On the Water Front

Observations from World Water Week: Indigenous voices gain center stage; groundwater remains largely overlooked

By Ann Hayden / Published: September 23, 2025

Aerial view of audience and stage at World Water Week Last month EDF co-hosted a side event at World Water Week in Stockholm with an ambitious goal: to catalyze collaboration around a global movement to tackle the groundwater crises affecting many regions of the world.

The event, co-hosted with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and WELL Labs, addressed the need to raise the profile of the groundwater crisis at international water and climate change convenings like World Water Week, particularly given groundwater’s importance to food security, community health and livelihoods.

Despite the limited attention on groundwater at World Water Week, we observed other encouraging shifts at the conference this year, including the elevation of Indigenous voices and a greater focus on the connections between water resilience and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Here is a deeper look at these World Water Week highlights.

Also posted in Global, Groundwater / Tagged agriculture, climate change, community resilience, corporate water stewardship, groundwater, groundwater management, Indigenous water management, Tribes | Authors: ahayden / Comments are closed

Measuring what matters: Communities in India assess water solutions

By Leah Beaulac and Gopal Penny / Published: September 12, 2025

People behind a farm pond with a staff gauge to measure water levels

A team installed a staff gauge in a farm pond in Toopran, Telangana, to measure water levels over time. Photo credit: Vanya Mehta

This blog was co-authored by Vanya Mehta from WELL Labs.

Water-saving solutions behave differently across India, depending on a region’s hydrogeology and land use patterns. An intervention that is successful in one landscape may be a failure in another. By nature, water is dynamic, and, with the added variability of climate change, difficult to predict. As our scientific understanding evolves, both of water and solutions to conserve it, there is a need to continuously monitor the impact of these solutions on both farmers and water.

In most cases, the water sector relies on short-term monitoring and evaluation (M&E) assessments that measure inputs and outputs, rather than long-term outcomes. This can lead to gaps in our long-term understanding of water sustainability and equity.

For example, in discussions with four experienced civil society organizations (CSOs) in India, we found that donors required them to report on the number of outputs, such as rainwater harvesting units constructed or number of farmers trained on a water-saving production technique. Water levels, soil moisture, and other indicators of water conservation were not measured during the projects. In such a scenario, it would be difficult to confirm whether the units constructed or farmers trained led to any impactful change in critical outcomes related to groundwater levels, recharge potential, agricultural yields, or total irrigation applied. Both secondary data and farmer recall data is not sufficient to understand variable environmental impacts.

To solve this issue, the hydrology team working on the project (Ishita Jalan, Lakshmikantha NR, Clinton Fernandes, Anas KP, Vivek Grewal, and Gopal Penny) has developed a protocol for field-based, community-led continuous monitoring.

Also posted in Groundwater, India / Tagged agriculture, community resilience, groundwater, groundwater management, India, water conservation | Authors: lbeaulac, gpenny / Leave a comment

The transformative power of three days on a river

By Ann Hayden / Published: August 22, 2025

Group putting all their hands together to form a circle in the middle.

The history of California water is saturated with stories about years-long battles that inevitably get called “water wars.” But UC Merced is trying to flip that narrative and chart a new course for water in California based on finding common ground, or in this case, finding common water.

“Finding Common Water” is the name of a river trip that UC Merced and EDF have organized to bring together individuals who often hold diverse perspectives. The goal is to find areas of alignment and explore new collaborations.

I joined the inaugural “Finding Common Water” river trip that EDF and UC Merced co-hosted in 2022, and returned this summer for another unforgettable experience organized by Josh Viers and Lauren Parker of UC Merced’s Secure Water Future Program and financially supported by EDF and the State Water Contractors. Our diverse cast of rafters came from state and federal water agencies, a local water district, a Tribe, environmental and rural community nonprofits, and agriculture.

At a time when there is so much chaos and uncertainty in the world, getting out and spending three days along a secluded stretch of the Tuolumne with this fascinating group did wonders for the soul. As Josh said at the end of the tour, “Three days on the river buys me 300 more days off the river.”

Also posted in California, Community / Tagged agriculture, california drought, california water, california water manager, water conservation, water security, water use | Authors: ahayden / Leave a comment

It’s Colorado River Day — a time to celebrate a dedicated stream of water funding

By Brian Jackson / Published: July 25, 2025

To mark Colorado River Day today, it seems fitting to celebrate Colorado’s 10-year journey to dedicating $50+ million a year to fund water projects and support the resource that makes Colorado so special: its water. And I’d like to briefly highlight three very different projects that have benefited from this vital new funding stream.

It started with the first Colorado Water Plan.

While drinking water utilities and large agricultural districts can often tap ratepayer fees to fund millions if not billions of dollars of improvement and maintenance projects, the same has not historically been the case for Colorado’s beloved rivers and streams. In 2015, the first Colorado Water Plan highlighted the urgent need to fill a gap for reliable, dedicated funding to support rivers, restoration, recreation, and aging agricultural infrastructure.

Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights makes creating a new funding stream extremely challenging, but a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision provided a new opening by eliminating a ban on state-based sports betting. In 2019, thanks in part to a bipartisan campaign supported by EDF, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and a host of other water users, Colorado voters approved Proposition DD, which legalized sports betting and dedicated the tax revenues from it specifically to fund water projects.

Also posted in colorado, Colorado River / Tagged agriculture, colorado river, fish, urban water, water conservation | Authors: bjackson / Leave a comment

EDF deepens efforts to recharge groundwater, bolster farmer prosperity in India

By Jonathan Seefeldt / Published: October 15, 2024

EDF’s Leah Beaulac (bottom right) and Nikhil Goveas (right) listen to a groundwater user group meeting in Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh.

EDF is helping farmers address one of their core climate challenges: securing a reliable water supply. This September, an EDF team led by Ann Hayden, Nikhil Goveas, Gopal Penny and Leah Beaulac conducted a series of comprehensive site visits and workshops across drought-prone areas of central India.

Water availability in India is a core climate issue for the world. India is by far the largest user of groundwater in the world. More than 60% of the country’s irrigated agriculture and 85% of drinking water supplies depend on groundwater. Global food prices and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of farmers depend on India finding a path to sustainable groundwater use. EDF is committed to building a network of partnerships to help achieve this critical climate goal.

Also posted in Global, Groundwater / Tagged Data | Authors: jseefeldt / Leave a comment

Revisiting the first OpenET Applications Conference: how satellite-based data is transforming water, farm, and forest management

By Rachel O'Connor / Published: May 31, 2024

This spring, hundreds of scientists, engineers, water managers, farmers and ranchers gathered in New Mexico to share and learn about how OpenET data is being used to advance water resources management. OpenET has radically improved access to data on evapotranspiration (ET) — or how much water plants and other vegetation consume. The result has been a flood of new applications of ET data in land and water management.

This year’s convening in New Mexico was a first-ever chance to take stock of all the ways people are using OpenET. The conference cut across a wide range of geographies and sectors and revealed a quickly emerging, dynamic community of practice centered on the platform. Read More »

Also posted in Colorado River / Tagged OpenET | Authors: racheloconnor / Leave a comment