FACETS of Freshwater
Transcription
FACETS of Freshwater
FACETS of Freshwater WHAT CAN I DO? Tips to have a healthy, enviable, green lawn WHILE conserving water... Summer yard tips: • If you are building a new home or laying new sod, be sure there is at least 6 inches of topsoil beneath the sod. • Test your soil and consider adding compost as organic material. It will dramatically increase the absorption of water. • Follow the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense guidelines for landscaping: Limit the amount of turf you plant, don’t plant grass on steep slopes, and don’t install ornamental water features. • Don’t over-water. Most lawns need only 1 inch of water each week, either from rain or from irrigation. If you don’t have a rain gauge, set out a small tuna can. If it fills up in a week from rain, you don’t need to • Step on your grass. If it springs back, it doesn’t need watering. • Water early in the morning to prevent evaporation. The middle of the day is when the most water is lost to evaporation. • Microirrigation or drip systems, not sprinklers, • When hiring an irrigation contractor, look for one that is certified. The EPA offers a state-by-state list of WaterSense Irrigation Partners at www.epa.gov/watersense/outdoor/ irrigation_professionals.html should be used on planting beds and strips of For more information, go to: grass that are less than 8 feet wide. • Environmental Protection Agency • Cut grass no shorter than 2 inches. It will promote deeper roots that require less water. • Install a weather-sensing controller or soilmoisture sensor as part of your automated sprinkling system. They will reduce over- WaterSense Program www.epa.gov/watersense • University of Minnesota Sustainable Lawncare Information Series www.sustland.umn.edu/maint/maint.htm By Don Specht watering. • Aerate your lawn, as needed. MAY 2013 Weather Facts and Photo from MN Weatherguide Environment Calendar Monthly Normals: Temp. Max: 69.4 F Min: 48.9 F Precip: 3.36 inches • If you use a hose for watering grass or shrubs, be sure it has a shut-off nozzle. water. UPC OMIN G E V E N T S June 6 Items of Interest Links to original reports on water availability, water pollution and water policy are archived on the Reports and Research page of the Freshwater web site at freshwater.org/original-sources/. There is some intriguing research there by agencies and organizations as diverse as the U.S. Geological Survey, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Pew Environment Group. You can look up a report that puts Minnesota water use into a national perspective, and you can read about Chesapeake Bay pollution caused by giant chicken farms. Browse through the web page. You will find something that interests you. Join Our Mailing List If you would like to receive our electronic Facets of Freshwater newsletter, please sign up on our mailing list at freshwater.org/EMail/ We are committed to protecting your privacy. We do not buy, sell, or share mailing lists. 4 | FACETS OF FRESHWATER About the Freshwater Society The mission of the Freshwater Society is to promote the conservation, protection and restoration of all freshwater resources. Since 1968 – two years before the first Earth Day – the Freshwater Society has been a leading public nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving, restoring, and protecting freshwater resources and their surrounding watersheds. If you would like to support the important work of the Freshwater Society, please consider becoming a Member. www.freshwater.org Moos Speaker Series presents Don Rosenberry Q&A MASTER WATER STEWARD Community Leadership for Clean Water Water that runs across urban land and into storm sewer systems is one of the biggest June 30 threats to the health of lakes and rivers. Preventing pollution is always less expensive and Minnehaha Creek CLeanup more effective than cleaning it up, and every property owner in the state of Minnesota can play a part in reducing runoff. To tackle the challenge of urban runoff, the Freshwater Society and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, with funding provided by the Clean Water Fund, have created the new Master Water Stewards program. In this issue From the Desk of Pat Sweeney . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A Sneak Peak at the 2014 Calendar . . . . . . . . 2 The Master Water Stewards program will certify and support community leaders as they install pollution prevention projects that teach community members about Rosenberry Lecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 runoff, reduce pollutants, and allow What Can I Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 more water to soak into the ground. Items of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Now in its first year, the program About the Freshwater Society . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 has enrolled 24 community Continues on page 3 Master Water Stewards Tour the Watershed From the desk of Pat Sweeney Freshwater Society Research and Communications Director The Freshwater Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and inspiring people to value, conserve and protect water resources. Board of Directors Tom Skramstad, Chair Stuart E. Grubb, Vice Chair Barbara Luikens, MD, Secretary Pat Sweeney Rick Bateson, Treasurer Todd Bolin Blyth Berg Brookman volunteers who are working toward certification as Master Water Stewards. Sheila Goeken was Freshwater has a new quiz – about water, water use and water pollution – on our web site. one of the first volunteers to show up at an informational meeting. We asked Sheila to tell us It will test your knowledge about how much mercury falls on Minnesota every year, why you really need to worry about silver carp and the contaminants that sometimes afflict private wells. Begin by sharing a story about water that is important to your life. And, lest you think there is not much fun in a quiz like that, there also is a question about an old Hamm’s beer jingle. And there's an essay question that involves food coloring and water conservation. The quiz owes a lot to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Science School , which we also borrow heavily from in our web site’s updated Kids’ Page. Please take the quiz and have some fun while you learn about water. If you are moved to Robert Elde, PhD, Emeritus Director suggest a question for the quiz, go to our Facebook page and post it. We will send a 2014 Minnesota Weatherguide Environment Calendar to whoever suggests the best new question by the end of June. JoEllen L. Hurr, Emeritus Director David Knoblauch Jim Manolis, PhD Lili Tod McMillan Darby Nelson, PhD Corrine Ricard Lisa Whalen Staff Gene Merriam, President (continued from page 1) Sometimes a little knowledge can be a fun thing. Richard S. Caldecott, PhD, Emeritus Director Richard G. Gray, Sr., D.Sc. Q&A with a Master Water Steward Sincerely, about her interest in becoming a Master Water Steward. I grew up in South Dakota near the Missouri River. In my youth, I swam near Gavin’s Point Dam, Yankton, SD and fished the James River near Olivet, SD. What attracted you to the Master Water Stewards program? Don’t miss our June 6 lecture by Don Rosenberry, a U.S. Geological Survey I am interested in photographing Minnehaha Creek, so this program offered me an opportunity to hydrologist who will speak on the learn about the creek in more depth. interactions between groundwater and What were you doing in your daily life to conserve or protect water resources prior to surface waters. For a teaser on what he will have to entering the Master Water Steward program? say, check out this mini-interview with I set up a rain barrel and a composting site at my home a couple of years ago. Rosenberry. The lecture is sponsored by the What kind of impact do you hope to make as a Water Steward? Freshwater Society and the University of After only a few weeks into the program, I feel that I have learned so much about the Minnehaha Minnesota College of Biological Sciences. Creek Watershed District. I hope to share this information with others and will continue to look for Patrick Sweeney Rosenberry Lecture ways to conserve our water resources, both personally and through community projects. Rosenberry, who was part of the research team that studied the big decline in White Bear Lake’s water level, will speak A Sneak Peak… How do you think people in your neighborhood will respond to working with a Water at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 6, in the theater Steward? of the Student Centeron the University of Here’s a preview of the 2014 Minnesota Weatherguide Environment Calendar. This amazing cover photo was taken by David Brislance. 2014 Weatherguides will be available July 15th. Get yours at: freshwater.org. I think people will participate more as they learn about their own impact on water quality and our Joan Nephew, Executive Director Scott Branch, Operations Assistant water resources. Minnesota’s St. Paul Campus. His talk is titled “Not Just for Scientists Anymore: Why the Public Should What is one thing you have you learned in the classes you have taken so far that has Care About the Connections Between surprised you? Groundwater and Lakes, Streams and Wetlands.” Deirdre Coleman, Program Coordinator There is a large water receptacle underneath the warning track at the new Twins stadium. It is Alex Gehrig, Program Manager part of a water recycling system that reduces the need for municipal water at Target Field by over of Minnesota experts who will join him 50 percent. in taking questions from the audience. Peggy Knapp, Director of Programs Diane Lynch, Development Director/Sr. Mgr. Chris Prok, Operations Manager Jeanne Prok, Program Manager Minnesota Weatherguide environMent Calendar TM Patrick Sweeney, Comm./Research Director Facets of Freshwater is published by the Freshwater Society. What should other people know about the program? Visit the Freshwater Society web site at www.freshwater.org. 3 2 | FACETS OF FRESHWATER the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Andrew Streitz from the our water resources and how runoff from the land around our lakes Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and rivers affects water quality. The information is applicable not just to and Robert Tipping from the Minnesota Minnehaha Creek, but to any watershed area. Geological Survey. Learn more about the lecture, and register to attend. If you cannot attend in person, for the 2014 class of Stewards will be accepted beginning watch the lecture in live streaming video as in November of this year. To apply, you must live within the Rosenberry speaks at freshwater.org. Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. To learn more contact: 2014 Panelists will be: Jeanette Leete from This is an excellent program, taught by local experts, for learning about Interested in becoming a Master Water Steward? Applications For permission to reprint, contact us at: 2500 Shadywood Road, Excelsior, MN 55331, 952-471-9773 or at freshwater@ freshwater.org. Rosenberry will appear with a panel [email protected] Learn more about Master Water Stewards at freshwater.org View video of previous speakers in the lecture series, which honors the late Malcolm Moos, a former university president. FACETS OF FRESHWATER | 3