News Highlights

The U.S. Forest Service recently unveiled its Forests to Faucets project, a series of maps that illustrate the importance of forests in sustaining healthy sources of surface drinking water. The interactive maps use a geographic information system to show the essential role forests play in providing clean drinking water to urban communities.

Click here to learn more about the U.S. Forest Service’s Forests to Faucets Project.

In light of the increasing problem posed by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its new Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution Data Access Tool (NPDAT) and a free demonstrative webinar on November 30, 2011. In addition to NPDAT, the series will feature other useful tools for tracking and reducing nitrogen and phosphorus levels.

The Source Water Collaborative (SWC) has earned a guest article in the National Association of Conservation Districts’ fall publication of “The Resource.” Co-written by various member groups, the article explains SWC’s mission and the importance of joint efforts by SWC and NACD.

Click here to read the full article in NACD’s “The Resource.”

A new study by the USDA’s Great Lakes Conservation Effects Assessment Project, (CEAP), found that farmers in the region have reduced losses of sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorous by employing effective conservation techniques.

The recent Ground Water Protection Council webinar on Stormwater Management and Source Water Protection is now available online at http://www.gwpc.org/source_water/swp.htm
Downloadable PDFs and videos of the webinar presentations are also available online.

NACD’s “Conservation Benefits: Putting Value Where It Belongs,” which focuses on several ecosystem services, including source water, is now available.

New USGS Water Quality Findings: No Consistent Declines in Nitrate Levels in Large Rivers in the Mississippi River Basin. New USGS findings released in the journal of Environmental Science & Technology, accessible at: http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pubs/nitrate_trends/

Check out the latest newsletter from this collaborative in New Hampshire and Maine online at
http://www.prep.unh.edu/sfwc/docs/August%202011%20newsletter.pdf

Subsurface transport of orthophosphate in five agricultural watersheds, USA: Journal of Hydrology, in press and available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.08.014

A new USGS study evaluates the occurrence of 23 trace elements and radon in groundwater samples from over 5,000 wells collected nationwide from 1992-2003. The report presents trace element occurrence, describes factors that influence the spatial distribution of trace elements, and compares concentrations to human-health benchmarks. A news release and the full report can be accessed online at http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/trace/pubs/sir2011-5059/index.html