IRRIGATION AND GLOBAL WATER OUTLOOK

While the earth's renewable water resources are finite, the earth's population continues to increase and requires more and more water for municipal, industrial, agricultural, environmental, recreational and other needs. Water resources must be better managed on a local, regional, national, and international scale. This includes providing more storage of water during times of water surplus, minimizing water losses, increasing food production per unit of water, transferring water to uses with higher socioeconomic returns, and reusing wastewater. Sewage effluent often already is indirectly used, but water reuse in the future must be better planned as sewage flows increase, the public health and surface water quality need to be protected, and edible crops need to be irrigated. Planned water reuse requires adequate treatment so as to meet the quality requirements of the intended reuse. Agricultural and urban irrigation will play an important role in water reuse, especially in dry climates.