From Source to Solution: How the Non‑Road Sector Is Improving Water Efficiency and Quality

By Gregg Wartgow, Special to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) --

Water challenges have become more visible across North America over the past several years. That has led to ramped-up pressure on regional and local governments to address both water scarcity and quality.

The agriculture, utility, and construction industries have unfortunately bore the brunt of that pressure. But in reality, modern equipment and technologies in these industries are a big part of the solution everyone is searching for today. That is why AEM, in partnership with AEM member company and global management consulting firm Kearney, developed a study seeking to foster a better understanding of the leadership role these industries are playing when it comes to water stewardship.

From Source to Solution: Advancing Water Stewardship in the Non-Road Sector, explains how the agriculture, utility, and construction industries are adopting practices and technologies to help improve water use efficiency, quality, and circularity.

"The goal is to tell a unified, fact-based story on how each sector is helping move water from source to solution," said Austin Gellings, senior director of agricultural services at AEM. "Many water quantity challenges are not always about availability. They are about efficiency and how effectively water is managed, delivered, and reused."

As detailed in the report, North America is already a leader with respect to water stewardship. The agriculture, utility, and construction industries are collectively saving trillions of gallons of water annually, all while still achieving economic growth.

"Equipment manufacturers play a critical role here," Gellings said. "And it's not just about supplying equipment. It's also about enabling some of the most advanced water stewardship practices in the world."

Gellings, together with two AEM members who also played pivotal roles in the development of the report, discussed the impact of those advanced water stewardship practices during an AEM Member Education Webinar earlier this month.

"Equipment manufacturers play a critical role here. And it's not just about supplying equipment. It's also about enabling some of the most advanced water stewardship practices in the world." -- Austin Gellings

Agriculture

The North American agriculture industry has made tremendous efficiency gains over the past 50 years. The amount of water applied per acre has fallen more than 25%, helping save an estimated 9.7 trillion gallons of water annually. At the same time, production of major row crops has increased by 177%. In other words, the ag industry is producing more food with less water.

"This transformation is largely the result of using precision agriculture technologies and data-driven decision making," Gellings said.

It's not just the broadacre crop segment that's seeing efficiency gains. AEM's report also examines the specialty crop and livestock sectors. Consider the following:

• Peanuts - 44% less water used per bushel
• Almonds - 33% less water used per pound
• Pork - 25% less water used per pound
• Milk - 30% less water used per gallon

The report also details how most North American dairies reuse their water as many as four times across animal and crop production.

"The agriculture industry has a history of productively reusing water that previously would have been released and allowed to filter back into the earth," said Mike Mills, director of sustainability solutions at AEM member company Reinke Mfg., a manufacturer of irrigation equipment.

The majority of water used for agriculture does take place within the crop sectors by way of irrigation. The report details three types of irrigation methods: drip, sprinkler, and surface. Drip is considered to be the most efficient method of distributing water. However, Mills said center pivot sprinkler systems present the most opportunity to drive down water use. There are three main reasons why: cost, efficiency, and utilization.

"With mechanized sprinkler systems, cost is flat and efficiency is slightly better than flat," said Mills, who is also chair of AEM's Water Management Leadership Group. "That being said, with the prevalence of 55.5% of irrigation being that mechanized sprinkler system, the application of technologies has an opportunity to have a significant effect on water use."

Technological advancements across the agriculture, construction, and utility industries are enabling organizations to achieve significantly greater output while using substantially less water. Learn more by downloading AEM's comprehensive study, From Source to Solution: Advancing Water Stewardship in the Non-Road Sector. 

"The agriculture industry has a history of productively reusing water that previously would have been released and allowed to filter back into the earth." -- Mike Mills

Utility

The water utility industry faces a daunting challenge: continue serving growing urban populations with aging infrastructure. So far it hasn't backed down. In fact, it's made remarkable gains over the past 20 years. For instance, per capita water consumption has been reduced by 21% in the U.S. and 17% in Canada.

"That's a huge achievement that has been enabled by infrastructure upgrades, advanced metering systems, and smarter water system management," Gellings said.

The average person might take those achievements for granted, along with water infrastructure in general because it's located underground, out of sight and mind. But water infrastructure is an extremely complex asset, and there are over 2.3 million miles of it across North America.

"Many of us watched the Artemis II space mission at the beginning of April, amazed at how many miles it traveled to go around the moon," related Dave Hughes, vice president of global sales at McElroy Mfg., a manufacturer of fintube and pipe fusion equipment. "But if you compare that mission to 2.3 million miles of water pipe, Artemis II could take three laps and still not travel that far."

Hughes, who also serves on the AEM Construction Sector Board, discussed the actions taken by utility districts across North America to improve water efficiency, quality, and circularity.

In the U.S. and Canada, nearly 4 trillion gallons of water are being saved annually. Water main brakes dipped by nearly 20% from 2018 to 2023, which is important because water main breaks can be a huge budget buster for water utility districts. In fact, water main breaks cost districts $187 billion annually in lost revenue.

All of those achievements have been supported by infrastructure upgrades to detect and prevent leaks, advanced metering technology, municipal conservation programs, and federal efficiency standards and regulations.

"A culmination of all of these things makes a big difference," Hughes said.

Progress comes at a cost, however, requiring commitment and patience.

"We have spent an enormous amount of money in the public water construction market to make these gains," Hughes said. "We really started investing significantly in 2020 to begin rebuilding our aging water infrastructure. But we haven't done enough. In 2024, there was a $91 billion gap between what was spent and what is needed. So we have a long way to go, but we're making huge progress."

"Many of us watched the Artemis II space mission at the beginning of April, amazed at how many miles it traveled to go around the moon. But if you compare that mission to 2.3 million miles of water pipe, Artemis II could take three laps and still not travel that far." -- Dave Hughes

Construction

The construction industry plays a dual role in advancing water stewardship:

• Constructing a variety of "green infrastructure" that helps enhance water quality and circularity
• Adopting practices to help reduce water use on jobsites

"Construction equipment and practices are a critical part of the solution to a number of water challenges we face," Gellings said. "When you look across jobsites, we're seeing a shift toward practices and technologies that emphasize efficiency, reuse, and runoff control."

Those practices include the use of recycled water, more efficient methods for dust suppression and equipment washing, as well as the use of improved concrete materials and mixes that require less water.

With respect to protecting water quality, Gellings said there's been growth in the use of erosion control practices near construction sites, as well as technologies like GPS site configurations and grade control to further reduce erosion and better control runoff.

"One thing to note is that water stewardship spans the entire construction process, from site preparation and land management to long-term infrastructure performance," Gellings said.

It's also important to note that, just like in the agriculture and utility industries, water efficiency and economic growth are not competing goals in construction. Since 2000, economic value per unit of water in the U.S. has climbed from $9.50 to $16.52, or 74%. Canada has seen a 37% increase, from $9.95 to $13.66.

"All of the sectors in the non-road industry have a role to play in advancing water stewardship," Gellings noted. "As we look at the mounting water-related challenges we're facing in the U.S. and Canada, our industry can be a solution and offer a comprehensive approach. We don't always necessarily have to use less water. We just need to be more efficient."

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For more information on the upcoming series of member education webinars, contact your Account Success Advisor.