Successful Partnerships between Agriculture and Water Utilities Highlighted in White Paper

On Feb. 3, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, AGree, and the U.S. Water Alliance released a white paper entitled Collaborating for Healthy Watersheds. The paper highlights nine successful municipal-agricultural collaborations across the U.S. that address water quality issues at the watershed level. The traditional approach of building more and more advanced water and wastewater treatment facilities can result in an economic burden to many communities. This paper, however, describes partnership models between municipalities and farmers that can lead to more cost-effective water quality solutions and nutrient pollution reductions in the nation’s surface waters. These partnerships are mutually beneficial opportunities that can help farmers address soil and nutrient losses that affect the bottom line of both agricultural operations as well as those of water and wastewater utilities.