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The Toro Company, with its irrigation business based in California, is helping the state's golf courses meet the mandated 25 percent statewide reduction in water use.

Since 2014, oil companies reported that they used more than 20 million pounds and 2 million gallons of chemicals in their operations, including at least 16 chemicals the state of California classifies as carcinogens or reproductive toxicants under the state's Proposition 65 law. That recycled wastewater was then sold to irrigation districts largely in Kern County. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has allowed the practice for at least four decades and only recently required the oil companies and water districts to disclose the details. EWG detailed its findings in a report released Wednesday, two days before a public meeting of an expert panel convened to study the practice's safety. Although scientists don't know whether using oil field wastewater to grow crops poses a health risk to people who eat the food, the water board has refused to halt the practice until the expert panel releases its findings.

PepsiCo's Frito-Lay snacks facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, treats and recycles about 648,000 gallons per day of process water from the potato chip and snack manufacturing process for rinse and wash water and for landscape irrigation.

From deforestation to irrigation to species loss, the expanding human population has been dramatically re-shaping the face of the Earth. These interactive maps bring together a wealth of satellite imagery and other data sets to create an atlas of humanity's influence on the planet.

California's drought could cost Central Valley farms and irrigated agriculture $1.7 billion and some 14,500 jobs this year, according to a study by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.

Use of treated wastewater is growing in California, with the "disinfected tertiary" water helping with irrigation and dust control. Demand is expected to grow -- partly because the treated water is 75% cheaper than potable water -- but meeting that demand will require infrastructure upgrades. "Moving recycled water requires separate infrastructure running to the various facilities, and that is very expensive," said Jennifer Allen, director of public affairs for the Contra Costa Water District.

Super Bowl 50 was played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., a facility built with sustainability in mind. It has a 27,000-square-foot green roof, and more than 1,150 solar panels generate enough power for all of the San Francisco 49ers' home games. Recycled water accounts for 85% of water use for irrigation and flushing.

The Chinese and Israeli governments plan to partner on "Water City" in Shouguang, China, where Israeli-developed water technologies will be implemented to rehabilitate polluted aquifers and provide clean water, sewage treatment, desalination and irrigation. The city could become a model for how to bring such tech to large areas. 

MillerCoors used new tools and irrigation initiatives, along with increased brewing efficiencies, that helped the brewing giant reduce its water consumption by 15 billion gallons in 2016, the company announced today. Wet weather also contributed to the 2016 reduction, the company acknowledged. MillerCoors used 16.9% less water compared to 2015 - equivalent to more than 500 million kegs of beer.