Education Commons^™

G96-1279 Drinking Water: Nitrate-Nitrogen (Revised November 1998), Paul J. Jasa, Sharon Skipton, David L. Varner, Delynn Hay

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses practices recommended to manage nitrate-nitrogen in a domestic water supply. Many Nebraskans have questions about the impact of nitrate in their drinking water. Water quality monitoring shows that nitrate is present in groundwater throughout much of Nebraska and that concentrations are increasing in some areas. Nitrogen is essential for all living things as it is an essential component of protein. Nitrogen exists in the environment in many forms and changes forms as it moves through the nitrogen cycle. However, excessive concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water can be hazardous to health, especially for infants and pregnant women.

G96-1282 Drinking Water: Man-Made Chemicals, Paul J. Jasa, David L. Varner, Sharon Skipton, Delynn Hay

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses recommended practices to manage man-made chemicals in a domestic water supply. Many Nebraskans are concerned about the effects some of the man-made chemicals that have become part of everyday life may have on their water supply. As the name implies, these chemicals do not exist in nature but were made by man. With proper storage and use of these chemicals and with proper well construction, the risks to groundwater from the chemicals are low and the benefits are many. In some areas of the state, however, industrial solvents, manufacturing chemicals, ammunition wastes, pesticides and grain fumigants have …

Ec96-143 Pesticide Runoff And Water Quality In Nebraska, Steven Comfort, Thomas G. Franti, S.K. Smith

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Nebraska's natural resources provide its residents with an abundance of wildlife, recreation, and agricultural opportunities. Some of the state's most important resources are its lakes, rivers and streams. These surface waters provide year-round habitat for aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, rest stops for migratory birds, and countless hours of enjoyment for outdoor enthusiasts. In addition, surface waters provide a source of drinking water for many Nebraska residents, and are vital for some farming and industrial operations. To better understand how surface waters become contaminated from pesticide runoff, the various factors and processes influencing runoff must be understood. With this understanding, pesticide …

Nf96-248 Factors Considered To Decide Nitrogen Application Rate, William Miller, Ray Supalla, Benedict Juliano

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebFact discusses nitrogen application among Nebraska farmers.

Nf96-290 Irrigation Management Practices In Nebraska, William Miller, Ray Supalla, Benedict Juliano

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebFact has information on a variety of new irrigation practices.

Nf95-218 Conjunctive Use Policy Options, William Miller

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Background

The hydrologic cycle controls water available for use. Rainfall, evaporation, runoff, percolation, and transpiration combine to influence the water available at a specific location at a particular point in time. The speed at which water moves among stages in the hydrologic cycle and the amount of time it spends in storage at any stage affects water availability to users. The conjunctive use issue refers to the portion of the hydrologic cycle where groundwater and surface water interface and influence each other.

Users who couldn't depend on an irregular flow of water over time developed systems that modify the variable …

Ec94-135 Understanding Pesticides And Water Quality In Nebraska, Steven D. Comfort, Patrick J. Shea, Fred W. Roeth

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Groundwater is Nebraska's most important natural resource. The principal source of groundwater in Nebraska is the High Plains Aquifer System. This system underlies approximately 85 percent of the state and supplies 95 percent of all groundwater used in Nebraska. The majority of groundwater in Nebraska is used by agriculture but domestic and commercial uses are also important. Eighty-two percent of Nebraskans use groundwater as their major source of drinking water, and nearly all of the state's farm homes rely on groundwater for their domestic needs.

Ec94-737 Calibrating Anhydrous Ammonia Applicators, William L. Kranz, Charles A. Shapiro, Robert Grisso

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Application of agricultural chemicals has come under increased scrutiny from environmental groups and federal regulatory agencies. Nitrogen fertilizer is used in greater quantities than any other agricultural chemical. It also is the contaminant most often found in Nebraska groundwater. Accurate application of nitrogen is important from an environmental and economic viewpoint. Approximately 800 million pounds of nitrogen are applied to 12 million acres of Nebraska cropland each year. Nitrogen applied as anhydrous ammonia (NH₃) accounts for around 40 percent of the total nitrogen applied.

G93-1128 Understanding Groundwater, William L. Kranz, Delynn Hay, James W. Goeke

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide provides information on how groundwater exists, where it exists, and how it moves. Key definitions are highlighted. Water is the life blood of every living creature on earth. Approximately 70 percent of the earth's surface is covered with water. Through the wonders of nature, water can take on many different forms, from the water we drink, to the ice we use to chill a glass of lemonade, to the water vapor used to steam clean equipment. It is easy to understand the significance water plays in our lives, but it may be much more difficult to understand the …

G93-1128 Understanding Groundwater, William L. Kranz, Delynn R. Hay, James W. Goeke

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide provides information on how groundwater exists, where it exists, and how it moves. Key definitions are highlighted. Water is the life blood of every living creature on earth. Approximately 70 percent of the earth's surface is covered with water. Through the wonders of nature, water can take on many different forms, from the water we drink, to the ice we use to chill a glass of lemonade, to the water vapor used to steam clean equipment. It is easy to understand the significance water plays in our lives, but it may be much more difficult to understand the …

Ec91-735 The Impact Of Nitrogen And Irrigation Management And Vadose Zone Conditions On Ground Water Contamination By Nitrate-Nitrogen, K.D. Frank, Darrell Watts, Andrew Christiansen, Edwin Penas

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The single largest contaminant found in ground water samples taken throughout Nebraska is nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate-N). Much of it reaches the ground water as a "non-point source" contaminant leached out of the crop root zone.

Nitrate-N is essential to corn production. However, when leached from the crop root zone it can become a major source of ground water contamination. There are serious contamination problems in shallow aquifers beneath several river valleys in Nebraska. Increasing nitrate-N concentrations are beginning to appear in deeper aquifer.

Ec90-2502 Perspectives On Nitrates, Gary W. Hergert, Richard A. Wiese, Delynn Hay, William A. Lee, Ann Ziebarth, Richard B. Davis, Constance Kies, Carolyn Bednar, Norman Schneider, Alex Hogg, Robert A. Britton, J. David Aiken

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The potential adverse consequences of nitrate on both human and animal health has long been recognized. This extension circular is comprised of six papers that include:

• Nitrogen in our Environment
• Alternatives When Excessive Nitrate is Present in Drinking Water
• Nitrates, Nutrites and Methemoglobinemia
• Nitrates, Nutrities, N-Nitroso Compounds and Nutrition
• Excessive Nitrate/Nitrite Exposure: Nitrate Poisoning and Related Animal Health Effects
• Nitrates and Ground Water Quality Protection Policies

Rb34-6 The Relation Of Drouth To Water-Use In Nebraska, G.E. Condra

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Three severe drouths have occurred in Nebraska and adjacent states within the past eighty years, and less severe ones have come at moderately regular intervals. Their influence on the agricultural development of the state is well known, but their relation to water supply in general is not so well understood.

This research bulletin is a brief review of the relation of drouth to soil moisture, surface water, and groundwater supplies.