9/11/2017 Water is Life - Agricultural Uses

Agricultural Uses
Devon Disrude disruddj@uwec.edu

Part of Water is Life, a class website on water privatization and commodification, produced by students of Geography
378 (International Environmental Problems & Policy) at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, USA, Spring 2004.
Professor Zoltan Grossman

Source: Pivot Irrigation System

The use of water for agriculture has changed the production of crops dramatically in the
WATER IS LIFE 20th century. Agricultural use of water accounts for nearly 70% of the water used
homepage throughout the world, and the majority of this water is used for irrigation. During the
1970s, the construction of irrigation systems dramatically increased. Its rate of growth
Global supplies began to decrease in both developed and developing countries in the 1980s. An increase in
irrigation development guarantees an increase in crop production in many countries.
Economic policies Irrigation allows the land that does not recieve enough precipitation annually to become
land that can be used for productive agriculture.
Trade agreements
On the negative side, irrigation of land causes salinization of the land that is being irrigated,
Industrial use mostly in arid and semi-arid regions. Irrigation of cropland can increase the possibility
fertilizers and pesticides will infiltrate into the groundwater or runoff into nearby streams.
Agricultural use Along with the irrigation of crops, the farmers that have livestock must provide clean water
for the livestock to drink. With a growing world population, expected to increase by 2
Domestic use
billion people by the year 2030, agriculture needs to find a way to use less water or to use
the water more efficiently.
How groundwater
works
Irrigation of Cropland
Water stress &
human consumption

Effects of shortages
on species & crops

Groundwater
drawdown

Surface water
drawdown

Water companies &

water pricing Source: Ditch Irrigation

Water privatization
conflicts
There are several different systems that are used for irrigation purposes, including ditch
Bottled water irrigation, terracing, overhead irrigation, center pivot irrigation, lateral move irrigation, and
industry drip or trickle irrigation. Irrigation of cropland has greatly increased production of food, but
has also had some drawbacks due to the amount of water that is being drawn from aquifers.
Bottled water Some of the problems with irrigation are competition for surface water rights, depletion of
conflicts underground aquifers, ground subsidence, and buildup of toxic salts on soil surfaces in
regions of high evaporation rates, called salinization. These problems can be increased or
Municipal water be more detrimental during periods of drought. Irrigation has been increasing between 1960
safety and 1995, as the graph below depicts.
Water wars &
international conflict
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9/11/2017 Water is Life - Agricultural Uses
Irrigation dams

Bulk water transfers/

river diversions

Water pipelines

Water supertankers

Great Lakes water

conflicts

U.S. water policy &

conflicts

Technical fixes
Source: Increase in water for irrigation
Groundwater
replenishment

Traditional water There are also many farms that are being heavily irrigated due to their location within an
harvesting arid or semi-arid region of the world.

Alternate directions

A class project by
students in
International
Environmental
Problems & Policy
(Geography 378,
Spring 2004,
University of
Wisconsin-Eau
Claire)

Assistant Professor
of Geography Zoltan
Grossman
grossmzc@uwec.edu

(715) 836-4471 Source: Annual Average Precipitation

P.O. Box 4004,
Eau Claire, WI
54702 USA

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9/11/2017 Water is Life - Agricultural Uses
Source: Arable Land in World

Groundwater Contamination
Groundwater contamination occurs when the pesticides, livestock waste and
fertilizers infiltrate through the soil and eventually reach the groundwater, which is
called leaching. The problem with feritlizers is that they contain nitrates, which are
very soluble in water and are very hard to remove, or cannot be removed from the
water once they are in it. Leaching is more of a problem in regions that contain sandy
soils. The sandy soils are very permeable, allowing the water and the nitrates, which
are dissolved within the water to pass through the soil relatively fast before being
absorbed by the plants. Infiltration can be a large problem for contaminating
groundwater especially in regions with sandy soils.

Conclusion
Irrigation of cropland has become widely used practice throughout the world and has
greatly increased the productivity of farmland. It has made it possible to farm in
regions that would not be farmable without irrigation. But, with nearly 70% of the
total water use throughout the world coming from irrigation for cropland, the need
for newer and more efficient practices is becoming more important. Another problem
with irrigated cropland is the possibility of groundwater contamination and the
stricter restrictions that are going to have to be implemented on the amount of
fertilizers and pesticides used to reduce the risk of the contamination.

Sources
For more information:

Freshwater: http://freshwater.unep.net/index.cfm?issue=water_irrig

Science Daily :
http://www.sciencedaily.com/encyclopedia/irrigation#Ditch%20(Furrow)%20irrigation

Food and Agriculture of the United Nations:

http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/focus/2003/water.htm

Nitrate in the Groundwater:

http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Water_Quality/Protecting_your_water/Nitrate_in_groundwater.shtm#1

Water for Agriculture: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/agriculture/

Clean Water Action Plan: http://cleanwater.gov/action/c1a.html

Agriculture: http://www3.iptv.org/exploremore/water/uses/use_agriculture.cfm

Water for Agriculture:

http://webworld.unesco.org/water/ihp/publications/waterway/webpc/pag19.html

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