Integrated Water Resource Management

As defined by the Global Water Partnership, integrated water resource management is a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. Resources available within this theme provide guidance on how to conserve and restore watersheds, reduce pollution, adapt to climate change and reduce risks from floods and droughts.

Integrated Water Resource Management Resources

The Role of Conservation Program Design in Drought Risk Adaptation

Published: 
July 1, 2013
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Drought-risk adaptation involves farmers taking actions or making investments that reduce their vulnerability to drought. These actions and investments will generally be of greater benefit to farmers in areas that face a higher risk of drought during the growing season. As a result, other things...Read more

Improving Air and Water Quality Can Be Two Sides of the Same Coin

Published: 
September 1, 2005
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Air quality policies have traditionally focused on urban areas and industrial emissions. Extending these laws to cover agriculture would require an understanding of how farmers respond to different policy incentives. Farmers have many choices in deciding on what to produce and the production...Read more

Irrigation and Water Use - Briefing Room

Published: 
November 22, 2004
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agriculture is a major user of ground and surface water in the United States, accounting for 80 percent of the Nation's consumptive water use and over 90 percent in many Western States. This ERS research program investigates water allocation, water conservation, and water management issues...Read more

Irrigation and Water use: Glossary

Published: 
October 26, 2004
U.S. Department of Agriculture
An overview of agricultural methods, systems, and practices to increase land and water productivity. Several definitions are offered for terms associated with water use and agriculture. Read more

Video: Managing Integrated Water Services with SolutionMUS

Published: 
May 1, 2015
Winrock International
Ensuring sustainable water service delivery requires effective management. SolutionMUS accomplishes this by ensuring that four key building are in place: structures for governance, sustainable financing, a functioning supply chain and post-construction support. The SolutionMUS approach to...Read more

Climate Resilience Evaluation Tool (CREAT)

Published: 
January 1, 1970
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA has developed CREAT, a software tool to assist drinking water and wastewater utility owners and operators in understanding potential climate change threats and in assessing the related risks at their individual utilities. CREAT provides users with access to the most recent national assessment...Read more

Water Quality Index for Runoff Water from Agricultural Fields (WQIag)

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Water Quality Index for Runoff from Agricultural Fields (WQI) is currently being developed by the USDA/NRCS-WNTSC National Water Quality/Quantity Team in Portland, Oregon. The purpose/benefits of this tool include: comparative assessment over time & space, no substitute for monitoring/...Read more

Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX)

U.S. Department of Agriculture
The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model was developed for use in whole farm/small watershed management. The model was constructed to evaluate various land management strategies considering sustainability, erosion (wind, sheet, and channel), economics, water supply and quality,...Read more

Soil and Water Assessment Tool

U.S. Department of Agriculture
The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a public domain model jointly developed by USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, part of The Texas A&M University System. SWAT is a small watershed to river basin-scale model to simulate the quality and...Read more
Regional focus: 
Global

Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Model

U.S. Department of Agriculture
AGNPS is a tool for use in evaluating the effect of management decisions impacting water, sediment and chemical loadings within a watershed system. The term "AGNPS" now refers to the system of modeling components instead of the single event AGNPS, which was discontinued in the mid-1990...Read more

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