Paula L. S. Rees, Stephen Herbert, Timothy Randhir, Craig Nicolson University of Massachusetts Amherst

University Council on Water ResourcesThe National Institutes of Water Resources Consortium of Universities

for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences (CUAHSI)

Advancing Agricultural Water Security and Resilience Under Nonstationarity and

Uncertainty: Evolving Roles of Blue, Green and Grey Water

Objectives

Develop a series of conference sessions which provide a global view of the challenges and opportunities for future research, education and extension around the paradigm of blue, green, and grey water management in agriculture

Compare and contrast international and U.S. efforts Engage a wide range of stakeholders and views Engage students in all elements of the conference

planning and implementation Support follow up on the synergies and ideas generated

at the workshop

The Conference Track

June 18 – 20, 2014 at Tufts University as part of the annual University Council on Water Resources (UCOWR)

32 talks in 10 sessions of the Blue-Green-Grey track Participation of more than 65 experts on blue-green-

grey water management was supported by the USDA NIFA grant; additional participants as part of UCOWR

~ 15 students were provided scholarships to attend, present posters and assisted with the track by taking notes during the sessions

Broadcast live via a webinar

The Conference Track

Overview of State of the Art• Peter Weiskel – U.S. Perspective• Arjen Hoekstra – International Perspective

Green water: unsaturated water storage (soil moisture) and precipitation and evapotranspiration fluxes

Blue water : saturated storage and groundwater and surface water fluxes

Grey water : non-sewage wastewater suitable for re-use after treatment

Highlights

Water – Agriculture Footprints / Virtual Water Irrigation

- Irrigation trends- Technological advances

Soil Management Unique Perspectives

- Native American, Non-profit, Industry

Case Studies- Israeli and Jordan- U.S. Regions

Outcomes

All presentations were captured via video and are available via YouTube

Abstracts and presentations (where permission granted) are also available on-line

Extended proceedings available soon!wrrc.umass.edu/events/blue-green-grey-water-agriculture

Emergent Ideas

Water for agriculture is a BIG challenge Not just water!

• Private lands, Loss of land to development, • Urban – rural, • Disconnect between farm & table, deep economic and

social impacts• Institutional complexity

Technologic advances hold promise Partnerships are critical

Emergent Ideas

Draw from a wider perspective• Europe• Native American culture

Issues of scale• On-farm efficiencies• Watershed scale management• National and international management

Emergent Ideas

Discipline centric research and advances are needed, but collaborations at the interfaces hold the most promise • Integrative and comprehensive solutions• Complex understanding, simple solutions

Paradigm shifts• Address bias in how we evaluate water availability and

use at the continental scale [new indicators, add grey water, embed water footprint assessments, etc.]

• National water accounting frameworks; international water pricing agreements

• Kyoto protocol for water

Next Steps

Special Session at 2017 UCOWR Conference• June 13 – 15, Fort Collins, Colorado• Discussion on challenges, opportunities and directions

Special Edition of the Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education • December 2017 journal will focus on blue-green-grey• Updates from 2014• Newer ideas• Goal is try and get at integrated impacts/advances

Still finalizing speakers and authors

The project was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant number 2013-

51130-21485 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Acknowledgements