Source Water and Agriculture Call Highlights Coordination Efforts

On December 4th, EPA and states (along with ASDWA staff) participated in the quarterly call on the nexus between source water protection and agricultural issues.  Topics covered during the call included:

• An update on the continued efforts of the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient (Hypoxia) Task Force.  This included an Iowa study to assess the health of streams in agricultural landscapes and an Iowa Geology Survey study on Using Landscape Conservation Practices to Support On-the-Field Nutrient Control Efforts.   For more information about the Task Force, go to:  http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/named/msbasin/taskforce.cfm.

• A presentation about the Memorandum of Agreement between the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to coordinate their roles and how they work together to address agriculture and water quality issues.  For more information, go to:  http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/nonpoint/implementation.htm

• An overview of the Source Water Collaborative’s new online toolkit to help protect drinking water sources through agricultural conservation practices.  View the toolkit at: (www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/swp-usda/)

If any state would like to participate in these calls, and you are not already on the email distribution list, please contact Ginah Mortensen of EPA’s National Agriculture Center at Mortensen.Ginah@epa.gov.