This growing season, water has become a near priceless commodity.  You don’t have to be a farmer or a rancher to feel the hurt of the current drought situation.  Knowing that we need every drop of water possible, you have to wonder- what is the path a tiny H20 droplet takes before it makes a difference in production?

All water first begins as precipitation, long before it ever makes its way to the field.  Those snowy Christmas flurries only stay in the mountains as snowpack for a short time before they melt away or, in contrast, the soaking rains seep quickly into thirsty soil, to start their journey.  

After falling to the ground, water takes three distinct routes in the water cycle.  Water will either pool and run off, evaporate and eventually fall as precipitation again, or infiltrate the ground to continue on its path.  It's that raindrop that seeps into the soil that is most valuable to us.

As the water penetrates the soil, it once again has various paths it can take.  Being so close to the surface, those little droplets can still be evaporated and re-enter the water cycle.  If there is enough water pooling and gravity to pull it, the water will run to fill ditches, canals and streams.  The final path a drop of water can take from its place on the surface is directly into plants.

Beyond the surface entry, water travels into the shallow root zone of the topsoil.  This is the crucial point where most crops and grasses can access and utilize it.  Here it is absorbed by roots, held temporarily in soil pores, and pulled upward by plant demand and evaporation.  This space holds the most valuable water, but also the most limited water in a drought.

As the water sinks deeper beneath the root depth it percolates through the soil beyond what roots can tap into, becoming directly unusable for agriculture.  Moving through the dense soil layers, the water moves much more slowly where it eventually is drawn through the cracks, gravel, and porous layers of the vadose zone, and finally, the underground storage system of aquifers.  This layer could hold gallons of life giving water, but without a way to gain access to it, it’s almost worthless.

For farmers and ranchers, water behaves much like money. Water in the root zone is cash in your pocket, immediately available to spend for water the day brings. Water stored hundreds of feet underground is more like money in a long-term savings account. It still has value, but accessing it requires the right equipment and means to access it. In drought years, the difference between having water and being able to use water can determine the success of a crop or the productivity of a pasture.

Like any valuable commodity, water's worth is determined not just by how much exists, but by how accessible it is. A gallon stored where roots can reach it may be worth far more to a crop than hundreds of gallons stored deep beneath the surface. 

But with modern technology, water flowing hundreds of feet below the surface can still find its way back into agriculture to produce the bounty we depend on.  Most irrigation systems rely on wells to pump deeply stored water that are essentially bringing old rainfall back into production.  A drop of water slowly making its way through the layers of soil might take years before it actively feeds crops and grasses.  Not only do wells supply the necessary water to irrigate crops but to also fill troughs to livestock in areas that have no surface water at all.  

As a closed system, a drop of water flowing eventually returns back to the beginning.  Harvest crops slowly dry, evaporating the growth providing moisture back into the air.  Water drank by animals returns to the soil in manure, often hydrating new seeds to grow the next generation of grasses and forages.  

A single drop of water may fall as snow on a winter morning, spend months in a mountain snowbank, seep through layers of soil, rest for years in an underground aquifer, and then be lifted by a well to grow a field of hay or fill a stock trough on a summer afternoon. Along the way, that tiny droplet may travel miles, change forms countless times, and support crops, livestock, wildlife, and people before beginning the journey all over again.

In a year when every drop seems precious, perhaps that's worth remembering.  The challenge isn't simply having water—it's making sure enough of it is in the right place at the right time to sustain the farms, ranches, and communities that depend on it.

For something so small, a single drop of water can do an awful lot of work. And in a drought year like this one, it's hard not to appreciate every bit of it.