A large pipe empties water into the river. The screen divides into two halves. The right side displays the pipe draining water into the river, while the left side introduces the video's title, "Thirsty Agriculture."
A series of images showcases various water usages, including industrial, agricultural, and recreational applications.
Water–perhaps the most crucial component of life! Water is used by everyone. We are all interconnected by our uses of water - agricultural users, industrial users, recreational users, and individuals. Just think, water is a renewable resource that has been used millions of times.
Images depict water flowing at a rapid rate.
There is no new water! And there’s not going to be.
A middle-aged man, introduced as Daniel Nix, Utilities Operations Manager in Wichita Falls, Texas, addresses the audience. AS he talks, the screen transitions to sprinklers irrigating farmland.
DANIEL NIX: The water that you have is all the water that you have. And, so you need to start looking at how you use it and using it more wisely and more productively than we have in the past.
Vegetables are washed under a tap near the washbasin.
NARRATOR: What we do with water matters every day!
Two images portray water scarcity—a desert and drought.
Water can routinely be scarce in some areas of the country or scarce because of climate conditions like drought.
A densely populated area is shown.
And sometimes growing population needs conflict with rural use needs for water.
An irrigation facility waters farmland. Animals stand knee-deep in the water.
Water must be clean, abundant, and readily available where agricultural crops and livestock are produced. Agriculture alone uses 39% of fresh water in the United States. To be effective, this water needs to be of high quality.
The screen splits, displaying a sprinkler on the right and the text "Agriculture: Uses 39% of Fresh Water in the United States" on the left.
As Daniel Nix resumes speaking, the image overlaps with a small body of water flowing through a natural habitat.
DANIEL NIX: Water quality is important for many reasons - obviously every different type of industry or consumer of the water has a different type of quality that it needs and so everything that we do to the water quality upstream affects downstream users.
The screen divides again, showing a body of water on the right and items read by the narrator on the left.
NARRATOR: We can determine water quality from factors like: Alkalinity or acidity–called pH, oxygen levels, total suspended solids, nutrients, bacteria, and macroinvertebrates.
Water is contained in a beaker in a laboratory, labeled "pH Alkalinity or Acidity."
Let’s review each water quality factor: pH tells us if the water is more alkaline or acidic.
A series of images display different types of water bodies.
Aquatic life can thrive in pH neutral water but will struggle or die in water with higher alkalinity or acidity. The pH can affect the availability of nutrients in water.
A river flows, labeled "Dissolved Oxygen." Fish and other aquatic life are seen within the river.
Healthy waters have a higher dissolved oxygen level – or more oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is important – that’s how fish and other aquatic life get oxygen to live.
A woman holds a beaker filled with muddied water, labeled "TSS- Total Suspended Solids."
Total suspended solids are another factor we measure for water quality.
Images depict muddied water bodies.
TSS measures the weight of organic material and minerals in the water. High levels of turbidity are indicated when light is scattered more and thus visibility is lower. Think about how muddy water looks – that’s high turbidity.
A fertilizer sprinkler operates in farmland, labeled "Nutrients." Groundwater flows swiftly. Water plants are visible.
Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus may enter water sources from cropland runoff or even from your own yard. These nutrients typically promote growth of plants on land but can also promote their growth in the water.
Daniel Nix speaks while images of farmland, a river, and a lake with water organisms on its surface are displayed.
DANIEL NIX: Fertilizer, the nutrients, the phosphorus, the ammonia; realizing that they’re great for your crop but when they enter a river or lake, they’re also great for algae production. And those organisms will use the same nutrients that your crop is using as a food source.
A man works in a laboratory. A fish swims in the water.
NARRATOR: Overpopulation of algae can deplete the dissolved oxygen in water, causing problems for other life forms.
A woman looks through a microscope in the laboratory, labeled "Bacteria."
Bacteria can also be present in water and affect the overall quality.
Two images depict minerals and human waste management.
Bacteria can come from livestock manure or human waste entering the water source.
Snails are seen floating in the water, with the text box labeled "Macroinvertebrates."
Macroinvertebrates also live in water – they are very tiny organisms like larval insects, worms, and snails. Macroinvertebrates are sensitive to changes in water quality in a stream, and therefore are a good water quality indicator because they are not tolerant of pollution. When they are present in large quantities, you know the water quality is good.
A man is working in a laboratory, and the text box indicates "Temperature."
Water temperature is another factor we should consider when discussing water quality.
A series of images illustrates the impact of temperature on water bodies and aquatic life.
The temperature of a body of water affects the type of aquatic life that can thrive in it, and how much oxygen is carried in the water. Cooler water has higher levels of dissolved oxygen for fish and other aquatic life to thrive on. Increased water temperature causes decreased dissolved oxygen levels.
A sequence of images showcases various irrigation installations in different farmlands.
Think about how the water quality factors are affected by agriculture. What could producers do to help conserve the quality and quantity of their water resources?
As Daniel Nix resumes addressing the audience, the images overlap, displaying a fertilizer sprinkler operating on farmland, muddy groundwater flowing, and irrigation systems, among others.
DANIEL NIX: Agriculture needs to do good practices when it’s putting in fertilizers, and herbicides and pesticides because what’s not used when you get a rain will run off and that goes downstream and affects somebody further downstream whether it be another ag user or a municipal source. With those irrigation systems you want to make sure they’re maintained properly. You can switch from spray irrigation to bubbler or soaker systems which are much more efficient, you go from a 50 percent loss to a 2 percent loss.
Joyful ducks are swimming in the river.
NARRATOR: As you can see, water is a critical component of life–all forms of life!
A large pipe is shown draining water into a body of water.