Wasted water is wasted dollars

Added on 28 August 2023

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Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is intimately connected to the responsible management of our most valuable resource: water. CEA enables us to cultivate crops efficiently regardless of external factors such as weather and location. However, this advancement comes at a cost, with water usage playing a pivotal role in the equation.

Water scarcity often is a regional phenomenon, but water efficiency efforts are a collective endeavor the CEA industry needs to begin taking seriously. Beyond being good re¬source stewards, there are financial implications to wasting water in CEA systems, making it important that operations identify opportunities to both reduce waste and partner with stakeholders (such as policymakers and utilities) to invest in water conservation technologies.

But even small measures, such as investigating drip irrigation lines and other plumbing for leaks, can help identify unnecessary costs: A nozzle or hose leaking one drop per second will waste 113 gallons per month, and a poorly adjusted evaporative cooling system can hundreds of gallons a day during summer.

Here, RII and expert members identify some of the top water waste sources and offer tips and best practices on how to mitigate resource overuse and optimize your CEA operation.