FoodShed: Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink

Ah, the first day of Spring means the hot days of summer are not far behind, especially here in the South. Unfortunately, these long hot days usually coincide with seasonal drought and bring ongoing water issues front and center yet again. It's actually hard to keep up with the water restrictions around here. Are they all the time, or every other day, or this side of the street these days and that side those days? What is the big deal with water anyway? And what does it have to do with your foodshed?

Well, your watershed is the specific land area surrounding you from which water drains into a common river or other body of water. It's sort of like a bowl. Find out how large your watershed is and you can plot it on the map, along with your foodshed. You'll see how much they overlap, and you'll see why knowing about your watershed matters, since that is where much of your foodshed gets its water.

The Woes
Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink. Will we be saying that one day? Perhaps, if we as a society don’t manage our limited water resources more effectively.  Only one percent of our world’s water supply is available as fresh water, 70 percent of which is used for agriculture.

A number of factors have multiplied to threaten that supply—world population growth, deteriorating land quality, waste accumulation, atmospheric change and ecosystem damage such as the extinction of living species and destruction of wetlands. What’s more, political control over water flow from country to country impacts supply and strains relationships.

The Wows
Increasing awareness of worldwide water issues continues to force international negotiations regarding water flow between countries, access to clean drinking water as a critical component in the fight against disease and poverty, and conservation efforts from industry and agriculture. Positive developments such as regulations to reduce pollution, require more water-efficient toilets and showers, and improve industrial water treatment technologies make a difference. Agricultural opportunities include changing crop selection to minimize irrigation needs, using fewer pesticides (or none at all) to lessen or eliminate the pesticide runoff into rivers and streams, and encouraging societies to eat a more plant-based diet, which requires less water use than a meat-based diet (vegetarians, you can strut your stuff on this one!)

What You Can Do Now
1. Find your local watershed at Epa.gov/surf and plot it on a map. You may even want to find out what kind of polluters are within your watershed, and what kind of improvements are being made, if any.

2.