ASDWA and GWPC Webinar on Effective Agricultural Practices for Nitrate in Groundwater
On Wednesday, August 11, 2021, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm (eastern time), ASDWA and the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) will host a webinar entitled, “Effective Agricultural Practices to Address Nitrate in Groundwater Sources of Drinking Water,” with speakers from three states (Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin) who will share information about their efforts to work with agricultural partners to reduce nitrate in groundwater sources of drinking water. State Source Water Protection Coordinators and representatives of NRCS, NACD, TA provider organizations, water utilities and associations, and other partners are encouraged to attend. The presentations and speakers include:
- Kansas – Innovative Ways to Protect Drinking Water for Kansas Communities: The presentation will give a brief background into Drinking Water Protection (DWP), how DWP helps alleviate nitrates in public water supplies, and how Hagie Interseeders involved with the Kansas Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) can be used in DWP communities. The DWP Program is a voluntary, non-regulatory program at Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to help small communities with nitrate issues. Speaker: Logan Smith, the DWP Coordinator in the Bureau of Environmental Field Services at the KDHE.
- Nebraska – A Coordinated Approach to Source Water Protection in an Agricultural Environment: The presentation will share information about how the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) is: working with communities to develop alternative 319 nine-element watershed-based plans to address groundwater impairments; calculating load reductions for groundwater protection planning; and working with NRCS to identify priority practices. Speakers: Elbert Traylor, a Specialist in the Nonpoint Source Management Program, and Tatiana Davila, a Hydrogeologist in the Groundwater Division, at the NDEE.
- Wisconsin – Nitrogen fertilizer Decision Support Tools for Source Water Protection: This presentation will share information about the development of a state stakeholder participatory framework and new software tools to protect source water from excess nitrate contamination in order to protect public health while maintaining agricultural production. These tools are currently in early pre-release stages and include methods to establish and meet numerical load reduction goals for land use activities and practices designed to reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater in well recharge areas. Speakers:
- Brian Austin, the Source Water Protection Coordinator in the Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- Paul Juckem, a Hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey – Upper Midwest Water Science Center
- Christopher Kucharik, Professor and Chair in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin – Madison
