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Incorporating Virtual Water into Water Management: A British Columbia Example

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  • S. Brown
  • H. Schreier
  • L. Lavkulich

Abstract

Virtual water is the water required to produce food or a commodity, and includes rainwater in addition to irrigation and the water required to grow feed in livestock systems. Measuring virtual water is a useful concept in assessing water management as it permits the comparison of crops and livestock from the perspective of embedded water. To evaluate trade-offs in water allocation in countries like Canada with large regional variability in climate, virtual water should be calculated on a watershed scale. Two watersheds in Canada were selected representing wet and dry regions, and virtual water requirements for crop and livestock products were evaluated. For both the Lower Fraser Valley and the Okanagan basins, the results indicate that the most water demanding agricultural activities are livestock and fodder production. In the Lower Fraser basin, berry crops require 32 Mm 3 of virtual water per year and have a potential value of $95 million. In contrast, the major fruit crops in the Okanagan require 63 Mm 3 of virtual water per year and have a potential value of $68 million. Blueberries and grapes which have moderately high virtual water contents have been expanding in the Lower Fraser and Okanagan basins respectively. Water to grow feed dominates overall animal virtual water requirements. Livestock requires nearly 4.5 times more virtual water per year than crops in the Lower Fraser, poultry and dairy having the largest virtual water requirements. In the dry Okanagan basin the total virtual water requirements for crops and livestock are similar. To accommodate future growth, decisions on water management will need to be made, particularly in dry basins such as the Okanagan. Virtual water calculations provide information that can assist decision makers in the strategic choices of reallocation and conservation water use. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009

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  • S. Brown & H. Schreier & L. Lavkulich, 2009. "Incorporating Virtual Water into Water Management: A British Columbia Example," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 23(13), pages 2681-2696, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:23:y:2009:i:13:p:2681-2696
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-009-9403-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dennis Wichelns, 2010. "Virtual Water: A Helpful Perspective, but not a Sufficient Policy Criterion," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(10), pages 2203-2219, August.
    2. Alaa El-Sadek, 2010. "Virtual Water Trade as a Solution for Water Scarcity in Egypt," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(11), pages 2437-2448, September.
    3. Taleb Abu-Sharar & Emad Al-Karablieh & Munther Haddadin, 2012. "Role of Virtual Water in Optimizing Water Resources Management in Jordan," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(14), pages 3977-3993, November.
    4. Fu, YiCheng & Zhao, Jinyong & Wang, Chengli & Peng, Wenqi & Wang, Qi & Zhang, Chunling, 2018. "The virtual Water flow of crops between intraregional and interregional in mainland China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 204-213.
    5. Xiaoling Su & Jianfang Li & Vijay Singh, 2014. "Optimal Allocation of Agricultural Water Resources Based on Virtual Water Subdivision in Shiyang River Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(8), pages 2243-2257, June.
    6. Shifeng Fang & Huan Pei & Zhihui Liu & Keith Beven & Zhaocai Wei, 2010. "Water Resources Assessment and Regional Virtual Water Potential in the Turpan Basin, China," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(13), pages 3321-3332, October.
    7. Pilar Montesinos & Emilio Camacho & Blanca Campos & Juan Rodríguez-Díaz, 2011. "Analysis of Virtual Irrigation Water. Application to Water Resources Management in a Mediterranean River Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(6), pages 1635-1651, April.
    8. María Jesús Beltrán & Esther Velázquez, 2011. "Del metabolismo social al metabolismo hídrico," Documentos de Trabajo de la Asociación de Economía Ecológica en España 01_2011, Asociación de Economía Ecológica en España.
    9. Liqiang Ge & Gaodi Xie & Caixia Zhang & Shimei Li & Yue Qi & Shuyan Cao & Tingting He, 2011. "An Evaluation of China’s Water Footprint," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(10), pages 2633-2647, August.
    10. Dong Yan & Zhiwei Jia & Jie Xue & Huaiwei Sun & Dongwei Gui & Yi Liu & Xiaofan Zeng, 2018. "Inter-Regional Coordination to Improve Equality in the Agricultural Virtual Water Trade," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.

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