Water shortages in the West are becoming more acute as urban areas expand and new laws that protect the environment are passed and implemented. Efficient water use has always been important but our ideas about efficiency keep changing. Water quantity and quality go hand in hand. We have conducted research in evapotransportation modeling to provide agriculture with irrigation scheduling procedures that conserve water.
Irrigation produces drainage that frequently recharges groundwater.
Current research considers reuse of drainage for irrigation. We will determine how much good quality water can be saved by reusing drainage and how recycling will affect water quality. Evapotransportation in riparian zones can be linked to the fact that they produce most of the plant's dry matter grown under natural conditions even though they occupy a small percentage of the wild lands. Research has been initiated to quantify evapotransportation and dry matter produced. Graduate students participate in research, they use data to prepare a thesis, and they publish with their major professors.