Surface Water Watersheds

Watersheds

Everyone lives in a watershed. A watershed is the land area that contributes water to a location, usually a stream, pond, lake or river. Everything that we do on the surface of our watershed impacts the water quality of our streams, wetlands, ponds, lakes and rivers. What happens in one locality affects other downstream areas.

Nebraska Virtual Green Infrastructure Tour

2020 Nebraska Virtual Green Infrastructure Tour flyer

Join us on November 20, 2020 for the Nebraska Virtual Green Infrastructure Tour!  After 12 years of face-to-face green infrastructure tours, we will take a diversion this year and jump on the virtual tour bus!

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Nitrate in Nebraska

From increased water bills to closed lakes to tainted drinking water, high nitrate levels are affecting thousands of Nebraskans. Nitrate can’t be seen or smelled, but it is in Nebraska’s groundwater, which is the source of drinking water for much of the state. Nitrate also contaminates surface water such as streams and lakes. 

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Understanding Bacteria in Lakes

Bacteria Analysis

A dip in the lake can be refreshing, but it’s important to consider what’s going on in the water that you may not see – especially for E. coli bacteria.

Identifying an E.coli issue

It’s fairly easy to see Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and algae at a lake.  Unfortunately, the same visual assessment does not apply to E. coli.  However, there are three indicators of E. coli in a lake to consider:

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Why does groundwater nitrate vary so much across Nebraska?

map of groundwater nitrate variability in Nebraska

Have you ever wondered why groundwater nitrate maps show so much variation across Nebraska? Or why wells near to your own tested well have such different nitrate levels? The answer has three parts. Nitrate in groundwater varies from place to place because of differences in:

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Proactive Drinking Water Management for a Unique Water System

Little Nemaha River

The City of Auburn, population 3,000, is located in southeast Nebraska, near the Little Nemaha River, approximately seven miles upstream of its confluence with the Missouri River. The City receives its drinking water from a wellfield located east of the community within an alluvial aquifer along the Little Nemaha River. The wellfield consists of 11 vertical wells averaging 45 to 50 feet below the ground's surface, pumping up to 150 million gallons per year.

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