The WateReuse Association, Water Environment & Reuse Foundation, and Pentair, a global leader in creating sustainable water solutions, have come together to help advance the development of sustainable agricultural practices by highlighting innovative farming approaches using water reuse technologies in a new video released May 24 in conjunction with the 20th Annual WateReuse Research Conference in Denver.
"Seventy percent of the world's water is used for agriculture. As the world's population continues to grow, the increased demand for food will put tremendous stress on the world's supply of water for agriculture, " said Dr. Phil Rolchigo, vice president of technology at Pentair. "Water reuse technologies can help accelerate Mother Nature's process-rather than disposing wastewater back to the environment, we can safely capture and purify it so that it can be used over and over again in agriculture, as well as other industries."
The video profiles two very different examples in which water reuse technologies are used to dramatically reduce the farms' water footprint, thereby helping to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the operations.
In St. Paul, Minn., fish and plants are grown together using aquaponics to develop a sustainable food system and help build the economy in a part of the city that had previously been considered a food desert. Urban Organics and Pentair have collaborated to develop this state-of-the-art aquaponics facility, and the produce and herbs are 100 percent organically certified by the USDA National Organic Program.
The second application featured in the video takes place in Monterey, Calif. The project started as a salt water intrusion barrier and has evolved into the largest agricultural reuse irrigation project in the United States. Artichokes, lettuce and strawberries are among the edible crops that are safely and efficiently produced in this region. The Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency (MRWPCA) works in partnership with local farmers to make the program a success.
Source: watereuse.org