WATER QUALITY AND THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
Water is the lifeblood of Idaho! Over 22,000,000,000 gallons of water are used
each day in Idaho. Over 97 percent of this water is used on 4,100,000
acres of irrigated farmland. Eighty percent of the water comes from
surface sources (rivers and reservoirs), the other 20 percent is
groundwater. Currently, the quality of water used in Idaho is
excellent.
The College of Agriculture at the University of Idaho is dedicated to the
preservation and enhancement of water quality in Idaho while at the same time
maintaining a profitable agricultural economy. The college maintains faculty on
campus at Moscow, at research and extension centers at Sandpoint, Parma,
Caldwell, Twin Falls, Aberdeen, Idaho Fall, Dubois, Kimberly, and Tetonia and in
42 of the state's 44 counties. Over 80 college faculty have expertise in some
water quality issues. Water quality programs are incorporated into the education,
research, and extension missions of the College of Agriculture. In addition,
faculty in the College of Agriculture often work jointly with the Idaho Water
Resources Research Institute (IWWRI) and other colleges on campus. College
programming areas dealing with water quality include:
- Crop Management
- Livestock/Range/Forest Management
- Domestic Water Quality
- Youth Programs
- Bioremediation
- Riparian Management
- Waste Management
Education's Role:
Water quality issues will dominate many phases of agriculture and other Idaho
industries in the 1990s. The curricula of the College of Agriculture address
water issues important to Idaho and the nation. Both undergraduate and graduate
programs in soil science, agricultural engineering, entomology, and bacteriology
can focus directly on water issues. In addition, programs in subjects such as
crop management, agriculture economics, and animal science also have a water
quality component. The college's education mission places a high priority on both
water quality and quantity in Idaho. Specific educational goals include:
- Educate students about Idaho's water resource
- Graduate students with the scientific and social skills necessary to deal
with water quality issues
- Enhance current curricula at the graduate level that emphasize water problems
and issues of importance to Idahoans
- Provide students with the ability to integrate water quality considerations
into comprehensive management plans
Research's Role:
Over 30 faculty are actively engaged in research projects targeted at water
quality problems within the state. College facilities are located at strategic
locations for field research.
The Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) maintains the University of Idaho
Analytical Laboratory. This facility supports the research, teaching, and
extension programs of the college. This laboratory is capable of performing
nitrate and pesticide analyses. In addition, facilities of this laboratory
support programs in waste management and hazardous wastes. Some of the ongoing
research programs are in the following areas:
- Pesticide movement and degradation in soil and water
- Nutrient use efficiency and movement in soil and water
- Irrigation management
- Waste management
- Bioremediation
- Aquatic ecosystems
- Soil and water management and conservation
Extension's Role:
Water quality is an important part of extension's effort in Idaho. The University
of Idaho Cooperative Extension System consists of over 140 faculty, strategically
located throughout the state. The faculty work to improve the lives of Idahoans
through educational processes based on current scientific knowledge. For example,
extension faculty provide information on fertilizer recommendations, irrigation
management, pesticide guidelines, erosion control, and crop rotations. This
information not only improves crop production but enhances and protects water
quality by reducing nutrient and pesticide losses into surface and
groundwater. Some of the existing extension efforts to protect water quality are
as follows:
- Crop Management Program
Nutrient, Pesticide and Irrigation Management
- Livestock Managment Program
Grazing and Waste Management
- Domestic Water Program
Water Sources, Storage, Treatment, and Associated Health Effects
- Urban/Home/Garden Program
Household/Garden Chemicals, Hazardous Material Disposal
- Youth Program
Natural Resource/Youth Camps, 4-H
- Forestry Program
Timber/Resource Management
Specific Programming Areas:
Nutrients and Pesticides. Commercial fertilizers and pesticides are two of
the major technological breakthroughs of the twentieth century. They have given
us a means to make soils more productive, and combat pests which threaten our
crops. However, when misused many agrichemicals pose a hazard. Improper
management of pesticides and fertilizers can result in contamination of both the
surface and groundwaters in Idaho. The College of Agriculture has targeted both
research and extension efforts to address potential water quality problems. Some
of these efforts include:
Research:
- Improvement of nitrogen use efficiency of Idaho crops
- Evaluation of management strategies to reduce nutrient and pesticide leaching
and runoff into surface and ground waters (nutrients are primarily from
fertilizers)
- Development of biological control strategies as alternatives to
pesticides
Extension:
- Educational efforts to promote proper handling, application, storage, and
disposal of pesticides
- Provide up-to-date fertilizer and pesticide recommendations with due
consideration of environmental/water quality concerns
- Promotion of agricultural practices which improves nitrogen use efficiency by
crops
Irrigation Management. Effective and efficient irrigation management is
necessary to protect water quality. The College of Agriculture engages in
research and extension efforts that utilize state of the art technologies to
enhance irrigation management. These modern technologies result in improved crop
yields, improved water use efficiency, and reduction in the quantity of
agricultural water runoff. Specific irrigation management programs include:
- Chemigation training (the application of agrichemicals through irrigation
water)
- Irrigation scheduling
- Transfer of new technologies to growers
- Research to evaluate new irrigation methods such as low pressure sprinkler
nozzles, trickle, and surge irrigation
Livestock/Range/Forestry Management. The College of Agriculture has water
quality programs targeted at specific problems faced by the livestock and dairy
industry. These programs include:
- Assisting ranchers and people in the dairy industry to meet government waste
management guidelines
- Providing information on animal waste disposal
- Developing range management strategies that ensure long term grazing rights
but also are compatible with state water quality goals
- Providing extension forestry programs that deal with timber management,
roads/erosion/grazing in forests, and resource management
Riparian Management. Riparian areas are vegetative areas adjacent to free
flowing water, usually along streams and rivers. The College of Agriculture works
with agricultural and forestry interests, including faculty in the College of
Forestry, Wildlife, and Range Sciences, to maintain and enhance riparian areas.
These areas are essential to water quality because they act as filters and
prevent debris from entering the waterway. They also moderate water temperature
with shade which is important for fish and other organisms. College programs
include:
- Education of farmers, ranchers, and rural residents on positive impacts of
healthy riparian areas on sedimentation and sediment control
- Providing sound livestock management guidelines to ranchers
- Research at decreasing sedimentation in riparian zones from adjacent arable
land
Bioremediation. Bioremediation involves the use of microorganisms to clean
up soils or waters which have been contaminated. The microorganisms are
introduced into the contaminated soil or water zone, and subsequently break down
targeted chemicals (both agricultural and industrial) into harmless by-products.
There are several bioremediation research projects in the College of Agriculture,
located primarily in the Department of Bacteriology and Biochemistry. Faculty in
the College of Agriculture also work cooperatively with the University of Idaho
Hazardous Waste Center. Research projects include:
- Isolation of microorganisms capable of breaking down agrichemicals when
injected into a contaminated area
- Containing microorganisms after application to an aquifer or soil
- Enhance the effectiveness of microbial breakdown of contaminants
- Detoxifying pesticide containers and waste disposal sites
Domestic Water Quality. The College of Agriculture addresses domestic
water quality issues via its extension system. Extension provides programs and
information in the following areas:
- Water storage and treatment
- Water sampling and testing
- Waste water disposal
- Water sources
- Disposal of hazardous materials
- Laundry and detergents
- Graywater disposal and use
Youth Programs. Extension faculty provide programming for Idaho youth on
natural resource issues. Natural resource camps and 4-H program activities
address water issues and their importance to Idaho.
Summary
The College of Agriculture contains the expertise to solve many of Idaho's
potential water quality challenges in the 1990s.
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College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Idaho.
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Revised: January 3, 2003
URL: http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqu/attach1.html
