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Great Lakes Regional Water Program
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Monthly Newsletter April 2012
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Dear Great Lakes Regional Water Program Friends and Colleagues,
Welcome to the April edition of our Great Lakes Regional Water Program newsletter. You'll notice the newsletter has a new look and an increased focus on land grant university research and outreach related to water resource management. We recognize that while water issues affect everyone, every day, the latest in water research and information is not always top-of-the-fold news. Therefore, we will provide you with updates on projects funded by the Great Lakes Regional Water Program as well as bring you other news and articles from across the Upper Midwest.
If you like this new format, please consider passing a link along to others that may be interested. If you have ideas for e-newsletter content, please share with our marketing specialist, John Kriva. You can contact him at john.kriva@uwex.edu.
We also want to call your attention to two upcoming events. First, Ohio State University and Michigan State University will be co-teaching the new Sustainable Water Resources and Climate Change Planning Course April 9-22. Development and delivery of this course is funded by the Great Lakes Regional Water Program with matching resources from participating land grant universities and River Network. While registration for this year's short course is currently closed, more information can be found at the Ohio Environmental Leaders website. Click here.
Second is the National Water Conference being held May 20-24 in Portland, Oregon. This conference provides an excellent overview of the latest water research and outreach from across the country. It is well worth the travel and registration costs if your budget allows. Conference website.
Enjoy the spring!
Rebecca Power, Co-Director, Great Lakes Regional Water Program
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New MSU Global Water Initiative
| | Michigan AgBio Research
MSU has established the MSU Global Water Initiative (GWI) to advance innovative science to address major water problems facing society across the globe. The Initiative focuses on three themes: 1) Water and food; 2) Water and human health, including impacts of urbanization; and 3) Water and ecosystems, including climate impacts. As part of the GWI, MSU will be hiring 16 faculty positions over the next three years in the areas of water and food and water and health. These positions will be primarily in the Colleges of Natural Science, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Social Science and Engineering. A video and reports detail the initiative.
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| Taking stock of voluntary nutrient management: Measuring and tracking change | | |
An article in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
by Ken Genskow
Dr. Ken Genskow, Associate Professor of Urban & Regional Planning and Water Resources Specialist with UW-Extension, was recently published in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. His article summarizes the results of a multisession educational workshop series for farmers focused on enhancing the understanding and development of quality nutrient management plans (NMPs).
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| In the News #1 | | |
Ohio Agencies Announce Recommendations for Reducing Excess Ag Nutrients in Local Waters
COLUMBUS - The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency today announced their recommendations for reducing excess agricultural nutrients from affecting or entering the western basin of Lake Erie. The recommendations come after meetings with a diverse working group of Lake Erie stakeholders and agriculture professionals over a six month period.
"There is no question that there are a variety of factors that are contributing to the increased frequency of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, and many of Ohio's other streams and water resources," said Scott Nally, director of the Ohio EPA. "Ohio's agricultural community is not being singled out. With that being
said, fertilizer is a contributing source to the problem and that's why we felt the need to direct the ag communities' attention to this problem and then take action."
Click here for full article.
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| In the News #2 | | |
Spotlight on Research: UM study finds despite state of the art efforts, even the cleanest wastewater contains "super bacteria"
A new University of Minnesota study finds that the release of treated municipal wastewater-even wastewater treated by the highest-quality treatment technology-can have a significant effect on the quantities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in surface waters.
Many of these bacteria are simultaneously resistant to different kinds of antibiotics, leading experts to call these pesky bacteria 'super bacteria'. Antibiotic resistant bacteria develops in the intestinal track of people taking antibiotics; they are expelled with human waste, passing through the sewer systems and into municipal wastewater treatment facilities.
The research was led by Tim LaPara, a University of Minnesota associate professor of civil engineering and Water Resources Science (WRS) graduate program instructor. The research was part of a WRS graduate program project in environmental microbiology.
Click here for full article.
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| In the News #3 | | |
Study Identifies Cities Where Water Shortages May be a Future Issue in East-Central Illinois
Groundwater is plentiful for water supplies in future years, but surface water may be lacking, especially for Springfield, putting East-Central Illinois communities at risk for water shortages in a serious drought, according to George Roadcap, Hydrogeologist with the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) in the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In an East-Central Illinois study of the Mahomet Aquifer and four large surface water supply reservoirs, one each in Bloomington, Danville, Decatur, and Springfield, scientists used computerized water models and data to determine how current and future water use will affect the aquifer and streams, lakes, and rivers in the area up to the year 2050. Future water demands were evaluated under a baseline scenario, a more resource intensive scenario in which no water conservation measures are used, and a less resource intensive scenario.
Results showed that none of the current groundwater users of groundwater could be considered "at risk" for a future water shortage under all three scenarios.
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| Future Newsletters | | |
Tell Us About Your Projects
Your contributions have placed the Great Lakes region at the forefront of national and international water research, outreach and conservation. We would love to know about any new projects, grants or multi-state efforts you are leading or participating in. If you have ideas for e-newsletter content, please share with the GLRWP marketing specialist, John Kriva. You can contact him at john.kriva@uwex.edu.
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About Us
The Great Lakes Regional Water Program (GLRWP) is a partnership among the Land Grant universities in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and the NIFA National Water Program. The overarching goal of the GLRWP is to maintain and protect natural environmental systems for agriculture, human health, recreation, and economic benefit through regional leadership and coordination of research, education, and extension/outreach efforts within Great Lakes and North Central Region states.
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