Applied irrigation fell sharply. Did crop water demand fall with it?
BAITSSS provides an independent estimate of expected crop water use and irrigation requirement from vegetation, weather, soil, and water-balance conditions. That reference helps distinguish a change in irrigation management from a change in environmental demand.
Share of water-right management units where in-season water supply exceeded expected crop water demand, 2008–2017
Water supply = reported irrigation + precipitation; crop water demand = BAITSSS-simulated evapotranspiration.
Pre-LEMALEMA
Reported irrigation
−28%
Five-year mean applied irrigation for corn WRMUs fell from 369 mm pre-LEMA to 263 mm during LEMA.
BAITSSS estimated requirement
Little change
417 → 404 mmSimulated irrigation requirement, about −3%
767 → 758 mmEvapotranspiration, about −1%
What BAITSSS adds
Applied irrigation changed far more than the modeled crop water requirement. The decade-long comparison shows that lower water use during LEMA was not accompanied by a comparable decline in BAITSSS-estimated irrigation requirement or evapotranspiration.
Source: Dhungel et al. (2025), Water savings policy in western Kansas: a decade-long satellite-based examination, Irrigation Science 43:1669–1679.