Blue Harvest Water Benefits Calculator
Location:
Central America
Clients:
Catholic Relief Services, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Partners:
Keurig Green Mountain
Service Areas:
Our Expert:
LimnoTech developed the Blue Harvest Water Benefits Calculator (WBC) for Catholic Relief Services to support its Water Smart Agriculture Initiative in Central America. The WBC is a web-based tool and the first of its kind for the coffee community to support farm management decision-making. Based on the widely-applied HSPF hydrologic framework, the WBC quantifies the hydrologic impacts of specific land management interventions.
The Challenge
The reliability of water supply is decreasing across Central America due to land degradation, overexploitation, pollution, and a changing climate. Poor agricultural practices in coffee cultivation can drive deforestation and negatively impact water resources by contributing to erosion and declining water quantity and quality. Blue Harvest is a program coordinated by CRS as part of CRS’ Water Smart Agriculture initiative in Central America. The program focuses on protecting and restoring drinking water sources in the coffee lands of Central America by promoting sustainable coffee production and processing practices. The Blue Harvest WBC was developed to support this initiative.
The Outcome
The WBC provides valuable information for coffee farmers and institutions regarding the hydrologic benefits of existing and planned management interventions. The tool can be applied to identify the most impactful practices for controlling erosion and increasing recharge.
Projects
- Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) StandardClimate Change Resiliency & Adaptation Sustainable Agriculture Water Resource Investigation & Management Water Stewardship
- Characterization and Management of PFAS ContaminationAirport Environmental Services Contaminated Sediments Contaminated Sites Emerging Contaminants Groundwater Supply & Remediation Permits & Standards Water Quality Monitoring
- Water Stewardship Support to MillerCoorsClimate Change Resiliency & Adaptation Sustainable Agriculture Water Resource Investigation & Management Water Stewardship
- Leveraging Historical BMP Data To Meet Present-Day MS4 Reporting RequirementsEnvironmental Data & Information Management Permits & Standards Urban Revitalization & Green Design Urban Wet Weather Water Resource Investigation & Management
- Quantifying Watershed Restoration Benefits in Community Water Partnership ProjectsClimate Change Resiliency & Adaptation Sustainable Agriculture Water Resource Investigation & Management Water Resources Modeling Water Stewardship
- 316(b) Permit Compliance Support for the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power PlantBiological/Habitat Assessment & Management Environmental Data & Information Management Fisheries Assessment & Taxonomy Permits & Standards Water Quality Monitoring Water Resource Investigation & Management
- Restoration and Revitalization of Waller Creek, Austin, TexasClimate Change Resiliency & Adaptation Urban Revitalization & Green Design Urban Wet Weather Waterway & Ecosystem Restoration
- Thermal Plume Verification Study for a Coal-fired Power PlantBiological/Habitat Assessment & Management Permits & Standards Water Quality Monitoring Water Resources Modeling
- Blue Harvest Water Benefits CalculatorSustainable Agriculture Water Resource Investigation & Management Water Resources Modeling Water Stewardship
- Chicago Area Waterway System Habitat Evaluation & Improvement StudyBiological/Habitat Assessment & Management Environmental Data & Information Management Fisheries Assessment & Taxonomy Water Quality Monitoring Water Resource Investigation & Management Waterway & Ecosystem Restoration
