Wet Ones:
From: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/impacts/02index/waterquality.htm 
Improvements in the nation's water quality over the past decade
have been impressive. But the availability and quality of this
precious
resource still are threatened by soaring urban and rural demands.
The need to conserve water, reduce pollution and deal with other
environmental problems - including those associated with drought
- is driving major research and education initiatives by Land-Grant
Universities and the USDA. Innovative, cost-effective solutions
are being developed to make sure the quality and quantity of
water continue
to meet high standards.
Restoring the Everglades. Restoring
the Florida Everglades is among the nation's top environmental
priorities. Sugarcane, vegetable,
rice and sod farming in the 505,000-acre Everglades
Agricultural Area generates
more than $1 billion a year in economic activity. During the past
20 years, phosphorus in drainage water from this
area has hurt water quality in Lake Okeechobee, Everglades National
Park, Florida Bay and nearby areas. But an extensive best management
practices (BMPs) program initiated by Florida reduced phosphorus
levels in drainage water by more than 50 percent. Since 1997, second
generation BMPs are reducing phosphorus levels in drainage water
by another 10 percent to 25 percent.
Dairy
diets. To reduce harmful
phosphorus levels in surface waters,
Wisconsin researchers
have altered the diets of dairy cows, cutting their phosphorus
intake by one-third. As a result, the amount
of phosphorus in manure was reduced by 50 percent. Better yet,
runoff from fields fertilized with low-phosphorus manure contained
just one-tenth as much phosphorus as runoff from fields fertilized
with conventional manure. The new low-phosphorus diet allows
producers to save $12 to $15 per cow per year. With 1.3 million
cows in the state, that adds up to $16 million each year.
On a clear day. In 1968, the
water in Lake Tahoe was so clear that a white disk used to measure
transparency could be seen at a
depth of 104 feet. By 1997, after decades of rapid urbanization,
the lake's legendary clarity reached a record low of 64 feet.
With the help of the federal Tahoe Restoration Act, scientists
in California,
Nevada and
the USDA Forest Service started a research and education program
to restore the lake. They're helping manage
urban development and transportation as well as wetlands, forests
and other impacts on the lake. An environmental ethic has evolved
among the people who live and work around the lake. Slowly but
surely, Lake Tahoe water quality is improving. While clarity
improved to 69 feet in 1999 and slipped to 67.3 feet in 2000,
it's improved over the 1997 low of 64 feet.
Swine system. Instead
of relying on lagoons to remove contaminants from waste prior to land
application, the nation's largest pork
producing state is treating waste with a new "marsh-pond-marsh" system.
Developed at North
Carolina A&T , the system removes 90 percent
to 95 percent of nitrogen from waste. It was developed in response
to the state's moratorium on construction of swine waste lagoons.
A series of wetland cells is the heart of the new waste disposal
system, which relies on aquatic vegatation to absorb nitrogen,
phosphorus and ammonium from wastewater. At the same time, water
in the cells converts nitrogen to nitrogen gas, which is released
harmlessly into the air. The system is ideal for farms with fewer
than 500 hogs.
Ozone option. While ozone helps
protect Earth from harmful radiation and global warming, the gas
also is being used by major cities
to treat drinking water. Now, Mississippi
State scientists
have developed a cost-effective ozone treatment to remove contaminants
from industrial wastewater. Research at a test facility indicates
ozone could be used to treat wastewater from forest products
industries across the South _ at a cost of just 50 cents per
l,000 gallons.
Pacific progress. In the Pacific
island region, American
Samoa and Hawaii
Extension are
helping swine producers reduce animal waste and protect water
quality in streams and mangrove areas
of Samoa. A series of extension workshops, presented in English
and Samoan, promoted better animal husbandry, proper waste management
and disease control. The successful information campaign included
publications, posters and fact sheets. The 180-plus producers
attending 2001 workshops reported increased understanding and
awareness of the impact of animal waste on water quality and
human health.
Environmental excellence. The
Texas broiler industry produces about 400 million chickens each
year, and up to 20 million birds die
of disease or the effects of climate before they reach maturity.
Carcass disposal in burial pits increases the risk of water pollution
and spreading poultry diseases. To minimize these problems, Texas
A&M 
developed
a composting system that uses heat in enclosed, rotating tanks
to decompose carcasses and kill bacteria. The
composting system can be used to turn a variety of waste products
- including dairy manure and meat processing plant waste - into
safe organic fertilizer and conserve landfill space. The research
earned environmental excellence awards from the state's governor
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
It's the law. In response to
a 1999 state nutrient management act protecting watersheds and
water quality, Delaware
Extension initiated
a successful statewide education program to certify agricultural
producers and others affected by the law. The program includes
environmental protection guidelines for enterprises that use
plant nutrients or dispose of livestock wastes, including various
types of agricultural operations, golf courses and lawn care
firms. More than 3,000 people attended certification classes
during the first year.
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service in cooperation with the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy, the Academic Programs Committee on Organization and Policy, the International Programs Committee on Organization and Policy, and the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
From: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/impacts/02index/waterquality.htm
