Water footprint calculation of a dairy production system in Costa Rica

Abstract

Water management optimization is imperative in a sustainable productive system, and the production of dairy is no exception. However, in Costa Rica there is little information regarding the quantity of water consumed during milk production. This study generated the first water footprint assessment of a productive system of milk in the country on a monthly basis using the Water Footprint Network methodology. This temporal approach allowed the identification of both high- and low-water consumption months of the dairy farm. The total monthly water footprint ranged from 902.14 to 1 226.75 L/ kg FCPM for phosphates, whereas the range for total nitrogen oscillated between 903.95 and 1 219.86 L/ kg FCPM. The months with higher water footprint values were January, February, and December for both cases. The data and analyses presented herein are extremely important in Costa Rica to have a broader sense of water consumption in milk production regions across the country.