WATER CONSERVATION IN THE IRRIGATED PRAIRIES OF CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

The Interior Plains of Canada and the High Plains of the United States constitute one of the world’s leading sources of grain. Great surpluses move out of the region to continental and global markets. For the most part, natural conditions are ideally suited for production, but there is insufficient precipitation in some areas. A middle latitude steppe, the Plains are favored with greatest precipitation during the summer growing season; but it is not always enough. Through the years farmers and officials have sought to develop irrigation as a means of achieving stability in production. On the eve of the 21st century there is not enough water to go around, and achieving efficiency in water use has become a priority.In the United States the Ogallala aquifer has gone dry in some areas and much of the rest is threatened with depletion. In Canada the meltwater rivers that provide water for irrigation are wholly committed, and scarcity already exists in some districts. In both regions competing uses and ecological questions endanger water supply for agriculture. Irrigators and the general public are confronted with new issues with respect to water use and allocation.This paper reports on what irrigators are doing to more efficiently use the water available. There are a wide range of devices and practices farmers can adopt to reduce the water needed to produce crops. I report on the techniques that are used in the High Plains and the Interior Plains and the factors that account for variations in their use. The employment of water saving innovations represents an ongoing adjustment to resource scarcity that is not uniform in time or space. The pattern of adoption in Canada and the United States is presented, interpreted, and compared. Implications of the findings are suggested.