Water Use in Wineries & Vineyards

Northern California

Sunday, April 20, 14

Outline

- Focus of Project/Our Issue: - Water Use at Vineyards & Wineries in

Northern California- Brief Outline:

1. Background Info 2. Water Usage at Wineries3. Economic Influence of Wineries 4. Conservation Techniques 5. Techniques on how to should address this

issue

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Northern CA Geography and Water Resources• The Sacramento River Watershed comprises 423 square miles and includes 47 lakes. Its 115 mile perimeter encompasses 780 river and stream miles.

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Basic Water Rights in CA∗ “Dual System” - both the riparian doctrine and prior appropriation doctrines apply∗ in California: - water rights are use rights - different rights apply based on whether the water supply is

groundwater or a surface supply - all waters are property of the state -- State Water Resource Control Board (SWRCB) is

responsible for most aspects of water rights

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Where are Wineries Getting Water?

∗ Wells - groundwater is

pumped for vineyard use∗ Stock Ponds - “mini-reservoirs” used for

water storage∗ Storage Tanks - can hold thousands of

gallons of potable water∗ Wastewater Treatment

Plants - to reuse water, many

Northern CA wineries have implemented their own treatment plants

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Where are Vineyards Getting Water?

∗ The Russian River

- 2nd largest river in the San Francisco

Bay Area (after the Sac River)- Sonoma County Water Agency

draws water for use in Sonoma, Mendocino, and Marin Counties

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Key Players in the Water for Wineries

∗ Example: Wineries in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties Using Russian River Water

- Vineyard Owners - Government Regulators - Environmental Groups - Urban Water Users (residential &industrial)

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Wineries & Vineyards

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Wine Making Process

1. Grow the grapes2. Harvest3. Crush4. Add yeast & ferment5. Pour into barrels & age6. Rack it7. Bottle wine

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Water Usage

∗ 4:1- water to wine in winery

∗ Harder to estimate vineyard water use∗ factors to be

considered~½ acre ft water per acre

of vines

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Impact of a 1 acre vineyard

∗ 1 acre yields ~4 tons of grapes∗ 1 ton makes ~780 bottles of wine∗ Assuming 125 ml per glass, that is 6 glasses per

bottle∗ So, each acre makes 4 X 780 X 6 = 18,720 glasses∗ 300,000 to 500,000 gallons per acre per year∗ So, 300,000 / 18,720 glasses = 16 gallons of water

per glass.

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…compared to lawns

∗ If each house has ~1,000 square feet of lawn, then:∗ 1 inch of water per week X 6 months of watering =

26 inches of water∗ 26 inches / 12 inches per foot = 2.17 feet.∗ 2.17 feet X 7.5 gallons per cubic foot X 1,000 square

feet = 16,275 gallons per year∗ This is 170-283 bottles of wine∗ “So, take out half of your grass and you can have 3 -

5 bottles more wine each week!” Doug Wiens, Winemaker/Partner,Wiens Family Cellars

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Large Vineyards

∗ Producing ≥3 tons∗ 0.5   acre foot irrigation for Napa vineyards∗ 162926  Gallons per acre water needed∗ 5  tons/acre fruit∗ 32585  gallons water needed per ton grapes∗ 356  bottles wine per ton∗ 92  gallons water per bottle

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Economic Impacts

∗Jobs∗Tourism∗Taxes∗Local and Nationwide

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Local Economy

∗ Napa County∗ Full Economic

Impact: $9.5 billion

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State and National Economy

∗ California: $61.5 billion∗ United States: $121.8 billion

California United StatesFull-time Equivalent Jobs

330,000 820,000

Wages Paid $12.3 billion $25.8 billionWine Related Tourism Expenditures

$2.1 billion -

Number of Wine Related Visits

20.7 million -

Taxes Paid $3.3 billion (State/Local)$3.9 billion (Federal)

$6.6 billion (State/Local)$8.1 billion (Federal)

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Economic Impacts - DroughtIndustries Affected by Water Shortages, Sonoma County

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∗ Conservation is often a very cost-effective option.∗ “Green Wine”

∗ Water conservation is the new frontier of winery design.

∗ Wineries are beginning to receive LEED certifications (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

∗ Vineyards are beginning to recycle water used for rinsing wine barrels and tanks, resulting in significantly less water and energy use.

Water Conservation / Reduced Use

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Water Conservation / Reduced Use

• Neutron Probe- Technology recently implemented in N.Cali wineries. - Provides accurate irrigation management information.- Benefits: reducing water use, eliminates unnecessary vegetative growth, facilitates plants’ transition into the fall, & improves grape quality.

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• EnviroSCAN- It’s a continuous soil moisture monitoring system. - Best used in conjunction with the neutron probe to calculate more accurate predictions of water use.

Cost-Benefit Analysis: both systems are comparable.-Both systems are implemented to conserve water within vineyards.

-Larger scale: super ditch concept

Water Conservation / Reduced Use

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•Waterboxx could save wineries up to 150K gallons/yr

•Self-refilling container for water for drip irrigation

• Ability of degrade over time

Waterboxx

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∗ So far only a couple wineries use it in Napa county, beneficial to conserve water:∗ Uses a drip irrigation combined with a self refilling

container ∗ Planted under soil and can be used for any crop∗ The main purpose of the waterboxx is to allow

plants and crops to grow in arid regions.

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Renewable Energies

∗ Solar panels are becoming the next major step to conserve energy and ultimately water.

∗ Just a few of the wineries in California converting to solar panels and renewable energies:

∗ ZD Wines- renovating their winery to a 100% solar powered structure:

∗ including 712 panels on their buildings’ roofs.∗ Jackson Family Wines- resorted to solar panels for

the energy and reclaimed water to clean the barrels- these processes conserve annually…

∗ 6 million gallons of water∗ 133,000 kWh of electricity

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Resources

∗ http://www.peachygreen.com/going-green/winery-implements-water-saving-processes∗ http://bluelivingideas.com/2010/06/10/watering-box-biomimicry-recreate-dew/∗ http://www.bohemian.com/bohemian/03.09.11/feature-1110.html∗ http://www.blm.gov/nstc/WaterLaws/california.html∗ http://www.stoelrives.com/webfiles/CaliforniaWine/Water_Issues.pdf∗ http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=60166∗ http://www.riverpirate.com/sacramento.asp∗ http://www.sonomavineyardland.com/index.php?Page=Infrastructure∗ http://www.norcalwater.org∗ http://aquafornia.com/where-does-californias-water-come-from/groundwater∗ http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/43949∗ WineIndustryInsight. http://wineindustryinsight.com/?p=1484∗ www.allposters.com∗ http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/winemaking.htmlhttp://www.wineinstitute.org/resources/

pressroom/120720060∗ http://www.napavintners.com/downloads/napa_economic_impact_study.pdf∗ http://www.wineinstitute.org/files/CA%20Impact%20Study%20Highlights%20Summary%202009.pdf∗ Eyler, Robert. Economic Impacts of a Water Shortage in Sonoma and Marin Counties: Update. Sonoma

State University, 4 Feb. 2009.∗ http://www.sonoma-county.org/edb/pdf/2010/wine_industry_insider.pdf

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