Weekly Irrigation Newsletter: Using Soil Water Tension to Schedule Irrigation in East-central Nebraska

In 2024, Nebraska Extension started a new collaboration with three growers located in east-central Nebraska. We installed a set of three watermark sensors at 1-, 2-, and 3-feet soil depth and the sensors were connected to datalogger (IC-10 model from Irrometer) to record and store hourly data at one-hour intervals. The data can also be accessed remotely for quick irrigation decision.

Read More

Graywater Use in Nebraska

With the forecast of another dry year, more people are inquiring about reusing their graywater to water their plants or lawn with. It is not legal in Nebraska to discharge untreated graywater. Wastewater in Nebraska is comprised of graywater and blackwater. Graywater is defined in Nebraska Onsite Wastewater Regulations as water that has been used for bathing, laundering clothes, and sink waste that is not kitchen sink waste. Blackwater is water that carries off waste from toilets, urinals, and kitchen sinks.

Read More

Visual illustration of the nitrogen cycle New Whitepaper Explores the Connection between Soil Health and Water Quality

nitrogen cycle
The Soil Health Nexus is excited to debut two new resources on the Soil Health Toolbox! Two Soil Health Nexus members, Francisco Arriaga, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Anna Cates, Assistant Professor and State Soil Health Specialist at the University of Minnesota, recently published a long-awaited whitepaper exploring the connection between soil health and water quality.

Read More

Major Nebraska Rivers and Their Drainages: Part 1

This new series by Nebraska Extension Educator Gary Stone highlights the main rivers in Nebraska and their impacts across the Midwest and Northern Plains. Part 1 of a six-part series that will cover the major rivers and their respective drainages found in Nebraska, with some geography and history about Nebraska’s rivers.

Read More

Pasture and Forage Minute: Early Season Alfalfa Irrigation, Trigger Dates and Weed Control

This week — Strategies for irrigating alfalfa in early season dry soil conditions, grazing to control abundant weed growth due to drought and forming a drought plan.

Read More

Water for Food Conference to Address Water and Food Security in a Changing World

This year's conference will focus on innovative ways to improve water and food security by increasing farmers’ resiliency to a changing landscape.

Read More

Naturally Occurring Elements in Groundwater - Part 3 of a Series - Fluoride

There are naturally occurring elements and minerals within Nebraska geology, and with that, it is not uncommon to find them in Nebraska’s groundwater. This month, the spotlight series continues with fluoride.

Read More

National SepticSmart Week is September 17-21

man emptying septic tank

National Septic Smart week is Sept. 17–21, 2018. The U.S. 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 U.S.

 The wastewater of approximately 25 percent of the population of the U.S. is treated by on-site or individual wastewater systems. In Nebraska, that statistic holds consistent with approximately 25 percent of our state’s population served by onsite wastewater systems on farms, acreages, suburbs and even some small communities.

Read More

Pig Production Environmental Sustainability Footprints

young pigs in a wean-to-finish facility
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.

Read More

Stormwater runoff and your well

well pump

Protecting the quality and safety of your water supply means protecting your well and the area surrounding it by not storing hazardous materials including fuel, metals and chemicals near the well, keeping livestock including horses away, and limiting applications of lawn chemicals immediately around the well. However, to protect your water supply you need to look beyond the area immediately around your well.

Read More

Sign up for updates from UNL Water

Sign Up Here