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Water Quality Index for Agricultural Runoff, Streamlined and Accessible

April 25, 2013 Spencer Miller, NRCS

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has developed a new web-based tool to help producers easily calculate the quality of water flowing off their fields. It’s called the Water Quality Index for Agricultural Runoff, or WQIag for short, and this is how it works: Producers input variables...

Conservation

USDA Marks Earth Day by Announcing Water Quality Improvement Projects Across America

April 22, 2013 John Padalino, Acting Administrator, USDA Rural Utilities Service

Earth Day is one of our favorite days at USDA Rural Development because we get to showcase the important work that we do to improve water quality for millions of rural Americans. As a part of our Earth Day Celebration this year, USDA Rural Development is announcing 43 projects that will bring new...

Conservation Rural

Innovative Partnership to Protect Colorado Springs Water Supply

April 10, 2013 Mike Stearly, Rocky Mountain Region, U.S. Forest Service

The U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Springs (Colo.) Utilities recently announced a new 5-year partnership to help restore the areas burned by the devastating Waldo Canyon Fire that tore through part of the west side of the city in 2012. Through the partnership, Colorado Springs Utilities will...

Forestry

USDA Grant Helps a Small Florida Town on the Path to Clean, Safe Drinking Water

January 30, 2013 USDA Florida / U.S. V.I. Community Programs Director Michael Langston

There are more than 160,000 public water systems providing water to almost all Americans at some time in their lives. Millions of Americans receive high quality drinking water every day from their public water systems. But access to quality drinking water cannot be taken for granted. Like many small...

Rural

Thanks to USDA, Rural Alaskan Native Villages are Receiving Safe Water for the First Time

October 26, 2012 Larry Yerich, USDA Rural Development-Alaska Public Information Coordinator

Many communities in remote rural Alaska are only accessible by plane or boat and essentially inaccessible during the long, hard winters. They lag far behind the lower 48 states in having safe and dependable drinking water and suitable waste disposal systems available. The Rural Alaska Village Grant...

Rural

Rocky Mountain Region Leads Effort to Address Watershed Health on White River National Forest

September 27, 2012 Katelyn Jerman, Rocky Mountain Region, External Affairs

In the wake of the 2012 summer fires, Colorado’s most precious natural resource, water, is a top priority for state, municipal, and federal agencies. Denver Water and the U.S. Forest Service are leaders in addressing water issues and growing concerns over watershed health. Just under two years ago...

Forestry

An End to Toxic Runoff at Abandoned Mine Thanks to Forest Service Recovery Act Funds

April 23, 2012 Keith Riggs, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service

For over a century, toxic runoff from the Blue Ledge Mine destroyed aquatic life and fisheries in Joe Creek, a tributary to the world-famous Rogue River in Oregon.

Forestry

United We Stand—In Support of Fish Habitat

April 19, 2012 NRCS Assistant Chief James Gore

We have a lot to learn from nature about teamwork. In fact, natural systems prove time and again that the intricate partnerships between air, water, soil, nutrients and plant and animal species breed success. So why, whether a singular agency, organization or landowner, would we ever think that we...

Conservation

Prescribed Grazing System and Watering Facilities Keep Cattle Farm Running through Drought

March 19, 2012 Creston Shrum, NRCS Arkansas

The hot, dry Arkansas summer last year affected cattle farmers across Arkansas. But thanks to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Illinois River Sub-Basin and Eucha-Spavinaw Lake Watershed Initiative, Craig and Jay Oliphnant’s operation has been able to effectively weather...

Conservation

USDA Water and Environmental Program Crucial to Rural Development

February 29, 2012 Wayne Maloney, USDA Office of Communications

As rural Americans look for new ways to compete globally in the areas of renewable energy production, business expansion and job creation, one factor that is often taken for granted is the availability of a ready supply of water. In much of America, with the exception of parts of the West, water has...

Rural
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