Water News Archive

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Fall and Winter Watering

It is at this time of the year that I get questions asking if people should still be watering their plants or hear people say they just don’t need to water plants again until spring. However, it is very important to keep watering plants to ensure they go into the winter with a full reservoir of water in the soil to keep them alive and healthy through the winter.

Fall Watering

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Nebraska Virtual Green Infrastructure Tour

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!

Monday, October 12, 2020

Palmer amaranth Seeds in Manure – What Can You Do?

There are several ways seeds of Palmer amaranth can be introduced into your fields. Manure is one of them. This article provides some valuable answers on 1) reducing Palmer amaranth seed in feed, 2) reducing Palmer amaranth seed in manure; and 3) field application of contaminated manure.

Friday, October 9, 2020

Planning 2021 Fertilizer-N Application Following a Dry 2020

Anticipated high residual soil nitrate-N levels in NE rainfed crops of dry 2020 can be credited to reduce N rates for 2021

Fertilizer-N is a big investment for crop production in Nebraska and elsewhere. After harvest, growers tend to plan their fertilizer-N management for the next year’s crop. But the question is how much nitrogen can they apply to get the most profit from their fertilizer-N investment?

Friday, October 2, 2020

Small communities pay high costs for clean water

In Nebraska, 85% of our citizens rely on drinking water pumped from the ground. When a community's public drinking water supply is affected by high nitrate levels that exceed 10 ppm, it can cost hundreds of thousands - even millions - of dollars to fix.

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Rain Barrels

A recent brief rain burst, depositing just .2 of an inch in my rain gauge, put 12 gallons of water in my rain barrel. That’s the beauty of collecting rainwater from a roof—a small amount adds up quickly.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Nitrate in Drinking Water

A water bottle being filled at a sink faucet

Historical and current water quality monitoring shows that nitrate is present in groundwater throughout much of Nebraska. It is when results are at or above the 10mg/L Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) that hazardous health effects become a concern among humans and animals. Nitrate is colorless, odorless, and tasteless and the only way it can be detected in drinking water is through submitting a sample for laboratory testing.

Where Does Nitrate Come From and What is Nitrification?

Friday, September 4, 2020

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.

Friday, August 28, 2020

Scheduling the Last Irrigation of the Season

What a year 2020 has been. After a year of record flooding over much of the state, we are now in various stages of drought. With limited rainfall over most of the state this year and fairly extended hot, dry periods, many irrigators may be wondering when is the irrigation season going to end? With the price of grain, it is also worth considering do I need to apply that last inch or two of water to get that last bushel or two?

Friday, August 28, 2020

Now is the Time of Year to Check Pivot Performance

Derek M. Heeren¹, Associate Professor and Water for Food Global Institute Faculty Fellow

Steven R. Melvin², Extension Educator

Aaron Nygren³, Associate Extension Educator

Eric Wilkening¹, Undergraduate Research Assistant

¹ Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln