Irrigation water use is the second largest category for total withdrawals and the first largest category for consumption in the United States. Irrigation withdrawals are typically estimated nationally using sparse site-specific data that is collected and estimated using many different approaches. Nationally consistent approaches have been developed to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ETa) by vegetation, however, methods for converting ETa into irrigation withdrawals are not well developed. Because irrigation water is often transported over large distances and originates from many different sources, considering only the consumptive use part of irrigation water use is often not enough information for managing water resources. Accordingly, [...]
Summary
Irrigation water use is the second largest category for total withdrawals and the first largest category for consumption in the United States. Irrigation withdrawals are typically estimated nationally using sparse site-specific data that is collected and estimated using many different approaches. Nationally consistent approaches have been developed to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ETa) by vegetation, however, methods for converting ETa into irrigation withdrawals are not well developed. Because irrigation water is often transported over large distances and originates from many different sources, considering only the consumptive use part of irrigation water use is often not enough information for managing water resources. Accordingly, this project seeks to develop a nationally consistent integrated modeling system for estimating irrigation withdrawals by combining satellite-sourced ETa estimates with historical irrigation withdrawal data. Models will provide daily irrigation withdrawals and consumption on a HUC12 resolution.
