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Presented in partnership YOUR WATER
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What’s your water footprint?
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Photo illustration by Kelly Neis |
Virtually everything is virtual these days, including that most precious resource for your turf (and your life) — water.
In 1993, London professor Tony Allan developed the key concept and coined the term “virtual water.” Later this summer, Allan will pick up the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize for helping researchers understand and communicate water issues and how they are linked to agriculture, climate change, economics and politics.
Virtual water measures how water is embedded in the production and trade of food and consumer products. Your morning cup of coffee, for example, requires 37 gallons of water to grow, produce, package and ship the beans. That’s roughly the same amount of “actual water” used by the average person daily in England for drinking and household needs. The numbers for meat consumption are even more startling: Producing 2.2 pounds of beef — about the amount you might use in the meat sauce for your family’s spaghetti — requires 4,227 gallons of virtual water.
Calculating the virtual water consumed by nations and individuals produces their “water footprint.” The higher the number of gallons consumed, the larger the water footprint. Whose footprint is the biggest? Per capita, Americans consume nearly 1,800 gallons of virtual water every day; more than triple that of a Chinese person.
You probably know — right down to the gallon — how much water you’re applying to your golf course. You can also calculate your own water footprint at www.waterfootprint.org. The site’s research team has developed a quick estimate of your individual water footprint based on the average consumption pattern of an individual in your own country. For example, a U.S. male who has a gross yearly income of $75,000 and is an average meat consumer has a water footprint of 772 (in cubic meters per year). A more extended version based on your specific consumption pattern also is available. Navigate to the “Footprint calculator” in the left-side bar for both the quick and extended calculators.
When you reduce the amount of water used at your golf course, the chief rewards are a lower water bill and the knowledge that you are doing something good for the environment. When you take steps to trim your own water footprint down in size — one or two more meatless meals a week, for example — you won’t be summoned to Sweden to receive a prize, but you will be helping the U.S. shrink its virtual water “problemshed.”
The EPA is rolling out a free management tool to assist owners and operators with developing small drinking water and wastewater systems. The program, called Check Up Program for Small Systems, is a user-friendly computer-based tool to help maintain water systems and provide service to customers. CUPSS uses information provided on the system’s assets, operations, maintenance activities and financial status to create an asset inventory, financial reports and a customized asset management plan. Developed by the Office of Water, the management program supports budget discussions, efficient utility use and helps to ensure clean and safe water at competitive prices, according to the EPA. The CUPSS program and supporting materials are available for download at The Irrigation Association Education Foundation sponsored a variety of events at last March’s Annual Student Career Days, held in Atlanta by the Professional Landscape Network. Nearly 1,000 students — a record number of participants — attended the three-day event geared at students from university and college horticulture programs from across the country. The IAEF sponsored competitions at the event in irrigation design, troubleshooting and assembly and also exhibited at the Planet Career Fair. |
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