Tag: irrigation
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‘Grey infrastructure’ can’t meet future water storage needs
Photo: Aerial view of the Saint Etienne Cantales hydroelectric dam in France. | Romain Longieras A new study maps how energy and food systems depend on stored water to generate hydropower and feed irrigation. Dams and reservoirs won’t be able to meet the demand in coming decades. As demand for food and energy grows, water will only…
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40 million people share the shrinking Colorado River.
Here’s how that water gets divvied up. The Colorado River passes through Mesa County, March 7, 2024, near Loma. The river flows for at least 1,450 miles from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to the Gulf of California in northwest Mexico. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun) The Colorado River provides water for millions of people,…
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How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
Photo: Hari Ram uses a solar-powered pump to supply water to his farm in Solawata, India. REBECCA CONWAY / GETTY IMAGES Farmers in hot, arid regions are turning to low-cost solar pumps to irrigate their fields, eliminating the need for expensive fossil fuels and boosting crop production. But by allowing them to pump throughout the day,…
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The Middle East can show the world how to save water
Photo: A farmer dips his hand into a falaj irrigation channel at Al Ain oasis. These Iron Age networks and now complemented by recycling, desalination and conservation strategies that can ease the strain being placed on groundwater supplies by growing populations. Chris Whiteoak / The National …in the region where water stress is most acute…
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Groundwater levels are starting to decline across portions of California; here’s the areas of highest risk
Groundwater levels are on the decline worldwide and one of the areas seeing the biggest change is right here in our own backyard. A study in Journal Nature found groundwater levels are decreasing from the Sacramento Valley to the Central Valley at a rapid pace over the last four decades. Scott Jasechko, co-author of the…
