Skip to main content
Hero Image
Drought conditions in a New Mexico landscape.

A New Tool for Addressing Water Scarcity

Water scarcity in the Southwest U.S. has been a problem for decades. Combined with the effects of climate change and a growing economy and population, limited water resources can negatively impact people’s day-to-day lives and livelihoods. An ARS research team along with partners from the Southwest Climate Hub in Las Cruces, NM, developed a resource called The Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas (WATA).

WATA works by documenting efforts to adapt to water scarcity, such as reducing water use, increasing water supply, or changing the way water flows through the landscape. The tool provides users with a map with solutions pinned to the location in which they took place. You can click on a case in the map or use the filter or search tools. Once you’ve selected the case, you can view the information related to it, including information that will help evaluate the management practices provided.

Related Information

Research Project:  Develop And Share a Geospatially Referenced Tool to Support Water Adaptation Techniques in the Western United States.

Explore Other Discoveries

Making Rangelands More Appetizing

Researchers used the Lawson Aerator to evaluate the effectiveness of a mechanical treatment to renovate rangelands.

Row, Row Your Boat Gently Down the Stream

A novel approach for determining the effectiveness of conservation practices in reducing nitrate losses.

Recharging Water Supplies

Pumping groundwater from local aquifers to irrigate crops has increased yields but is steadily reducing the supply of available water for future use.

Helping Promote Food Security on Tribal Lands

Researchers worked with the Quapaw tribe to create high-resolution digital maps of soil properties for their tribal lands.

Improved Irrigation Management Tool

To support efficient water management, ARS researchers developed an open-source model, pyfao56, for precise crop water management.

Undercutting Wildfire

A team of researchers has combined satellite data with virtual fencing to turn ordinary livestock grazing into a powerful tool to reduce wildfire risk.

Environmental Sustainability of U.S. Beef

ARS, the University of Arkansas and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, led a study to identify environmental impacts from U.S. beef production.

Reducing Ammonia Emissions and Phosphorus Runoff

Study finds ammonium nitrate had 34% lower yield compared to poultry litter treated with alum.

Curbing Greenhouse Gases From Crop Fields

A team from ARS and the University of Minnesota tested soil additives containing nitrogen-fixing microorganisms in a 3-year field study.