Ethanol Crops Could Threaten Water Supply As attention turns
more and more toward using corn and other products to produce
ethanol for fuel, experts warn that increased production of
these crops could pose a threat to the nation's water supplies.
Both water quality and the availability of water could be
threatened by sharply increasing crops such as corn, said Jerald
L. Schnoor, professor of environmental engineering and co-
director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental
Research at the University of Iowa. Schnoor is chairman of a
National Research Council panel that studied the potential
impact of increased use of biofuels on water supplies. A stated
goal is to increase biofuel production about six times, to 35
billion gallons by 2017, Schnoor said. "That would mean a lot
more fertilizers and pesticides" running into rivers and flowing
into the oceans, he said in a telephone interview. Available
water depends on where the crops are grown, he added. If it is
an area needing irrigation, it takes 2