Water policy in the United States looks different in every state; different laws, different agencies and different pressures on a resource that agriculture depends on. Throughout his Spring 2026 semester at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), Christian Curtis set out to make that complexity a little more accessible during his time as a research intern at DWFI.
Under the guidance of DWFI Senior Program Manager Renata Rimšaitė, Christian built an interactive map that brings together state-level water and irrigation data from across the country, compiling everything from water rights systems and irrigated acreage to crop insurance payouts and farmland ownership. In a recent interview with Christian, he shares the project he worked on, what surprised him along the way and why he thinks this kind of tool matters for the future of water and food security.
The interactive map project
Christian, a senior studying natural resource and environmental economics, was encouraged to look into DWFI by Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance Director Jill O'Donnell and UNL Agricultural Economics Professor Lilyan Fulginiti. After learning about the institute’s mission and meeting some of the team, he decided he could contribute while learning a lot in the process.
Christian’s primary task was building an online interactive map of state water policy and irrigation patterns. The map will be published soon and is designed so a user can click on any state and immediately access various types of information, including each state’s water rights policy, the agencies in charge of surface water and groundwater and other useful information.
Addressing fragmentation for better decisionmaking
Christian’s work has a direct contribution to water and food security. By collecting fragmented information into one easily accessible tool, researchers and policymakers can more easily identify patterns and make more informed policy decisions related to water management.
“Water policy in the United States is incredibly fragmented and having all this information collected into a map that's pretty easy to access should be useful,” Christian says.
The challenge of antiquated systems
One of the most surprising takeaways for Christian was the age of some water rights systems being used. Regarding water rights policy, he said, “It feels like they were designed for a completely different type of agriculture and population.” With water demand and population on the rise, he believes these old systems may be unprepared to address the issues of the future.
New skills for his future career
The internship with DWFI provided Christian with more than just research experience; he also developed technical skills, most notably the ability to code in “R,” which he didn’t know before he started. DWFI also offered resources for professional development, networking and interview skills. Christian was able to leverage these skills to secure an internship at the Farm Credit Administration this summer.
For those considering an internship at DWFI, Christian offers two pieces of advice:
- Reflect on desired skills: Before starting, take time to reflect on the skills you feel would be useful to develop while you’re there. Resources are ample in every arena, but you need to have direction once you start.
- Remain open to learning: Be open to learning new things in the niche of agricultural water use. There are so many different inputs that you will definitely find something new and interesting.