Water implications of biofuels production in the United States

The increase in the production of biofuels in the US is backed by efforts to decrease reliance on foreign oil as well as the environmental benefits of using biofuels on a large scale. However, there are challenges in the production of biofuels, especially about the effects of biofuel development on water and related land resources. A growth in the processing of biofuel crops to meet America's energy requirements will alter how the nation's water resources are used. For instance, the incorporation of more biofuel crops will affect water quality as well as quantity. Growing biofuels may have implications in fertilizer runoff and nutrient pollution, soil erosion and sedimentation wherein sedimentation occurs when soil erodes from land and washes down into surface water. This can be reduced, though, through implementing technologies like water-conserving irrigation techniques, erosion prevention techniques, fertilizer efficiency techniques and precision agriculture tools that take into account site-specific soil pH.