Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review - Boulder County

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Summary
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3. Water Use
The semi-arid climate in Boulder County and surrounding areas provides limited water
resources for agricultural, industrial, and urban uses. In the region, demand and
competition for water is expected to increase in the future as the urban population
continues to grow and as shifting climatic changes affect the regional water cycle by
raising average temperatures and decreasing precipitation rates. As a whole, this is
expected to make the area more dependent on winter snowmelt and the water storage
capacity of local reservoirs and lakes.
In Colorado, irrigated agriculture is the largest user of water representing 80 percent of
all surface and groundwater use in the State. In Boulder County, roughly 25 percent,
just under 34,000 acres, of agricultural land is irrigated. This represents a seven
percent increase since 2002, but is still significantly lower than the 68,000 acres that
were irrigated in the County in 1968.
Literature highlights five principal methods of irrigation used in Boulder County: furrow
irrigation, border irrigation, controlled flooding, sprinkler irrigation, and
corrugation irrigation. As identified in 2007 by the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), the main irrigated crops in Boulder County by acreage were forage,
corn (grain), barley, wheat (grain), and corn (sillage/greenchop).
It was widely reported that in order for agriculture to continue to increase production, it
is necessary for agricultural systems to increase the capture and utilization of
precipitation and reduce or improve the efficiency of irrigation water needs. Changes
identified include using conservation tillage practices and cycling in lower water
requirement crops that have different critical times for water. A number of studies
showed that conservation tillage operations allow for greater soil water availability than
conventional tillage practices by building capillary spaces for water movement and
improving water retention. This reduces overall water demands by roughly 12 percent,
while increasing water retention and percolation 25-50 percent. Irrigation scheduling
can also be used to maximize irrigation efficiency by measuring and monitoring soil
moisture so that water can be applied in more precise quantities at the most effective
times for the particular crop.
In order for agricultural producers to continue to create desirable crop growth during
times of water scarcity and increased competition, it will be necessary to have good soil
conditions that provide optimum soil aeration, water infiltration, and permeability as
well as uniform root development. Additionally, improved soil quality will help to reduce
runoff and decrease potential soil erosion.
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