How to reduce the water footprint and

improve food security in mountain

communities

Hans Schreier

Faculty of Land & Food Systems

University of British Columbia, Canada

Changes in Irrigation and Water Supply

Storage Reservoirs 1913-1998

1913 1956 1972 !998

Year

Changes in Cropped Area, Alfalfa, and

Fruit, Okanagan Basin 1976-2006

01000020000300004000050000

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

2006

Are

a i

n h

a

Total Fruit Land in Crops Alfalfa

Changes in Cow numbers in Okanagan

Basin 1976-2006

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

2006

# o

f C

ow

s

Beef Cows Dairy Cows Bulls >1y

Change in Total Hens & Chickens in

Okanagan Basin 1976-2006

0

200000

400000

600000

800000

1000000

1200000

1400000

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

2006

To

tal #

of

Ch

ick

en

s

Changes in Area/Farm 1981-2006

Okanagan Basin

38

10.4

12.6

49

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Farm area/Farm Crop area/Farm

Av

era

ge

ha

/Fa

rm

1981 2006

Changes in Fruit & Vegetable Area/Farm

Okanagan Basin 1981-2006

5.3

0.5

2.1

6.4

1.4 1.6

0

2

4

6

8

Grapes/Farm Sweet

Cherries/Farm

Vegetable/Farm

ha

/fa

rm

1981 2006

Irrigated Area under Different Crops (ha)

0100020003000400050006000700080009000

Apple

s

Berr

ies

Cherr

ies

Fruit

Gra

pes

Forage

Veg

etable

s

Golf

Cours

esTurf

Nurs

erie

s

Are

a i

n h

a

Irrigation Water Requirements (Million m3)

010203040506070

Apple

s

Berr

ies

Cherr

ies

Fruit

Gra

pes

Forage

Veg

etable

s

Golf

Cours

esTurf

Nurs

erie

s

Mil

lio

n m

3/y

ear

Irrigation Water Requirements (m3/ha/year)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Apples

Berrie

s

Cherrie

sFru

it

Gra

pes

Forage

Veget

ables

Golf

Courses

Turf

Nurser

ies

m3

/ h

a /

year

Irrigation Water requirement for Different

Crops in the Okanagan Basin in 2006

Cherries

6%

Forage

45%

Apples

21%

Berries

0%

Other Fruit

5%

Turf

2%

Nurseries

2%Vegetables

3%

Grapes

8%

Golf

8%

Apples

Berries

Cherries

Other Fruit

Forage

Golf

Grapes

Turf

Nurseries

Vegetables

Irrigation Water Requirements for difference Crops in

the Okanagan Basin in m3/ha/y (2006)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Alfalfa

Appl

es

Aprico

ts

Asp

arag

us

Ber

ry

Blu

eber

ry

Cer

eal

Cher

ry

Corn

Cove

r Gra

ss

Fora

ge

GinsingGolf

Gra

pe

Gra

ss

Nec

tarine

Nurs

eryNuts

Pea

ches

Pea

rs

Plu

ms

Ras

pber

ries

Sourc

her

ry

Straw

ber

ry

Swee

tCorn

Tomat

oTurf

Veg

etab

les

Ave

rage

m3/h

a/y

Deviation from the Mean for Irrigation Water

Requirement for all Crops (m3/ha/y)

Alfalfa

Apples

Apricot

Asparagus

Berry

CerealCorn

Forage

Golf

NutsStrawberry

Turf

Vegetables

BlueberryCherry

Ginsing

Grape

Grass

Nectarine

Nursery

Peach

Pear

Plum

RaspberriesSourcherry

SweetCorn

Tomato

-4000

-3000

-2000

-1000

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

1

De

via

tio

n f

rom

me

an

m3

/ha

/ym

Irrigation Factors to Consider

• Climate Change (wet vs. dry years)

• Differences due to Soil Texture

• Different Irrigation Systems

• The Value of Water

Difference between Wet and Dry Years

Difference in m3/ha/y in Irrigation Water

Requirement by Soil Texture between

Wet and Dry Years in m3/ha/y

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Organic

Heavy

Clay

Clay

Silty

Clay

Silty

Clay L

oam

Silt L

oam

Sandy Loam

Loam

Loamy S

andSand

m3/

ha/

y

1997-Wet 2003-Dry Difference

The Value of Water for Different Crops

Summary

• 70% of all water is allocated for agriculture

• Irrigation: 45% for forage crops, 41% for fruit, 7% for golf courses

• Most Water Demanding: Golf, Apricots, Nectarines 8800-10000m3/ha

• Least Water Demanding Crops: Grapes 4000m3/ha

• Difference in water demand between sandy and clay soils 58%

• Differences between drip & sprinkler irrigation: 41% (4000 vs 9700 m3/ha)

• There is a 40% difference between wet and dry years

• Fruit & vegetables are most sensitive to drought (requiring more water)

• The 45 golf courses use 7% of the irrigation water and are the most inefficient

users of water

• As water becomes scarce selecting water efficient crops will become a viable

conservation strategy.