Category: News

OpenET User Testimonials

Arizona

“The changing climate is dramatically increasing wildfire risks across the West, which also threatens our already shrinking water supplies. OpenET is giving Salt River Project a unique opportunity to learn more about how forest thinning projects that reduce wildfire risk also improve watershed health in the short and long term.”
—Elvy Barton, Forest Health Management Principal, Salt River Project

Bureau of Reclamation
“Every five years, the Bureau of Reclamation reports on water use and loss for the Upper Colorado River Basin states. As Colorado River flows significantly decline, the Bureau’s five-year report will be more important than ever. OpenET will serve as a valuable tool to help the Bureau to compare several satellite-based methods for measuring water consumption and determine which approach is most appropriate for the five-year Colorado River report.”
—James Prairie, Hydrologic Engineer, U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation

California

“California’s last drought demonstrated that reliable water data is almost as critical to farmers and water managers as the water supply itself. As our state and the entire western U.S. grapple with even more severe drought as a result of climate change, the launch of OpenET comes at a pivotal moment. It offers farmers and water managers a collaborative, 21st century tool to plan for and adapt to rapidly shifting water needs.”
—E. Joaquin Esquivel, Chair, California State Water Resources Control Board

“OpenET represents a game-changing leap forward for water management in the West. Starting in January 2022, OpenET will give Delta farmers a much easier, less expensive way to comply with state rules on monitoring and reporting water use. Instead of physically measuring every diversion, Delta farmers will be able to submit OpenET’s estimate of their crop water use. OpenET will save time, money, and confusion in the Delta, the hub of California’s water supply.”
—Michael George, Delta Watermaster­­­

“Measuring water use in the Delta with traditional ground-based tools is a fool’s errand because of the region’s unique hydrology. OpenET provides us the ability to gain a more precise, timely and meaningful measurement of water use in the Delta. OpenET will be of great value for Delta farmers, state regulators, and policymakers as we collaborate to better manage our common vital water resources for our future.”
—Brett Baker, Sixth-generation Pear Farmer and Attorney, Central Delta Water Agency

“Gallo has invested substantially in ET data research because it enables us to use water much more sustainably as we face more frequent heat spikes and increasingly severe droughts. Working with USDA and NASA, we have experimentally used ET data to adjust irrigation amounts to actual vine water needs and to reduce applied water by up to 20%. But we need OpenET to be able to scale this application to all our vineyard acres.”
—Maria Mar Alsina, Research Scientist, E. & J. Gallo Winery

“To comply with California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Rosedale turned to OpenET for highly accurate water data to help our landowners more easily manage their own groundwater budgets through an online accounting platform. Because OpenET has brought together so many leading experts on satellite-based water data, I’m confident OpenET will become the de facto source of water data across not only California but the entire West.”
—Eric Averett, Board Member, California Water Data Consortium, and CEO, Homer LLC; Former General Manager, Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District

Colorado

“OpenET is a major step forward for managing water needs in a time when the Colorado River Basin is facing unprecedented challenges. New tools to help our farmers and ranchers more effectively manage their water use not only supports their crop and bottom line, but creates opportunities for more water to remain in our river systems to benefit both people and nature.”
—Aaron Derwingson, Water Projects Director, Colorado River Program, The Nature Conservancy

Nevada

“The Nevada Division of Water Resources strongly supports the continued development and public accessibility of OpenET. This outstanding tool directly benefits water users throughout Nevada and the West who strive to improve efficiency and conserve water. Public access to these data will be increasingly vital to support water users and responsible water management needs into the future.”
—Adam Sullivan, Nevada State Engineer, Nevada Division of Water Resources

“If you give farmers better information on when they should and shouldn’t have their water on, you’re going to save water. I think that’s the great value of OpenET.”
—Denise Moyle, Nevada Alfalfa Farmer

Oregon

“As the basin where I farm runs a substantial groundwater deficit, I have used ET data to design more efficient irrigation systems that reduce applied water by up to 25% and electricity costs by up to 20%. Because ET data is so important, I introduced legislation to use OpenET to develop water budgets for every groundwater basin in Oregon to ensure we have enough water for a growing population as droughts become more extreme. If you haven’t experienced climate change yet, it’s coming, and we need data and technology like OpenET to help us adapt.”
—Mark Owens, Oregon State Representative and Alfalfa Farmer

Utah

“The development of OpenET is fundamental to filling a data black hole related to consumptive use of water. We are thrilled with the prospects it provides for improved, informed water management at the scale of basin and farm, alike.”
—Bart Leeflang, Colorado River Program Manager, Central Utah Water Conservancy District

Washington

“The old adage is that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. For water managers, water users and citizens alike, understanding how much water is being consumed at both the farm and watershed level is an immense challenge. The OpenET platform will simplify that task and will do it in a way that is cost-effective, scientifically sound, transparent and accessible. OpenET will inform our work at both the operational and planning levels. It’s an especially welcomed tool as climate change shapes our understanding of future water availability.”
—Mary Verner, Water Resources Program Manager, Washington State Department of Ecology

Western States Water Council

“Currently, access to satellite and ET data is limited and expensive to process and interpret for many water users and decision-makers. OpenET will provide credible, transparent, automated, easily accessible consumptive water use data, through a broad network of collaborators also developing and refining operational applications. No other system can provide easier access to more timely data with more refined spatial coverage.”
—Tony Willdardson, Executive Director, Western States Water Council

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Ronna Kelly, EDF, (510) 834-2563, rkelly@edf.org

OpenET will provide easily accessible satellite-based water data to help build a resilient future for agriculture.

(SACRAMENTO, CA — Sept. 15, 2020) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), NASA, the Desert Research Institute (DRI) and Google announced plans today to develop a new web application called OpenET to enable western U.S. farmers and water managers to accurately track water consumption by crops and other vegetation using data from satellites and weather stations.

A virtual media briefing and demo of OpenET will be held at 11 a.m. Pacific time today. To join, visit https://edf.zoom.us/j/94778845937 or call 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799 and enter the meeting code: 94778845937#.

OpenET will fill a critical information gap in water management in the West. Today, access to accurate, timely satellite-based data on the amount of water used to grow food is fragmented and often expensive, keeping it out of the hands of many farmers and decision-makers. Water supplies in the western U.S. are critical to the health of our communities, food supply and wildlife, but they are facing increasing pressures in the face of population growth and a changing climate.

Applications of OpenET data include:

• Informing irrigation management and scheduling practices to maximize “crop per drop” and reduce costs for water and fertilizer.
• Enabling water and land managers to develop more accurate water budgets and innovative management programs that promote adequate water supplies for agriculture, people and ecosystems.
  Supporting groundwater management, water trading and conservation programs that increase the economic viability of agriculture across the West.

What is evapotranspiration?

The “ET” in OpenET stands for evapotranspiration — the process by which water evaporates from the land surface and transpires from plants. Evapotranspiration, a key measure of water consumed by crops and vegetation, can be tracked by satellites because the process cools plants and soil down, so irrigated fields appear cooler in satellite images.

Using publicly available data, OpenET will make several methods for estimating evapotranspiration more widely accessible, ultimately helping to build broader trust and agreement around this information. OpenET will also make it possible to track the amount of evapotranspiration reduced when farmers change cropping patterns, invest in new technologies or adopt water-saving practices.

OpenET is expected to be available to the public in 2021.

OpenET will initially provide field-scale ET data in 17 states, with plans to expand to the entire United States and beyond. The 17 states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

“OpenET will help fill one of the biggest data gaps in water management in the western United States. Our primary goal is to make sure we are providing evapotranspiration data that is accurate, consistent, scientifically based and useful for water management, whether for an individual agricultural field or an entire river basin,” said Forrest Melton, program scientist for the NASA Western Water Applications Office. “OpenET is being created through an innovative collaboration among a national team of scientists, technology experts, farmers, government policy-makers and environmental nonprofits.”

“OpenET is a powerful application of cloud computing that will lead to measurable results on the ground in the agriculture sector. Google is proud to support such an important new tool,” said Google Earth Engine developer advocate Tyler Erickson.

“After 10 years of working with farmers and water agencies to develop ET estimates, it couldn’t be more rewarding to be creating an application like OpenET that uses best available science and makes ET data much more affordable and accessible to all,” said Justin Huntington, a research professor at Desert Research Institute. “We also see OpenET having the potential to scale up to other regions of the world, including South America and Africa.”

“OpenET will empower farmers and water managers across the West to build more accurate water budgets and identify stress, resulting in a more resilient system for agriculture, people and ecosystems,” said Robyn Grimm, senior manager, water information systems, at EDF. “We envision OpenET leveling the playing field by providing all farmers with data that until now have not been widely accessible to everyone.”

Unprecedented collaboration

OpenET is being developed with input from more than 100 stakeholders across the West.

NASA, EDF, DRI and HabitatSeven are the project leads for OpenET. Additional collaborators include Google Earth Engine, USGS, USDA Agricultural Research Service, California State University Monterey Bay, University of Idaho, University of Maryland, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The OpenET project has received funding from the NASA Applied Sciences Program Western Water Applications Office, S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Water Funder Initiative, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Delta Water Agencies, and the Windward Fund. In-kind support has been provided by Google Earth Engine and partners in the agricultural and water management communities.

Providing farmers and local water managers free ET data is a core objective of the OpenET project. For-profit entities and other organizations looking for large-scale access to OpenET data will be able to purchase it through an application programming interface (API). Revenue generated will fund continuing research and development of OpenET data services.

Support for OpenET

“The Harney Basin is running a groundwater deficit of 120,000 acre-feet to 130,000 acre-feet per year. We have used ET data to gain a better understanding of our water consumption and design more efficient irrigation systems that use about 15% less water. This could translate to a savings of 18% to 20% on electricity costs for pumping, too. With the demands on water from a growing population and feeding more people, we have to figure out how to get the best value from every drop of water. ET data is crucial to providing this information. ”
—Oregon State Rep. Mark Owens. Owens owns or manages 3,200 acres of farmland.

“Reliable water data is almost as critical to farmers and water managers as the water supply itself. With added pressure from population growth and the uncertainty that climate change impacts have on existing and future water supply, OpenET allows planning for agricultural water needs in a way that just wasn’t possible before.”
—E. Joaquin Esquivel, Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board

“Every five years, the Bureau of Reclamation is tasked with creating a report that summarizes water use and loss for the Upper Colorado River Basin states. Currently, there are several satellite-based methodologies to measure water, many of which will be incorporated into OpenET. Consequently, OpenET will serve as a valuable tool for us to test and compare ET measurement methodologies to determine the best approach for future studies.”
—James Prairie, Hydrologic Engineer, U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation

“OpenET will be a valuable tool to estimate historical and current water consumed by crops across Nevada. OpenET data also will be especially useful for monitoring consumptive use to support local groundwater management plans that are needed in response to long-term groundwater level declines.”
—Adam Sullivan, P.E., Nevada Deputy State Engineer

“To comply with the new groundwater law in California, it’s imperative to have accurate, transparent water use data to serve to build a groundwater budget. But currently ET data can be very expensive to acquire from consultants or universities, and the methodologies are often inconsistent and unclear. Consequently, Rosedale turned to OpenET for accurate parcel-level ET water data at a lower cost to build an online accounting platform for our landowners to more easily manage their own groundwater budgets. Because the OpenET project has brought together a team of leading experts on several approaches for measuring ET, I’m confident it will become the de facto source of water data among landowners and water managers alike.”
—Eric Averett, General Manager, Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District (California)

“OpenET represents a game-changing leap forward for water management in the West. OpenET will give water users in the Delta a much less expensive alternative method for complying with the state requirement to monitor and report on their water diversions.  Instead of physically measuring every diversion in the Delta, farmers will be able to look up OpenET’s estimate of their crop water use. If the estimate is acceptable to the farmer, the farmer knows that it will be acceptable to us. Concurring on OpenET’s ensemble measurement will save time, money and confusion.”
—Michael George, Delta Watermaster­­­ (California)

“OpenET is a great step forward for managing water needs in a time when demand far surpasses supply. Helping our farmers and ranchers more effectively manage their water use not only helps their crop and bottom line, but creates opportunities for more water to remain in our river systems to benefit both people and nature.”
—Aaron Derwingson, Water Projects Director, Colorado River Program, The Nature Conservancy

Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading international nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and our Growing Returns blog.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa.gov) is a U.S. government agency that leads an innovative program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and bring new knowledge and opportunities back to Earth. With its fleet of Earth-observing satellites and instruments, NASA uses the vantage point of space to understand and explore our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. 

The Desert Research Institute (dri.edu) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada’s diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI is one of eight institutions in the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Google Earth Engine (earthengine.google.com) is a geospatial processing platform that combines a multi-petabyte catalog of satellite imagery and other geospatial datasets with planetary-scale analysis capabilities. The platform is enabling scientists, developers and decision-makers to make substantive progress on global environmental and sustainability challenges.