On September 19, 2017, Intel announced a new water stewardship goal at the VERGE conference in Santa Clara, CA. BEF’s CEO, Todd Reeve, joined Intel on stage for the announcement. BEF is a part of the team helping Intel identify and support water stewardship projects in areas important to the company’s operations and manufacturing.

The commitment made national news on Environmental Leader, WaterWorld and elsewhere. Some of the first projects supported are located in Arizona and Utah.

Collectively these first projects are projected to restore over 280 million gallons of water per year to benefit local streams, rivers, and communities. Project examples include:

• Partnering with the Arizona Land and Water Trust and the Arizona Game and Fish Department to convert to low water-use native grasses and shrubs, reducing groundwater pumping and supporting habitat conditions in the San Pedro River.
• Partnering with local farmers and The Nature Conservancy of Arizona to convert from high water use crops to locally produced barley crops that use less water and reduce irrigation demand during critical low flow periods in the summer months.
• Partnering with the National Forest Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service to reduce erosion and enable high elevation meadows to capture water from winter snows and summer rain, recharging the water table, improving water quality and enhancing recreation and fish and wildlife habitat. Improving conditions in degraded forest landscapes helps ensure that clean and plentiful water supplies continue to support urban cities and rural communities located downstream.
• Partnering with Trout Unlimited, Ranch Advisory Partners and landowners on the Colorado River in Utah to support the installation of advanced, efficient irrigation systems and the transition to lower water use crops that help reduce water demand from the Colorado River.