Manage precipitation volatility with on-farm storage

Drainage water recycling for irrigation is not a new practice in drought-prone areas but changing climate trends are expanding its use into regions not traditionally affected by water scarcity issues. 

“It’s not that these areas do not get enough precipitation, but the timing of precipitation is not necessarily aligned with crop needs,” explained Civil Engineer Spencer Pech, an employee-owner of ISG. “These areas get too much precipitation early in the year, hence the drainage, and then not enough precipitation later in the year, which leads to the storage and then the irrigation components.” 

In October 2025, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) released its report, “Economic Analysis of Drainage Water Recycling,” showing that DWR can be an economically viable strategy to help farmers manage crop water needs amid extreme weather. 

“Drainage water recycling addresses one of the biggest risks farmers face today, rainfall volatility,” said Mai Lan Hoang, a senior research analyst on the Environmental Defense Fund Climate-Smart Agriculture team. “It allows producers to capture excess rainfall and reuse it later, turning unpredictable precipitation into a managed resource, and it builds on existing drainage systems to improve resilience, helping farms and rural communities adapt to changing weather.” 

Which crops are best suited for DWR? 

Early research has focused DWR viability on traditional Midwest row farms. Still, the return on investment is even more attractive for high-value crops, according to Pech. Current research shows that operations with 30 to 40 acres are seeing the economic returns of investing in a DWR system. However, Pech has seen an Iowa popcorn grower with fewer acres use the system with success, and he sees the practice as well-suited to specialty crop growers.  

The biggest return DWR provides is greater yields. The EDF’s study estimates a potential increase of up to about $150 per acre per year in crop yield income. In addition to yield increases, drainage water recycling can help reduce operating expenses if the irrigation system also applies fertilizer. The EDF’s analysis estimates savings of up to $20 per acre per year on equipment and fuel expenses. 

“These gains are especially important today, when farm margins are tight and weather variability is increasing,” Hoang said. 

The cost of installation  

For farmers who already irrigate, the transition may be more about adding storage than replacing equipment. In these cases, producers already have center pivots or other systems drawing from wells or groundwater.  

“We have seen an interest in the practice where the producers have existing irrigation infrastructure and drainage and they’re pumping from a well or some groundwater,” Pech said. “You would add in the storage, the pond, or the storage portion component of the project.” 

According to Pech, the addition of a pond or storage basin can be a sticking point: it takes land out of production and the site must be carefully selected. Some farms have marginal or less productive areas that work well for this purpose; others may have to give up higher-value ground, which affects the payback.  

“Based on our analysis, total project costs can range from $1.8 million to $3.3 million, depending on site conditions and system design,” said Hoang. “The largest cost components are drainage improvements, storage design, construction and irrigation systems.” 

Most DWR systems require external funding to make the project economically feasible, according to Pech. Public entities with water-quality or flood-mitigation goals, such as state departments of agriculture or USDA programs, often help cover the capital costs of storage and, in some cases, a portion of the irrigation components. 

“Drainage water recycling provides benefits beyond the farm, making public investments critical to support landowners looking to adopt this technology, while also generating potential downstream water quality benefits to local communities,” Hoang said. “As a result, a co-investment strategy between landowners, public cost-share programs and drainage districts is the most effective approach to distribute costs among benefiting stakeholders.” 

“Rainwater recycling is unique in the way that we can show that the adoption of this conservation practice does have the potential to provide financial benefit to the landowner, the producer who adopts it, and it has documented water-quality benefits,” Pech said. 

In addition to helping farmers stabilize crop yields by improving water management during both wet and dry periods, drainage water recycling on-farm can have positive downstream impacts on the greater community. 

“It can also provide an opportunity for strategic public investment since it can deliver benefits to local communities, especially when incorporating best practices like wetlands to support water quality,” Hoang said.