The Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas: A New Geospatial Library of Solutions to Water Scarcity in the U.S. Southwest

As climate change, population demands, and economic growth put increasing pressure on finite water resources in the southwestern United States, there is a critical need for adaptation to increasing water scarcity in the region. The Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas (WATA) is a new web-based compendium of geospatially-referenced solutions to problems posed by water scarcity. Developed by the USDA Southwest and California Climate Hubs, WATA arranges these solutions as case studies pinpointed on an interactive, user-friendly map viewer. Cases include research outcomes and practices that impact water use and availability to alleviate the mismatch between supply and demand. Organization of case studies by type of practice, specific crops, types of water user and water use allows a broad base of users to locate adaptations of particular interest. An example use case presented in this article shows how WATA can be used to investigate alternatives to alfalfa, one of the biggest water-consuming crops in the region. The development of WATA is an ongoing, iterative process, informed by new research and by feedback from agricultural professionals and others concerned with water scarcity in the Southwest.