Water Resources Management: A Need For Sustainability

The United States is blessed with abundant water resources that support the nation's economy and quality of life. Yet, as we enter the 21st Century, pressures on water resources in our nation are increasing and conflicts among competing water users are worsening.

Water demands and uses are expanding and demand patterns are changing. Water demands are outstripping supplies in many areas. Variability in weather and changing climatic conditions have created uncertainty in the timing, location and reliability of many water supplies.
 

Drought-stricken Bumping Lake in Yakima County, Wash.

Water shortages
Water scarcity is no longer limited to the arid West, where disputes over water rights and allocations have long existed and often have been contentious. Numerous areas in the traditionally water-rich East are also now experiencing or anticipating water shortages due to increased growth and demand. No sector of our economy is being spared. Competing water demands for potable and other domestic needs in many growing metropolitan areas are threatening the ability of agricultural and horticultural growers to access the water they need to sustain their production.

Most state water resource managers expect freshwater shortages to occur in the near future, and they believe the consequences could be severe. The Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office) surveyed state water managers in 2003 and determined that, even under "normal" conditions, water managers in 36 states anticipate water shortages in localities, regions or statewide within the next 10 years. Under drought conditions, 46 state water managers expect shortages within the next 10 years (Figure 1). Such shortages may be accompanied by severe economic, environmental and social impacts.

[See United States General Accounting Office, "Freshwater Supply: States' Views of How Federal Agencies Could Help Them Meet the Challenges of Expected Shortages," GAO-03-514 (July 2003).]

Reasons for Shortages
States are vulnerable to shortages for several reasons. Many states do not have adequate infrastructure to store and distribute water where and when it is needed. Much of the storage that does exist is threatened by age and sedimentation. Other states rely heavily on diminishing groundwater resources. Still others have had tremendous population growth, which has outpaced existing storage capacity in some regions of their states.

The building of new, large water storage projects has dropped off in the past 30 years because of a variety of reasons, including surface water supplies already are fully used, significant public opposition to new dams due to potential environmental impacts, daunting project costs and a lack of long term planning (Figure 2). This is limiting the amount of available surface water storage to meet future needs.

At a Crossroads
The management of water supply and demand in most regions of the United States is approaching a crossroads. Many public officials and private stakeholders are starting to realize that solutions need to be found. It is an issue of preserving economic development and sustainability.

However, these challenges are proving difficult to resolve, in part, because "traditional" water management approaches, including building more large-scale storage projects and diverting water from one drainage basin to another won't solve them. Many states and private stakeholders are looking to see how the federal government can help them meet their needs for water, but no comprehensive strategy exists for managing our nation's water resources and addressing these needs. Also, many policymakers do not have an interest in devoting the resources needed to address the problem.

Achieving Sustainability
A new "paradigm" for water resources management is emerging. Public officials at all levels of government and the private sector both need to look more broadly to find solutions to their water supply problems. They first need to recognize that water is not limitless, but is now a finite commodity, and a market good, rather than a ubiquitous common resource or a "free good." Economic principles are increasingly going to apply to water use and management and the price of water is going to rise in reflection of its true worth.

Water must be conserved, and allocated and used more efficiently. Water management needs to be based on the balance between supply and demand and the balance between the needs and interests of all competing water users. Pressure is going to increase to reduce and prevent water pollution. Many regions have insufficient amounts of good quality water readily available (due to increased demand and natural or man-induced pollution) to meet the regions' water needs.

In addition, public officials need to conduct better water supply, demand and drought planning and management. These planning efforts need to look at long-term needs (for example, the next 50 years), be holistic and use a bottom-up, stakeholder-driven or collaborative approach. This will help get stakeholder buy-in to the process instead of conflict.

Research efforts also need to be increased to develop new technologies and approaches to more efficiently use and reuse/recycle water; to adopt less water-intensive practices in agriculture, plant management, industry and our homes; to treat water and wastewater for use and reuse; and to establish alternative water supplies and non-structural alternatives to help meet water demands.

Expect federal and state budget pressures to decrease budgetary flexibility and limit program and project spending in the future. There will be greater pressure to make beneficiaries, rather than the government, pay the full cost for water and irrigation supplies, infrastructure, pollution controls and water quality protection and enhancement efforts.

Grower Actions
The issues of water conservation and management and their implications on the agriculture and plant management industries are not going to go away anytime soon. Growers have an opportunity to take action now and prepare themselves for the challenges ahead.

Growers need to make a concerted effort to move toward adopting practices that allow them to operate with less water, reduce wasted water and to have less pollution impacts on the environment. Fortunately, growers have technologies and resources available to help them curb their water usage, increase efficiency, save money and help ensure the vitality of the industry.

For example, innovative irrigation technologies that improve water placement and management control can minimize water (and fertilizer) use and maximize efficiency. Improved watering practices, including when to water and how much water to apply, can reduce consumption, minimize excess leaching and waste of water and fertilizer and reduce the potential for environmental pollution.

Optimized growing media, including better management of how the media accepts, transfers, and releases water and fertilizer, can provide growers with additional opportunities to increase efficiency, conserve water and reduce the potential for environmental pollution.

Improved operational management practices, such as the grouping of plants according to similar water requirements, can significantly reduce water use as well as reduce labor and the potential for overwatering certain crops.

Capturing irrigation runoff and rainfall and storing excess water in holding ponds or reservoirs can provide additional water (and possibly fertilizer) to use or reuse, reduce the need for outside water supplies during typically drier periods and reduce the potential for pollution from the growers' operations.

Sustainable plant selection by growing and selling plants that are water sensible for the locations where they will be used can result in substantial water savings in plant production and maintenance and promotes sustainable gardens and landscapes.

Technologies alone will not solve all of the industry's problems. Growers also must actively participate in discussions on water resources policy development. The greenhouse and nursery industry, in particular, can play a very active role and lead by example in working toward water conservation and water quality preservation. Without active involvement, growers will not get policies that are equitable to them and instead will be left out in the cold.

The horticulture industry needs to be proactive about its future and get ahead of the government before government regulations tell the industry what to do. The time to act is now.

Jon Pawlow is Counsel for the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives, (202) 226-6303; Jon.Pawlow@mail.house.gov.