Spring and summer rains can demonstrate how quickly stormwater runoff can impact our water resources. As rain collects on impervious surfaces, it runs into storm sewers, ditches or other waterways, and it is typically considered a potential non-point source of pollution, meaning it doesn't have a specific point of origin. It is caused by the daily activities of people everywhere. Stormwater runs off from streets and sidewalks, homes, lawns, parking lots, construction and industrial sites picking up accumulated dirt, oil, grease, and other pollutants on the way to the storm sewers and on to rivers and lakes. It often drains into pipes that lead to water resources, without any treatment. Data documents that as areas urbanize, lower water quality in streams and rivers can be a result. Homeowners can help by reducing stormwater runoff and contaminants. Practices such as remembering to shut off chemical sprayers and fertilizer spreaders when crossing driveways or sidewalks; mulching and/or seeding bare soil areas; picking up pet waste; planting rain gardens; using rain barrels; avoiding improper disposal of oil, gasoline and pesticides; and planting deep, fibrous rooted plants to promote water infiltration are just a few efforts that homeowners can do to help reduce stormwater runoff.
A number of educational resources have been developed for homeowners, such as "Storm Water Best Management Practices Start at Home" and "57 Ways Homeowners can Protect Their Environment" available on the U. of I. Extension website, www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/lcr/index. University of Wisconsin Extension also has an excellent home stormwater website at http://clean-water.uwex.edu/
- John Church, Extension Educator, Natural Resources
Upland Bird Habitat Receives Boost
Illinois populations of the northern bobwhite quail and the ringneck pheasant, along with many other wildlife species, will receive a boost over the next ten years due to a new USDA program entitled Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds, or Conservation Practice 33 (CP-33). In many areas, land use practices over the past 25 years have resulted in a decline of upland bird populations to levels of only one-third of their numbers in 1980. The CP-33 program entitles landowners in Illinois to enroll 20,000 acres of ground on the perimeter of field edges to be converted to native plant materials favored by upland birds. These field buffers must be between 30-120 feet in width and cannot be used for roadways or turn rows for equipment. Borders completely around the edges of fields will be encouraged but not required.
Through various incentive payments, landowners will receive a 90% cost share of habitat establishment on the acres accepted into this program. A $100/acre sign up bonus payment will be made upon the start of this ten-year contract, followed by annual rental payments and a $5/acre annual maintenance reimbursement. With 250,000 acres to enroll nationwide, the goal of the program is to realize a growth in quail populations by 750,000 birds a year.
Are you interested in water conservation and potentially lowering your water bill? Then rain barrels might be in your future. Rain barrels collect the water that would otherwise run off of your roof and flow down your driveway straight into a storm drain. The collected rainwater is a great water source for some of your water needs other than drinking water. The collected water can be stored and then used to water your lawn or garden during the summer when most cities restrict water usage.
Collecting rainwater with rain barrels is not a new idea but it is gaining in popularly with the increase in water restrictions and water bills. Rainwater collected from your roof has very little contaminants and lacks minerals and chemicals; for example it is devoid of chlorine and fluoride. Collected rainwater can safely be used on your garden without having to be filtered or tested. If you want to drink the collected water it will need to be tested and filtered to remove any contaminates such as bird droppings.
Rainwater collection systems can be from the simple use of barrels at each downspout to high tech systems using pumps and flow controls. You can spend anywhere from a few dollars to thousands of dollars on your rainwater collection system. Regardless of the system all rainwater collection systems should be covered and have a filter to keep the water from accumulating leaves and other contaminants.
- Susan Meeker, Extension Educator, Natural Resources
Water Quality Research
Water quality research and outreach has a venue for cooperation within each US-EPA Region. For Illinois, which is within US-EPA Region 5, the project is called the Great Lakes Regional Water Quality Coordination Project. The lead state is Wisconsin. Dr. Robin Shepard, Program Leader for Community Natural Resource & Economic Development (CNRED) for UW Extension, is the overall PI. Other PI's include myself, Jane Frankenberger (Purdue), Jim Anderson (Minnesota), Lois Wolfson and Ruth Kline- Robach (Michigan State), and Joe Bonnell (Ohio State).
The overall objective of the project is to be a catalyst for water quality programming in Region 5, and to facilitate coordination and collaboration between the Land Grant universities and the state and federal agencies (including state EPAs, US-EPA and NRCS). Projects within Illinois that are part of the regional effort include the Commercial Manure Haulers project (Randy Fonner), the Revised Illinois Drainage Guide (Richard Cooke) and the display development for the Farm Progress Show and Illinois River Conference. There is also supported collaboration across state lines in six national themes: Animal Waste Management (led by Illinois), Drinking Water and Human Health (led by Michigan State), Ecosystem Restoration (led by Wisconsin), Nutrient and Pesticide Management (led by Purdue), Water Policy and Economics (led by Minnesota), and Watershed Management (led by Ohio State).
- Mike Hirschi , Department of Agricultural Engineering
Water Conservation in your Yard and Garden
In the season of spring rains, it's difficult to think about water conservation. But wise use of water for your lawn and garden helps protect the environment, saves money and can ensure that you have a healthy lawn and bountiful garden. To help conserve water consider the following solutions: Choose plants for low water use. Some examples include: Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus); Blanket flower (Gailardia spp.); Sedum spp.; Artemisia spp.; and Lavender (Lavendula spp.) You can also plant indigenous plants--those plants that occur naturally in the local environment.
Add organic matter. Organic matter (animal manures, peat moss from bogs, leaves, straw, newspaper, sludge, yard and garden waste, kitchen scraps, and green manures or cover crops), added to the soil directly or in the form of compost, aids in improving soil tilth which results in good nutrient-holding and improved water holding capacity.
Consider mulching. This helps keep the wind and the hot, drying sun from evaporating soil moisture. A few good soakings during the long growing season will tide the plants over a long dry spell, and mulched plants often endure a long dry season with little watering. Soil underneath the mulch remains cool and damp to the touch.
Water wisely and efficiently. Trickle irrigation and drip irrigation systems can help reduce the amount of water that you use while meeting the needs of your plants. With these methods, very small amounts of water are supplied to the base of the plants. Since the water is applied directly to the soil, rather than onto the plant, evaporation from leaf surfaces is reduced. The water is also placed where it will do the most good, rather than sprayed over the entire garden. Watering early in the morning before the sun is intense can help reduce the water lost from evaporation. Also, consider installing rain gutters and collecting water from downspouts to water your garden (as well as your indoor houseplants). Visit the following websites for more information--www.rce.rutgers.edu/ pubs/pdfs/fs450.pdf and www.thisland.uiuc.edu/57ways/57ways_57.html.
Harnessing wind energy for electrical power generation has been one of the leading topics in the search for renewable energy sources in Illinois. Northern and Central Illinois has received much of the focus of the wind farm developments in the state.
These areas of Illinois represent the culmination of several factors of interest to wind farm developers: viable wind resources, access to the power transmission grid, and proximity to customers. The Department of Energy Wind Program (DoE) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed newer, more detailed average wind maps for Illinois. The maps and additional information are available from the DoE website www.eere.energy.gov under renewable energy – wind.
The increased interest in wind farm development has led to many questions and concerns. Individuals and landowners looking for current research information and basic wind energy information will find the NREL web site www.nrel.gov (look under Wind) very useful. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) also has an excellent website on all aspects from wind turbine basics to resources for developers. A good place for someone to start learning about wind energy would be the Frequently Asked Questions linked off the AWEA site: www.awea.org.
- Stanley Solomon, Extension Educator, Engineering Technology
