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Show THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume IV, Issue II Page 17 May 1, 2001 PROGRAM cont. from page 16 turf. It’s built around the principle that only a fixed amount of water is needed to insure greenery stays green. “Typical homeowners and landscape managers are applying about twice as much water as the landscapes need,” according to Fred Liljegren, Reclamation Landscape Specialist. He says inefficient sprinkler systems, improperly set sprinkler controllers and improper irrigation scheduling contribute to the problem. LIS provides tools to help homeowners and landscape managers address the major problems causing inefficiencies. They include a simplified irrigation schedule based on local evapo-transpiration rates, enhanced water measuring catch-cups, easy to understand performance evaluation procedures for determining irrigation system efficiency, step by step methods for determination of soil types, infiltration rates, and much more. This attempt to simplify the irrigation process is one of the program’s strongest selling points, especially with Reclamation Acting Regional Director, Rick Gold. “It’s quite good,” says Gold. “People glaze over if they don’t have a technical basis for understanding the concepts.” Gold was among nearly ninety Salt Lake agency employees who attended a one hour seminar on LIS. “The more we know, the better we can teach it,” he said, “and the more we use it, the better water users we become.” Reclamation, in cooperation with USU Extension, developed the LIS system as an aid to help homeowners and landscape managers improve the efficiency of their irrigation practices. As County Extension Agents receive training from Reclamation officials, and become proficient in the LIS method, they will train others, including Master Gardener volunteers, in the technique. Eventually, cooperative efforts between USU Extension, Reclamation, communities and water districts will ensure that the public has access to education in the LIS technique. Tools provided by LIS can also help irrigation system designers and installers verify that a new system is performing as intended. But, the tools also include information that can be provided to clients to ensure new systems will operate efficiently. “I am looking forward to having our county agents trained in the LIS method, especially considering the current climate conditions,” says Extension Water Conservation Specialist Kelly Kopp. She says that the simplicity of the technique is going to make it possible for them to begin educating the public this year. “I also feel that cooperative efforts like this one will go a long way toward helping us reach the common goal of efficient water use in Utah,” she says. The average Utah parents, with a baby at home, will see the state’s population soar to five million by the time their child’s children grow up. Where will their water come from? Water conservation, in part through its efficient use on turf, is a needed decision that won’t wait two generations. For more information about LIS or to receive irrigation tables and irrigation test kits, contact Mike Stuver, Bureau of Reclamation at 801.524.3745, Don Merrill, Bureau of Reclamation at 801.379.1074, or Kelly Kopp, Utah State University Extension at 435.797.1523. Come Vii sii t Us Valley Junction Inn E-mail: VJInn2002@hotmail.com www.valleyjunctioninn.com 801-745-1259 2547 N. Valley Junction Dr. Eden, UT 84310 Senior Meals Meals provided at the Ogden Valley Branch Library. April 26: Corned Beef, Seasoned Whole Potatoes, Seasoned Cabbage, Ambrosia Fruit Salad, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing and Dinner Roll. May 3: Crab Cake with Cocktail Sauce, Scalloped Potatoes, Spinach with Lemon Wedge, Pineapple / Apricot w//Yogurt Dressing, Congo Bar and Potato Roll. May 10: Roast Turkey with Gravy, Whipped Potatoes, Broccoli Normandy, Pear and Cranberry Sauce, Butterscotch Pudding and Sweet Potato Roll. RUN-OFF cont. from page 16 but for thousands and thousands of downstream users, is well planned urban or storm water management guidelines and requirements. Even though it may cost money up front to implement urban runoff and storm water management plans, in the long run, properly designed runoff systems can provide economic benefits that counterbalance or even outweigh those initial costs, and ensure lasting supplies of quality water and a healthy environment. People have a strong emotional attachment to water, arising from its aesthetic qualities—tranquility, coolness, and beauty. As a result, most waterbodies within developments can be used as marketing tools to set the tone for entire projects. A recent study (1992) conducted by the National Association of Home Builders indicates that “whether a beach, pond, or stream, the proximity to water raises the value of a home by up to 28 percent.” A 1991 American Housing Survey conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of commerce also concurs that “when all else is equal, the price of a home located within 300 feet from a body of water increases by up to 27.8 percent.” Although there are a limited number of natural waterfront sites adjacent to lakes, rivers, streams, estuaries, etc., many opportunities exist to create waterfront property. Homes and businesses can be sited along or near the banks of artificial lakes created for wildlife, recreational, or aesthetic reasons. A practice becoming more prevalent is to site developments around man-made ponds, lakes, or wetlands created to control flooding and to reduce the impacts of urban and storm water runoff on neighboring natural streams, lakes, or coastal areas. When designed and sited correctly, artificial lakes or wetlands can help developers reduce negative environmental impacts caused by the development process and increase the value of the property. Impacts and Controls Urbanization causes changes and impacts to the environment and our communities. Many effects of urbanization are positive, such as new places for people to live and work, increased recreational opportunities, and economic growth. However, some of the impacts might be negative if they are not handled with foresight. Development leads to an increase in the amount of pollutants in an area. Sediment from construction sites can end up in streams and rivers, choking plant and animal life. Oil and gas from vehicles can leak onto roads and parking lots. Fertilizers and pesticides, if not applied properly, can wash off lawns. Pesticides are often found in higher concentrations in urban areas than in agricultural areas (USGS, 1995). Pet waste, if not properly disposed of, can enter storm drains that lead to wetlands, streams, or rivers. Household chemicals, such as paints and cleaning products, can leak if not stored or disposed of properly. All of these pollutants can wash away when it rains, and end up in streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries, or ground water. Many pollutants also bind to sediments, so when sediment washes away, it takes the pollutants with it. Urbanization also leads to loss of pervious areas (porous surfaces) that allow rainwater to soak into the ground. Additional surface water is created by replacing natural landscapes with streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and rooftops. This can increase the amount and velocity of rainwater flowing to streams and rivers. This increased speed and volume of water can have many impacts, including eroded stream banks, increased turbidity and pollution, increased stream water temperature, and increased water flow. All of these can have an adverse effect on fish and other organisms living in streams and receiving waters. When rainwater cannot soak into the ground, the result can be a loss of drinking water because many areas of the country, including the Valley, rely on rainwater soaking into the ground to replenish underground drinking water supplies. Loss of trees due to urbanization or poor agricultural practices can also have negative impacts to our water quality. Trees are important for controlling the water temperature along the shorelines of waterbodies. Since many aquatic plant and animal species are sensitive to changes in water temperature (Bonneville Trout for example), it is important to keep stream temperatures as close to natural levels as possible. When the shade of trees is lost, the water temperature can increase. “Best Management Practices,” or BMPs, help address these impacts. BMPs are designed to help reduce the amount of pollution in urban and stormwater runoff. Some help to control the volume and speed of runoff before it enters receiving waters. Many help to increase the amount of rainwater that soaks into the ground to restore groundwater. There are two general types of BMPs: structural and nonstructural. Structural controls involve building a “facility” for controlling runoff. There are a variety of structural controls and most require some level of routine maintenance. Nonstructural BMPs do not require construction of a facility. For example, planning a development so that there are buffers along stream banks and minimizing the amount of impervious area are types of nonstructural controls. Structural and nonstructural controls can be used in combination to manage runoff. Urban runoff management controls are now widely accepted due to lessons learned from not planning properly for the impacts associated with increased urbanization. Most local governments now require some form of runoff management plan for new development. They require such controls for two reasons: to prevent pollution and to prevent flooding caused by increased runoff, mostly from impervious areas. Ponds and Wetlands for Urban Runoff Control Most structural runoff BMPs function on the principle that it is best to hold runoff for a period of time. This approach serves two functions. It controls the peak flow rates of water released from a site, thereby controlling downstream flooding, and it allows pollutants to be removed from the water column. There are many types of BMPs, many of which add value to adjacent property. Wet Ponds As their name implies, wet ponds are runoff holding facilities that have water in them all the time. Storm flows are held in the pond temporarily and then released to maintain healthy downstream habitats. Sediment and other pollutants settle out of the water and are not discharged to the receiving waters. Wet ponds are usually vegetated, and the plants’ roots hold sediment and use the nutrients that are often contained in RUN-OFF cont. on page 19 |