Clean WateR3 - Reduce, Remediate, Recycle: The Genesis of a SCRI-CAP Project

In September 2014, researchers received funding for a SCRI-Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP) entitled “Clean WateR³ - Reduce, Remediate, Recycle – Enhancing Alternative Water Resources Availability and Use to Increase Profitability in Specialty Crops.”  This project was initiated as a coordinated effort among a number of scientists through a multistate research group (NC1186 Water Management and Quality for Ornamental Crop Production and Health) and resulted in a 2011 SCRI planning grant titled “Containment, Remediation, and Recycling of Irrigation Water for Sustainable Ornamental Crop Production”.  Planning grant dollars were used to bring together scientists and stakeholders, conduct a national survey, and discuss and identify water use and management strategies employed by progressive growers throughout the U.S.  Furthermore, funds were used to recruit scientists from various disciplines (socioeconomics, engineering, horticultural systems, plant pathology, environmental toxicology, and Extension), bring together a trans-disciplinary, multi-institutional research team, and over 18-months prioritize research areas of concern, refine project goals, and develop project objectives.  Grant preparation was an iterative process that entailed two writing workshops for the team as a whole and a final core-writing group workshop prior to proposal submission.  Overarching project goals encourage recycling and reuse of remediated irrigation runoff via developing an online decision support model available for grower use, and to research and select runoff treatment (remediation) technologies (TTs) suited for implementation at the individual site level.  The Clean WateR³ team has already held its first project and Advisory Board meeting, where research on project objectives - including barriers to adoption - were refined and initiated.  Outcomes of this project will help growers treat and reuse operational water to save valuable water resources, and reduce the environmental impact of runoff water.