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. . . Western States Water CounSil Water Resources Committee Minutes Boise, Idaho April 21, 2005 Roger Patterson suggested we ask for a presentation in Seattle. Tony suggested Rodney Brown, USDA, as an ally. Hal Simpson said we should look for support as part of the Colorado River water use assessment. Tom Spofford noted there are a number of special studies ongoing with Interior and NASA, which are efforts that we might feed into. Weir Labatt remarked that streamgaging is very important to Texas. Dave continued with a discussion of the work plan and subcommittees, and asked for any comments or concerns. The plan was moved, approved and adopted. CSREES AND AGRICULTURAL WATER SECURITY Mike O'Neill, with USDA's Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CREES), stated regarding the water conservation discussions, "I've learned a lot about westefJ? states, and it highlights the need for us to collaborate more closely in research and education." Copies of his powerpoint presentation were handed out. What is water security? How much water should agriculture have? We talk about security as meeting the food and fiber needs of the world, and maximize efficiency. We look at urban and agricultural uses working together. Water scarcity is alarming, even in humid areas like Georgia, and worldwide. What are the issues? Homeland security and food importations are a concern. Last year, we imported more food than we exported for first time! We've got to create incentives to save water and send a consistent message. Water reuse, conservation, irrigation efficiency, drought, biotechnology, marketing/economics are all issues. He summarized the listening session held last year on water conservation that involved state and federal agencies, NGOs, and private companies. We've had drought in 48 states in the last 5 years. We have an opportunity to be part of the solution to water security, get ahead of the curve. What did they say? We want to see behavior change. Local communities' planning should consider water supply. Agriculture needs to be more diverse, and have the ability to trade water. There are gaps in data. There is a government-wide committee on water availability and water quality, meeting each month, trying to better coordinate and develop strategic plans for federal water research. With respect to bold steps, there were ideas for six areas of emphasis that included optimizing agricultural water use efficiency, organizing USDA around water supply issues, not interfering with states rights, and national-wide data information resources. They also talked about a water census, 7