Ag Water Stewardship Recommendations Featured in Ag Alert

One way to enhance water security for California farms involves a focus on “agricultural water stewardship,” according to a new report. The
California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply report, released late last month, encouraged policy makers to use the stewardship model as a
“guiding framework” for agricultural water management.

The roundtable-a group that includes farmers, water managers and representatives of agricultural and environmental organizations and
government agencies-defined agricultural water stewardship as “the use of water in a manner that optimizes agricultural water use while
addressing the co-benefits of water for food production, the environment and human health.”

The report noted a “common call” in water discussions for farms and ranches to make even more improvements in water management and, where
feasible, reduce overall water consumption. It said improved water efficiency can help protect the quality of both groundwater and surface
water, save farmers money, augment stream flows, reduce tailwater runoff, conserve energy and store water for drought periods.

“But these outcomes are not universal,” the report added. “Reducing applied water may have undesirable outcomes. In some cases, the benefits
of water applied over and above a crop’s needs include availability for on-farm re-use, groundwater recharge, the provision of wildlife habitat,
or supply of runoff for possible use downstream.”

The concept of agricultural water stewardship, the report said, takes into account a broad range of variables and “embraces the full spectrum
of solutions.”

To promote and improve water stewardship, the roundtable outlined three main goals.

First, it said, it’s necessary to gather more information in order to create “a clear picture of the factors affecting water distribution and
use in California.” It cited a need both for better data collection and for better ways to distribute information that has been collected.

The roundtable report recommended that data collection focus on basin-scale water balances and regional research efforts, to avoid what
it called a “one-size-fits-all approach” that would be “impracticable and insufficient to address today’s challenges.”

It also encouraged creation of “clear and broadly supported indicators of success for agricultural water stewardship” to help farmers cope with
fluctuating water supplies while maintaining or improving watershed health.

Second, the report recommended building stronger support systems for growers, in the form of programs to help them begin and sustain water
stewardship work. The report pointed out that federal and state budget cuts “have severely eroded the system of technical and financial support
that is necessary to support improvements in on-farm water management practices,” including mobile irrigation labs, federal conservation
programs, University of California Cooperative Extension and other programs.

“A robust and renewed technical and financial investment in agricultural water stewardship is critical for the health of our farms and
watersheds, and must be made a statewide priority,” the report said, outlining steps that could be taken by agricultural organizations, water
districts, policy advocates, and state and federal agencies.

Finally, the report encouraged “smarter regulations” to foster water stewardship.

“Regulation of agricultural water supply and quality in California is highly complex,” the roundtable said, listing a number of state and
federal laws and court decisions. “The many agencies and laws involved lead to substantial obstacles hindering creation of a coherent and
navigable system for the agricultural community.”

California Farm Bureau Federation Director of Water Resources Danny Merkley, a member of the roundtable, said the group focused on realistic
solutions to water challenges.

“We must rule out nothing and consider everything,” Merkley said, “from new surface storage and flood protection to address a changing
environment and growing population, to groundwater recharge, recycling, and moving water more efficiently and effectively without harming any
one segment of society or the environment.”