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Nebraska Watersheds News and Views         Spring 2007 Issue 12

Hello, and welcome to the quarterly electronic Nebraska Watersheds News and Views newsletter. I hope this issue and the ones to follow will provide useful information that will increase both your knowledge and interest of water resource issues. The purpose of the electronic newsletter is to provide information on watershed topics and issues, share ideas, programs and publicize events to watershed council members, watershed project coordinators, Extension educators and specialists, agency personnel, watershed management professionals and natural resources professionals. The newsletter is intended for educational purposes only. Newsletter information may be reprinted or reproduced. If you intend to use this material, please acknowledge the authors and the source of information. Interested persons are invited to contribute articles, news items, photographs or other materials for publication. Please, feel free to ask questions, share ideas, or provide feedback.

Steve Tonn-University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Educator in Douglas/Sarpy Counties/Extension Watersheds Councils Coordinator

In This Issue

• University Extension Forms Watershed Management Programming Work Group

• Survey Offers Public Perceptions and Attitudes about Water

• Extension Stormwater Working Group

• Managing Surface Cover

• Watershed Activities Views Events Successes

University Extension Forms Watershed Management Programming Work Group
Steve Tonn, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Educator in Douglas/Sarpy Counties

University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension specialists and educators are forming a work group to better frame the educational efforts relating to watershed management issues. The work group will provide an umbrella to cover the many facets of watershed management programming being done by Extension staff throughout the state. The work group is under Extension’s Natural Resources Environmental Management Action team. Dr. Charles Wortmann, UNL Extension Nutrient Management Specialist, and Steve Tonn, Extension Educator, are the co-leaders for the team.

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Survey Offers Public Perceptions and Attitudes about Water
 

LINCOLN, Neb. — While 91 percent of Nebraska residents feel their drinking water is safe, the Heartland Regional Water Coordination Initiative Survey of Public Perceptions and Attitudes about Water revealed Nebraskans still want to learn more about water. The survey, mailed in February 2006 to 325 randomly selected households in Nebraska, asked respondents 38 questions about their feelings toward water quality concerns to build knowledge of citizen awareness, attitudes and willingness to act on water issues. Results are based on 209 responses.

Charles Wortmann, UNL nutrient management specialist in the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the opinions expressed and the high response rate indicate considerable interest and concern about water issues, along with desire for more information.

"Basically, this survey helps us recognize and understand how people see situations, their concerns and where they get and how they prefer to get their information," said Wortmann, who along with Rick Koelsch, UNL livestock bioenvironmental engineer, was on the initiative's leadership team.

The Heartland Regional Water Coordination Initiative is a partnership of UNL, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, the University of Missouri, U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VII. Similar reports also were prepared for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and the four-state region.

Nebraska survey results revealed 80 percent of residents were most likely to get water quality information from newspapers, while 69 percent said they got information from television and 52 percent from radio. Almost 40 percent listed UNL Extension as an important source of information.

Seventy-five percent of respondents lived inside a town or city, 16 percent outside a city in a rural area not on a farm and 9 percent lived on farms. Sixty-six percent of respondents had lived in Nebraska all their life.

Nebraska residents who lived on a farm were even more likely than those who lived in cities, towns or rural areas to report using Extension and universities as important sources of information at 87 percent, Wortmann said.

"This really is a credible source for the success of Extension," said Lois Wright Morton, professor of sociology at ISU who prepared the report.

When it came to learning more about water issues, the survey revealed 57 percent of respondents wanted information presented in a newspaper article or series or TV coverage. In addition, 57 percent wanted information presented in printed fact sheets, bulletins or brochures. Only 27 percent would visit a Web site. However, it should be noted that respondents were older on average than the population of Nebraska. Thus responses were more likely to reflect an older population, Morton said.

Other learning opportunities included: looking at a demonstration or display, 21 percent; watching a video, 14 percent; attending a fair or festival, 12 percent; participating in volunteer or one-time learning activity, 10 percent; asking for a water practices assessment, 7 percent; attending a short course, 8 percent; taking a certification course, 6 percent; and being trained for a regular volunteer position, 3 percent.

Of water issues important to Nebraskans, all respondents felt clean drinking water was extremely or very important, followed by 97 percent saying clean groundwater was extremely or very important. Water for households and the private sector, clean rivers and lakes also were highly valued. Forty-one percent felt water for recreation was either extremely important or very important.

While 91 percent of respondents felt their home drinking water was safe to drink, about 69 percent were satisfied with their drinking water. Twenty five percent have a water filter system and 35 percent have a water treatment system. A little more than 30 percent often used bottled water for drinking, while 13 percent were not satisfied with their current drinking water.

Wortmann said results also revealed Nebraskans perceive most pollution comes from cropland or livestock production facilities.

Fourteen percent of respondents felt fertilizers and nitrates were known to affect water quality in Nebraska, while 42 percent suspected it affected water quality in Nebraska. Other conditions believed by respondents to be a problem were pesticides, 9 percent known problem, 33 percent suspected; minerals, 9 percent known, 25 percent suspected; and animal waste, 5 percent known, 26 percent suspected. For all of these conditions, except fertilizer/nitrates, between one-third and one-half of respondents said they didn't know whether any of these conditions affected their water quality.

Respondents also were asked to identify the top three sectors or infrastructures they thought were most responsible for the state's pollution. Two of the top three were agriculturally based – crop production and livestock and/or poultry operations. The third infrastructure thought to be most responsible for existing pollution problems in rivers and lakes was water from urban areas.

Fifty percent of those who live on farms felt crop production was most responsible, and 56 percent of those who live on farms felt livestock and/or poultry operations were to blame. Fifty-nine percent of those who live inside a town or city and 66 percent of those who live in a rural area not on a farm also felt this way about crop production, while 57 percent of those who live inside a town or city and 63 percent of those who live in a rural area not on a farm felt this way about livestock and/or poultry operations.

However, the survey also found those who lived on farms do more to conserve or protect water quality, such as changing pesticide and fertilizer use, testing drinking water or changing the way their yard was landscaped.

"Another interesting finding was who people saw as being responsible for ensuring we have clean water," Wortmann said.

With urban dwellers, most thought state or local government should be most responsible for protecting local water quality, while those who lived on farms felt it was an individual responsibility.

"Both urban and rural and rural-non farm people view issues similarly, but there are issues they don't agree on. Knowing this information will allow groups to find the problem and find a common agreement," Morton said.

Nebraskans want more information on drinking water and human health, Wortmann said. The farm population also wants more information on agricultural water management, irrigation management, pesticide management and how to better handle manure, while the rural non-farm residents are very interested in private well and septic tank management.

"The biggest finding for the entire population as a whole was that many Nebraskans have given a great deal of thought to water and environmental issues," Wortmann said.

For complete survey results, visit the Web at Heartland Water Quality.

Extension is in the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

This survey is part of a national project conducted by Robert Mahler, professor of soil and environmental sciences at the University of Idaho. The project was funded by USDA CSREES.

Source: IANR News Service

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Extension Stormwater Working Group
Steve Tonn, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Educator in Douglas/Sarpy Counties

University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educators and specialists have formed a working group to address educational issues and needs relating to stormwater management. The Stormwater Phase II Rule of the Clean Water Act requires towns with populations between 10,000 and 50,000 to develop and implement plans to reduce runoff pollution in stormwater. Phase II affects 10 Nebraska towns- Beatrice, Fremont, Grand Island, Kearney, North Platte, Scottsbluff, Hastings, Norfolk, and Lexington. Part of their requirement is to public education and outreach. The Extension working group has formed a partnership with the 10 communities’ coalition. UNL Extension has researched based resources and knowledge to assist these communities with public education. The first step for the Extension working group is to prepare Nebguides on various topics relating to stormwater management. Kelly Feehan, Platte County Extension Educator, is the working group team leader.

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Managing Surface Cover
Steve Tonn, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Educator in Douglas/Sarpy Counties

Controlling soil erosion is an undercover operation. Keeping the land under some form of surface cover is the single most important factor in keeping soil from eroding. Prior land use, crop canopy, surface roughness, soil type, and other factors play a part, but the key is surface cover. This is true for both agricultural and urban watersheds.

Surface cover absorbs the explosive power of rain – a power that can detach soil particles from the soil mass, setting them up for transport by runoff water. Surface cover also slows the flow of water across the soil surface, further reducing the threat of erosion.

The statistics tell the story. In a Purdue University study, for example, researchers measured erosion levels of 12.4 tons per acre annually when the soil level was left completely bare. With 41 percent surface cover, the annual rate of soil erosion dropped to 3.2 tons per acre annually. And with 71 percent surface cover, the erosion rate was only 1.4 tons per acre annually.

Urban soil erosion losses often exceed agricultural losses by 4 to 5 times. Erosion losses from urban construction sites can reach up to 30 tons per acre annually.

Erosion is the primary contributor to P loss on construction sites and many farm fields, particularly tilled fields. Controlling erosion is the most effective way to reduce total phosphorus loss. Phosphorus losses can affect crop yields and phosphorus transported to water bodies can trigger excessive algae growth.

Sources: 60 Ways Farmers Can Protect Surface Water, NCR Extension Publication 589 and Agricultural Phosphorus Management and Water Quality in the Midwest, RP187

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What Happens When the Watershed Project Ends?
Steve Tonn, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Educator in Douglas/Sarpy Counties

Fifteen community based watershed management plans are being implemented throughout Nebraska. These plans have been developed through the community based watershed management planning process which involves watershed residents and technical advisory team members working together. A local watershed council/improvement group represents watershed stakeholders and serves as the decision makers in the planning process. This process has worked well and great things are being done in many watersheds throughout the state.

What happens when the project is completed and the funding ends? What value do watershed council members, stakeholders, citizens place on seeing that the practices and accomplishments are maintained? Who will take the leadership in helping to protect the water resources in the future? What will be needed to fulfill the vision for the watershed? What is your responsibility in protecting your watershed resources?

These are questions each watershed must answer. Sustaining citizen involvement in watershed management is the key to continuing the on-going efforts needed to protect our water resources.

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Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture.

University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the non-discrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.