This is an essential and determinant factor for the development of new wastewater
treatments and establishing their potential markets. An increasing need exists for
creating an appropriate tax designed to encourage water treatment and savings.
A reconsideration of traditional irrigation practices is starting and a new
appreciation of the advantages of traditional know-how is beginning to appear.
However, pressures on irrigating farmers are continuing to require them to
increase irrigation efficiency, achieve higher water productivity, and use less
water. Yet there is often a lack of assistance for them to develop and adopt
improved approaches and techniques appropriate to these changing farming
objectives, however keeping farmers’ objectives of financial and social nature. In
addition, perceptions of an urban society that highly prioritizes environmental
preservation for future water allocation are also challenging farmers’ attitudes and
requiring new approaches.
A new communication model has to be developed that could lead to a better
understanding of water use in agriculture and demonstrate why performance
improvement must occur within the context of the needs of the society and the
objectives of farming (Elizaquível et al. 2011, 2012; Sánchez et al. 2012). New
approaches are required to properly define and account for each item of water use
and productivity with water conservation and saving being the primary drivers to
achieve higher performance (García-Pérez et al. 2013). From this perspective, the
performance concepts need to be differently defined, understood, and applied. In
other words, we need a new model in terms of conceptualization of water use
performance that can be understood by users, managers, and decision makers
alike. This improved conceptualization can then provide a common framework
around which actual water use (hopefully monitored water use—debate over
words is not very useful if the actual volumes involved are only approximate) can
become sustainable for large and small farmers or other users, in all climates and
in societies with different degrees of development, utilizing a wide range of
technologies (Chan et al. 2009; Kalbar et al. 2012; Muga and Mihelcic 2008;
Tomar and Suthar 2011; Travis et al. 2012).
The terms water conservation and water saving are generally associated with the
management of water resources under scarcity. However, these terms are often used
with different meanings within specific scientific and technical disciplines or in the
water user sector considered. Often, both terms are used synonymously. The term
water conservation is used here to refer to every policy, managerial measure, or user
practice that aims to conserve or preserve the water resource, as well as to combat
the degradation of the water resource, including its quality. Differently, the term
water saving describes the avoidance of loss of water by limiting or controlling
water demand and use for any specific purpose (Muga and Mihelcic 2008; Jin et al.
2013), including the avoidance of wastes and the misuse of water.
In practice, these terms or perspectives are complementary and interrelated.
Water conservation plays a major role in rain-fed agriculture and when irrigation is
supplemental of rainfall (Chan et al. 2009; Muga and Mihelcic 2008; Wang et al.
2012), but it is essential in all water use systems, often as a means to achieve water
saving. Water conservation can play a major role in agricultural and landscape
3 Water Recycling in Biosystems for Food Production
79
treatments and establishing their potential markets. An increasing need exists for
creating an appropriate tax designed to encourage water treatment and savings.
A reconsideration of traditional irrigation practices is starting and a new
appreciation of the advantages of traditional know-how is beginning to appear.
However, pressures on irrigating farmers are continuing to require them to
increase irrigation efficiency, achieve higher water productivity, and use less
water. Yet there is often a lack of assistance for them to develop and adopt
improved approaches and techniques appropriate to these changing farming
objectives, however keeping farmers’ objectives of financial and social nature. In
addition, perceptions of an urban society that highly prioritizes environmental
preservation for future water allocation are also challenging farmers’ attitudes and
requiring new approaches.
A new communication model has to be developed that could lead to a better
understanding of water use in agriculture and demonstrate why performance
improvement must occur within the context of the needs of the society and the
objectives of farming (Elizaquível et al. 2011, 2012; Sánchez et al. 2012). New
approaches are required to properly define and account for each item of water use
and productivity with water conservation and saving being the primary drivers to
achieve higher performance (García-Pérez et al. 2013). From this perspective, the
performance concepts need to be differently defined, understood, and applied. In
other words, we need a new model in terms of conceptualization of water use
performance that can be understood by users, managers, and decision makers
alike. This improved conceptualization can then provide a common framework
around which actual water use (hopefully monitored water use—debate over
words is not very useful if the actual volumes involved are only approximate) can
become sustainable for large and small farmers or other users, in all climates and
in societies with different degrees of development, utilizing a wide range of
technologies (Chan et al. 2009; Kalbar et al. 2012; Muga and Mihelcic 2008;
Tomar and Suthar 2011; Travis et al. 2012).
The terms water conservation and water saving are generally associated with the
management of water resources under scarcity. However, these terms are often used
with different meanings within specific scientific and technical disciplines or in the
water user sector considered. Often, both terms are used synonymously. The term
water conservation is used here to refer to every policy, managerial measure, or user
practice that aims to conserve or preserve the water resource, as well as to combat
the degradation of the water resource, including its quality. Differently, the term
water saving describes the avoidance of loss of water by limiting or controlling
water demand and use for any specific purpose (Muga and Mihelcic 2008; Jin et al.
2013), including the avoidance of wastes and the misuse of water.
In practice, these terms or perspectives are complementary and interrelated.
Water conservation plays a major role in rain-fed agriculture and when irrigation is
supplemental of rainfall (Chan et al. 2009; Muga and Mihelcic 2008; Wang et al.
2012), but it is essential in all water use systems, often as a means to achieve water
saving. Water conservation can play a major role in agricultural and landscape
3 Water Recycling in Biosystems for Food Production
79