Abstract for: Evaluating Social-Ecological Dynamics of Irrigation Practices that Impacts Water Conservation Effectiveness

With a growing population irrigated agriculture faces pressure to maximize crop production per unit of water. Environmental and water policy experts believe that improving irrigation efficiency will free up water for environmental and urban needs. Despite substantial investments in water conservation, many efforts have failed to increase water availability for new users, highlighting the complexity of water management and the need for a deeper understanding of conservation outcomes. The social-ecological system approach is used to explore the complexities of water conservation effectiveness from efficient irrigation practices. To develop the model both quantitative and qualitative data is used consisting USGS hydrology data, interviews data from irrigation district members, and literature information on water conservation, irrigation efficiency and water rights are used for understanding irrigation water conservation dynamics. The development of the model is still in progress and focuses on comparing different irrigation methods to assess water conservation outcomes. The hypothesis of the model is “more efficient irrigation practices will result in reduced non-consumptive water use (return flow) that impacts the water conservation effectiveness”. To address water issues arising from climate change and human interventions, water conservation in irrigation is crucial. The output of this model will help stakeholders at multiple levels to understand how the water conservation system behaves under different irrigation practices, considering the influences of different social-ecological eleents. Additionally, the model will provide insights into the policy measures required to enhance water conservation effectiveness in irrigation of WWRB. Used AI for improving writing