Through conservation practices N.C. landowners have been vital partner in addressing water quality
The month of August is recognized as National Water Quality Month. It was founded in 2005, thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United Nations with the intention of starting constructive conversations on how best to conserve the world’s freshwater supplies. The history of National Water Quality Month traces back to two very important pieces of legislation with the Clean Water Act that was passed in 1972, which made it illegal to dump high amounts of toxic materials into bodies of water, and the Safe Drinking Water Act passed in 1974 protecting ground water sources. These two pieces of legislation were vital in protecting one of the earth’s most vital resources. (photo by USDA, NRCS)
RALEIGH, N.C. – The month of August is recognized as National Water Quality Month. It was founded in 2005, thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United Nations with the intention of starting constructive conversations on how best to conserve the world’s freshwater supplies. The history of National Water Quality Month traces back to two very important pieces of legislation with the Clean Water Act that was passed in 1972, which made it illegal to dump high amounts of toxic materials into bodies of water, and the Safe Drinking Water Act passed in 1974 protecting ground water sources. These two pieces of legislation were vital in protecting one of the earth’s most vital resources.
The majority of the earth’s surface is covered in water, approximately 97% according to the EPA. Of that 97%, only 1% percent of the earth’s water is available for our daily water supply needs, with the remaining being stored in ice caps, glaciers, and snowy mountain tops. Just about everything on earth needs fresh water to thrive.
That vital resource is under threat, mostly due to human activity. According to the National Parks Conservation Association 207 of our 397 national parks — 52% — have waterways that are considered “impaired” under the Clean Water Act. Some of the major contributors to water pollution are dumping industrial effluents, leakage of untreated waste, products and chemicals used at home, and agricultural runoff.
States like North Carolina are heavily reliant on agriculture for their economies. For the past two years, the state has reported over $100 billion dollars in economic impact. Most of the impact is coming from livestock, which accounted for roughly 69% according to news sources. Overall, the state provides the nation and the world with sweet potatoes, turkeys, poultry, swine, tobacco, and other agricultural products.
Unfortunately, agriculture poses a resource challenge when it comes to water quality. Nutrients from sources such as fertilizers and manure from agriculture operations can enter fresh water sources through runoff. Knowing the challenges their operations pose, landowners are implementing conservation practices with the help of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS).
USDA-NRCS works through voluntary conservation programs. It is through these programs that the agency helps producers, soil and water conservation districts, and other partners protect and conserve natural resources on private lands throughout the state and the nation. Two of the more common programs USDA-NRCS offers is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). It is through these programs that USDA-NRCS offers hundreds of conservation practices that can address natural resource concerns.
Some common practices that are being implemented involving animals include: Waste Storage Facilities (Code 313) and Animal Mortality Facilities (Code 316). A Waste Storage Facility provides temporary storage of manure, agricultural by-products, wastewater, and/or contaminated runoff. The facility allows agricultural operation management flexibility for waste utilization. An Animal Mortality Facility is designed to reduce the impacts to soil and groundwater resources, reduce the impacts of odors, and decrease the spread of pathogens associated with animal mortality.
Two other common animal practices in North Carolina are Roofs and Covers (Code 367) and Roof Runoff Structures (Code 558). Roofs and Covers are installed to prevent the escape of gases from waste facilities and to exclude precipitation from these facilities. Roof runoff water that becomes contaminated by contact with animal waste must be stored and then transported to the field for land application. Diverting clean water away from animal waste concentration areas reduces the amount of liquid that must be stored and utilized.
These practices are animal specific, but USDA-NRCS also offers a host of other conservation practices that can help with water quality. For example Filter Strip (Code 393), an area of vegetation established for removing sediment, organic material, and other pollutants from runoff and wastewater. Filter strips are generally located at the lower edge(s) of a field and are designed to serve as a buffer between a field and environmentally sensitive areas such as streams, lakes, wetlands, and other areas susceptible to damage by sediment and waterborne pollutants.
Another great conservation practice is a Riparian Buffer Strip (Code 391). A buffer strip is area predominantly covered by trees and/or shrubs located adjacent to and up-gradient from a watercourse or water body. These strips can be used to reduce transport of sediment to surface water, and reduce transport of pathogens, chemicals, pesticides, and nutrients to surface and ground water. As well as improve the quantity and quality of terrestrial and aquatic habitat for wildlife, invertebrate species, fish, and other organisms.
“These conservation practices are vital tools in protecting one of the world’s most precious resources and our landowners in the North Carolina have shown time and time again how serious they are in protecting that resource,” said Tim Beard, State Conservationist for USDA-NRCS in North Carolina.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. To get started, please visit your local USDA Service Center. To find the nearest center visit USDA Service Center Locator.
–USDA, NRCS