GLOBAL AG WATER CONSERVATION NEWS

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November

11/10/2009

Agricultural Water Use Is Growing Unsustainably

Boston, MA -- 11/10/09 -- Modern agriculture accounts for 86% of the world's water consumption. However, in regions where crops and livestock are actually cultivated, the rate of consumption often outstrips what local water sources can provide. Left unchecked, today's agricultural practices and policies could be sowing the seeds for a global food shortage by 2050, according to a new report by Lux Research... Read More


    Source: The Earth Times     By: Lux Research

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11/8/2009

Water plan goes easy on ag users, critics say

Cities across the state must slash water consumption by about 20 percent over the next decade under newly passed legislation aimed at reworking the aging policies and plumbing that determine water flow to 38 million Californians... Read More


    Source: sfgate.com     By: Kelly Zito
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11/7/2009

Westlands Water District is a powerhouse for Valley farmers

The most powerful voices in the state's $11 billion water talks last week might have been two water districts -- one speaking for half the state's population and the other for just 600 San Joaquin Valley farmers. The negotiations led to legislation with the promise of epic change, restoring dying fisheries, building dams and easing gridlock that has dogged water system improvement for decades... Read More


    Source: The Fresno Bee     By: Mark Grossi
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11/5/2009

Water-Conserving Irrigation Strategies Minimize Overwatering, Runoff

Conserving water and reducing the environmental impact of runoff are two of the most important issues confronting container nursery operations. Current regulations and laws in five states limit water consumption by container nurseries, and some states also limit nutrient concentrations in runoff. Excessive runoff from container plants often results from poor irrigation efficiency; in some cases as little as 13% to 26% of overhead irrigation is retained in the container... Read More


    Source: ScienceDaily News     By: Not Known
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11/3/2009

Westlands Water District: Reaping Riches in a Wretched Region - Subsidized Industrial Farming and Its Link to Perpetual Poverty

In the last few decades, well over a billion dollars in taxpayer aid has been provided to a few hundred growers in the Westlands Water District (Westlands), which is part of the San Luis Unit of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation‘s Central Valley Project (CVP) in Central California. The CVP is the largest publicly funded water-management system in the United States,.. Read More


    Source: WaterWired     By: Lloyd G. Carter
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11/1/2009

California's deficit of common sense

California is rich. Even in the midst of a drought, we have lots of water, and in the midst of a recession, we have lots of money. The problem is one of distribution, not of actual scarcity... Read More


    Source: Los Angeles Times     By: Rebecca Solnit
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October

10/30/2009

Las Vegas Water Decision a Victory for Family Ranchers

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - While the headlines have been filled with lawyers and public officials reacting to the state court ruling in the Las Vegas water pipeline case, little attention has been paid to the ranchers who filed the suit along with the Great Basin Water Network. Nevada 7th Judicial District Judge Norman Robison ruled the state engineer's decision was arbitrary and an abuse of discretion when he awarded millions of gallons per year to the Southern Nevada Water Authority.. Read More


    Source: Mike Clifford, Public News Service - NV     By: Not Known
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10/29/2009

Water Use in the US Less in 2005 Than in 1975

Just when you think all human activities are making the environment worse, news comes that our efforts to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impacts (0ur environmental footprint) are doing some good. According to a new U.S. Geological Survey report, the U S is using less water now than during the peak years of 1975 and 1980, despite a 30 percent population increase during the same time period... Read More


    Source: Environmental News Network     By: Roger Greenway
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