Corn ethanol might impact water quality

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The National Research Council has warned that the increased use of corn to produce ethanol could harm U.S. water quality and create water supply problems.

The NRC looked at how shifts in the nation's agriculture to include more energy crops, and potentially more crops overall, could affect water management and the long-term sustainability of biofuel production.

In terms of water quantity, researchers found agricultural shifts to growing corn and expanding biofuel crops into dry regions could change current irrigation practices and greatly increase pressure on water resources in many parts of the United States.

For example, the report noted that in the Northern and Southern Plains, corn generally uses more water than soybeans and cotton, while the reverse is true in the Pacific and mountain regions of the nation. Water demands for drinking and such uses as hydropower, fish habitat, and recreation could compete with, and in some cases constrain, the use of water for biofuel crops.

Consequently, researchers said, growing biofuel crops requiring additional irrigation in areas with limited water supplies is a major concern.

The study was sponsored by the McKnight Foundation, Energy Foundation, National Science Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and National Research Council Day Fund.