Water News Archive

Monday June 12, 2017

Value of Using Sensors to Manage Irrigation and Tips for Proper Installation

Use ET Gages and soil moisture sensors to help manage your irrigation this season.

Thursday June 8, 2017

Abandoned swine lagoons and earthen storage basins may contain valuable nutrients

person sampling lagoon sludge from an excavator bucket

When a swine lagoon is abandoned, the owner has the choice of decommissioning the lagoon or maintaining the integrity of the lagoon. Decommissioning means dewatering the lagoon and land applying the sludge at the bottom. One cannot just fill in the hole. The process of removing the water and the sludge is time consuming and takes resources and planning to complete properly. One aspect of the process does have some cost recovery and that is utilizing the sludge in a beneficial way.

Thursday June 1, 2017

Is Your Irrigation System Ready For the Season?

Center Pivot in soybean field Greeley County, NE

Simple checks you can preform on your center pivots to make sure they are ready for the irrigation season.

Monday May 15, 2017

Nebraska Weather and Your Water Supply

Nebraska weather is anything but stable and predictable. February reiterated that point to us as we saw record numbers of days with highs in the 70s, our first thunder of 2017 followed by up to two feet of snow in some parts of the state. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are most common during May, June and July but they can occur at any time and are increasingly common as warm air patterns begin to dominate during the spring months.

Friday May 12, 2017

Finding Win/Win Opportunities for Manure

This article is Part 1 of a two-part discussion on the value of manure. Part 2 focuses on soil quality benefits provided by manure and appeared in the March 6, 2017 CropWatch.

Monday May 1, 2017

Pesticide Safety

Pesticides are a commonly used method of managing pests in our landscapes. However, pesticides are poisons, so they need to be handled carefully. With spring here and summer coming right around the corner, it is a good time to reinforce those safety precautions to everyone who might be using pesticides.

Thursday March 16, 2017

2017 Sandpit Lake Management Workshops

Nebraska Extension, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, and Game and Parks again have partnered to offer a series of pond and lake management introductory workshops. These workshops are free and open to everyone who makes decisions for and about lakes and ponds or anyone who wants to learn more about protecting them. If you’ve ever had an algae bloom, fish kill, murky water, or just want to know what’s going on in the lake, this workshop is for you. All 2017 workshops are focused on sandpit lakes.

Wednesday March 8, 2017

2017 Spring Stormwater Symposium

Spring Stormwater Symposium Agenda Cover

The 2017 Spring Stormwater Symposium brought together professionals from both public and private sectors to learn from local, regional and national experts. The symposium will focused on examples of stormwater program funding and management, and took an in-depth look into the life cycle of a successful stormwater management project.

What happens in the lagoon?

Evaporation reduces the liquid volume of wastewater, returning water vapor to the environment. Solids settle to bottom and form sludge. There is an aerobic zone at the top of the wastewater layer where air movement introduces oxygen and aerobic microorganisms convert waste to carbon dioxide, ammonia, and phosphates.

Soil Water

Irrigation scheduling needs to begin with a discussion on soil and soil water. This is the basis of irrigation scheduling. Coarse soils, such as sands and gravels, have relatively large pores. However the number of pores is small when compared to a finer textured soil. Fine soils, like clays or clay loams, have relatively small pores. Having many small pores means that a fine textured soil can hold more water than a coarse textured soil.

Manure Related Extension Publications

The following are publications about manure and nutrient management.

Green Roofs

Green roofs help manage stormwater by capturing rainfall.

Septic systems operation and maintenance overview

Pump tank regularly. Have a professional inspect and pump the tank. Conserve water and spread usage over a period of time. Manage solids. Keep hazardous materials out. Let the system work naturally. Avoid drainfield compaction. Avoid introducing excess water to the drainfield. Maintain structural integrity of the drainfield.

NebGuides

A collection of NebGuides developed by Nebraska Extension professionals on various drinking water topics.

EPCRA Emissions Rule for Livestock and Poultry

On December 18, 2008, the US EPA published a final rule that clarified which livestock facilities must report air emissions from their facilities. Animal agriculture was granted an administrative exemption from reporting air emissions that normally occur from raising farm animals under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

Low Impact Development

The key premise of low impact development (LID) is to allow natural systems to manage stormwater when and wherever possible. LID takes advantage of existing natural features and also designs and constructs systems to imitate natural processes, for example, green roofs, bioretention gardens, and permeable pavement.

Pig Production Environmental Sustainability Footprints

A Nebraska Extension pilot project is assisting pork producers in calculating their swine farm environmental sustainability footprints in a joint effort with the University of Minnesota Extension.

Aquifers of Nebraska

There are at least seven major aquifer systems in Nebraska. By far, the High Plains/Ogallala aquifer is the largest in terms of volume of water in storage and withdrawals for irrigation. Several secondary aquifers exist in areas outside of the High Plains aquifer, providing water for irrigation, municipal supplies, and domestic use in parts of far western and far eastern Nebraska.

What Happens in the Tank?

Anaerobic bacteria begin to break down some wastes in the tank. Wastewater contains suspended solids. Heavy solids settle out and form sludge on the bottom of the tank.

Drinking Water Testing

Bacteria/Nitrate Private Drinking Water Test Kit

Testing private drinking water supplies in Nebraska is not required by federal or state regulation, with some exceptions such as licensed childcare facilities and foster care home water supplies. County or city jurisdictions may have requirements for private water supply testing.