 10.6% of the 35 million hectares of land under cultivation, out of a total arable land area of 70 million hectares. Out of the 3.7 million hectares under rice cultivation, 77% is rain-fed. The area could be tripled (11.1 million hectares) using treated wastewater. This would lead to higher grain yield, which would increase availability, lower prices and ensure self-sufficiency.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206787/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Oluwakunmi Akinbile receives funding from The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Christopher Oluwakunmi Akinbile works at the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria</span></em></p>Nigeria can produce more rice to feed its burgeoning population by harnessing its wastewater.Christopher Oluwakunmi Akinbile, Professor of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Technology, AkureLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2061382023-06-05T10:02:28Z2023-06-05T10:02:28ZFarming in South Africa is being hobbled by power cuts and poor roads. Rural towns are being hit hardest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529353/original/file-20230531-19-u3v1t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The cost of irrigation adds to the farmers' burden.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s agriculture has had <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0441/P04414thQuarter2022.pdf">great consecutive seasons</a> since 2019/20. The sector’s gross value added grew by <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0441/P04414thQuarter2022.pdf#page=11">14.9% in 2020, 8.8% in 2021 and modestly by 0.3% in 2022 </a>. This was primarily supported by favourable weather conditions.</p>
<p>The current season is also likely to deliver <a href="https://wandilesihlobo.com/2023/05/16/farm-jobs/">solid growth for the sector</a>, with variation across sub-sectors. We already see <a href="https://wandilesihlobo.com/2023/05/25/a-solid-maize-harvest-in-south-africa/">prospects of large crops across the country</a>.</p>
<p>Export performance is likely be robust, especially with a <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/finance/687925/heres-why-the-rand-is-so-weak-right-now/">weaker rand exchange rate</a>, which makes South African products more competitively priced in the global market.</p>
<p>Still, the sector is not reaching its full potential. A number of factors stand in the way of even greater successes and greater participation of black farmers in commercial value chains.</p>
<p>The first factor to mention is worsening power cuts. The agricultural sector is heavily reliant on energy. For example, recent work by the agriculture and food policy research group, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy shows that <a href="https://theconversation.com/farmers-in-south-africa-face-power-cuts-and-a-weak-rand-but-a-number-of-factors-are-working-in-their-favour-too-204243">roughly a third of South Africa’s farming income depends directly on irrigation</a>, which requires power. </p>
<p>But that’s not the only challenge. Deteriorating roads, collapsing water infrastructure and rising crime are barriers to functioning effectively and efficiently. </p>
<p>These are not new issues. They have been flagged before. But they have worsened. They are a challenge for large commercial farmers as well as smaller farming enterprises. The emerging or new entrant black farmers, with limited financial resources, face it more acutely. </p>
<p>These challenges highlight the effects of weak governance across all spheres of government in South Africa. It is serious for all sectors, but particularly so for agriculture, which depends on the proper functioning of essentials such as roads, water and power. </p>
<p>Provincial governments and municipalities have not maintained or upgraded infrastructure that would support agriculture. </p>
<p>The results of this neglect, over time, are likely to lead to declining economic conditions and employment opportunities in small towns. Farming and agribusiness play a crucial role in <a href="https://theconversation.com/small-towns-are-collapsing-across-south-africa-how-its-starting-to-affect-farming-162697">sustaining the economies of small towns and rural areas</a>. Paying attention to infrastructure could catalyse a virtual cycle in which the private sector increases investment, in turn leading to increased economic opportunities.</p>
<h2>Roadblocks facing farmers</h2>
<p>The impact that poor roads have on farmers is well illustrated by a recent case in the Eastern Cape province. <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/letters/2023-05-16-letter-agriculture-in-a-pothole/">Dairy farmers</a> in the Ncorha area struggled to receive farm supplements, feeds and diesel because of the poor state of roads. And they couldn’t deliver their produce to the market. </p>
<p>Ncorha is a small region in the Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. One of its vital economic activities is farming, primarily the dairy industry. The Eastern Cape accounts for <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-09-30-a-sleeping-giant-agriculture-in-eastern-cape/">nearly a third of South Africa’s dairy production</a>. </p>
<p>Poor infrastructure is not isolated to the Eastern Cape. <a href="https://theconversation.com/small-towns-are-collapsing-across-south-africa-how-its-starting-to-affect-farming-162697">Roads across the rural towns</a> of the Free State, North West, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, all of which are major agricultural provinces, are also poorly maintained and are in a bad condition.</p>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.sagis.org.za/monthly-grain-transport.html">two-thirds</a> of South Africa’s agricultural produce is now transported by roads, as rail transport has faced challenges over the years. This is a major change from two decades ago when <a href="https://www.sagis.org.za/monthly-grain-transport.html">rail played an important role in transporting agricultural produce, specifically grains</a>.</p>
<p>The poor road network has forced some farmers to pay for road maintenance. They have not been able to reap the full benefit of higher agricultural output because they’re incurring additional operating costs. Farmers have to step in when municipalities <a href="https://theconversation.com/small-towns-are-collapsing-across-south-africa-how-its-starting-to-affect-farming-162697">misuse funds</a> allocated for infrastructure. Details of this have appeared in numerous <a href="https://mfma-2022.agsareports.co.za/pages/media#media-release">Auditor General reports</a>.</p>
<p>Water has often been flagged by various agribusinesses and farmers as another major problem. Key is the maintenance of <a href="https://theconversation.com/basic-water-services-in-south-africa-are-in-decay-after-years-of-progress-185616">water infrastructure</a> such as dams and purification systems. Agribusinesses in some towns have had to step in and maintain water infrastructure. This again takes financial and human capital away from businesses to public service that municipalities should be covering.</p>
<p>Agribusinesses and farmers are also seeing a rise in corruption and crime. Commercial farming businesses have had to tighten security over the years at their own cost because of lawlessness in rural South Africa. <a href="https://mg.co.za/news/2022-11-19-syndicates-are-behind-stock-theft-in-south-africa/">Harvest and livestock theft</a> affect all farmers and are much harder for new entrant farmers without a strong financial position to invest in security and technical solutions. Again, having to tighten security shifts resources from more productive uses to cover for the government’s shortcomings.</p>
<h2>Why strong agricultural sector matters</h2>
<p>South Africa faces a high unemployment rate at just <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/P02111stQuarter2023.pdf#page=6">under 33% in the first quarter of 2023</a>. Rural areas tend to face the harsh effects of the poor economic conditions.</p>
<p>Resolving the unemployment crisis requires that all economic sectors perform optimally, especially the primary sectors with an ability to absorb even the least skilled labour. Agriculture is one such sector, while agribusiness and agro-processing also present a range of employment opportunities. </p>
<p>But all these hinge on effective provision of public services such as roads, water and electricity. In turn, these depend on strong provincial governments and municipalities.</p>
<p>The recently launched <a href="https://static.pmg.org.za/220607Agriculture_and_Agro-processing_Master_Plan_Signed.pdf">Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan</a> presents practical steps for implementing <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/devplan2.pdf">Chapter Six of the National Development Plan</a>, which outlined a vision for developing the agricultural sector further. </p>
<p>Weaknesses of the provincial government and municipalities are undermining the <a href="https://static.pmg.org.za/220607Agriculture_and_Agro-processing_Master_Plan_Signed.pdf">government’s plans</a> to expand agricultural output and resolve inefficiencies within the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.</p>
<p>These weaknesses are also hindering the economic vision for South Africa <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/ramaphosa-laments-poor-governance-at-municipal-level-7b89bf3d-db67-4a35-b3d3-21540c6b8e58">set out by President Cyril Ramaphosa</a>. </p>
<p>Addressing local government failures should be a top priority for the presidency. Rural towns and communities support millions of people and are currently in despair.</p>
<p>Public-private sector partnerships can also be considered to help tackle some of these challenges. Models of how these can work are outlined in various master plans and need commitment and effective leadership.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206138/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).</span></em></p>South Africa’s agriculture could do even better but is held back by power cuts and poor infrastructureWandile Sihlobo, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2042432023-05-08T06:13:21Z2023-05-08T06:13:21ZFarmers in South Africa face power cuts and a weak rand - but a number of factors are working in their favour too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523770/original/file-20230502-18-sne03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">All of South Africa's wheat production takes place during the winter months</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Winter is an important season for South African agriculture, with some of its key field crops being produced during the cold months of June, July and August, and maturing after that, with harvesting in December. Preparation of the land for winter crops begins in April, which is also the same time harvesting of the summer crops begins.</p>
<p>Farmers in the Western and Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo and other winter crop growing regions are making arrangements for growing winter wheat, canola, barley and oats. </p>
<p>All of the country’s wheat production takes place during the winter months, making the winter season an important contributor to the country’s wheat needs. South Africa produces <a href="https://www.namc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/South-African-Supply-Demand-Estimates-March-2023-report.pdf">roughly 60% of its wheat requirements and imports the balance</a>. It also produces, on average, about <a href="https://www.grainsa.co.za/upload/report_files/Feb-23-Wintergrain-SnD.pdf">90% of its barley annual consumption</a>. Domestic production of oats is about <a href="https://www.grainsa.co.za/upload/report_files/Feb-23-Wintergrain-SnD.pdf">64% of annual consumption</a>. The country is <a href="https://www.grainsa.co.za/upload/report_files/Feb-23-Oilseeds-SnD.pdf">self sufficient in canola production</a>. Barley, oats and canola are all winter crops. </p>
<p>This year, the outlook for winter crops is clouded by a difficult operating environment, especially the areas that are under irrigation. </p>
<p>The two biggest headwinds are power cuts and dollar strength. Nevertheless, there are also positives which should take the pressure off food price rises that have hit consumers hard. These positives include a fall in the cost of inputs, like fertiliser and agrochemicals, as well as good harvests from the summer season just ending.</p>
<h2>Headwinds</h2>
<p>The main contributing factor is the increase in recurring power cuts which will affect irrigation. South Africa’s agriculture has never faced a period of power cuts as severe as the current ones.</p>
<p>The agricultural sector in general is heavily reliant on sustainable energy. For example, recent work by the <a href="https://www.bfap.co.za/">Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP)</a> shows that roughly a third of South Africa’s farming income is directly dependent on irrigation. This shows that disruptions in power supply generally puts at risk a substantive share of the South African agricultural fortunes.</p>
<p>Of all South Africa’s field crops, wheat has the largest production – <a href="https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/agbiz-calls-for-less-loadshedding-in-areas-under-irrigation-2023-01-23">about half</a> – under irrigation. Of the other key field crops, <a href="https://wandilesihlobo.com/2023/01/18/loadshedding-is-disrupting-sa-agriculture-and-agribusiness-activities/">about 15% of soybeans, 20% of maize and 34% of sugar production are under irrigation</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524861/original/file-20230508-171112-epn7ao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524861/original/file-20230508-171112-epn7ao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524861/original/file-20230508-171112-epn7ao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524861/original/file-20230508-171112-epn7ao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524861/original/file-20230508-171112-epn7ao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524861/original/file-20230508-171112-epn7ao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524861/original/file-20230508-171112-epn7ao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>The potential disruption of irrigation would lead to poor yields, and ultimately a poor harvest. Such an eventuality would lead to an increase in wheat imports. </p>
<p>Industry role-players and the government are alert to the problem and are monitoring the impact closely through a <a href="https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/task-team-monitor-impact-load-shedding-agriculture-sector">ministerial task team</a>. In addition, <a href="https://www.eskom.co.za/">Eskom</a>, the power monopoly, along with the government, are exploring possibilities of reducing <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-power-crisis-going-off-the-grid-works-for-the-wealthy-but-could-deepen-injustice-for-the-poor-200288">power cuts</a> which are expected to spike during the winter when demand usually rises.</p>
<p>The second headwind is that South African farmers have not benefited fully from the decline over the past year in the US dollar prices of some of their key inputs such as agrochemicals. This is because of the weakening of the South African rand against the dollar, shaving off some of the benefits of the price decline in US dollar terms.</p>
<p>Thirdly, farmers are experiencing lower commodity prices compared with last year. But a drop in input prices is providing a necessary financial cushion.</p>
<h2>There are positives</h2>
<p>On the plus side, the area plantings for all South Africa’s major crops are expected to be above the five-year average area. This is according to <a href="https://www.sagis.org.za/cec.html">Crop Estimates Committee</a>, a government and industry body that monitors crop production.</p>
<p>Secondly, input prices have come off from last year’s highs. For example, in February 2023, essential agrochemicals such as glyphosate, acetochlor, and atrazine were down in rand terms by <a href="https://www.grainsa.co.za/upload/report_files/Chemical-and-Fertilizer-Report_Mrt-2023.pdf">32%, 18%, and 2%</a>, respectively compared to February 2022. These price declines have continued through to March 2023. </p>
<p>These declines would have been higher had the South African Rand not weakened against the US dollar over the same period. That’s because in US dollar terms, the prices of the very same agrochemicals are down by 30% from February 2022. Prices of insecticides and fungicides have also declined notably from last year’s levels.</p>
<p>Also worth noting is that in February 2023, essential fertilisers such as ammonia, urea, di-ammonium phosphate and potassium chloride were down <a href="https://www.grainsa.co.za/upload/report_files/Chemical-and-Fertilizer-Report_Mrt-2023.pdf">6%, 36%, 28% and 14% in rand terms</a>, respectively. Again, in US dollar terms, the price decline was more notable, which speaks to the impact of the relatively weaker South African rand on imported products.</p>
<p>These price changes in inputs are vital as they impact vast components of the grain input costs. For example, fertiliser accounts for a third of grain farmers’ input costs, while other agrochemicals account for roughly 13%. </p>
<p>A third positive factor is that the weather conditions for the winter crops also remain positive. In its <a href="https://www.weathersa.co.za/home/seasonalclimate">Seasonal Climate Watch update</a> published on 03 April 2023, the South African Weather Service <a href="https://www.ingwelala.co.za/archives/news-archives/seasonal-climate-watch.html">noted</a> that the winter crop growing regions of South Africa will receive rains.</p>
<p>A fourth positive factor is that the summer crops, which are nearing the harvest process, are in reasonably good condition. I generally expect an ample harvest in most summer crops, which is aligned with the view of the <a href="https://www.sagis.org.za/cec.html">Crop Estimates Committee</a>.</p>
<h2>Takeways</h2>
<p>From a consumer perspective, developments are broadly positive and bode well for some moderation in consumer food price inflation in the second half of the year, when the decline in commodity prices could begin to filter into the retail prices. </p>
<p>The one major risk is electricity stability. This is as much a risk for farmers as it is for consumers.</p>
<p>However, I am hopeful that the government’s interventions, such as the load curtailment and diesel rebate, to limit the damage of the electricity crisis to food production will help. </p>
<p>If the government’s proposed interventions help during irrigation periods – afternoons and evenings – South Africans can expect a favourable winter season. The reduction in power cuts will also be particularly beneficial for food processors.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).</span></em></p>A third of South Africa’s farming income depends on irrigation. Disruptions in power supply put huge chunks of the country’s agricultural fortunes at risk.Wandile Sihlobo, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2020802023-04-23T08:53:26Z2023-04-23T08:53:26ZKenya needs to grow more food: a focus on how to irrigate its vast dry areas is key<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516126/original/file-20230317-28-ukoaex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A substantive amount of irrigation in Kenya is being implemented quietly by self-motivated farmers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-crop-irrigated-cabbage-meru-kenya-2217221157">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>More than 80% of Kenya’s land mass is <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/ab396e/ab396e02.htm#:%7E:text=The%20arid%20and%20semi%2Darid,by%20hills%20and%20small%20mountains">made up of</a> arid and semi-arid areas. So, if Kenya is to increase its agricultural production, which currently accounts for <a href="https://www.knbs.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-Economic-Survey1.pdf#page=64">22.4% of GDP</a>, it must turn to irrigation-based farming in the arid and semi-arid areas. Agricultural engineer Bancy M. Mati <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377422006527">explains</a> how the east African nation can go about this.</em></p>
<h2>What’s the state of Kenya’s irrigation development?</h2>
<p>Kenya’s irrigation potential is <a href="https://tech-action.unepccc.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/the-growth-of-small-scale-irrigation-in-kenya.pdf#page=7">about</a> at 1.342 million hectares of land. But the government has also pointed out in its long-term plan – <a href="https://vision2030.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Sessional-paper-No.-10-of-2012-On-Kenya-Vision-2030.pdf#page=58">Vision 2030</a> – that an additional 9.2 million hectares in arid and semi-arid regions have the potential for crop production through irrigation. Irrigation could be achieved mostly by a reliance on perennial rivers, underground water and, in some cases, harvested rain water. </p>
<p>The exclusion of this additional potential in most planning and policy documents, including the current <a href="https://www.irrigation.go.ke/download/national-irrigation-policy-2017/">National Irrigation Policy</a>, means that the country’s irrigation potential is underestimated. It is much greater than listed in most reports.</p>
<p>Only 19% of the area of Kenya officially assessed for irrigation has been <a href="https://www.irrigation.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Strategic-Plan-Final.pdf#page=17">developed</a>. There is renewed impetus to expand and promote irrigation development. But the government’s investments are still focused on large-scale (expensive and tech-heavy) schemes.</p>
<p>In my view, the future growth and development of agriculture in Kenya will rely on developing the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Arid-and-semi-arid-areas-of-Kenya_fig1_279866590">dry areas</a>, which have low population density (less competing land use). The country should also intensify production in arable areas through irrigation.</p>
<p>Developing the drier areas is particularly important because they host the majority of food-insecure households. The prevalence of severe food insecurity is <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cc0639en/cc0639en.pdf#page=163">estimated</a> at around 26.1% of the total population or about 14 million people. The <a href="https://www.ndma.go.ke/index.php/resource-center/send/86-2022/6602-lra-national-report-2022#page=11">majority</a> of the food-insecure people in Kenya are living in the arid and semi-arid lands. </p>
<h2>What’s not known about Kenya’s irrigation growth?</h2>
<p>I have recently studied <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377422006527">informal irrigation initiatives</a> across the country. I found that planners, policymakers and financiers tend to see irrigation development as occurring only within “schemes”. That is how the <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Acts/IrrigationActCap346.pdf">Kenyan law</a> perceives irrigation projects. The law is important because it specifies what constitutes an irrigation undertaking for purposes of policy and other forms of support.</p>
<p>Yet, I found that individual farmers are quietly developing a substantial amount of irrigation themselves. Small-scale farmers are leading in <a href="http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Working_Papers/working/WOR100.pdf#page=49">the uptake</a> of simple equipment for irrigation. But farmer-led initiatives are still unrecognised, unrecorded and ignored by the government. </p>
<p>The term “farmer-led irrigation development” is fairly recent, having been <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2016.1219719">coined</a> in 2017. But it has been practised in Kenya for a long time. A wealth of knowledge has <a href="https://au.int/en/documents/20200601/framework-irrigation-development-and-agricultural-water-management-africa">emerged</a> on its technological, economic and social components as a concept (not specifically in Kenya). </p>
<p>Still, Kenya’s policies, statutes and development plans don’t capture it explicitly. Its extent is largely unknown in official circles since it has not been mapped. </p>
<p>Based on my observations of <a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-agribusiness-sector-should-drive-the-continents-economic-development-five-reasons-why-198796">irrigation value chains</a>, the farmer-led initiative is set to become the next big thing pushing the growth of irrigation in Kenya. </p>
<p>This is more so as irrigation <a href="https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/ppp.worldbank.org/files/2022-06/Briefing_paper_on_irrigation.pdf">moves</a> from public to private investment. The private sector is more adept at mobilising funds for irrigation and marketing the production. For instance, most of the irrigated vegetables sold in the market today are from farmer-led irrigation. Most of the <a href="https://unepccc.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/temarin-irrigation-report-exe-sum-final-web.pdf#page=3">buyers</a> of irrigation equipment also happen to be individual farmers. </p>
<h2>What are the drivers of farmer-led irrigation?</h2>
<p>Kenya is urbanising <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/639231468043512906/pdf/AUS8099-WP-P148360-PUBLIC-KE-Urbanization-ACS.pdf#page=38">rapidly</a>. Urbanisation is associated with higher incomes and changing lifestyles. Food preferences <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-021-01182-8">shift</a> towards high-value products like meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables.</p>
<p>The changes in food preferences have expanded markets for crops from irrigated agriculture. High-value crops are generally fresh produce sold off-season, when the price is highest. These require irrigation, which presents an opportunity to introduce new technologies like energy-efficient solar pumps and improved water application systems.</p>
<p>Smallholder, market-oriented producers have been at the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2016.1219719">forefront</a> of irrigation expansion across Africa over the last two decades.</p>
<p>Based on my research, there are four main drivers of farmer-led irrigation in Kenya:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>availability of appropriate and affordable irrigation technologies</p></li>
<li><p>land rights</p></li>
<li><p>access to finance</p></li>
<li><p>favourable prices paid to farmers.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Others are ease of access to information, a well-developed mobile money transfer system and relatively well-educated farmers willing to invest in irrigated agriculture.</p>
<h2>What should be done to expand irrigation?</h2>
<p>There is huge scope for irrigation expansion in Kenya through farmer-led initiatives and private financing. Where individuals and small groups make their own investments to advance irrigation, they record <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/W7314E/w7314e07.htm">better success rates</a> and fewer failures than the large public sector schemes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/irrigating-africa-can-small-scale-farmers-lead-the-way-113692">Irrigating Africa: can small-scale farmers lead the way?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Farmer-led irrigation development is entrepreneurial, self-financing and market-oriented. Therefore, it requires these low-cost interventions. </p>
<p><strong>Policy support:</strong> there is a need to assess the extent of farmer-led irrigation in the country. This should include mapping to explore its impacts and opportunities for upscaling and possible policy support. Being “invisible”, the sector currently misses out on various subsidies, incentives and opportunities that are available for publicly funded schemes in Kenya. It is necessary to deliberately channel resources to support farmer-led irrigation through projects, subsidies, incentives, capacity building and access to information for farmers.</p>
<p><strong>Efficient water systems:</strong> in the past, irrigation schemes were designed with little concern for water wastage. But as water scarcity becomes <a href="https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=106638">more acute</a>, there is a need to improve the water productivity of crops and the overall efficiency of irrigation.</p>
<p><strong>Institutional support:</strong> farmer-led irrigation needs institutional support in areas like design (water pans, wells and gravity diversion works), efficiency, productivity and economic return analysis.</p>
<p><strong>Research support:</strong> research will guide policymakers and other actors in the irrigated agriculture space. At the moment, data is scanty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bancy M. Mati does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Kenya’s irrigation development is more advanced than official records show because they exclude what some farmers are doing.Bancy M. Mati, Professor of Agricultural Engineering, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2041162023-04-20T06:14:59Z2023-04-20T06:14:59ZVictoria’s plans for engineered wetlands on the Murray are environmentally dubious. Here’s a better option<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522003/original/file-20230420-26-7fhu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=573%2C3%2C1471%2C738&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/184659367@N07/52379093097/in/photolist-2nNyxw2-2aQegbr-2hLesDM-2giQ9UJ-2iQ91zf-2ocbMcE-BvTWzP-KCy8tM-2o9VNrj-pdAWGi-2o9YjJg-2eCi2NW-aMDRpT-GPvBSc-qzCMd-2iQ7mJ6-2h1Y8hY-2jAbX97-z6XahV-2o9Tdjw-2o9TdsY-7H5gjr-2o9YjzU-2hSkRUA-2obAR2Q-qN9wuS-96U49x-BdvXAy-2ojm6wx-2m6prZu-2fKqAd9-2o9TdUz-7K1RL5-G9N9rb-2njPXJY-2iQ7mSh-2e36tzz-2m84Jwa-Uhysry-9f4ekQ-2hSkS4P-r5zDre-2n69eud-2n69Hq5-cPD7if-6YAtwR-CujBPe-6YE7Zm-2n64gd4-2n69Hui">John Morton/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Governments love the idea of a win-win – even when it doesn’t exist. That’s why Victoria has been spending millions on planning “red gum irrigation ponds” – essentially, engineered wetlands along the River Murray. These wetlands are designed to save some red gum ecosystems, leave many others to decline, and redirect billions of litres of water promised to the environment to farmers. </p>
<p>Controversy <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/environment/sustainability/going-against-the-flow-the-plan-to-engineer-victoria-s-wetlands-20230329-p5cwb7.html">has followed</a> these projects. Now, Victoria appears to have blinked, with the state’s water minister, Harriet Shing, <a href="https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/water/shing-halts-floodplain-works-fears-federal-funding-will-be-cut/news-story/e22a38442f6ab2c7c7f4a5fd0073f996">halting the development</a> of four of nine projects. </p>
<p>Victory for environmental water? Not quite. Victoria has spent around A$54 million just on planning these projects. By halting four of them, it sets the scene for a larger-scale federal buyback of water for the environment. This could signal a resumption of the Murray-Darling Basin <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/14/water-wars-will-politics-destroy-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-and-the-river-system-itself">water wars</a>, with Victoria the last holdout. National Irrigators’ Council chair Jeremy Morton predicted “riot” if further water buybacks went ahead.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522002/original/file-20230420-22-53mmca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="river red gum" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522002/original/file-20230420-22-53mmca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522002/original/file-20230420-22-53mmca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522002/original/file-20230420-22-53mmca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522002/original/file-20230420-22-53mmca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522002/original/file-20230420-22-53mmca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522002/original/file-20230420-22-53mmca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522002/original/file-20230420-22-53mmca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Iconic Australian trees like river red gums need irregular deep soaking from floods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelrawle/18117658648/">Michael Rawle/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What was Victoria trying to do?</h2>
<p>Historically, flooding covered 6.3 million hectares of red gum, black box and coolibah forests, lakes and billabongs in the Murray-Darling Basin. These forests rely on regular floods to survive. </p>
<p>But the basin is also home to most of our thirsty crops, from rice to cotton to orchards. The demand for irrigation alongside the long-term drying trend from climate change means something has <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020208">had to give</a>. You guessed it: it’s the wetlands, which are drying out and dying. </p>
<p>In 2012, state and federal governments launched the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in a bid to solve longstanding tussles over water. The plan was intended to preserve environmental flows while allocating set volumes of water to farmers. </p>
<p>But it’s not working properly. As <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20172">our research</a> shows, only 2% of the basin’s wetlands have received managed environmental flows each year since. </p>
<p>To keep wetlands alive with less water, there are two basic options: use pulsed flows from dams to flood a larger area, or build floodplain infrastructure to maintain some wetlands while abandoning others.</p>
<p>Victoria has pursued infrastructure. As <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/environment/sustainability/going-against-the-flow-the-plan-to-engineer-victoria-s-wetlands-20230329-p5cwb7.html">originally planned</a>, these projects would have meant building $320 million of dams, pumps, levees and roads in conservation reserves to artificially pond water – while leaving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22082">less water</a> in the main river channels. Similar projects were proposed in New South Wales at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/06/new-nsw-plan-for-murray-darling-saves-almost-no-water">Menindee Lakes</a>, but these are unlikely to proceed.</p>
<p>These projects are greenwashed as “environmental works”. Victoria brazenly <a href="https://www.vmfrp.com.au/home/">calls its plan</a> a “floodplain restoration project”. </p>
<p>It is not. Since the plan began, irrigators have been credited with 605 billion litres of water for 36 largely unimplemented projects under the <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/basin-plan-roll-out/sustainable-diversion-limits/sdlam">sustainable diversion mechanism</a>. In November 2022, basin authority chief
Andrew McConville <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/news-media-events/newsroom/media-centre/address-national-rural-press-club-address-national-rural">laid out</a> the problem: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The credit has been banked, but the payment still needs to be delivered. The payment is in the form of the [wetland] projects being in operation by 30 June 2024. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522007/original/file-20230420-16-wlch81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="cotton farming NSW" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522007/original/file-20230420-16-wlch81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522007/original/file-20230420-16-wlch81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522007/original/file-20230420-16-wlch81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522007/original/file-20230420-16-wlch81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522007/original/file-20230420-16-wlch81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522007/original/file-20230420-16-wlch81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522007/original/file-20230420-16-wlch81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our thirstiest crops cluster around the rivers of the Murray Darling Basin and rely on water in irrigation channels like this.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Water has been credited to irrigators before the wetland projects were built. As a result, actual environmental flows are 19% lower than the Basin Plan target of 3,200 billion litres per year.</p>
<h2>Building wetland infrastructure is unprecedented</h2>
<p>Around the world, nations are going the other way to Victoria and removing floodplain infrastructure. In <a href="https://nccarf.edu.au/living-floods-key-lessons-australia-and-abroad/">China</a>, across <a href="https://edepot.wur.nl/431674">Europe</a> and in the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.778568/full">United States</a>, efforts are under way to reconnect rivers to their floodplains. Why? To reduce flood impacts (levees intensify floods downstream), improve water quality, restore flood-dependent ecosystems, make river systems more recreation-friendly and diversify local economies. </p>
<p>Only in the Murray-Darling Basin are we seeing governments building infrastructure for environmental water offsetting on such a huge scale. </p>
<p>And just as controversies have dogged Australia’s attempts to <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=2822#tab-reportsandgovernmentresponses">offset biodiversity losses</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/09/chubb-review-recommends-new-integrity-body-for-australian-carbon-credits-scheme">carbon emissions</a>, there are major problems with water offsetting.</p>
<p>The reason for this offsetting is political, not ecological. In 2012, Victoria’s then water minister, Peter Walsh, <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/australia/shepparton-news/20120829/281655367245461">stated</a> the plan was meant to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>stop irrigation water being stripped from rural communities and food and fibre producers, and to achieve better environmental outcomes.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-official-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-hasnt-met-its-promise-to-our-precious-rivers-so-where-to-now-188074">It's official: the Murray-Darling Basin Plan hasn't met its promise to our precious rivers. So where to now?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In fact, these projects are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1292-9">environmentally dubious</a>. Ponding water on floodplains may meet some ecological targets, but it cannot replicate unconstrained natural floods. Worse, it risks <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/130259">harming ecosystems</a> by upending aquatic food webs and leading to lower native fish populations and worse water quality. </p>
<p>Victoria’s very expensive projects would water only 14,000 hectares of wetlands. By contrast, safe flood pulse releases from existing dams would water 27 times that area – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13241583.2020.1832723">375,000 hectares</a>. </p>
<p>In his <a href="https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/murray-darling-basin-royal-commission-report">royal commission report</a> into how the Murray-Darling water-sharing system works, Commissioner Brett Walker found there was “real doubt” over whether projects like this were based on the best scientific knowledge. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22082">Our research</a> backs his conclusions. We have found flaws in how these projects are evaluated, which mean their environmental benefits are overstated.</p>
<h2>What’s likely to happen now?</h2>
<p>Four down – but what about the remaining five projects? </p>
<p>There’s a better option. In 2013, the basin’s governments agreed to <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/publications/mdba-reports/constraints-management-strategy">a strategy</a> that would allow pulsed releases from existing dams to fill river channels and spill onto the floodplains. </p>
<p>Under this strategy, the Commonwealth would pay for roads and bridges to be removed or raised to make way for restoration of natural floods, and for compensation to landowners. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13241583.2020.1832723">Our research</a> shows this approach would reduce flood damage by moving infrastructure off floodplains, and allow floods to spread out more, lowering water height and speed. It would also water a much larger wetland area at far less cost. But the strategy has not yet been implemented. </p>
<p>Next month, federal and state water ministers will meet to discuss the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-official-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-hasnt-met-its-promise-to-our-precious-rivers-so-where-to-now-188074">failing</a> basin plan. If the new NSW water minister, Rose Jackson, backs her federal Labor colleagues, it will leave Victoria as the last state objecting to water purchases for river restoration.</p>
<p>The federal water minister, Tanya Plibersek, shows <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-22/federal-government-water-buybacks-murray-darling-basin-plan-730/102007496">every indication</a> of implementing Labor’s 2022 election policy of buying back the remaining water needed to meet the 3,200 billion litre environmental restoration target under the plan. (The federal government has bought back around 2,100 billion litres <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/progress-water-recovery">since 2008</a>.) </p>
<p>The stage is set: will Plibersek prevail and finally achieve long-sought environmental restoration goals under the basin plan, or will Victoria hold out?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/money-for-dams-dries-up-as-good-water-management-finally-makes-it-into-a-federal-budget-193380">Money for dams dries up as good water management finally makes it into a federal budget</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204116/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Pittock is affiliated with the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and a number of other non-governmental environment organisations. In the past he has received funding from the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Colloff is affiliated with the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. In the past he has been a member of project teams within CSIRO that have received funding from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder. </span></em></p>Victoria is planning to engineer wetlands so more water can go to agriculture. It’s not a good plan.Jamie Pittock, Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National UniversityMatthew Colloff, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2036512023-04-13T12:26:51Z2023-04-13T12:26:51ZThe Colorado River drought crisis: 5 essential reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520603/original/file-20230412-18-qqa033.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3484%2C2001&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sprinklers water a lettuce field in Holtville, California with Colorado River water. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-aerial-view-shows-sprinklers-watering-a-lettuce-field-news-photo/1248577888">Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A 23-year western drought has drastically shrunk the Colorado River, which provides <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/climate/secure/docs/2016secure/factsheet/ColoradoRiverBasinFactSheet.pdf">water for drinking and irrigation</a> for Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California and two states in Mexico. Under a <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/pdfiles/crcompct.pdf">1922 compact</a>, these jurisdictions receive fixed allocations of water from the river – but now there’s not enough water to provide them.</p>
<p>As states try to negotiate ways to share the decreasing flow, the U.S. Department of the Interior is considering <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-next-steps-protect-stability-and-sustainability-colorado">cuts of up to 25%</a> in allotments for California, Nevada and Arizona. The federal government can regulate these states’ water shares because they come mainly from <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/overview-of-lake-mead.htm">Lake Mead</a>, the largest U.S. reservoir, which was created when the Hoover Dam was built on the Colorado River near Las Vegas. </p>
<p>These five articles from The Conversation’s archive explain what’s happening and what’s at stake in the Colorado River basin’s drought crisis. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qjWLgaNqK2c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people and some of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., but its flow is dwindling.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. A faulty river compact</h2>
<p>The idea of negotiating a legally binding agreement to share river water among states was innovative in the 1920s. But the Colorado River Compact made some critical assumptions that have proved to be fatal flaws. </p>
<p>The lawyers who wrote the compact knew that the Colorado’s flow could vary and that they didn’t have enough data for long-term planning. But they still allocated fixed quantities of water to each participating state. “We know now that they <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-river-compacts-were-innovative-in-the-1920s-but-couldnt-foresee-todays-water-challenges-175121">used optimistic flow numbers</a> measured during a particularly wet period,” wrote <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LQcyNSwAAAAJ&hl=en">Patricia J. Rettig</a>, head archivist of Colorado State University’s <a href="https://lib.colostate.edu/find/archives-special-collections/collections/water-resources-archive/">Water Resources Archive</a>.</p>
<p>Nor did the compact encourage conservation as the West’s population grew. “When settlers developed the West, their prevailing attitude was that water reaching the sea was wasted, so people aimed to use it all,” Rettig observed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/western-river-compacts-were-innovative-in-the-1920s-but-couldnt-foresee-todays-water-challenges-175121">Western river compacts were innovative in the 1920s but couldn't foresee today's water challenges</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>2. Temporary cuts aren’t big enough</h2>
<p>Western states have known for years that they were taking more water from the Colorado than nature was putting in. But reducing water use is politically charged, since it means imposing limits on such powerful constituencies as farmers and developers. </p>
<p>In 2019, officials from the U.S. government and the seven Colorado Basin states signed a seven-year drought contingency plan that temporarily reduced states’ water allocations. But the plan did not propose long-term strategies for addressing climate change or overuse of water in the region. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1645868976881164289"}"></div></p>
<p>“Since 2000, Colorado River flows have been 16% below the 20th-century average,” wrote water policy experts <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brad-Udall">Brad Udall</a>, <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/program/hydrosciences/douglas-kenney#">Douglas Kenney</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hVCNqZUAAAAJ&hl=en">John Fleck</a>. “Temperatures across the Colorado River Basin are now over 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th-century average, and are certain to continue rising. Scientists have begun using the term ‘aridification’ to describe <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-states-buy-time-with-a-7-year-colorado-river-drought-plan-but-face-a-hotter-drier-future-119448">the hotter, drier climate in the basin</a>, rather than ‘drought,’ which implies a temporary condition.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/western-states-buy-time-with-a-7-year-colorado-river-drought-plan-but-face-a-hotter-drier-future-119448">Western states buy time with a 7-year Colorado River drought plan, but face a hotter, drier future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. The looming threat of dead pool</h2>
<p>Lake Mead and <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=144">Lake Powell</a>, the other major reservoir on the lower Colorado River, were created to provide water for irrigation and to generate hydropower, which is produced by the force of water flowing through large turbines in the lakes’ dams. If water in either lake drops below the intakes for the turbines, the lake will fall below “minimum power pool” and stop producing electricity. </p>
<p>If water in the lakes dropped even further, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dead-pool-a-water-expert-explains-182495">they could reach “dead pool</a>,” the point at which water is too low to flow through the dam. This is an extreme scenario, but it can’t be ruled out, University of Arizona water expert <a href="https://robertglennon.net/">Robert Glennon</a> warned. In addition to drought and climate change, he noted, both lakes lie in canyons that “are V-shaped, like martini glasses – wide at the rim and narrow at the bottom. As levels in the lakes decline, each foot of elevation holds less water.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dead-pool-a-water-expert-explains-182495">What is dead pool? A water expert explains</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Infographic of Hoover Dam and water levels where power general and then water flow would stop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This graphic shows the water level in Lake Powell as of November 2022 and the levels that represent minimum power pool and dead pool.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://new.azwater.gov/news/articles/2022-03-11">Arizona Department of Water Resources</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Why hydropower matters</h2>
<p>Climate change and drought are <a href="https://theconversation.com/hydropowers-future-is-clouded-by-droughts-floods-and-climate-change-its-also-essential-to-the-us-electric-grid-182314">stressing hydropower generation</a> throughout the U.S. West by reducing snowpack and precipitation and drying up rivers. This could create serious stress for regional electric grid operators, according to Penn State civil engineers <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HoSryoQAAAAJ&hl=en">Caitlin Grady</a> and <a href="https://blogs.gwu.edu/caitlin-grady/team/">Lauren Dennis</a>. </p>
<p>“Because it can quickly be turned on and off, hydroelectric power can help control minute-to-minute supply and demand changes,” they wrote. “It can also help power grids quickly bounce back when blackouts occur. Hydropower makes up about 40% of U.S. electric grid facilities that can be started without an additional power supply during a blackout, in part because the fuel needed to generate power is simply the water held in the reservoir behind the turbine.”</p>
<p>While most hydropower dams are likely here to stay, in Grady’s and Dennis’ view, “climate change will change how these plants are used and managed.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hydropowers-future-is-clouded-by-droughts-floods-and-climate-change-its-also-essential-to-the-us-electric-grid-182314">Hydropower's future is clouded by droughts, floods and climate change – it's also essential to the US electric grid</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. The resurrection of Glen Canyon</h2>
<p>Lake Powell was created by flooding Glen Canyon, a spectacular swath of canyons on the Utah-Arizona border. As the lake’s water level drops, many side canyons have reemerged. Effectively, climate change is draining the lake.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftYToS4Gk_s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A boat trip into zones of Glen Canyon that have been uncovered as water levels drop.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recover a unique landscape, wrote University of Utah political scientist <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel-Mccool">Dan McCool</a>. “But <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-climate-change-and-overuse-shrink-lake-powell-the-emergent-landscape-is-coming-back-to-life-and-posing-new-challenges-197340">managing this emergent landscape</a> also presents serious political and environmental challenges.” </p>
<p>In McCool’s view, a key priority should be to give Native American tribes a meaningful role in managing those lands – including cultural sites and artifacts that were flooded when the river was dammed. The river has also deposited massive quantities of sediments in the canyon behind the dam, some of which are contaminated. And as visitors flock to newly accessible side canyons, the area will need staff to manage visitors and protect fragile resources.</p>
<p>“Other landscapes are likely to emerge across the West as climate change reshapes the region and numerous reservoirs decline. With proper planning, Glen Canyon can provide a lesson in how to manage them,” McCool observed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-climate-change-and-overuse-shrink-lake-powell-the-emergent-landscape-is-coming-back-to-life-and-posing-new-challenges-197340">As climate change and overuse shrink Lake Powell, the emergent landscape is coming back to life – and posing new challenges</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Two decades of drought have reduced the river’s flow by one-third compared to historical averages. The Biden administration is considering mandatory cuts to some states’ water allocations.Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2021252023-03-20T03:02:36Z2023-03-20T03:02:36ZHow did millions of fish die gasping in the Darling – after three years of rain?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516248/original/file-20230320-24-zym4lc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C1017%2C682&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bill Ormonde</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Millions of dead fish float on the surface of the river. Native bony herring and introduced young carp, as well as a few mature Murray cod and golden perch. History is repeating on the Darling River at Menindee. This new fish kill is even worse than the enormous 2018–2019 fish kill. And it’s in almost the same location. </p>
<p>But how can so many fish die when we’ve been having floods? What’s killing them? </p>
<p>In both 2018 and 2023, the immediate answer is the same: the fish ran out of oxygen. Five years ago, it was because the river was almost dry. This time, it’s likely to be factors like the heatwave days earlier, receding floodwaters, bacteria pulling oxygen from the water – and no escape. </p>
<p>But two events like this in five years speaks to a deeper cause. The Darling River – known as the Baaka by Barkandji Traditional Owners – is very sick. Too much of its water is siphoned off for agriculture. Our native fish are hardy. They’re used to extremes. But this is too much, even for them. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1636583143745687552"}"></div></p>
<h2>Short term pressure, long term pain</h2>
<p>I was a member of the expert panel investigating the 2018–2019 Menindee fish kills. Everyone agreed the fish ran out of oxygen. It was a very dry period, and a cool front arriving after a heat wave mixed deep low-oxygen river water with the thin top layer which had oxygen. </p>
<p>But our panel also examined the long-term changes to the river. We found the long-term cause for the river’s decline was simple: too much water was being <a href="https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/science-policy-and-sector-analysis/reports-and-publications/fish-kills-report">diverted upstream</a>. </p>
<p>It wasn’t just climate <a href="https://theconversation.com/excessive-water-extractions-not-climate-change-are-most-to-blame-for-the-darling-river-drying-192621">change</a> – it was irrigation. We warned it could <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-wrote-the-report-for-the-minister-on-fish-deaths-in-the-lower-darling-heres-why-it-could-happen-again-115063">happen again</a>. Now it has. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516250/original/file-20230320-447-cr0ayg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="dead fish darling river" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516250/original/file-20230320-447-cr0ayg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516250/original/file-20230320-447-cr0ayg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516250/original/file-20230320-447-cr0ayg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516250/original/file-20230320-447-cr0ayg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516250/original/file-20230320-447-cr0ayg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516250/original/file-20230320-447-cr0ayg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516250/original/file-20230320-447-cr0ayg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Native bony bream died in their millions, as did young carp, golden perch and even Murray cod.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bill Ormonde</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When faced with such environmental disaster, our leaders tend to reach for Dorothea MacKellar’s famous poem, My Country, and its line about a land “Of droughts and flooding rains.” Coalition water ministers at both federal and state level confidently blamed the drought for the first fish kill. Now, NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has linked <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-18/nsw-menindee-mass-fish-kill-worst-in-region/102115184">this kill</a> to the recent floods. </p>
<p>This is part of the reason. But only part. When floodwaters engorged the Darling and its tributaries, it was a bonanza for bacteria that broke down dead wood lying on the floodplain. Unfortunately, this explosion of microorganisms had a devastating side effect: they sucked oxygen out of the water. </p>
<p>This is what’s known as a blackwater event (in reality, more greeny-brown). As the floodwaters moved downstream and the Darling’s flow decreased, millions of fish fled the floodplains and found themselves crammed back in the narrow river channel where they were hit by plummeting oxygen levels. </p>
<p>Desperate, the fish looked to escape. But upstream, their exit was blocked. In December, authorities had fully opened the gates to the Menindee main weir for the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-05/menindee-weir-opens-allowing-unimpeded-migration-for-native-fish/101732232">first time</a> in a decade to let fish migrate. But now the gates are shut. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516254/original/file-20230320-18-yvz5st.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="menindee weir" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516254/original/file-20230320-18-yvz5st.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516254/original/file-20230320-18-yvz5st.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516254/original/file-20230320-18-yvz5st.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516254/original/file-20230320-18-yvz5st.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516254/original/file-20230320-18-yvz5st.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516254/original/file-20230320-18-yvz5st.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516254/original/file-20230320-18-yvz5st.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fish could swim up river past the Menindee main weir in December - but as flows slowed, the gates have been shut.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Kingsford</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They couldn’t get into the main <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/water-management/infrastructure/menindee-lakes">Menindee Lakes</a>, where they might have found water with more oxygen, as they were blocked by the regulators – large taps used mainly to let water out. </p>
<p>Could they escape downstream? Perhaps some did. But for millions of fish, there was no time. Their bodies will only <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-19/emergency-centre-activated-to-clean-up-menindee-fish-kill/102117524">make the problem worse</a>, as tonnes of rotting fish deposit vast quantities of nutrients into the river. That’s great for bacteria, algae and some fish-eating birds. But it’s not healthy for the river, its fish, or its people. </p>
<p>Yes, fish kills have always occurred but not at <a href="https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/science-policy-and-sector-analysis/reports-and-publications/fish-kills-report">this scale</a>. The fundamental reason the fish of the Darling keep dying is because there is not enough water allowed to flow.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fish-kills-and-undrinkable-water-heres-what-to-expect-for-the-murray-darling-this-summer-126940">Fish kills and undrinkable water: here's what to expect for the Murray Darling this summer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why is the Darling in such trouble?</h2>
<p>Since the 1980s, the Darling’s tributaries have steadily shrunk. The Macquarie, the Namoi, the Gwydir, the Border Rivers and the Condamine-Balonne are all shadows of the rivers they once were. </p>
<p>Much of their water is captured in large dams, such as Burrendong Dam, or intercepted by floodplain harvesting, which was legalised only last year by the NSW government to the dismay of environmentalists and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-08-01/floodplain-harvesting-legislated-southern-nsw/101287572">farmers downstream</a>. </p>
<p>Just last week, before news of the fish kills at Menindee, water allocations announced by the NSW Government in the Namoi and Gwydir Rivers were at 113% and 275% respectively. While some of the water held in dams goes to the environment, much of the water in rural reservoirs is allocated for extraction – around 44% of the water held in the Gwydir Valley’s Copeton Dam, and 61% of the water in Keepit and Split Rock Dams in the Namoi Valley. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516257/original/file-20230320-18-1vd4wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="river red gum on darling" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516257/original/file-20230320-18-1vd4wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516257/original/file-20230320-18-1vd4wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516257/original/file-20230320-18-1vd4wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516257/original/file-20230320-18-1vd4wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516257/original/file-20230320-18-1vd4wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516257/original/file-20230320-18-1vd4wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516257/original/file-20230320-18-1vd4wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">River red gums rely on periodic flooding. Without floodwaters, they can die.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The fish kills at Menindee are the clearest sign yet of how policy and management have failed the Darling. These catastrophes were inevitable. And the pain isn’t limited to fish. We are suffering too. </p>
<p>Taxpayers forked out nearly half a billion dollars <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/wentworth-to-broken-hill-pipeline-turned-on/10844986">for a pipeline</a> from the Murray to Broken Hill, which nearly ran out of water in 2019. Why? Because the Darling was no longer dependable. In 2019, the towns of Wilcannia and Brewarrina <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/rural/2019/03/09/wilcannia-the-town-with-no-water/15520500007800#hrd">ran out of water</a>, significantly affecting Aboriginal communities. Why? Because the Darling was so low. </p>
<p>Fish kills like this one make news for a few days, and then get forgotten. But unless we tackle the fundamental problem of a lack of water in our rivers, there will be many more to come. This is not a natural disaster. It is man-made. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/water-buybacks-are-back-on-the-table-in-the-murray-darling-basin-heres-a-refresher-on-how-they-work-200529">Water buybacks are back on the table in the Murray-Darling Basin. Here's a refresher on how they work</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: A previous version of this article said the water farmers and other users could take from the Namoi and Gwydir rivers was well beyond the total flows left in the rivers. In fact, the figures stated include carryover water allocations, and do not reflect the amount of water that can currently be extracted. The article has been amended to reflect this.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202125/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Kingsford receives funding from the Australian Research Council, New South Wales, Queensland, Victorian and South Australian Governments, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and a range of non-government organisations, including World Wide Fund for Nature, The Nature Conservancy and philanthropic sources. He is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and a councillor on the Biodiversity Council. He is also part of the Next Generation Water Management Hub led by Charles Sturt University (funded through the Regional Research Collaboration Program of the Department of Education of the Australian Government), focusing on fish ecology and management. </span></em></p>For the second time in five years, millions of fish suffocated in the Darling River. This was not a natural disaster – it’s our doingRichard Kingsford, Professor, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1964692023-01-10T13:29:54Z2023-01-10T13:29:54ZHuman actions created the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake – here’s how to save it from collapse, protecting wild birds and human health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503616/original/file-20230109-5411-jwalf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C7157%2C5314&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Exposed lakebed at the Salton Sea on Dec. 29, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/exposed-lakebed-continues-to-dry-at-the-salton-sea-on-news-photo/1454412901">RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Salton Sea spreads across a remote valley in California’s lower Colorado Desert, 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the Mexican border. For birds migrating along the Pacific coast, it’s an avian Grand Central Station. In midwinter tens of thousands of <a href="https://ebird.org/hotspot/L267757?yr=all&m=&rank=mrec">snow geese, ducks, pelicans, gulls</a> and other species forage on and around the lake. <a href="http://ca.audubon.org/salton-sea">Hundreds of other species</a> nest there year-round or use it as a rest stop during spring and fall migration.</p>
<p>At the dawn of the 20th century, this massive oasis didn’t even exist. It was created in 1905 when Colorado River floodwaters <a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/Regions/6/Salton-Sea-Program/Background">breached an irrigation canal</a> under construction in Southern California and flowed into a basin that had flooded in the past. In earlier years, the sea covered roughly 40 square miles more than its current size of 343 square miles (890 square kilometers).</p>
<p>Since then, agricultural runoff from newly formed nearby irrigation districts has <a href="https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2022a0004">sustained it</a>. By midcentury, the sea was considered a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKKZB1VQ1AM">regional amenity</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2022a0004">stocked with popular sport fish</a>. </p>
<p>Now, however, this resource is in trouble. Wasteful irrigation practices that maintained the sea have been reduced, and excess water is now being transferred to thirsty coastal cities instead. The sea’s volume has declined to roughly 4.6 million acre-feet, losing nearly 3 million acre-feet since the mid-2000s. (An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons – the amount of water required to cover an acre of land to a depth of one foot). </p>
<p>As water evaporates from its surface, its salinity has spiked: The sea is now <a href="https://saltonsea.com/about/faq/">almost twice as salty as the Pacific Ocean</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503617/original/file-20230109-9412-wt1g5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of California with inset showing location of Salton Sea" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503617/original/file-20230109-9412-wt1g5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503617/original/file-20230109-9412-wt1g5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=729&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503617/original/file-20230109-9412-wt1g5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=729&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503617/original/file-20230109-9412-wt1g5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=729&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503617/original/file-20230109-9412-wt1g5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503617/original/file-20230109-9412-wt1g5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503617/original/file-20230109-9412-wt1g5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Salton Sea is a large inland lake in southeastern California fed by Colorado River irrigation water from farms in the Imperial Valley.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://lao.ca.gov/2008/rsrc/salton_sea/salton_sea_01-24-08.aspx">Legislative Analysts's Office, state of California</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In November 2022, the federal government <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-11-29/u-s-government-pledges-250-million-to-help-ailing-salton-sea#:%7E:text=The%2520Biden%2520administration%2520has%2520announced,less%2520water%2520from%2520the%2520drought%252D">pledged US$250 million</a> for environmental restoration and dust suppression at the Salton Sea. It’s a historic contribution, but experts agree that other critical steps are needed. </p>
<p>We just completed more than a year of service to the California Salton Sea Management Program’s <a href="https://saltonsea.ca.gov/planning/water-importation-independent-review-panel/">Independent Review Panel</a>, which was charged with evaluating proposals to import water to the sea. In our view, the panel’s recommendations represent the best path forward. They also reflect the complexity of managing water in the increasingly dry U.S. Southwest, where other water bodies, such as Utah’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/climate/salt-lake-city-climate-disaster.html">Great Salt Lake</a>, share the same general challenges of net water loss.</p>
<h2>An ecosystem on the brink</h2>
<p>There’s no question that the Salton Sea desperately needs a fix. Rising salinity threatens worms, crustaceans and other organisms that make up the base of the sea’s food web and has <a href="https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2022a0004">killed off many of its fish species</a>. Without intervention, the sea’s entire ecosystem <a href="https://saltonsea.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Summary_Report_9-29-22_Final.pdf">could collapse</a>.</p>
<p>The sea’s declining water levels also threaten human health. Nearby residents, who are mostly <a href="https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2017.8.36034">low-income people of color</a>, already experience high rates of <a href="https://calag.ucanr.edu/archive/?article=ca.2022a0003">respiratory illness</a>. A recent study found that dust mobilized by wind blowing across the playa <a href="https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2022/12/08/salton-sea-dust-triggers-lung-inflammation">triggers lung inflammation</a>. </p>
<p>Without government intervention, the sea would reach a lower equilibrium size by 2045 that matches smaller inflows with evaporation losses. Even greater areas of playa would be exposed, potentially generating even more airborne dust.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KOcB0A3K_bw?wmode=transparent&start=13" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Land managers and local residents explain how the Salton Sea’s decline is affecting people and wildlife.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Many bad options</h2>
<p>The state review panel analyzed strategies for adding water to the Salton Sea as a <a href="https://saltonsea.ca.gov/planning/water-importation-independent-review-panel/">long-term restoration strategy</a>. Most of the proposals envisioned <a href="https://www.desertsun.com/in-depth/news/environment/2021/06/11/can-water-mexicos-sea-cortez-save-californias-salton-sea/4977601001/">pulling water from Mexico’s Sea of Cortez</a>, 125 miles to the south, desalinating it and moving it north by canal. </p>
<p>These schemes called for building immense desalination plants along the Sea of Cortez, up to 10 times bigger than California’s <a href="https://www.carlsbaddesal.com/about.html">Claude “Bud” Lewis plant</a> in Carlsbad – the largest such facility in the United States. </p>
<p>The proposals could not overcome three significant problems. First, they were projected to cost many tens of billions of dollars and take more than 20 years to complete. Second, they threatened to inflict nasty environmental consequences on the Sea of Cortez, dumping huge quantities of brine into sensitive and protected marine ecosystems and turning pristine beaches into industrial zones. Third, Mexico would derive little benefit from building a huge desalination plant in a remote area, other than some jobs from building and running the plant.</p>
<iframe frameborder="0" class="juxtapose" width="100%" height="500" src="https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/embed/index.html?uid=1c70a2bc-9035-11ed-b5bd-6595d9b17862"></iframe>
<figure><figcaption><span class="caption">These satellite photos show how the Salton Sea shrank between 1984 and 2015, exposing dry playa around its edges (move slider to compare years).</span></figcaption></figure>
<h2>Focus on salinity, not size</h2>
<p>Ultimately, the panel concluded that expanding the Salton Sea to its former size was less important than controlling its salinity. The panel made <a href="https://saltonsea.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Summary_Report_9-29-22_Final.pdf">four recommendations</a> that center on building a desalination plant at the Salton Sea to the treat water that’s already there. </p>
<p>This plant would remove 200 million gallons of high-salinity water daily from the Salton Sea and produce 100 million gallons per day of desalinated water, which would be returned to the Salton Sea. In short order, this exchange would begin to significantly lower its overall salinity.</p>
<p>A desalination plant using <a href="https://www.wwdmag.com/membrane-technology/desalination/article/10917003/seawater-desalination-with-reverse-osmosis">reverse osmosis</a> generates a brine stream equal to approximately half the volume of the treated seawater. Accordingly, the panel called for California to negotiate a voluntary paid transfer program in which the state would pay farmers to transfer enough water to the Salton Sea to replace the volume of brine removed at the desalination plant. The net effect would keep the sea from becoming even smaller and hasten the process of lowering salinity. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1578573432488345601"}"></div></p>
<p>The desalination plant would generate an immense quantity of salt, which would require careful disposal. The panel recommended drying out the brine in evaporation ponds and transferring dried salts from the ponds to landfills or industrial uses. </p>
<p>Finally, the panel called for California to step up support for an aggressive program to stabilize the exposed playa. Techniques could include planting vegetation on the playa and plowing long rows of furrows to reduce dust mobilization during wind storms. The estimated total cost for this plan is $63 billion, compared with $95 billion-$148 billion for various proposals to desalinate and import water from the Sea of Cortez.</p>
<p>Since 2020, the state has conducted <a href="https://saltonsea.ca.gov/">pilot projects</a> to reduce dust blowing off the playa, with promising early results. The federal government’s $250 million pledge will enable this work to move more quickly. </p>
<p>Stabilizing the playa is essential to address significant public health concerns associated with windborne dust, although more must be done regionally to fully address <a href="https://calmatters.org/health/2019/01/what-keeps-families-in-one-of-the-most-polluted-places-in-california/">air quality problems</a>.</p>
<h2>Looking forward, not backward</h2>
<p>This approach will not satisfy critics who want to restore the Salton Sea to its maximum volume. These advocates recall the mid-20th century when the sea was <a href="https://www.route-fifty.com/health-human-services/2022/10/how-californias-salton-sea-went-vacation-destination-toxic-nightmare/378018/">a tourism draw</a> and would like to reconnect the few small towns that once bordered the sea, which are now separated by extensive playa. Expanding the sea to its original size also would address concerns about playa-sourced air pollution. </p>
<p>In our view, however, the panel’s recommendations offer a genuine opportunity to solve the main problems: blowing dust and increasing salinity. This solution is more likely to actually be implemented than an enormous binational desalination project. It would happen more quickly, at about half the cost of the binational importation options.</p>
<p>We believe that the sooner California officials accept the reality of a smaller Salton Sea, the sooner the state can move ahead, focusing on air quality improvement and ecological restoration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196469/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Glennon was a member of the California Salton Sea Management Program’s Independent Review Panel.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brent Haddad was principal investigator of the of California Salton Sea Management Program’s Independent Review Panel. He received funding from California's Department of Water Resources to carry out the review of water importation as a long-term restoration strategy for the Salton Sea. </span></em></p>Fifty years ago, the Salton Sea was a draw for boaters and fishermen; today it’s an ecological time bomb. Two water experts who served on a state review panel describe its proposed rescue plan.Robert Glennon, Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy Emeritus, University of ArizonaBrent Haddad, Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa CruzLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1966482023-01-05T21:04:59Z2023-01-05T21:04:59ZHere’s how your cup of coffee contributes to climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503125/original/file-20230104-12-54ea61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=213%2C81%2C4625%2C3172&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scientists say that wasting coffee and water while making a cup of coffee has a larger carbon footprint than using coffee capsules.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/here-s-how-your-cup-of-coffee-contributes-to-climate-change" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Global coffee consumption has been increasing steadily <a href="https://coffee-rank.com/world-coffee-consumption-statistics/">for almost 30 years</a>. With a daily average consumption of 2.7 cups of coffee per person, coffee is now Canada’s most popular drink. It is <a href="https://britishcoffeeassociation.org/coffee-consumption/">estimated that around two billion cups of coffee</a> are consumed daily worldwide.</p>
<p>This demand has led to considerable diversification in the ways of preparing coffee as well, including the creation of coffee capsules. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35605927">The popularity of these capsules has divided the public opinion</a> because this method of preparation, which uses single-use individual packaging, is harmful to the environment.</p>
<p>As researchers working on assessing the environmental impacts of products and services, we often discuss coffee’s carbon footprint. </p>
<p>We decided to study the carbon footprint of several techniques used to prepare coffee at home, and it turns out that coffee capsules aren’t the biggest carbon culprits.</p>
<h2>The life cycle of coffee</h2>
<p>The pollution resulting from the preparation of coffee at home is just the tip of the iceberg. </p>
<p>Before you can enjoy a cup of coffee, <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/from-bean-to-brew-the-coffee-supply-chain/">it goes through several steps, starting</a> from the agricultural production of the coffee beans, their transport, the roasting and grinding of the beans, right up to the heating of the water for the coffee and the washing of the cups it is poured in. </p>
<p>These steps, common to all modes of coffee preparation, consume resources and emit greenhouse gases (GHG). </p>
<p>To adequately compare the carbon footprint of several coffee preparation methods, it is important <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/deq/filterdocs/pef-coffee-fullreport.pdf">to consider their entire life cycle</a>: from the production of coffee, through the manufacture of packaging and machinery, to the preparation of coffee and the waste produced.</p>
<h2>Comparing four coffee preparation methods</h2>
<p>We decided to study this further and conducted an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12487">extensive literature review</a> on the subject. We then measured the carbon footprint of coffee by comparing four methods of preparing 280 millilitres of coffee, namely:</p>
<p>1) Traditional filter coffee (25 grams of coffee) </p>
<p>2) Encapsulated filter coffee (14 grams of coffee) </p>
<p>3) Brewed coffee (French press) (17 grams of coffee)</p>
<p>4) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.04.011">Soluble coffee</a> (12 grams of coffee), also known as instant coffee</p>
<p>Our analysis clearly showed that traditional filter coffee has the highest carbon footprint, mainly because a greater quantity of coffee powder is used to produce the amount of coffee. This process also consumes more electricity to heat the water and keep it warm. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bar chart showing carbon footprint across the life cycle of coffee preparation of different coffee forms and brewing methods" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The carbon footprint generated across the life cycle of coffee, preparation of different coffee forms and brewing methods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Luciano Rodrigues Viana). Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When consumers use the recommended amounts of coffee and water, soluble coffee appears to be the most environmentally friendly option. This is due to the low amount of soluble coffee used per cup, the kettle’s lower electricity consumption compared to a coffee maker and the absence of organic waste to be treated.</p>
<p>On the other hand, when consumers use a 20 per cent surplus of coffee and heat twice the water needed (which is often the case), coffee capsules seem to be the best option. Why? Because the capsules allow you to optimize the amount of coffee and water per consumption.</p>
<p>Compared to traditional filter coffee, drinking a capsule filter coffee (280 ml) saves between 11 and 13 grams of coffee. Producing 11 grams of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/geo2.96">Arabica coffee in Brazil</a> emits about <a href="https://ecoinvent.org/the-ecoinvent-database/">59 grams of CO2e</a> (CO2 equivalent). This value is much higher than the 27 grams of CO2e emitted for manufacturing of coffee capsules and sending the generated waste to a landfill. These figures give an idea of the importance of avoiding overusing and wasting coffee.</p>
<h2>Coffee production</h2>
<p>Regardless of the type of coffee preparation, coffee production is the most GHG-emitting phase. It contributed to around 40 per cent to 80 per cent of the total emission. There are many reasons for this.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A coffee plantation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The process of coffee production is a major contributor of coffee’s carbon footprint because of the intensive irrigation, fertilization systems and pesticides adopted.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.coffeehabitat.com/2006/02/what_is_shade_g/">The coffee plant</a> is a small stunted tree or shrub that was traditionally grown in the shade of the forest canopy. The modernization of the sector led to the transformation of many coffee plantations into vast fields that were fully exposed to the sun. This added the need for intensive irrigation, fertilization systems and the use of pesticides.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.01.230">This mechanization, irrigation and use of nitrous oxide-emitting fertilizers</a> — the production of which requires large quantities of natural gas — greatly contribute to coffee’s carbon footprint.</p>
<h2>Reducing coffee’s carbon footprint</h2>
<p>At the consumer level, beyond reducing coffee consumption, avoiding wasting coffee and water is the most effective way to reduce the carbon footprint of traditional, brewed and soluble coffees.</p>
<p>Coffee capsules avoid the overuse of coffee and water. However, the convenience of capsule machines can lead consumers to double their coffee consumption, thus making this environmental advantage redundant. Consumers should also be aware of the capsule recycling options in the city where they live to avoid it getting sent to a landfill instead of a recycling facility. Better yet, they should switch to <a href="https://www.capsme.fr/">reusable capsules</a>.</p>
<p>If you live in a province or country with carbon-intensive electricity production, not using the coffee maker’s hot plate and rinsing the cup with cold water can help reduce carbon footprint. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.04.011">The electricity</a> used to wash a cup of coffee in Alberta, a <a href="https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-commodities/electricity/report/canadas-renewable-power/provinces/renewable-power-canada-alberta.html">high-carbon electricity production province</a>, emits more carbon (29 grams CO2e) than producing a coffee capsule and sending it to landfill (27 grams CO2e). In Québec, <a href="https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-commodities/electricity/report/canadas-renewable-power/provinces/renewable-power-canada-quebec.html">thanks to hydroelectricity</a>, washing your cup in a dishwasher has a negligible impact (0.7 grams of CO2e per cup). </p>
<p>By the way, don’t forget to fill your dishwasher!</p>
<h2>Shared responsibilities</h2>
<p>Limiting your contribution to climate change requires an adapted diet, and coffee is no exception. Choosing a mode of coffee preparation that emits less GHGs and moderating your consumption are part of the solution.</p>
<p>However, more than half of the carbon footprint of coffee comes from the steps taken by coffee producers and suppliers. They must take <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-013-9467-x">action to reduce the environmental and social impacts of coffee production</a>. </p>
<p>Our research reveals that assessments based on a life cycle analysis, or the holistic vision, of products like coffee make it possible to challenge our intuitive reasoning, which is sometimes misleading. So instead of avoiding products based on speculation, we need to take a holistic look at our own consumption habits. Change begins at home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196648/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luciano Rodrigues Viana receives funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean-François Boucher receives funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Marty and Pierre-Luc Dessureault do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Coffee capsules aren’t the biggest carbon culprits. It’s better to use a capsule than to waste coffee and water.Luciano Rodrigues Viana, Doctorant en sciences de l'environnement, Département des sciences fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Charles Marty, Adjunct professor, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Jean-François Boucher, Professeur, Eco-consulting, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Pierre-Luc Dessureault, Assistant researcher, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1927772022-10-23T08:34:40Z2022-10-23T08:34:40ZNigeria floods: government’s mismanagement of dams is a major cause<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490862/original/file-20221020-26-7i5z1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C24%2C5455%2C3612&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The flooding wiped out farms in Kogi and other affected states. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/farmer-walks-by-his-flooded-cornfield-following-heavy-rain-news-photo/1033290226?phrase=flooding%20in%20kogi&adppopup=true">Sodiq Adelakun/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Parts of Nigeria face severe flooding every year, particularly <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/09/we-didnt-deny-anyone-the-opportunity-to-get-permanent-voter-card-inec/">states located</a> along the courses of the Niger and Benue rivers. The release of excess water from a dam in neighbouring Cameroon contributes to the flooding. Olayinka Ogunkoya unpacks Nigeria’s mismanagement of its dams.</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>What impact does poor dam management have on flooding in Nigeria?</h2>
<p>The operations management of dams and reservoirs depends on what purpose the dam was built for. If a dam was built for water supply, irrigation or hydro-electric power, the aim would be to keep the dam as close to full pool capacity as possible so as to maximise resource availability.</p>
<p>If the dam was constructed for flood control, then the aim would be to de-water the reservoir before the flood season. This is why flood control reservoirs and dams have temporary reservoir storage space for storing spate flow to alleviate downstream flood damage. </p>
<p>The water is subsequently released downstream at rates that will not create flood conditions.</p>
<p>Most dams serve multiple purposes. For example, the dams on the River Niger, Kainji and Jebba, and its tributaries, Shiroro and Zungeru on the River Kaduna; and those on the tributaries of the River Benue – Dadin Kowa and Kiri on the River Gongola, and Kashimbila on the River Katsina Ala – were built for hydro-electric power generation, fisheries and flood control.</p>
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<p>Managing reservoirs for flood control requires keeping the maximum possible empty space before the flood season. <a href="https://www.engr.colostate.edu/ce/facultystaff/salas/us-italy/papers/43valdes.pdf">Water storage</a> is required for the remaining objectives of water supply, irrigation and hydropower. </p>
<p>In the Nigerian situation, hydropower generation dominates the functions of many large dams. This means that the management of reservoirs would focus on keeping the level at full pool. </p>
<p>This runs against the grain of what’s needed for flood control. If there’s no storage space then incoming flood waters won’t be contained. </p>
<h2>What measures should be in place to avert flooding?</h2>
<p>Nigeria needs to create structures along the River Benue and its tributaries that will serve primarily for flood control, and secondarily for hydro-electric power.</p>
<p>Given the lack of resources, it would be difficult to build dams for only flood control. Efforts should therefore be made towards the realisation of 1970s plans for the construction of large hydropower dams at Makurdi,
Lokoja and Onitsha. These dams, apart from supplying electricity (3300 MW), would have significant flood control and mitigation capability.</p>
<p>A few more dams could be constructed upstream of Makurdi on River Benue. One is the Dasin Hausa Dam. This has been designed to detain excess spillage from the Lagdo Dam, and also generate 300 MW, irrigate 150,000 hectares, and make it possible to navigate the River Benue all year.</p>
<p>Many flood control dams and reservoirs should be built along the tributaries of River Benue since these are also high-discharge rivers and contribute to the flooding potential of their principal.</p>
<p>Flood control structures provide for temporary storage of flood waters upstream so that downstream areas are protected against inundation. The flood waters are gradually released when the threat of flooding has declined.</p>
<p>Secondly, urban and settlement growth involving building on lower lying areas that receive runoff should be zoned off unless the areas are reclaimed and significantly elevated.</p>
<h2>How can affected communities be better protected?</h2>
<p>Abatement measures. These involve enforcing policies and the construction of structures that inhibit flooding – or at the least significantly reduce its impact. Such measures include zoning regulation, catchment afforestation, desilting of channels, and construction of flood control reservoirs.</p>
<p>Protection measures should also be taken. These include strengthening the natural levees or construction of artificial levees (flood embankments). A levee is a “dike” along the banks of a river formed by sediments deposited during flood events. The crest of the levee is higher than the floodplain, and thus protects the floodplain from inundation or flooding where the levee is sturdy.</p>
<p>Flood embankments or artificial levees are usually built of alluvial material dug out of pits on site. Other types of embankments are flood walls made of reinforced concrete, sheet pile and masonry.</p>
<p>During exceptionally severe flood events, embankments may be gradually increased in height, for instance by sand-bagging, to prevent them from being overtopped and damaged. However, flood embankments can have a number of negative effects. They can:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>reduce storage capacity of the river channel and flood plains by restricting flow from the channel to the flood plain</p></li>
<li><p>protect only against moderate floods, since extreme floods could
readily over-top the walls </p></li>
<li><p>inhibit the continuing build-up and nutrient enhancement of the
floodplain, which would have occurred naturally as a result of inundation and
siltation.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What can Nigeria do to make better use of its dams?</h2>
<p>Large dams in Nigeria are fully owned by the government. The states and federal governments can make better use of their dams by ensuring that the dam structure, reservoir and related equipment and canals are maintained properly. </p>
<p>Currently, most plants and equipment have broken down or are functioning well below installed capacity. This is because dam management doesn’t adhere to operation manuals. </p>
<p>Many dams in south-western Nigeria have been so neglected that mature trees are growing on their faces.</p>
<p>All dam projects under construction must be urgently completed. There are dams uncompleted since the 1980s. </p>
<p>A main challenge in Nigeria is policy discontinuity by successive governments. The result is the accumulation of abandoned projects in all spheres of national development: dam, power, water supply and irrigation, steel industry and roads.</p>
<p>It appears it is yet to be appreciated that government is a continuity, whether it is the green or red party that is in control, and all projects initiated by the previous administration have to be completed by succeeding administrations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olayinka Olatokunbo Ogunkoya does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Proper dam management can help check flooding in Nigeria.Olayinka Olatokunbo Ogunkoya, Professor of Geomorphology, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1911522022-09-27T13:11:58Z2022-09-27T13:11:58ZNigeria’s sacred Osun River supports millions of people - but pollution is making it unsafe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486262/original/file-20220923-9077-t1qt1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C5%2C3578%2C2382&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Osun River has become turbid and unsafe for consumption - threatening its cultural and biodiversity significance. Photo by: Stefan Heunis/AFP via Getty Images.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/woman-throws-a-sacrificial-chicken-into-the-sacred-river-news-photo/1018606984?adppopup=true">from www,gettyimages.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Pollution has become a worrying threat to Nigeria’s Osun River. The river supports millions of people who rely on the water for agriculture as well as industries. It is also an integral part of Nigeria’s treasured Osun-Osogbo sacred grove, a UNESCO world heritage site. Emmanuel O. Akindele unpacks what’s causing the pollution, what harm it’s causing and what must change to preserve the river’s biodiversity.</em> </p>
<h2>How important is the Osun River to Nigeria?</h2>
<p>The Osun River is one of the major rivers in southern Nigeria, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-020-08763-8">draining into the Gulf of Guinea</a>. The river takes its source from Ekiti State. But it’s culturally linked to the ancient city of <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/236410037.pdf">Osogbo</a>. A stretch of the river that flows by a sacred grove in the ancient town of Osogbo has been designated a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1118/">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a> due to its <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1118">cultural</a> significance. It is one of two such designated sites in <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/ng">Nigeria</a>. </p>
<p>The river provides a wide range of cultural ecosystem services such as <a href="https://afribary.com/works/assessment-of-the-ecotourism-potentials-of-osun-osogbo-world-heritage-site-osun-state-nigeria">natural scenes</a> for eco-tourists and the site for filming Nollywood movies. A large number of foreign tourists <a href="https://www.academia.edu/52361771/HARNESSING_CULTURAL_HERITAGE_FOR_TOURISM_DEVELOPMENT_IN_NIGERIA_A_STUDY_OF_THE_OSUN_OSOGBO_SACRED_GROVE_AND_FESTIVAL">visit</a> the river each year. The visits are either to pay homage to the river goddess (Osun) or to join others in celebrating the <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/08/2022-osun-festival-begins-with-spiritual-cleansing-of-roads/">annual Osun festival</a>. </p>
<p>The river also has enormous environmental value given its rich <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aje.12482">biodiversity</a>. It supports <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21658005.2017.1357290?journalCode=tzec20">plankton</a>, <a href="https://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442007000200034">snakes</a> and <a href="https://www.frim.gov.my/v1/JTFSOnline/jtfs/v26n1/5-15.pdf">endangered plants</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A flowing river bordered by dense forest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Osun River is one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria - UNESCO World Heritage Site. But pollution is threatening the river.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/osun-river-osun-osogbo-sacred-grove-osogbo-osun-royalty-free-image/1141985549?adppopup=true">from www.gettyimages.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Along its whole course, the Osun River also plays a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/16583655.2019.1567899">critical part</a> in supporting the livelihoods of people. In many areas of Osogbo and Osun State, it provides irrigation for nearby farmlands. A significant number of abattoirs are also situated close to the river bank along several stretches of its course. </p>
<p>The Osun River flows through other human settlements in southwest Nigeria as well as the historic city of Osogbo.</p>
<h2>What are the main sources of the pollution?</h2>
<p>Plastic pollution is the main one. My research has shown that some <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerian-river-snails-carry-more-microplastics-than-rhine-snails-126622">aquatic snails</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-microplastics-found-in-nigerias-freshwaters-raise-a-red-flag-147432">insects</a> of the river carry microplastic pollutants. Plastic pollution is a common phenomenon in many inland waters of Nigeria. </p>
<p>Heavy metals also pollute the river. Heavy metals like gold, mercury and cadmium <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4144270/">occur naturally</a> in the Earth’s crust. But they can also be introduced through domestic and industrial wastes, or atmospheric sources. Heavy metals can be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020315346">amplified</a> by human activities like waste deposition or mining. Mining loosens heavy metals buried in the earth, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129257/">adding more of them</a> to water. </p>
<p>Artisanal gold mining within the catchments of the Osun River, especially around the Ijesha land area of Osun State, have further worsened the ecological condition of the river and made the water <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/548204-osun-osogbo-festival-govt-warns-devotees-tourists-against-drinking-from-river.html">unsafe</a> for human use. </p>
<p>The impact of illegal gold mining on the river cannot be over-emphasised. First, the impacts have been felt on the river’s water quality, which has deteriorated. This has grave implications for its <a href="http://medcraveonline.com/BIJ/water-pollution-and-aquatic-biodiversity.html">biological diversity</a>.</p>
<p>Aside from the introduction of toxicants, the river, which was once <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21658005.2017.1357290?journalCode=tzec20">transparent</a> enough for photosynthetic production, is now very turbid (cloudy) with a characteristic gold colour. At extremely low water transparency, a river’s phytoplankton primary production could be <a href="https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=oak-lake_research-pubs">threatened</a>, and by implication, its secondary (fish) production could also be threatened. It can also cause fish to die by <a href="https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/255660.pdf">blocking</a> their gills and destroying their reproductive sites. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KMmMsKIVuTk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Osun river pollution. Credit: UrbanAlert,</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another source of pollution is human-generated <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/nigeria-s-osun-river-sacred-revered-and-increasingly-toxic/6708178.html">waste</a> that lands up in the river. This is due to <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-plastic-pollution-is-harming-the-environment-steps-to-combat-it-are-overdue-177839">poor waste management practice</a> – a feature common in many urban areas in Nigeria. </p>
<h2>What are the solutions?</h2>
<p>The government must first halt all mining near the river until environmental audits have been conducted, placing urgent human welfare ahead of short-term economic gains. Although the river has already suffered significant harm, it is still possible to halt mining operations so that toxicant concentrations do not keep rising and the river can recuperate from the stress of pollution. </p>
<p>Through natural processes, rivers and streams have the ability to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187802961101022X?via%3Dihub">purify</a> themselves. However, in the instance of the Osun River, this can only happen after the various sources of pollution are stopped. </p>
<p>If further gold mining operations are suggested following an environmental audit of the Osun River, it will be crucial to reroute effluents from all natural waters in the basin. A special reservoir can be constructed in a location far away from where people live and make their living.</p>
<p>A polluted and unsafe environment for plants and animals is a reliable indicator of a similarly unsafe environment for people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191152/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel O. Akindele receives funding from the British Ecological Society. </span></em></p>The ability of the Osun River to support biodiversity is being threatened by pollution and can only be rescued if the contamination ends.Emmanuel O. Akindele, Senior Lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1818302022-08-11T12:13:39Z2022-08-11T12:13:39ZFarmers can save water with wireless technologies, but there are challenges – like transmitting data through mud<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478568/original/file-20220810-12-v7tt1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5300%2C3520&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wireless sensors and data systems can help farmers use water much more efficiently by monitoring soil conditions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.ie/detail/news-photo/pivot-irrigation-sprinkler-hanover-virginia-september-20-news-photo/623544064">Lance Cheung/USDA via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Water is the most essential resource for life, for both humans and the crops we consume. Around the world, agriculture accounts for <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/chart-globally-70-freshwater-used-agriculture">70% of all freshwater use</a>.</p>
<p>I study <a href="https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/g/11gr6_nlm6">computers and information technology</a> in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and direct Purdue’s <a href="https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/facilities/environmental-networking-technology-laboratory">Environmental Networking Technology (ENT) Laboratory</a>, where we tackle sustainability and environmental challenges with interdisciplinary research into the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35291-2_3">Agricultural Internet of Things</a>, or Ag-IoT. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ibm.com/blogs/internet-of-things/what-is-the-iot/">Internet of Things</a> is a network of objects equipped with sensors so they can receive and transmit data via the internet. Examples include wearable fitness devices, smart home thermostats and self-driving cars. </p>
<p>In agriculture, it involves technologies such as wireless underground communications, subsurface sensing and antennas in soil. These systems help farmers track conditions on their land in real time, and apply water and other inputs such as fertilizer exactly when and where they are needed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460161/original/file-20220427-24-m731go.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="White sticks embedded in soil among corn stalks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460161/original/file-20220427-24-m731go.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460161/original/file-20220427-24-m731go.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460161/original/file-20220427-24-m731go.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460161/original/file-20220427-24-m731go.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460161/original/file-20220427-24-m731go.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460161/original/file-20220427-24-m731go.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460161/original/file-20220427-24-m731go.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sensors installed in a corn field.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abdul Salam</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In particular, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50861-6_11">monitoring conditions in the soil</a> has great promise for helping farmers use water more efficiently. Sensors can now be wirelessly integrated into irrigation systems to provide real-time awareness of soil moisture levels. Studies suggest that this strategy can reduce water demand for irrigation by anywhere from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-021-00604-5">20%</a> to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/WF-IoT.2015.7389138">72%</a> without hampering daily operations on crop fields. </p>
<h2>What is the Agricultural Internet of Things?</h2>
<p>Even in dry places such as the Middle East and North Africa, farming is possible with efficient water management. But extreme weather events driven by climate change are making that harder. <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/newsroom/trending-topics/drought-in-the-western-united-states/">Recurrent droughts in the western U.S.</a> over the past 20 years, along with other disasters like wildfires, have caused <a href="https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/drought-and-wildfire-the-costliest-disasters-for-crop-farmers-in-2021/">billions of dollars in crop losses</a>.</p>
<p>Water experts have measured soil moisture to inform water management and irrigation decisions for decades. Automated technologies have largely replaced hand-held soil moisture tools because it is hard to take manual soil moisture readings in production fields in remote locations. </p>
<p>In the past decade, wireless data harvesting technologies have begun to provide real-time access to soil moisture data, which makes for better water management decisions. These technologies could also have many advanced IoT applications in public safety, urban infrastructure monitoring and food safety. </p>
<p>The Agricultural Internet of Things is a network of <a href="https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=cit_articles">radios, antennas and sensors</a> that gather real-time crop and soil information in the field. To facilitate data collection, these sensors and antennas are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122096">interconnected</a> wirelessly with farm equipment. The Ag-IoT is a complete framework that can detect conditions on farmland, suggest actions in response and send commands to farm machinery.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478601/original/file-20220810-24-uwqksn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing satellites, drones, wireless underground communications systems and other digital components collecting and sharing signals around a farm" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478601/original/file-20220810-24-uwqksn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478601/original/file-20220810-24-uwqksn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478601/original/file-20220810-24-uwqksn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478601/original/file-20220810-24-uwqksn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478601/original/file-20220810-24-uwqksn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478601/original/file-20220810-24-uwqksn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478601/original/file-20220810-24-uwqksn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Technologies that together comprise the Agricultural Internet of Things.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abdul Salam/Purdue University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interconnecting devices such as soil moisture and temperature sensors in the field makes it possible to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adhoc.2018.07.017">control irrigation systems and conserve water autonomously</a>. The system can schedule irrigation, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2019.12.013">monitor environmental conditions</a> and control farm machines, such as seed planters and fertilizer applicators. Other applications include <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3934/mbe.2019273">estimating soil nutrient levels</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS.2002.86.4.336">identifying pests</a>.</p>
<h2>The challenges of putting networks underground</h2>
<p>Wireless data collection has the potential to help farmers use water much more efficiently, but putting these components in the ground creates challenges. For example, at the Purdue ENT Lab, we have found that when the antennas that transmit sensor data are buried in soil, their operating characteristics change drastically depending on how moist the soil is. My new book, “<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-50861-6">Signals in the Soil</a>,” explains how this happens. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460334/original/file-20220428-9923-mehb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A scientist stands next to a wood-framed test bed containing equipment embedded in soil" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460334/original/file-20220428-9923-mehb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460334/original/file-20220428-9923-mehb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460334/original/file-20220428-9923-mehb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460334/original/file-20220428-9923-mehb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460334/original/file-20220428-9923-mehb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460334/original/file-20220428-9923-mehb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460334/original/file-20220428-9923-mehb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Abdul Salam takes measurements in a test bed at Purdue University to determine the optimum operating frequency for underground antennas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abdul Salam</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Farmers use heavy equipment in fields, so antennas must be buried deep enough to avoid damage. As soil becomes wet, the moisture affects communication between the sensor network and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/jsan7040047">control system</a>. Water in the soil absorbs signal energy, which weakens the signals that the system sends. Denser soil also blocks signal transmission. </p>
<p>We have developed <a href="https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=cit_articles">a theoretical model and an antenna</a> that reduces the soil’s impact on underground communications by changing the operation frequency and system bandwidth. With this antenna, sensors placed in top layers of soil can provide real-time soil condition information to irrigation systems at <a href="https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cit_articles/36/">distances up to 650 feet (200 meters)</a> – longer than two football fields. </p>
<p>Another solution I have developed for improving wireless communication in soil is to use <a href="https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cit_articles/43/">directional antennas</a> to focus signal energy in a desired direction. Antennas that direct energy toward air can also be used for long-range wireless underground communications. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460463/original/file-20220429-26112-lm4nw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two metal radios on the ground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460463/original/file-20220429-26112-lm4nw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460463/original/file-20220429-26112-lm4nw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460463/original/file-20220429-26112-lm4nw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460463/original/file-20220429-26112-lm4nw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460463/original/file-20220429-26112-lm4nw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460463/original/file-20220429-26112-lm4nw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460463/original/file-20220429-26112-lm4nw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Using software-defined radios to detect soil measurement signals. These radios can adjust their operating frequencies in response to soil moisture changes. In actual operation, the radios are buried in the soil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abdul Salam</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s next for the Ag-IoT</h2>
<p>Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important for the Ag-IoT as it matures. Networks on farms <a href="https://theconversation.com/rise-of-precision-agriculture-exposes-food-system-to-new-threats-187589">need advanced security systems</a> to protect the information that they transfer. There’s also a need for solutions that enable researchers and agricultural extension agents to merge information from multiple farms. Aggregating data this way will produce more accurate decisions about issues like water use, while preserving growers’ privacy. </p>
<p>These networks also need to adapt to changing local conditions, such as temperature, rainfall and wind. Seasonal changes and crop growth cycles can temporarily alter operating conditions for Ag-IoT equipment. By using cloud computing and machine learning, scientists can help the Ag-IoT respond to shifts in the environment around it.</p>
<p>Finally, lack of high-speed internet access is <a href="https://www.theregreview.org/2022/07/09/saturday-seminar-regulating-the-digital-divide/">still an issue in many rural communities</a>. For example, many researchers have integrated wireless underground sensors with Ag-IoT in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bILpvH3EuQ">center pivot irrigation systems</a>, but farmers without high-speed internet access can’t install this kind of technology. </p>
<p>Integrating satellite-based network connectivity with the Ag-IoT can assist nonconnected farms where <a href="https://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/2019/american-broadband-initiative-milestones-report">broadband connectivity is still unavailable</a>. Researchers are also developing vehicle-mounted and mobile Ag-IoT platforms that use drones. Systems like these can provide continuous connectivity in the field, making digital technologies accessible for more farmers in more places.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181830/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abdul Salam does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Agricultural Internet of Things is making farming more efficient. An information technology expert describes some of the challenges of working with sensors and antennas underground.Abdul Salam, Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Technology, Purdue UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881752022-08-05T15:41:25Z2022-08-05T15:41:25ZUK drought: are farmers facing the crop failures of 1976 all over again?<p>July 2022 was the <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2022/driest-july-in-england-since-1935">driest July in England</a> since 1935. Combined with record breaking temperatures, we are hearing talk of a drought comparable to the great <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/news/new-publication-1975-76-drought-contemporary-and-retrospective-review">drought of 1976</a>, with fears of disruptions to public water supply and poor crop yields, especially for fruit and vegetables. But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02508068508686328">not all droughts are the same</a> and not all farmers are affected by the same type of drought.</p>
<p>To a meteorologist, drought is usually defined as a period of significantly below-average rainfall. However, low rainfall even over a whole season does not necessarily mean the water supply will run low, or that industry or agriculture will suffer, since there could be lots of water already stored in reservoirs and groundwater.</p>
<p>Of course, such reserves are little help for grassland, cereals and other crops that are entirely rain-fed and are badly impacted when we get a dry spring and summer. The past 12 months have been <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-temperature-rainfall-and-sunshine-anomaly-graphs">particularly dry</a> over much of the UK and since May 2021, only October and February have recorded above-average rainfall. </p>
<p>Things are even worse if combined with the high temperatures and plentiful sunshine we have seen this year, which increases evaporation and depletes soils of the water required for plant growth – a so-called “agricultural drought”.</p>
<p>We have evaluated the combined impact of the low rainfall and hot, sunny weather using <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2020.589871/full">potential soil moisture deficit</a> (PSMD), which is a cumulative measure (in millimetres) of the balance between rainfall input to the soil and potential losses through evaporation and plant transpiration. </p>
<p>When evaporation exceeds rainfall, the soils become drier and the PSMD increases. When it rains, it reduces. Usually, the PSMD starts to increase from late March or early April, peaking in August or September when the soils are at their driest. A high PSMD means that <a href="https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/crop-management/crops-struggle-with-lack-of-rain-as-drought-fears-intensify">rain-fed crops</a> like cereals and grass, as well as our <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/drought-care">gardens</a>, will suffer.</p>
<p>Using data from weather stations in Cambridge, we estimate the PSMD in 2022 has (so far) behaved very similarly to 1976. The deficit started to increase in early March and has continued to grow through to the end of July. </p>
<p>This is in contrast to the last drought <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2020.589871/full">in 2018</a>, when the spring was wetter and the soil drying was delayed. PSMD currently stands at about 350mm, which is around 50% higher than the average peak between 1981 and 2010. So for farmers that rely solely on rainfall, 2022 looks like it could be as severe an agricultural drought as 1976.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477434/original/file-20220803-15-wzvjes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="graph with three similar lines" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477434/original/file-20220803-15-wzvjes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477434/original/file-20220803-15-wzvjes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477434/original/file-20220803-15-wzvjes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477434/original/file-20220803-15-wzvjes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477434/original/file-20220803-15-wzvjes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477434/original/file-20220803-15-wzvjes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477434/original/file-20220803-15-wzvjes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Potential Soil Moisture Deficit (PSMD) in Cambridge, UK, in 1976, 2018 and 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NIAB Cambridge and Cambridge Digital Technology Group</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Irrigated farming might be restricted</h2>
<p>Most grassland and “broadacre” crops like cereals and oilseeds are grown in the UK without irrigation. It is not that they don’t need the water, but that it is financially unattractive to invest in irrigation equipment. </p>
<p>However, to ensure yield and particularly crop quality, much of the UK’s potato, vegetable and fruit crops are given extra water from irrigation during dry periods. Dry soil also means that demand for water for irrigated crops will be higher, competing with reduced available water resources for other sectors. </p>
<p>To the water resources manager, a “hydrological drought” is when the water available in rivers, reservoirs and groundwater is insufficient to meet demand – including demand to maintain a healthy aquatic ecosystem.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477445/original/file-20220803-11074-6yrn1d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Field with sprinklers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477445/original/file-20220803-11074-6yrn1d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477445/original/file-20220803-11074-6yrn1d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477445/original/file-20220803-11074-6yrn1d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477445/original/file-20220803-11074-6yrn1d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477445/original/file-20220803-11074-6yrn1d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477445/original/file-20220803-11074-6yrn1d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477445/original/file-20220803-11074-6yrn1d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Spud soaking: potato is the UK’s main irrigated crop.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Giovanni Arrè</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.1201/9781351114523/achieving-sustainable-cultivation-potatoes-volume-2-stuart-wale">Potatoes</a> account for more than half of the UK’s irrigated area and volume of irrigation water used. In a <a href="http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/14122">dry year</a>, we estimate that a hectare of potatoes (just over half a football pitch) needs more than 2 million litres of irrigation water to maintain yield and quality. That is more than 40 litres for every kg of potatoes. </p>
<p>As UK irrigated agriculture and horticulture needs lots of water but is regarded as a non-essential user, irrigated farmers are at risk of mandatory <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/641/regulation/25/made">restrictions</a> during a drought, with potentially severe financial implications.</p>
<p>Here we see a difference between 1976 – which followed a very dry 1975 – and 2022. The Met Office described rainfall in 2021 as “<a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/summaries/uk_monthly_climate_summary_annual_2021.pdf">unremarkable</a>”. This, together with better water metering and investment in infrastructure to move water from areas of availability to need, means water resources are in a better condition now than they were in 1976.</p>
<p>The maps below show the status of river flows across the country in February 1976 and February 2022. Pinks to reds indicate river flows that were below normal (pink) to exceptionally low (crimson) for the time of year. </p>
<p>So while this year’s dry and hot weather has been similar to 1976 with similar effects on our gardens and farming, last winter finished with water resources that were mostly around normal for the time of year. This means we don’t expect widespread mandatory restrictions on irrigated farms, although some restrictions may be imposed to protect supplies in certain catchments.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477439/original/file-20220803-24-ymhvrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two maps of the UK" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477439/original/file-20220803-24-ymhvrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477439/original/file-20220803-24-ymhvrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477439/original/file-20220803-24-ymhvrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477439/original/file-20220803-24-ymhvrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477439/original/file-20220803-24-ymhvrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477439/original/file-20220803-24-ymhvrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477439/original/file-20220803-24-ymhvrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">River flow was much lower in the spring before the 1976 flood (left) compared to 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/hydrology/water-resources/">Data: UK Water Resources Portal</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, despite the water resources situation not being as severe in 2022 as it was in 1976, demand across all uses needs to be managed to prevent a severe hydrological drought this year. It is also prudent to manage our water resources carefully in the summer of 2022, not only to avoid restrictions this year but also to reduce the risk of more severe restrictions next year if the UK follows this dry summer with a dry winter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Hess has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council. He is affiliated with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Holman has previously received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council</span></em></p>Unlike this time, the dry summer of 1976 followed a particularly dry year.Tim Hess, Professor of Water and Food Systems, Cranfield UniversityIan Holman, Professor of Integrated Land and Water Management and Head of the Centre for Water, Environment and Development, Cranfield UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1858202022-06-30T12:23:01Z2022-06-30T12:23:01ZA water strategy for the parched West: Have cities pay farmers to install more efficient irrigation systems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471673/original/file-20220629-23-fihz5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C5415%2C3621&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Low-tech irrigation on a cattle ranch near Whitewater, Colo., June 30, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/water-flows-from-irrigation-pipes-to-keep-parts-of-janie-news-photo/1233914594">Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Are you going to run out of water?” is the first question people ask when they find out I’m from Arizona. The answer is that <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/arizona-environment/2019/12/05/unregulated-pumping-arizona-groundwater-dry-wells/2425078001/">some people already have</a>, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2022-01-22/exchange-rio-verde-foothills-homes-to-lose-water-source">others soon may</a> and it’s going to get much worse without dramatic changes.</p>
<p>Unsustainable water practices, drought and climate change are causing this crisis across the U.S. Southwest. States are drawing less water from the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people. But levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river’s two largest reservoirs, have dropped so low so quickly that there is a serious risk of one or both soon hitting “<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dead-pool-a-water-expert-explains-182495">dead pool</a>,” a level when no water flows out of the dams. </p>
<p>On June 14, 2022, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton warned Congress that the seven Colorado River Basin States – Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – need to reduce their diversions from the Colorado River by <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-06-14/big-water-cutbacks-ordered-amid-colorado-river-shortage">2 million to 4 million acre-feet</a> in 2022. An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre of land, about the size of a football field, with a foot of water – roughly 325,000 gallons. If the states don’t come up with a plan by August 2022, Touton may do it for them. </p>
<p>To achieve Touton’s objective, states need to focus on the region’s biggest water user: agriculture. Farmers consume <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/june/understanding-irrigated-agriculture/">80% of the water</a> used in the Colorado River Basin. As a longtime <a href="https://robertglennon.net/">analyst of western water policy</a>, I believe that solving this crisis will require a major intervention to help farmers use less water.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">John Oliver, host of HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight,’ delves into the West’s water crisis.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lawns in the desert</h2>
<p>It’s not an exaggeration to call the Southwest’s water shortage a crisis. Declining river levels are compromising <a href="https://theconversation.com/hydropowers-future-is-clouded-by-droughts-floods-and-climate-change-its-also-essential-to-the-us-electric-grid-182314">electricity generation from hydropower</a>, which affects the <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/southwest-megadrought-pushes-hydropower-to-the-brink/#:%7E:text=As%2520the%2520megadrought%2520gripping%2520the,a%2520raft%2520of%2520warning%2520signs">power supply</a> for millions of people. Farmers are <a href="https://asmith.ucdavis.edu/news/fallow-fields">fallowing fields</a> and using less water on their crops. This, in turn, imperils food production already under global strain from the war in Ukraine. Drought conditions could <a href="https://californiawaterblog.com/2022/06/12/considerations-for-developing-an-environmental-water-right-in-california/">wipe out endangered species</a>, especially salmon.</p>
<p>There is something profoundly unsettling about the lush green landscape in Southern California, a desert transformed by the power of water. The average annual rainfall at Los Angeles International Airport from 1944 to 2020 was 11.72 inches (30 centimeters). That’s not much more than Tucson, Arizona, gets in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. </p>
<p>Now, however, western states are imposing unprecedented restrictions on water use. On June 1, 2022, the Metropolitan Water District, wholesaler to 20 million Southern Californians, urgently called for a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-01/southern-california-new-drought-rules-june-2022">35% reduction</a> in water use. In response, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is limiting residents to watering their lawns twice a week, for eight minutes per session. Other providers allow just one weekly watering. </p>
<p>The California Water Resources Control Board has ordered many farmers and San Francisco Bay-area cities to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-09/california-cities-farms-ordered-to-stop-diverting-water-from-rivers-san-francisco">stop diverting water</a> from the San Joaquin River system. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-13/some-california-golf-courses-face-drought-restrictions">Golf course operators</a> are under substantial pressure to reduce water use.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1537929078010957824"}"></div></p>
<h2>Focus on irrigation</h2>
<p>Still, agriculture uses far more water than lawns and golf courses. In 2017, U.S. farmers irrigated about <a href="http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/irrigation-water-use/">58 million acres</a> (23 million hectares) of cropland, almost two-thirds of it in the West. </p>
<p>In recent decades western farmers have significantly changed their irrigation practices. Many have switched from flood systems, which literally flood fields, to pressurized systems. Typically these are center pivots that apply water from sprinklers connected to a large arm that slowly moves around a core, creating those large, usually green circles that airplane passengers can see across the West. This shift reduces water losses from evaporation, percolation into the soil and runoff. </p>
<p>In 2012, U.S. farmers used pressurized systems on <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Farm_and_Ranch_Irrigation/index.php">72% of their fields</a>, up from 37% in 1984. That still leaves 28%, or 20 million acres (8 million hectares), that are flood irrigated.</p>
<p>And center-pivot systems are not as efficient as drip or microirrigation, which delivers water directly to plants’ root zone through hoses embedded in the soil. Drip irrigation delivers water slowly, reducing runoff and evaporation. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/watersense/microirrigation">Microirrigation systems</a> use 20% to 50% less water than conventional sprinkler systems.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A long mechanical arm sprays water down onto plants." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A center-pivot irrigation system in Arizona.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/wss-wateruse-irrigation-center-pivot-spray.jpg">USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But drip systems are quite expensive, costing upwards of US$2,000 per acre. They are not cost-effective for farmers who grow low-value crops, such as alfalfa, and are prohibitively expensive for small farmers. </p>
<p>Most farms that irrigate are small operations with fewer than 50 acres (20 hectares) and less than $150,000 in annual revenues. But <a href="http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/june/understanding-irrigated-agriculture/">large-scale farms</a>, with annual revenues over $1 million, use about 60% of irrigated water.</p>
<p>Bigger farms have the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/june/understanding-irrigated-agriculture/">necessary capital to invest</a> in sprinkler systems, but not necessarily enough to invest in highly efficient subsurface drip or microirrigation. Existing U.S. Department of Agriculture programs offer <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_035796.pdf">modest incentives</a>, usually a maximum of $100 per acre – not enough to justify switching for most farmers.</p>
<h2>Balancing rural and urban needs</h2>
<p>Helping farmers switch to high-efficiency irrigation systems would benefit the entire Southwest. I propose a two-pronged approach. </p>
<p>First, Congress would provide funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to offer farmers more generous financial incentives to switch to microirrigation systems. The <a href="https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/colorado-river-facing-unprecedented-risk-top-interior-official-says/article_85b68a0e-f128-11ec-b636-fb1c28d92fa6.html">2021 infrastructure bill contains $8.3 billion</a> to assist western states in adapting to drought and climate change. I believe that this financial aid, with support from the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the USDA, could persuade millions of American farmers to make the move.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Microirrigation on a fruit and nut farm in Yuba City, Calif.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, to augment the federal program, state, municipal and local interests, including government agencies and private businesses, would create funds to underwrite the entire cost of converting farms to microirrigation. As I envision it, cities could offer to absorb 100% of the purchase and installation costs of microsystems in exchange for a percentage of the water that farmers would save by making the switch.</p>
<p>A program that’s cost-free to farmers would be far more attractive than existing federal programs. In my view, locally financed programs managed in collaboration with farm communities could reallocate a lot of water in a short time frame. This could be done through either a formal water rights transfer or short- or medium-term leases with farmers retaining water rights. </p>
<p>In the past, farmers have been rightly suspicious when city representatives arrived with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/03/business/colorado-river-water-rights.html">proposals to buy agricultural water</a>. All too often, such transfers have triggered economic death spirals for rural communities. But it need not be so. </p>
<p>Because farmers consume about 80% of western water, while residential, commercial and industrial use is <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/shopping-for-water-how-the-market-can-mitigate-water-shortages-in-the-american-west/">less than 10%</a>, I believe reducing agricultural consumption by a few percentage points would solve the municipal and industrial need for water. If farmers achieve this reduction thanks to increased efficiencies from microirrigation systems – paid for by cities – the farmers could grow as much product as they do now, with slightly less water. </p>
<p>Making this shift could raise economic and technical challenges. For example, most farms would probably fallow or reduce production of low-value crops, such as alfalfa, which could affect animal feed prices. And one disadvantage of drip irrigation systems is that gophers love to gnaw on the plastic tubes, so farmers would need an animal control program.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, I see voluntary, compensated water transfers as a strategy that would protect the long-term viability of rural communities and keep the taps flowing in western cities. Limits on watering lawns won’t solve the West’s water crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Glennon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stemming the water crisis in the western US will require cities and rural areas to work together to make water use on farms – the largest source of demand – more efficient.Robert Glennon, Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy Emeritus, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1846162022-06-23T14:28:34Z2022-06-23T14:28:34ZGardeners in South Africa may hesitate to use greywater – but it can be a crop saver<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468504/original/file-20220613-16-ecqcbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Greywater is used all over the world for domestic and agricultural irrigation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shuang Li/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After three consecutive dry winters from 2015 to 2017, “<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/partner-content-south-africa-danger-of-running-out-of-water">Day Zero</a>” – when the taps would run dry – loomed large for the South African city of Cape Town and its surrounds in 2018. </p>
<p>Municipalities introduced a slew of water restrictions and, almost overnight, Capetonians became familiar with the idea of greywater. Many had previously let this untreated water from baths, showers, kitchen sinks, washing machines and the like run down the drain. Now they installed storage tanks or carried around buckets of it to flush their toilets or water their lawns. It was a boom time for domestic <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/partner-content-six-innovative-ways-water-was-saved">greywater technologies</a>.</p>
<p>Thanks to residents’ sparing use of water, including the adoption of greywater use, Day Zero never arrived. But there are some lessons to be learnt from that experience, especially around the potential of greywater both in seasons of plenty and dry.</p>
<p>And the dry times are not done yet. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2009144117">Scientists have repeatedly cautioned</a> that climate change means water shortages remain a real risk. Another South African city, Gqeberha, <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/nelson-mandela-bay-water-crisis-mchunu-hammers-out-plan-to-help-save-metro-from-looming-day-zero-20220615">is on the verge</a> of its own Day Zero. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0095069617303650">broader sub-Saharan region</a> is also threatened with dwindling water supplies and access.</p>
<p>Researchers have long argued that greywater has the <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/wsa/article/view/72841">potential to contribute</a> to South Africa’s food security if it’s used to water domestic food gardens. </p>
<p>There’s a big problem, though: consumers fear that greywater isn’t safe for use on domestic gardens. Alongside colleagues, I have conducted several <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706519300300">studies</a> to understand this reluctance. In two of these studies, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706518300391?via%3Dihub">we found</a> that people believed household detergents from greywater shouldn’t be used on food gardens. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706519300579">We also examined</a> the quality of greywater being used in these areas – and found that it is, by and large, safe for domestic irrigation.</p>
<h2>Global examples</h2>
<p>Greywater is used all over the world. Studies as far afield as <a href="https://cedb.asce.org/CEDBsearch/record.jsp?dockey=0081868">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360132306001971">Brazil</a> and <a href="https://seap.taylors.edu.my/file/rems/publication/109052_2111_1.pdf">Malaysia</a> have shown that using greywater to flush toilets or water domestic gardens can save up to 30% of potable, drinking-quality water. </p>
<p>Greywater has been safely used for irrigation in contexts as diverse as Australia, Cuba, Bolivia, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Husam-Al-Hamaiedeh/publication/288300377_The_Impact_of_Greywater_Reuse_in_Irrigation_on_Public_Health_and_Safety/links/55334ef40cf20ea0a074cc7c/The-Impact-of-Greywater-Reuse-in-Irrigation-on-Public-Health-and-Safety.pdf">Jordan</a>, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/2/665/pdf">Tunisia</a>, Uganda, the UK, the US and, as I explored in one study with colleagues, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706519300579">Zimbabwe</a>.</p>
<p>The United States has used treated greywater for irrigation since 1925. In Spain, the use of greywater is becoming de rigueur: <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092134491000162X">regulation</a> requires that such systems must be installed in new buildings.</p>
<p>But if South Africans are to embrace this important water source, their concerns must be addressed. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706518300391?via%3Dihub">set out to understand</a> what these objections are among people in the country’s Limpopo province. Limpopo was selected as the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706522000742">test area</a> because it is predominantly arid and water-scarce. High temperatures, droughts and erratic rainfall contribute to crop failure and food insecurity. We also tested whether the greywater that’s available for use there can be safely used on domestic gardens. The answer is “yes, mostly”, with the caveat that any greywater containing harsh pollutant loads shouldn’t be continously used for irrigation. </p>
<h2>Perceptions and reluctance</h2>
<p>Limpopo is a largely rural province. Subsistence farming is the <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/cass-2017-0003/html">core of many people’s livelihoods</a>. Frequent droughts have hampered crop production and people in the communities we studied now keep small home gardens to try and make up for lost crops in larger fields.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706518300391?via%3Dihub">We asked</a> people from two villages in Limpopo to share their perceptions about reusing greywater for home gardening. Respondents worried about using water that contained household detergents to water their gardens. They feared their plants would die and that the water would contaminate their food; some were worried the greywater may be poisonous or have unhealthy side effects. They were especially reluctant to use greywater when running water, which they found more convenient, was readily available. </p>
<p>However, residents from both villages who did use greywater reported that their gardens produced more food than they had before this approach was used. Some also reported that the greywater appeared to repel some of the insects that would typically eat plants.</p>
<p>The second study focused on what is actually in greywater used in these villages and whether it’s safe for domestic irrigation. We concluded that levels of pH – the measure of acidity and alkalinity in a substance – in untreated greywater were within widely held acceptable ranges for what’s safe for human consumption. These ranges are set out in the World Health Organization’s water quality standards. The sodium (salt) levels of much of the greywater we tested were also within prescribed ranges. </p>
<p>There are caveats, of course. Some of the water <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706519300300">we tested</a> contained harsh, industrial chemicals and was not suitable for irrigation.</p>
<p>We propose that greywater is best used for home gardening when freshwater supplies fall short: It should be seen as a complement rather than a wholesale alternative to freshwater, since overusing it may negatively affect soil quality. </p>
<p>The use of greywater should be stopped, for example, on rainy days. This allows for leachate, the process in which water courses through the soil and extracts soluble or suspended solids, to occur. It’s a sort of cleansing and resetting of the soil. Greywater can be used more frequently in the dry season when fresh water is less available.</p>
<h2>Support and policy</h2>
<p>This has implications for policy. The public should be encouraged – even aided – to install greywater systems in their homes. More research on the safety of both untreated and treated greywater will become essential. Investment in technologies for the treatment of greywater should be supported. </p>
<p>Public education drives about the use of greywater will be necessary, too. This approach has been successful in places like Zimbabwe, India, Uganda and Japan.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184616/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prof. Timothy Dube works for the university of the Western Cape. This work received funding from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - IBS-HCD interbursary, South Africa as part of Dr Pabalelo Makgalake Radingoana's PhD work under Prof Dube's supervision.</span></em></p>Researchers have long argued that greywater could bolster South Africa’s food security if it’s used to water domestic food gardens.Timothy Dube, Professor of Geospatial Sciences, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.