Opportunities for saving and reallocating agricultural water to alleviate water scarcity
| Autor: | Rachel DiBenedetto, Adrianna Gorsky, Emily Keenan, Susan Ryu, Devin Rowell, Martha Morris, James D. Brown, Chantal Madray, Brian Richter |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Irrigation
Natural resource economics 0208 environmental biotechnology Geography Planning and Development Environmental restoration 02 engineering and technology Management Monitoring Policy and Law Water consumption 020801 environmental engineering Water scarcity Water conservation Consumptive water use Credibility Farm water Business Water resource management Water Science and Technology |
| Zdroj: | Water Policy. 19:886-907 |
| ISSN: | 1996-9759 1366-7017 |
| DOI: | 10.2166/wp.2017.143 |
| Popis: | As water scarcity worsens globally, there is growing interest in finding ways to reduce water consumption, and for reallocating water savings to other uses including environmental restoration. Because irrigated agriculture is responsible for more than 90% of all consumptive water use in water-scarce regions, much attention is being focused on opportunities to save water on irrigated farms. At the same time, many recent journal articles have expressed concern that claims of water-saving potential in irrigation systems lack technical credibility, or are at least exaggerated, due to failures to properly account for key elements of water budgets such as return flows. Critics have also asserted that opportunities for reallocating irrigation savings to other uses are limited because any freed-up water is taken up by other farmers. A comprehensive literature and internet survey was undertaken to identify well-documented studies of water-saving strategies in irrigated agriculture, as well as a review of case studies in which water savings have been successfully transferred to other uses. Our findings suggest that there is in fact considerable potential to reduce consumptive water use in irrigation systems when proper consideration is given to water budget accounting, and those savings can be beneficially reallocated to other purposes. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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