Arkansas River; Bad Water Under Scrutiny: AG Journal

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ti 0 v �1 aci N o� o� Salinity: Water Continued from page 23 The next big issue on the agenda is the reduction of selenium concentra- tions within the effected stream segments. Key to. the mission of the Task Force was maintenance of the economic viability and lifestyle of the p artnerships region, said Brown. "Organization of watershed -wide partnerships :utilizing inter - agency cooperation and support has been critical to the operation of the Gunnison Basin Selenium Task Force (GBSTF) projects." The GBSTF is currently overseeing focus. on improving p g three separate Clean Water ,Act He notes that while many farmers (CWA) 319(h)- funded grant projects. are receptive to CSU's recommenda With regard to, how efforts are pro- tions for soil and water conservation, ceeding, Valliant said, "Drip there are always those who want to irrigation and the use of mulches to ' do it "the old way." reduce soil moisture loss is being "In general, many Best researched at the Ark Valley Management Practices (BMPs) are Research Center here in Rocky Ford being used throughout our area," and now several acres of drip have Valliant said, "The farmers,are'will- been installed throughout the val- ing to work with the different groups ley;" 'he said. "PAM, a to better their situation." polyacrylamide, is being--used to CSU has over 100 observation reduce soil erosion as. well as h C%4- d Bent increase infiltration on furrow irriga- tion and some demo'work was begun this year in the Holly area to look at PAM being broadcast with fertilizer under center pivot irrigation systems to reduce erosion and increase infil- tration. "We are also looking at drag socks as compared to sprinklers on center pivot systems to improve effective- ness of water application and to reduce the leaf surface exposure. Saline water falling on leaves evapo- rates at a very high rate and leaves salt residue which reduces the move- ment of water into the plant and the effectiveness of the irrigation water. "We are looking at the use of PAM to reduce seepage from our canals, laterals and ditches. This seepage is the single major source of salting of the land in the Valley. We have been able to reduce seepage from 0.76 gal- Ions' per minute per. foot of ditch to 0.01 gallons per minute by adding 50 pounds of PAM to the water over a three -year period," Valliant contin- ued. wells located in t e ero an county area and are working with multiple farmers where the wells are. located. In visiting with CSU field personnel, Valliant has only encoun- tered two situations where he had to contact the farmer to smooth things over, which was accomplished. Valliant feels that overall CSU is get- ting 100 percent cooperation from the agricultural community. Many individuals including agri- cultural producers are working hard to rectify water quality problems along the Arkansas River Basin. Brown said that there are several agricultural producers on the Gunnison Basin Selenium Task Force. Valliant points to the fact that several of the farmers and communi- ty leaders have banded together in different groups to find _alternate ways of keeping the agricultural water in the valley as they believe the current approach is not much more that 'the typical "Band -Aid" solutions developed to give some, gov- ernment funded people short term work.