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Water implications of biofuels production in the United States |
Jan 2008
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Among the possible challenges to biofuel development that may not have received appropriate attention are its effects on water and related land resources. The central questions are how water use and water quality are expected to change as the U.S. agricultural portfolio shifts to include more energy crops and as overall agricultural production potentially increases. Such questions need to be considered within the context of U.S. policy and also the expected advances in technology and agricultural practices that could help reduce water impacts.
To help illuminate these issues, the Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) of the National Research Council held a colloquium on “Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the United States” in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 2007, attended by people from federal and state government, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry. WSTB established a committee to organize and host the colloquium and to develop this report.
This report draws some conclusions about the water implications of biofuels productions based on discussions at the colloquium, written submissions of participants, the peer reviewed literature, and the best professional judgments of the committee.
The following issues have been addressed:
1. How much water and land might be required to grow different kinds of biomass in different regions? Where is water availability likely to be a limiting factor?
2. What are the possible, or likely, water quality effects associated with increases in production of different kinds of biomass?
3. What promising agricultural practices and technologies might help reduce water use or minimize water pollution associated with biomass production?
4. What are the water requirements of existing and proposed production plants, and what water quality problems may be associated with them?
5. What policy, regulatory, and legal changes might help address some of these water-use and water quality issues?
By: Committee on Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the U.S. (NRC)
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