As part of an administration initiative, the USDA will consider the inclusion of reused water, also known as recycled or reclaimed water, in its land stewardship and community development programs. “Water reuse is going to be how agriculture continues to increase productivity while decreasing our environmental footprint,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at the unveiling on Thursday of the water reuse plan.
Much of the reuse plan is aimed at the industrial and municipal sectors, but agriculture is a major user of water. According to the USDA, agriculture accounts for 80 percent of U.S. water use.
“A reliable water reuse program provides great opportunity for alternatives to existing water supplies across the nation to enhance water security, sustainability, and resilience for communities, rural and urban alike,” said EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler. Forty states anticipate freshwater shortages of some type over the next decade, says the EPA.
Each day, an estimated 340 billion gallons of water, including municipal wastewater, water used for cooling and industrial processes, agricultural runoff, and stormwater, is discharged by various sources, said the EPA in its reuse plan. “Available information indicates that a very small percentage of that water is reclaimed for further use. Similarly, current estimates suggest that less than 1 percent of U.S. water demand is met through water reuse. … [T]here is great opportunity to increase water reuse to enhance the availability and effective use of water resources.”
Agriculture, including irrigation, is one area where water could be recycled, said the plan. “A central tenet of water reuse is that the source of water for potential reuse must be appropriately treated and verified to meet applicable fit-for-purpose specifications to protect public health, the environment, and any other particular end user needs or quality endpoint.”
In coming months, the USDA will consider whether stewardship programs “lend themselves for reuse to enhance the integration of agricultural reuse,” said the water plan. It listed the Conservation Innovation Grants Program, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Environmental Quality Improvement Program, and the Watershed and Flood Prevention Program as areas for examination. The public comment period runs until April 13 on the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which coordinates stewardship efforts across a watershed rather than on individual farms.
The USDA will also consider including “water reuse strategies” in its rural development loan and grant programs for water and waste disposal projects, along with related training and technical assistance grants.
“Water is a finite resource and we better take care of it,” said Perdue. “That’s what this really is about — learn how to use it, and use it, and reuse it.”
The National Water Reuse Action Plan is available here.