How bizarre. As many regions around the United States grapple with drought, the New York Times publishes the results of a study lauding the benefits of wasting water.

Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article entitled "Drip Irrigation May Not Be Efficient, Analysis Finds."  The reasoning of that analysis appears to be deeply flawed.  The author of the study cited in the article says that encouraging drip irrigation is bad because:

• 1) it limits groundwater recharge from excess irrigation, and
• 2) since drip irrigation increases yields, farmers will be encouraged to bring more acres into production, thus using even more water.

 The first argument basically offers profligacy as a substitute for deliberation. Water resources are precious and limited, and need to be carefully managed.  Incidental recharge is not a substitute for groundwater management. There are better ways to recharge groundwater than excessive irrigation. For example, we shouldn't be recharging groundwater during a drought; that is when we should be using groundwater that we banked during wetter periods.  Also, groundwater recharge or runoff from excessive irrigation tends to be laden with pesticides, fertilizers, and sediment, polluting our rivers. This agricultural drainage, laden with selenium, was responsible for the death of thousands of waterfowl in the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the 1980s.

The second point is downright wacky: that we should encourage wasteful practices lest efficiency increase demands for water.  Global warming is likely to increase the frequency of water shortages in most regions. Increasing crop yields is a good thing, and can allow farmers to produce the same amount of crops/income even with reduced water supplies. This will be important to the world food supply as we adapt to a changed climate. Concerns about bringing additional lands into production are not a good reason to continue with inefficient irrigation practices.

Farmers around the world have successfully stretched limited water supplies, increased yields, decreased use of pesticides and fertilizers, and reduced polluted runoff, through use of drip irrigation. We should continue to encourage them to do so.