Recently, several possible agricultural water conservation solutions have been proposed. The most popular in densely populated cities like Denver is urban farming with either hydroponic or aquaponic systems. Hydroponics means "working water" and is a watering system where no soil is used and the roots are suspended on plastic reservoirs. This technique recirculates water and uses 20 times less water than a traditional gardening system. Similar to hydroponics, aquaponics creates a symbiotic environment between a fresh water fish tank and a hydroponic system. Byproducts from the fish, snails, and other creatures are broken down into nitrates then fed back into the hydroponic system being utilized by plants as nutrients. These systems are also very space friendly, a company in New York called Square Roots is experimenting with stacking steel box containers each housing hydroponic gardens.

 

More innovative solutions include the PowWow Energy App that monitors farmers irrigation. The app offers two services, a pump monitor to reduce water waste and an irrigation advisor to ensure the highest crop yield. This app allows farmers to see if there is a pipe break or see if they are using to much water which is also good for water conservation. Another solution is xeriscape! outdoor water use accounts for 50% of all residential water usage and the easiest solution is ridding all beautiful landscapes and grass. With this comes many perks like low maintenance, visual appearance, and water usage. Lastly, the local government could take a top down approach forcing homeowners and businesses to use less water through policy change. Like California, this would probably take the form of a cap on the allowable amount of water to be used for certain purposes.