[{"id":1587745983985,"type":"text","content":"

Alleviating water stress in the western United States.

"},{"id":1587746138309,"type":"text","content":"

"},{"id":1587746684408,"type":"text","content":"

We envision a resilient western United States, where vulnerable communities gain access to cost effective and comprehensive monitoring networks and market-based platforms, empowering & incentivizing conservation, trade, and efficiently distributed clean water, year-round, regardless of water stress.

"},{"id":1587746199976,"type":"widget","content":{"widgetId":"0a37d4d5-6218-4341-a1f2-36d1fe7c40aa","categories":[]}},{"id":1587746642033,"type":"grid","content":[[{"id":1587746643990,"type":"text","content":"

The Challenge

Water and food insecurity is increasing around the world. Today, two billion people live with chronic high water stress, and four billion experience water stress at least one month a year. One-third of agricultural soils globally are degraded, and two billion people face food insecurity. Drought conditions, exacerbated by extreme weather variability and climate change, are depleting groundwater supplies and increasing water and food stress. Successful management of water resources, water quality, food security and drought response depends upon robust early warning technologies supporting adaptation responses.

"}],[{"id":1587746652623,"type":"text","content":"

The Solution

Drought-driven emergencies and water contamination risks can be prevented if groundwater is made reliably available during cycles of water stress, and communities, utilities and regulators are alerted by rapid water quality assessments. DRIP’s comprehensive systems-based design integrates early detection and planning with proactive surface and groundwater management to ensure safe water resources. Using a combined forecasting and market-based approach, DRIP can direct adaptation responses, enable effective water conservation, and sustain clean water access. DRIP is a suite of technologies designed to monitor distributed water resources, water quality, soil health, and drought response.

"}]]},{"id":1587746771981,"type":"text","content":"

From Monitoring to Market: DRIP’s Water & Food Security Approach

"},{"id":1587746822623,"type":"image","content":{"alt":"us toc","src":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/wri-api-backups/prep/production/content_images/images/000/000/096/cover/Western.U.S_DRIP.TOC.png?1587746827"}},{"id":1587746870441,"type":"text","content":"

DRIP utilizes satellite-based groundwater pump sensors, in-situ microbial water contamination fluorimeters, advanced soil health sensors, and mechanistically informed, machine-learning calibration tools to monitor water quality, food security and groundwater demand, and create forecasting models for integrated decision support that enables proactive responses to changing conditions, including market design and sustainable food and water management.

"},{"id":1587747247501,"type":"image","content":{"alt":"front range","src":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/wri-api-backups/prep/production/content_images/images/000/000/097/cover/devonshire-UlqP9rktvTg-unsplash_copy.jpg?1587747250"}},{"id":1587747278371,"type":"grid","content":[[{"id":1587747281240,"type":"text","content":"

Colorado

With an increasing front range population and pressure on water and agricultural resources, DRIP’s monitoring & forecasting system embeds market-based resilience into the state’s water portfolio, with the potential to mitigate water scarcity and smartly manage resources over time. In Boulder county and southwestern Colorado, we are working at the community level with water rights-holders to determine the amount of water used, currently available, and forecasted for later in the season, in turn incentivizing water waste reduction, and efficient use by either storing or conserving water for later, or trading excess water with increased certainty it will not limit rights holders’ own supply later in the year.

"}],[{"id":1587747290578,"type":"text","content":"

California

California’s drought-prone agricultural economy faces a call to action to balance groundwater supply and demand by way of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Our work is underway to support compliance with this Act in Solano and Eldorado counties. Additionally, using DRIP’s systems-based, monitoring-to-market approach, farmers can forecast quantity and trade water on a blockchain platform. The monitoring and blockchain trading method can mitigate distrust and conflict among neighbors with limited water resources with objective and private water use data delivery, and smart contracts based on market viability.

"}]]},{"id":1587747799149,"type":"text","content":"

Proven Leaders, Working Together

"},{"id":1587747661940,"type":"grid","content":[[{"id":1587747664970,"type":"text","content":"

The Drought Resilience Impact Platform (DRIP) is led by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Mortenson Center in Global Engineering. We are working together through partnerships with the Moore Foundation, Water Foundation, The Freshwater Trust, Stantec, Future Earth, the Partnership for Resiliency and Preparedness (PREP), and the National Drought Information System (NIDIS). The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering at CU Boulder combines education, research and partnerships to positively impact vulnerable people and their environment by improving development tools, policy and practice. Supported by USAID, NASA, the National Science Foundation and others, the Center has successfully designed and deployed sensors that monitor and enable maintenance of water systems for over 3 million people yearly in the Horn of Africa. Our USAID Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Project leads a $15.3 million, four-country, multi-partner study to identify the institutional and governance conditions that result in effective improvements of complex water and sanitation.

"}],[{"id":1587747758129,"type":"image","content":{"alt":"sensor","src":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/wri-api-backups/prep/production/content_images/images/000/000/098/cover/IMG_1034_copy.JPG?1587747768"}},null]]},{"id":1587748025606,"type":"text","content":"

In the News

New technology could create incentives for Boulder County water rights holders to conserve more - Daily Camera 01/2020

How the blockchain could protect California's aquifer - Wired 04/2019

"},{"id":1587748400376,"type":"grid","content":[[{"id":1587748402323,"type":"text","content":"

Partners

"}],[{"id":1587748417954,"type":"text","content":"

Support

"}]]},{"id":1587747958297,"type":"grid","content":[[null,null,null,{"id":1589575054487,"type":"image","content":{"alt":"partners","src":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/wri-api-backups/prep/production/temporary_content_images/images/000/000/187/original/us.drip.partners2.jpg?1589575050&temp_id=187"}}],[null,{"id":1589575005863,"type":"image","content":{"alt":"support","src":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/wri-api-backups/prep/production/temporary_content_images/images/000/000/186/original/usdrip.support.jpg?1589575004&temp_id=186"}}]]},{"id":1587747879426,"type":"text","content":"

Contact

Evan Thomas, PhD, PE, MPH | Associate Professor

Director, Mortenson Center in Global Engineering

University of Colorado Boulder

evan.thomas@colorado.edu | http://www.colorado.edu/center/mortenson

"}]