Pilot program that pays irrigating farmers for their water rights helps Nevada aquifers recover from overuse

Retiring groundwater rights helps depleted aquifers 
recover from overuse. (The Nature Conservancy map)

After years of battling water overuse by irrigating farmers, Nevada officials decided to use $25 million in federal funding to launch a pilot program that paid farmers for their water rights," reports Daniel Rothberg of The Daily Yonder. Once the state compensated irrigators for their groundwater rights, the state would retire the rights and no longer allow irrigation from that land, thereby conserving water.

Launched in 2023, the program has proved to be an effective way to protect some of the state's threatened aquifers. In fact, Nevada has used "federal funds to retire about 22,500 acre-feet of water, roughly the same amount of water Nevada was required to cut from its Colorado River allocation last year," Rothberg explains.

State water officials have been pleasantly surprised at how popular the pay-for-groundwater-rights option has become. Rothberg reports, "There was so much demand that two bills, passed unanimously by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2025, allow for the expansion of the program."

After asking lots of questions, alfalfa farmer Denise Moyle decided to sell some of her groundwater rights to the state. Moyle shared the thought process she and many area farmers consider when debating groundwater rights sales: "If I sell a little bit of water and I pay off debt, do I have to farm as hard? Do I have to pump as hard? Do I have to go for three (alfalfa) cuttings? Can I just do two cuttings?"

Meanwhile, state water officials and conservationists are considering how to keep the program going, which could lean on donations and federal funding. "A donation could target a specific area or ecosystem in need of protection from groundwater overuse," Rothberg explains. "But state funding would help to raise matching federal dollars and maximize the program’s value."

Ag updates: Celebrate Beef Month; handling farm stressors; 'regenerative' farming limits; what is 'acequia' irrigation?

"Round-up scenes in Belle Fouche" by John C. H. Grabill. (Library of Congress photo via Ag Clips)

May is National Beef Month, and possibly the best time to look back at the country's short but impactful cattle drive history, which began around 1866 and ended in the 1890s. "The biggest legacy of the cattle drives exists in popular culture. The cattle drives occurred in a time when the United States was shifting from an agrarian-based society to a more industrial and urban society," reports Morning Ag Clips. "Because of this shift, the cowboys and ranch life were looked on with nostalgia as 'simpler times,' and they became a popular subject for stories and songs."

With tariffs, weather, bird flu and hi-input costs, U.S. farmers are unsurprisingly stressed. Burnout and depression can easily follow emotions run ragged by an ever-changing commodities landscape. "This sort of chronic stress complicates decision-making and other aspects of managing a farm or ranch," reports Raylene Nickel for Successful Farming. "If you recognize signs of stress and burnout, do these six things to help yourself cope or recover: Take care of your physical self, surround yourself with good people, take charge of your thoughts, build spiritual capital, find ways to reduce stress, seek help. 

In a letter to Ford President and CEO Jim Farley, a coalition of U.S. corn growers asked Farley to reconsider the company's move away from flex fuel vehicle production and to "reengage in advancing renewable fuel technologies that support rural America," reports Jesse Allen for American Ag Network. "The letter highlights the critical role American-grown ethanol plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening energy independence, and supporting local economies."

Regenerative farming may not be as
"green" as it sounds. (New Lede photo)

"Regenerative" agriculture may be healthy farming's new buzzword, but food producers and buyers should be aware of the label's limitations. "Proponents of regenerative farming say the practice can mitigate harmful climate change, reduce water pollution, and make foods more nutritious as farmers focus on improving the health of soil, water, and ecosystems," reports Carey Gillam for The New Lede. "That momentum comes with a dirty dark side, according to a new report [that] asserts regenerative programs, which generally allow for the use of weedkillers and other chemicals, are being used to 'greenwash' routine use of several dangerous pesticides on farm fields. . . .Corporations that sell such pesticides are entwined with the movement. . ."

An illustration of how acequias work.
(Drawing by Jerold Widdison via Civil Eats)

Southwestern farmers grappling with arid conditions brought on by climate change revived the ancient 'acequia' irrigation system to address water shortage problems. "Time-tested solutions like this one could hold the key to mitigating the worst impacts of climate change, especially in rural communities," reports Samuel Gilbert for Civil Eats. "In the San Luis Valley, in south-central Colorado, 130 gravity-flow ditches irrigated 30,000 acres of farmland and 10,000 acres of wetlands." Devon Peña, founder of The Acequia Institute, told Gilbert, "This is an incredibly productive, resilient, and sustainable system."

We are in Southwest Kansas, and there's not enough water; moving water to the area is a long-shot option

Ogallala Aquifer map by U.S. Geological Survey
Map by Emma Brown, The Wall Street Journal

"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water." --Benjamin Franklin

Increasingly arid states across the country agree with Franklin, and Kansas is no exception. "Southwest Kansas officials have long pushed a moonshot aqueduct project to send Missouri River water across the state to their region, where a $12.5 billion agricultural economy relies on a dwindling Ogallala Aquifer," reports Shannon Najmabadi of The Wall Street Journal. "In Kansas, where federal data shows that nearly every county was experiencing some level of drought at the end of 2022, water is among the most urgent issues facing the state legislature this year."

Despite the expense and hefty challenges, other states have completed "projects that move water to fuel development or to irrigate crops. . . . . states such as Arizona and California. The Kansas aqueduct would be farther east—reflecting spreading concern about water scarcity amid a changing climate and growing population centers," Najmabadi writes. "The Arizona state legislature in 2021 asked Congress to study a plan to transport Mississippi River floodwaters to the Colorado River, upon which seven states rely."

Najmabadi explains, "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first assessed the feasibility for a Kansas aqueduct in 1982, as part of a federal study looking at ways to supplement the Ogallala Aquifer . . . . A 2015 update of the study estimated it would cost between $5 billion and $20 billion to build the concrete-lined canal system and up to $522 million in annual energy. . . . Proponents of the Kansas aqueduct say it is needed to sustain the economy of the state's southwest . . . . Opponents say the idea is too expensive . . . .The Ogallala Aquifer lies under parts of eight central U.S. states, running from South Dakota to Texas. It adds $3.8 billion to the value of the land in western Kansas, one 2022 study found."

"Blake Brownie Wilson, with the Kansas Geological Survey, says 80% to 90% of the aquifer's water in Kansas goes to irrigation," Najmabodi reports. "About 30% of it had been pumped as of 2013. Another 39% was expected to be gone by 2063 given current rates of use." Clay Scott, who is a member of the board for the Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District and a proponent of the aqueduct plan, told Najambodi, "We will continue to dry up the infrastructure for feed yards and dairies and grain elevators and cotton gins. . . . We can't afford to wait any longer."

Najmabodi adds, "The project remains a long shot. Kansas lawmakers this year are focused on bills aimed at promoting conservation and dedicating tax revenue to water projects."

L.A. Times: Counting evaporated water in Colorado R. dibs would be unfair to California; creative management needed

Arizona and Nevada have never used all their shares, the Times says.

The six Colorado River states that are not California came up with an idea to manage the river that was both clever and disingenuous, the Los Angeles Times says in an editorial: "When calculating the amount of water used by each state, include the amount that evaporates in the Lower Basin before it reaches its destination. The Colorado travels farthest to reach California, which uses the most water, so naturally — the argument goes — California should be on the hook for most of the evaporation."

The plan, offered in January, "was a public relations victory, because left unexamined, it sounds almost reasonable. California and the [L.A.] Metropolitan Water District had a different proposal, but the evaporation argument caught them flat-footed," the Times reports, then argues: "Federal regulators should not be swayed. Evaporation was not part of the formula when all seven states entered into the Colorado River Compact in 1922, nor in the subsequent treaties, agreements and court decisions that together form what is known as the Law of the River. It’s a questionable measure even for the long-term recalculation that the states face in 2026. It has no legitimate place in discussions of short-term emergency measures.

"All seven states need a more constructive approach that recognizes not merely the necessity of broad cuts all around, but of creative management of existing supplies. Nevada knew this when it wisely banned thirsty decorative lawns. The other states and their water agencies have likewise adopted smart strategies, none more so than the MWD, which is building a huge water-recycling plant, and which voluntarily banked much of its supply in Lake Mead to keep the reservoir operating."

The editorial concludes, "The Law of the River is complex and the peril of shrinking water supplies is serious. There are many painful decisions to make between now and 2026, debates about whether to restrict what farmers can grow and what developers can build, how to respect the water rights of Indigenous tribes and Mexico (where the river now dries up before it reaches the Gulf of California), whether and how to adjust the West’s first-come, first-served water laws. First, though, the states need a fair and workable survival strategy, and soon. Nature has its own timeline, and it’s short."

Calif. offers Colorado River plan, saying lack of consensus means 'law of the river' rules; that law favors Golden State

The Colorado River flows near Hite Overlook, Utah, upstream from
Lake Powell. (Photo by Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times)

California has entered the Colorado River water battle royale with a counter-proposal that refutes plans from the other six states in the watershed and says their plan "would disproportionately burden farms and cities in Southern California," reports Ian James of the Los Angeles Times. Wade Crowfoot, the state’s natural resources secretary, told James, "It doesn’t seem like a constructive approach for some states to fashion a proposal that only impacts the existing water security and water rights of another state that’s not part of that proposal.”

The “consensus-based modeling alternative” plan offered by Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming included "an accounting for evaporation and other water losses along the lower portion of the river — a calculation that would translate into especially large reductions for California, which uses more Colorado River water than any other state," James writes. "Crowfoot said the other states had devised an approach that would go beyond anything established in the agreements and laws that govern how the Colorado River is managed and used. . . . The proposal by California water agencies, in contrast, lays out practical and achievable changes that can be made starting this year to stabilize reservoir levels."

California officials noted that the state has water rights that are senior to those of the other states, but “I don’t think there is disagreement on the magnitude of the reductions that are needed,” John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, told James. “We need this magnitude of cuts in order to stabilize the system. . . . he’s hoping “we can come up with something everybody can live with.”

J.B. Hamby, chair of California’s Colorado River Board, told James, the state’s alternative “provides a realistic and implementable framework by building on voluntary agreements and past collaborative efforts in order to minimize the risk of legal challenge or implementation delay. . . . California is not wavering from our legal position. We continue to look forward to developing a seven-state consensus if possible, but in the absence of that, it defaults to the law of the river.”

State water board in Kansas says the state should end its 'de facto' policy of draining the Ogallala Aquifer

The Kansas Water Authority decided Wednesday that the state "should scrap its de facto policy of draining the Ogallala Aquifer," Allison Kite reports for the Kansas Reflector. "Instead, the board said, the Kansas government should take steps to stop the decline of the aquifer, which supplies water to one-sixth of the world’s grain supply, and save it for future generations."

“It has taken decades for this to be said formally in writing by an official state body,” said Connie Owen, director of the Kansas Water Office. “This is nothing less than historic.”

The authority board voted almost unanimously to say in its annual report to the governor and legislature that the “policy of planned depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer is no longer in the best interest of the State of Kansas,” and to recommend the state create a formal process to establish goals and actions to “halt the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer while promoting flexible and innovative management within a timeframe that achieves agricultural productivity, thriving economies and vibrant communities — now and for future generations of Kansans.”

The language had wide support among board members. “My opinion of this is that it should have been done 15 years ago, or 20,” said Lynn Goossen, a farmer who is also the board of the groundwater management district in northwest Kansas.

Hite notes, "The Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest underground sources of fresh water, stretches across parts of eight states from South Dakota to Texas. After World War II farmers started pumping water from it to irrigate crops in arid western Kansas, establishing the region as a booming farming economy. For decades, the water was used with little thought of ensuring enough remained for future generations. But now, the water is running out. Some parts of the aquifer have half the water they had before irrigation on the aquifer began. Parts of western Kansas have an estimated 10 years of water left. There’s little surface water since streams that reliably flowed through the area in 1961 all but disappeared, according to the Kansas Geological Survey."

Authority Chair Dawn Buehler said many farmers have been waiting on the government to tell them it’s time to do something: “We’ve heard that over and over from people — that, ‘Well, you know, we’re not at a dangerous zone yet because they’ll let us know when it’s time.’ I think the importance of today was saying, ‘It’s time.’ ”

Drought and heat roundup: Arizona and Nevada face new water restrictions; corn and cotton harvests weak; how heat disproportionately targets the vulnerable

Heat and drought are gripping much of the Western U.S. Here's the latest news:

"With water levels in the Colorado River near their lowest point ever, Arizona and Nevada on Tuesday faced new restrictions on the amount of water they can pump out of the river, the most important in the Southwest," Henry Fountain reports for The New York Times. "And the threat of more cuts looms. This week, those two states along with five others failed to meet a deadline for agreement on much steeper cuts in water use, raising the prospect that the federal government will step in and mandate further reductions." 

The Bureau of Reclamation, the Interior Department agency which oversees water resource management, "announced it would withhold 592,000 acre-feet, or about 21% of Arizona's annual water allocation, out of the river for 2023. Nevada would see an 8% cut in its allocation -- 25,000 acre-feet -- and Mexico would see a 7% reduction in river flows across the border, or about 104,000 acre-feet," Chris Clayton reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

The drought has triggered the weakest cotton harvest in more than a decade and sent prices soaring. "U.S. agricultural forecasters expect drought-struck farmers to walk away from more than 40% of the 12.5 million acres they sowed with cotton and harvest the smallest area since Reconstruction," Ryan Dezember reports for The Wall Street Journal. "Back then, in 1868, yields per acre were less than a fifth of what they are today, but the market for cotton was vastly smaller too."

Drought and heat have also been hard on U.S. corn, production of which is expected to be 5% less than last year. In Kentucky, the forecast is down 26% even though most of the state got sufficient rain when the corn was tasseling; farmers say excessive heat in June stunted growth.

People who live in mobile homes comprise a disproportionately high percentage of indoor heat deaths, according to a paper recently published in the Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice. Residents typically don't own the land beneath their homes and often lack resources to bring down indoor temperatures or a meaningful voice in driving policy changes that could help them. Read more here. Heat hurts the most vulnerable in other ways: people of color, seniors, those with underlying health conditions, people addicted to opioids, and people without consistent housing are all more likely to die from extreme heat, Arianna Skibell reports for Politico.

More farmers are switching from herbicide dicamba, but that leaves their crops vulnerable to those who still use it

"Among the many moving targets to keep an eye on this season is off-target dicamba injury in soybeans. And it’s already evident in Midwestern states," Megan Schilling reports for Successful Farming. Agronomists and others in Iowa say they've seen what appear to be dicamba injuries to soybeans that aren't genetically modified to resist the herbicide. "There are reports of widespread damage to soybeans in southern Illinois and complaints of pesticide misuse that specifically mention damage to trees. The signs are cupping in soybean leaves and bare trees in July and August."

Agronomists had hoped to see less off-target damage this year since many farmers switched from using dicamba-based herbicides to Enlist, a Dow Chemcial system developed to replace Roundup (both contain glyphosate), Schilling reports. The widespread adoption of Enlist means that, even though less dicamba has been sprayed overall, more acres are vulnerable to it.

"As long as we have dicamba, it's not a question of if we ever will see off-target injury in a year, the only unknown is how extensive it will be," Aaron Hager, associate professor and faculty Extension specialist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told Schilling.

The heat doesn't help, Hager said: "When there is widespread use of a volatile product like dicamba at times of the growing season where temperatures are much higher than normal, we continue to see the effects across the landscape." Researchers have found that plenty of rain or weekly irrigation are the best ways to help dicamba-injured soybeans recover, but drought can put those options out of reach. Windbreaks with multiple rows of perennial trees and shrubs have also been found to minimize damage, Schilling reports.

Heat roundup: States help farmers in drought; industries resist mitigation for workers; mountain snowpack shrinks

While Central Appalachia struggles to recover from record flooding, parts of the western U.S. face the opposite problem: a searing drought that's drying up water sources, killing livestock and withering crops. Here's some of the latest related news:

Farmers in rural Arizona and Minnesota complain that mega-dairy operations (both owned by the same Minnesota company) are depleting and polluting the aquifers they rely on for irrigation. Read more here.

As of last week, 234 million acres of crops in 42 states were in varying levels of drought. Route Fifty looks at how three states—Iowa, Kansas, and Utah—are trying to help their farmers. Read more here.

Extreme heat is making outdoor work more dangerous, but most industries are pushing back against efforts to ensure safe working conditions in the heat. Read more here.

Experts say climate change threatens farmworkers' health in several ways. Not only is working in extreme heat dangerous, but the heat increases the risk of wildfires; even farmworkers hundreds of miles away can be injured from inhaling the smoke. Read more here.

Heat and drought are drying up the mountain snowpack that feeds rivers vital for irrigation and drinking water. Losing that snowpack threatens to upend the lives of 76 million Americans. Read more here.

Longer, hotter summers are 'creating inhospitable conditions and endangering lives,' says The Washington Post

Washington Post map shows temperature changes in the nation's four major climate zones.

"Though the summer season of 2022 is young, parts of the nation already have experienced punishingly high temperatures, extreme drought, wildfires, severe storms, flooding or some combination. Projections from federal agencies suggest more abnormally hot weather, an expansion of drought and well above average wildfire and hurricane activity in the months ahead," The Washington Post reports. "Summer has always been a turbulent season, a time of checking weather forecasts and watching the skies. And despite the major shifts that have taken place, many people still relish the season. Vacationers still flock to places that now face some degree of wildfire or flood risk. But climate change is increasingly pushing summer to extremes, creating inhospitable conditions and endangering lives."

The phenomenon is driven by climate change and by urban growth, which increases asphalt and reduces greenery; cities absorb and retain more heat. But the hotter summers are "a clear change from previous generations. The average summer temperature in the past five years has been 1.7 degrees (0.94 Celsius) warmer than it was from 1971 through 2000, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration., the Post reports. "But some parts of the country have been much harder hit, with the West showing a 2.7 degrees (1.5 Celsius) increase."

Heat waves are becoming more more frequent and intense, and nighttime temps are warming faster than daytime temps in most parts of the country; hotter nights make it difficult for people—and livestock—to cool down after a hot day, the Post reports. Meanwhile, high-heat days are happening at least a week earlier on average compared to fifty years ago. The heat is lengthening wildfire season out West and causing a historic drought. In the East, the hotter temperatures help cause heavy rains and worse flooding. It's straining both the electrical grid and hospital systems that serve the vulnerable.

Scientists say modern farming methods and climate change have made modern produce and grains less nutritious

The advent of modern farming methods has caused fruits, vegetables and grains become less nutritious over the past 70 years, Stacey Colino reports for National Geographic. Multiple scientific studies show that many current crops have "less protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin, and vitamin C than those that were grown decades ago," Colino writes.

Climate change and rising carbon-dioxide levels are partly to blame, but the biggest problem is "modern agricultural processes that increase crop yields but disturb soil health," Colino reports. "These include irrigation, fertilization, and harvesting methods that also disrupt essential interactions between plants and soil fungi, which reduces absorption of nutrients from the soil."

Nutritional decline could make it harder for people to get the nutrients they need to fight off chronic illnesses, said David R. Montgomery, a professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington and co-author with Anne Biklé of What Your Food Ate. It's increasingly important to grow nutritionally dense foods, he told Colino: "We can’t afford to lose arable land as population grows. We need to prevent further damage and work to restore fertility to already degraded lands."

Montgomery and other experts still encourage people to eat more fresh produce and less-processed foods, but told Colino they hope this knowledge will inspire more people to care about how their food is grown.

Big Western drought is predicted to expand; California farm economy is on the ropes again, raising doubts about future

Seasonal drought outlook for March 17 to June 30, 2022
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration map; click on the image to enlarge it.

As of last week, about 61 percent of the United States was in drought, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said was the most extensive drought seen since 2013. Now NOAA's National Weather Service warns that such conditions will likely persist and expand, especially in the West and High Plains, Andrew Freedman reports for Axios.

"After a winter that featured record rain and snow for December in much of California, then switched to dry conditions since, much of the West is facing the prospect of heading into yet another warm season with precipitation deficits," Freedman reports. Southwest drought is the worst in 1,200 years; lakes Mead and Powell, both critical reservoirs fed by the Colorado River, are at their lowest ever.

In California, which produces a quarter of the nation's food, the fertile San Joaquin Valley may lose at least 535,000 acres of agricultural production by 2040, Scott Wilson reports for The Washington Post: "A survey this month found that the year’s historically dry start has resulted in a snowpack more than 60 percent below average. Not a single major reservoir is filled to its average for this time of year. The whiplash has prompted the federal Central Valley Project, the vast Depression-era system of pumps, aqueducts and reservoirs that provides much of this region’s surface water, to declare a second straight year of no water deliveries. The announcement means farmers across the valley must rely on depleted groundwater supplies and what they have been able to store."

The increasing price and scarcity of water has led farmers to leave much land fallow. Meanwhile, current farming activity is depleting groundwater wells at unsustainable rates, Wilson reports.

"There’s a basic question that we need to address, and that is, do we want to sustain irrigated agriculture in California?" said Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District, which oversees federal water deliveries to more than 700 San Joaquin Valley farms. "If the answer is yes, then we need to determine how we’re going to invest in the infrastructure we need and what policies need to be changed to preserve it," he told Wilson. "If the answer is no, then how are we going to deal with the socio-economic impacts of its elimination?"

Climate change will reduce much of North America's food production, UN report says with 'high confidence'

Global warming "is causing dangerous and widespread disruptions in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world," according to a new United Nations report on climate change. What does that mean for American farmers and those who depend on what they produce? "Hotter weather and shifts in rainfall are likely to reduce food production in North America and are a risk to food security," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environment Reporting Network.

With what it calls "high confidence," the report predicts that "Climate change will continue to shift North American agricultural and fishery suitability ranges. It also predicts production losses of fish and key crops, and with "medium confidence," lower production of livestock and aquaculture products.

Coastal and eastern parts of the U.S. will become more flood-prone, which will displace Americans and disrupt trade, while the West will suffer more wildfires, more intense droughts and scarcer water availability, the report says. That will endanger farms, especially those that rely on irrigation.

The panel called for immediate action to slow climate change, specifically through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and conserving or restoring ecosystems, Abbott reports.

Fresh veggie imports up 200% in past two decades; USDA digital magazine Amber Waves has more data-rich reports

Increasing consumer demand for year-round access to fresh produce has driven a 200% increase in fresh vegetable imports over the past two decades. That brings a host of challenges to U.S. farmers.

The top two sources of imported fresh veggies are Mexico (77%) and Canada (11%), thanks to favorable trade agreements, a stronger dollar, and those countries' ability to cater to Americans' tastes with affordable organic and greenhouse-grown produce, Wilma Davis and Gary Lucier report for Amber Waves, a digital Agriculture Department magazine.

Extended market-window creep is another reason for Mexico and Canada's increasing dominance of imported vegetables: The U.S. once imported vegetables mostly when they were out of season domestically, but vegetables grown under greenhouses or in much warmer climates make it easy for American wholesalers or grocers to buy imported produce even when it's in season in the U.S. For example, "Summer is historically the primary market window for U.S. producers; however, fresh vegetable import volumes from Mexico during the summer months have shown substantial increases in the past 15 years," Davis and Lucier report. (The proliferation of imported, greenhouse-grown produce helped spur AppHarvest, a start-up building huge greenhouses in Kentucky.)

Amber Waves has other excellent reports from USDA's Economic Research Service that can inform rural reporting. Here are a few others from this month's edition, and from ERS's home site:

Food pantry use increased from 2019 to 2020 for most types of U.S. households. "Data from the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement sponsored by the USDA Economic Research Service shows that use of food pantries increased from 2019 to 2020. In 2020, 6.7 percent of all U.S. households reported using a food pantry, an increase from 4.4 percent in 2019," Alisha Coleman-Jensen and Matthew P. Rabbitt report.

Free meal sites expanded rapidly to provide meals to children during the early months of the pandemic, Saied Toossi reports. A working paper provides more details, and notes that free meal sites are more prevalent in urban areas, leaving many rural communities underserved.

Off-farm organizations are responsible for bringing 40% of total irrigation water applied to croplands. Several federal agencies collaborated on a survey of such organizations in 2019, the first federal attempt to collect nationwide data on such organizations since the Census Bureau's 1978 Census of Irrigation Organizations. The report highlights broad trends, including how much water is lost to seepage because of unlined irrigation canals. Considering the massive drought in the West, that data matters. Read more here.

Low Lake Mead prompts first-ever federal declaration of shortage; farmers' Colorado River water will be reduced

People take pictures of Lake Mead near Hoover Dam on Aug. 13. The lighter layer of minerals shows the high-water mark of the reservoir. (Associated Press photo by John Locher)

"Low water in the Colorado River’s largest reservoir triggered the first-ever federal declaration of a shortage on Monday, a bleak marker of the effects of climate change in the drought-stricken American West and the imperiled future of a critical water source for 40 million people in seven states," report Karin Brulliard and Joshua Partlow of The Washington Post. "Water in Lake Mead, the mammoth reservoir created by the Hoover Dam that supplies the lower Colorado basin, is projected to be 1,065.85 feet above sea level on Jan. 1, nearly 10 feet below a threshold that requires Arizona, Nevada and Mexico to reduce their consumption in 2022. On Monday, it was just under 1,068 feet, or about 35 percent full, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the water that states and Mexico have rights to use." The lake hasn't been that low since it began filling after completion of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s." 

The water-supply cuts triggered by the declaration will mostly affect Arizona farmers—at first. "Beginning next year they will be cut off from much of the water they have relied on for decades. Much smaller reductions are mandated for Nevada and for Mexico across the southern border," Henry Fountain reports for The New York Times. "But larger cuts, affecting far more of the 40 million people in the West who rely on the river for at least part of their water supply, are likely in coming years as a warming climate continues to reduce how much water flows into the Colorado from rain and melting snow."

The mandatory cuts "are part of a contingency plan approved in 2019 after lengthy negotiations among the seven states that use Colorado River water: California, Nevada and Arizona in the lower basin, and New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming in the upper basin. American Indian tribes and Mexican officials have also been involved in the planning," Fountain reports. "The shortage announced Monday affects only the lower basin states, but the Bureau of Reclamation may declare a similar shortage for the upper basin, perhaps as early as next year."

Industrial farms draining Arizona aquifers; state lawmakers try to figure out a way to help family farmers

As winter planting continues in Arizona, state officials are once again grappling with how to deal with farms' increasing demand for water in the face of drier weather and how to get that water to where it's needed, Howard Fischer reports for Capitol Media Services in Tucson.

In Arizona and other southwestern states, many farms draw water from the Colorado River, but other areas use groundwater. In many rural areas of Arizona, there is no limit to how much groundwater farmers can take. Many large industrial farms have set up shop in such areas, and they're draining aquifers at an unsustainable rate. "As the groundwater is depleted, Arizona is suffering permanent losses that may not be recouped for thousands of years," Ian James and Rob O'Dell report for the Arizona Republic. "These underground reserves that were laid down over millennia represent the only water that many rural communities can count on as the desert Southwest becomes hotter and drier with climate change."

Large farming outfits are drying up water for nearby family farmers, Fischer reports. House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma, said the state needs to see how much groundwater is being taken each year, but also said some residents didn't like the notion of metering wells, Fischer reports.

"Complicating any solution politically is the fact that one of the larger operations uses Arizona groundwater to grow hay to ship to Saudi Arabia to feed cattle there," Fischer reports. Fernandez, who has been a key player in shaping state water legislation, said there needs to be a way to distinguish between family farmers and corporate farmers whom, she believes, don't have a "vested interest" in preserving Arizona's long-term water viability.

Irrigation drying up some waterways in the western U.S.; study warns it will get worse without preventative measures

Farming irrigation is drying up some of the streams and rivers in the western U.S., especially those fed by groundwater bubbling up into natural springs. But farmers have been obliged to dig ever deeper irrigation wells because the region has been seeing less and less rain.

"Farmers have pumped so much water that in some places, the water table has fallen by more than a hundred feet," Dan Charles reports for NPR. "The water is now so deep underground that it can't flow into streams and rivers anymore. Streams dry up, and as a result, fish and plants and birds around those streams also disappear."

It's happening in Kansas, Colorado, and California's Central Valley in the U.S., as well as in India and China. According to a newly published study in Nature, the problem will continue if global warming continues unchecked. A computer simulation of worldwide fresh water sources in such a future, with a warmer planet and less rainfall, means farmers will have to rely even more on groundwater. In the simulation, the flow of freshwater streams and rivers falls dramatically, and about half of them become so dry that the surrounding ecosystems are destroyed, Charles reports.

Inge de Graaf, the lead researcher, puts it bluntly: "The plants and the fish that live in the rivers or the lakes, they will die." She says she doesn't want people to panic, even though the projections are alarming, but says actions like cutting greenhouse gas emissions can help prevent such a scenario from coming to pass, Charles reports.

"In addition, some places, including California and parts of Kansas and Texas, are moving to reduce the amount of groundwater that farmers can extract from the ground," Charles reports.

Series explores rural water quality issues – supply, quality, management and more – in the Upper Midwest

"The land near Wisconsin's Little Plover River didn't used to be much good for farming – until center-pivot irrigation," the StarTribune reports. "Since then, the river's base flow has drastically diminished." (StarTribune photo by Aaron Lavinsky)

Josephine Marcotty of the StarTribune in Minneapolis has written an outstanding three-part series on rural water quality in the Upper Midwest called "Water Pressure." Essentially, Minnesota, "a state renowned for its abundant water, confronts a difficult new fact of life," Marcotty reports. "It may no longer be able to guarantee what its residents have always taken for granted: Clean drinking water, industrial and agricultural growth, and many thousands of healthy lakes and streams."

Part one explores efforts by the town of Cold Spring, population about 4,500, to balance the needs of residents and a local brewery, and those of farmers who use fertilizer that can pollution. When Cold Springs Brewing Co. expanded in 2012 and needed more water, that threatened a nearby trout stream and triggered a "statewide political fight," Marcotty reports, one which could happen again if there's a drought or the brewery wants to expand again, which it hopes to do.

Part two details how more than 80 residents from rural Wisconsin sued one of the most powerful players in the state's agriculture industry, Central Sands Dairy, alleging that its irrigation and manure-spreading practices have depleted and polluted drinking water and caused the death of an infant. "A young mother in the tiny town of Nekoosa lost an infant daughter to a fatal brain malformation that has been associated with high levels of nitrate, a fertilizer byproduct found in the community’s drinking water," Marcotty writes. "Her tragedy led to a community well testing program this year, which found that 40 percent of the homes had nitrate concentrations that, like hers, were far above the legal limit.

Lewis & Clark Regional Water System
(StarTribune map by Ray Grumney)

Part three looks to the future, holding up the nonprofit Lewis & Clark Regional Water System as a model for how communities, states and the federal government can cooperate to supply areas with limited groundwater. The system consists of 337 miles of underground pipes that carry water drawn from a South Dakota aquifer to 20 cities, towns and utilities in three states (Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska) and soon, Iowa.

The project, in the works for over 25 years, is a solution dreamed up after predictions that the area would eventually run out of water. The proposal faced many challenges along the way; it was too risky for many communities to gamble on, required a great deal of cooperation among communities that did sign on, needed nearly $590 million in state and federal subsidies, and relies on South Dakota water laws to protect the water in the aquifer.

The project could be a national example. Federal and state officials have long encouraged consolidation of small water systems that are prone to problems.

USDA seeks info on aquaculture and irrigation practices

If you irrigate your crops or sell aquaculture products, Uncle Sam wants your input. In fact, he requires it. The Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service is conducting two studies as follow-ups to the 2017 Census of Agriculture to get more detailed info on irrigation and aquaculture practices.

The 2018 Census of Aquaculture was mailed Dec. 17 to farmers who said on their 2017 Census of Agriculture forms that they produced and and sold more than $1,000 aquaculture products such as baitfish, food fish, crustaceans and mollusks. That doesn't include wild-caught aquatic products.

The Census of Aquaculture was last conducted in 2013 and 2005; it provides industry-specific data for government, agribusiness, trade association, and producer stakeholders to make decisions about the aquaculture industry's sustainability and growth. Response to the survey is mandatory, and all individual information will be kept confidential. The deadline to respond is Jan. 14.

On Jan. 3, NASS will mail the 2018 Irrigation and Water Management Survey (formerly called the Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey) to a sample of producers who reported on the 2017 Census of Agriculture that they irrigate crops. The survey is the only comprehensive source of information about U.S. irrigation practices, and response is mandatory. All individual information will be kept confidential, and the deadline to respond is Feb. 15.

Producers can respond to the questionnaires online, by mail, or by phone. The results for both studies are scheduled for release in fall 2019. Visit the Census of Agriculture page for more information.

States OK drought contingency plans for Colorado River

"States that rely on the shrinking supply of water from the Colorado River have released drafts of a set of agreements intended to prevent reservoirs on the river from falling to perilously low levels," Ian James reports for the Arizona Republic. "The documents, which were released Tuesday, lay out a framework for cuts in water deliveries to prop up the levels of the river’s two biggest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell."

Under the Colorado River Compact, first established in 1922, use of the river's waters is divided among seven states (Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming) and Mexico. When the compact was renegotiated last year, the U.S. and Mexico extended a previous agreement that both countries will cut back on water use if the river runs low. This proposal fleshes out how those cutbacks will be implemented.

State water managers began meeting in July to hammer out the details of the drought plan. Arizona is still working on in-negotiations about how its water cutbacks will be spread among cities, farms and tribes, but federal officials hope to have an overall deal finished by mid-December, when the Colorado River Water Users Association's will have its annual conference, James reports.

Once the Lower Colorado Basin states sign the proposed agreement, Mexico will be obliged to create its own plan to help increase water levels in Lake Mead, which is now 38 percent full. The plans may need to be put to use soon. "Federal officials have said the region will narrowly escape a shortage in 2019 but that a shortage may be declared in 2020," James reports. And Ted Kowalski of the Walton Family Foundation's Colorado River Initiative, noted that "2018 has been one of the river’s driest years on record, and combined storage levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at their lowest point in roughly 50 years."