Water News Archive

What is the Economic Value of Manure?

Manure has value. That value may result from improvements in soil quality, increases in yield, and replacement of commercial nutrient required for crop production. This article will focus on the economic benefits of manure.

What's the deal with smelly water?

Odors that can be compared to rotten eggs are not ideal in your home or coming from your drinking water faucet.  Sulfates, which are a combination of sulfur and oxygen, are naturally occurring minerals.  They are found in some soil and rock formations where groundwater is also found.  Bacteria that feed on sulfur can produce hydrogen sulfide gas which is the primary offender when it comes to odor. 

Sandpit Lake Basics – Where does the water come from?

Lakes are classified in a number of ways to help us understand how they function, make predictions, assess ecosystem health, and establish management strategies or regulations.  They are most commonly classified by the lake’s ability to support plant and animal life, or productivity. They can also be classified based on the water supply, how humans use them, plant and animal communities, or how they were formed (e.g.  glacier retreating, volcanic eruption, made by man).

Stream Biological Monitoring

Rivers and streams are complex. They are filled with a dizzying array of life, from relatively simple bacteria and algae to more complex forms such as plants, insects, and fish. When everything is working well, rivers provide many benefits to society, including fishing and other recreation opportunities, drinking water, irrigation, and transportation. However, there are also many ways that people can disrupt the natural functioning of rivers. For example, it may be necessary for cities to build systems that rapidly remove rain water to prevent flooding damage to homes and businesses.

Considerations in Adopting Variable Rate Irrigation

Irrigation-the largest user of freshwater in Nebraska and worldwide-can be applied more precisely.

Control Broadleaf Weeds in the Fall

Weeds in the lawn will drive us crazy through the whole summer, but don’t forget about them yet. Fall is the best time to treat for broadleaf weeds, even though we don’t notice them as much now because they are done blooming for the year.

Manure Impact on Erosion and Runoff

This article reviews the value that results from changes to soil’s physical characteristics. Charles Wortmann and Dan Walters, faculty with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln monitored soil erosion, runoff, and phosphorus (P) loss from replicated field plots over three cropping seasons immediately after manure application and four subsequent years when no manure was applied. Significant erosion and runoff benefits were observed for sites receiving animal manures.

Yeast Additives and Wastewater Lagoons

Additives such as yeast are marketed as a quick and easy way to improve bacterial degradation of the wastewater within a system such as a lagoon.  However, the reality is that none of the yeast additives have been proven to be effective in improving bacterial action within your lagoon.  Additionally, yeast additives have shown to have negative impacts on groundwater quality as well as potential further negative impact on surrounding environmental resources such as vegetation.  If you think the waste treatment is insufficient, consider taking the following two steps:

Monitoring Nebraska’s Public Beaches - Water Quality and Health Alerts at Your Favorite Lake

Have you ever wondered about the water quality in your favorite lake?  Or perhaps you’ve planned a day at the lake only to see a sign that says “Health Alert” and not known what that meant. 

Manure Impact on Soil Aggregation

Manure increases formation of larger and more stable soil aggregates. Several benefits result for fields fertilized by manure compared to commercial fertilizer including reduced runoff and soil erosion and increased water infiltration leading to greater drought tolerance.

Harvest the Rain, It's a Precious Resource

Rainwater harvesting treats rainwater as a resource to be collected rather than a waste product to be conveyed away as quickly as possible. Collected rainwater can be diverted to planted areas such as rain gardens for infiltration or temporarily held in a storage device like a rain barrel or cistern for future use.

An Overview of Secondary Aquifers in Nebraska

Nebraska is a groundwater-rich state. Nebraska has one primary aquifer, the High Plains Aquifer, and seven secondary aquifers. These secondary aquifers supply water to more than 4000 active wells spread across 30 counties.

September is National SepticSmart Week

This year’s National SepticSmart Week is September 18-22, 2017. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a week in September each year to focus on improved awareness of proper operation and maintenance of septic systems across the United States. The wastewater of approximately 25 percent of the population of the United States is treated by on-site or individual wastewater systems. In Nebraska, this statistic holds consistent with 25 percent of our state’s population being served by onsite wastewater systems on farms, acreages, suburbs and even some small communities.

Predicting Late-Season Irrigation Needs

The 2017 growing season started with warm dry planting conditions, followed by significant rain delays in May in many parts of the state, and a summer of intermittent weeks of hot and cool temperatures. The net result is that crops may mature over a longer period than usual this fall. Fortunately, the following procedure for making end-of-season irrigation decisions is based on crop maturity stage rather than the calendar.

Turf Care Under the Hot Sun

Following are effective strategies for managing lawns during periods of hot and dry weather: 1. Learn to recognize wilting in turf plants. It is relatively easy to recognize wilting on a houseplant. The leaves droop and the stem may wither, and the whole plant may have a “dull” appearance. Because turf plants are much smaller and thinner than houseplants, it is much more difficult to recognize drought stress in turf plants.

Siting Animal Facilities to Reduce Neighbor Nuisance

Wind direction and speed affect dust and odor risk. A first step in assessing and minimizing potential dust and odor nuisance risk of a livestock operation is identifying the most likely downwind directions. This article will share wind frequency data for 44 Nebraska locations to consider siting options for reducing these nuisances.

2017 Omaha Stormwater Management Tour

Join us, as we tour some of the newest stormwater management projects in Omaha and re-visit established green infrastructure projects. Six of this year’s tour stops are new to the tour! Criteria for tour stop selection included ensuring a variety of consultants, various project scales, various management practices, and availability of tour guides. Tour stops will include:

Water conservation in the hot summer months

Water use inside and outside the home can increase significantly both inside and outside the home during the summer. Learn some easy conservation measures that can result in saving water, energy and money.

Sprinkler Irrigation System Maintenance for Improved Uniformity and Application Efficiency

Center pivot irrigation systems are designed and managed to apply water as uniformly as possible to enhance crop production. Uniformity has a direct effect on the system’s overall application efficiency, which is a measure of how well an irrigation system delivers water to a crop’s root zone.

Manure and Soil Health Presentations Bring Experts, Give Voice to Wondering Minds

Farmers and ranchers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of soil quality/health to the productivity and sustainability of their agricultural system. Research and field observations have demonstrated that carefully managed manure applications can contribute to improved soil quality with limited environmental and social risks. However, a comprehensive assemblage of outputs and conclusions from research studies, field trials, soil labs databases, and other sources has never been developed.