CONSERVE@1 year!

March 1, 2017, marks the beginning of Year 2 for the United States Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded CONSERVE. CONSERVE's ongoing research, education, and extension efforts are developed with the goal of enabling the safe use of nontraditional irrigation water on food crops and effectively reducing the nation’s agricultural water challenges that are exacerbated by climate change. In the first year, the CONSERVE progress and accomplishments have been significant. To list just a few of the many highlights to date:

61 CONSERVE scholars from 7 different institutions supported by CONSERVE funds and working toward CONSERVE goals: (20 Undergraduate students, 21 graduate students, 6 post-doctoral fellows, 14 technical staff)

27 conference presentations by CONSERVE team members

9 articles published by or featuring CONSERVE team members

17 field sites sampled in the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest (3 water reclamation irrigation sites that utilize recycled water from municipal wastewater treatment plants; 3 vegetable/beverage processing sites that discharge wastewater/recycled water that could potentially be used for irrigation; 2 farms that are interested in using pond water for irrigation; 4 sites that are using non-tidal freshwater for irrigation; 1 site that is using tidal freshwater for irrigation; and 1 farm that is using tidal brackish water for irrigation; 3 wastewater treatment plants)

147 samples collected, processed, and purified and sent for 16S rRNA sequencing and/or metagenomic shotgun sequencing

1,400 adult subjects participated in five economic experiments examining consumer preferences for foods grown with traditional vs. nontraditional irrigation water sources

3 high level advisory panels established (the CONSERVE Advisory Committee, the Mid-Atlantic CONSERVE Extension Advisory Panel, and the Southwest CONSERVE Extension Advisory Panel)

9 CONSERVE scholars travelled to Israel to learn about the successful water reuse for irrigation policies and processes that the small, arid country has implemented to successfully transition from extreme water shortage to abundance

4 states researched to compile the existing laws detailing water reuse for irrigating food crops (Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and California)

CONSERVE Year 2 plans are ambitious, including:

The first cohort of CONSERVE Summer Interns (undergraduate students who will intern in CONSERVE-funded labs around the US)
The first CONSERVE multimedia educational video
The first CONSERVE scholars workshop
The continuation of regular sampling schedules
The continuation of consumer and grower assessment data collection and analysis
The initial research to establish a laboratory-scale ZVI filter that can be implemented into a field setting
Expansion of peer reviewed publications, conference presentations, and communications vehicles
And much, much more

Go to conservewaterforfood.org for more information and updates.

CONSERVE Scholars in Israel
In January of 2017, law students, business and economics graduate students and CONSERVE scholars journeyed through Israel to study water reuse and learn about how the Arava Institute is working toward improving water access for communities in the West Bank. Funded in part by a grant from the University of Maryland Baltimore’s Center for Global Education Initiatives and CONSERVE researchers, the participants will ultimately draft a report for CONSERVE Collaborator Clive Lipchin and the Arava Institute that will focus on the Institute’s efforts to incorporate sustainable water reuse technologies in the Palestinian territory and how strategies may be employed in off-grid communities in the region to improve water access and reuse.