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Summer 2008
PNWWATER 139
Water Resources:

Pacific Northwest Regional Goals, 2008-2012

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Over the next four years the Pacific Northwest Regional Water Resources Program will concentrate its efforts in three distinct areas. We plan to develop and deliver appropriate: (1) pollution prevention, (2) agricultural water conservation and management, and (3) watershed education/management programs that improve water resources in the Pacific Northwest. All of our programming is logic model based.

Pollution Prevention Programs
Measuring stream turbidity and water flowThe goals of the pollution prevention programming area include: (1) creating awareness of water quality issues and alternative solutions with water users; (2) supporting current efforts by small groups to positively influence water quality; and (3) building capacity in Land Grant educators to affect change in attitudes and behaviors, concerning pollution prevention.

The outcomes expected are: (1) an enhanced awareness of mechanism of pollution, and (2) identifying the means of pollution prevention. The major audience of the educational materials and events produced by the pollution prevention program are educators and the expected outcome is that they will multiply the effect by applying the training to their programming for their clientele and stakeholders. Reduced pollution and therefore a higher quality of water for multiple user groups will be a result.

Watershed management team studying flumeWatershed Education/Management Programs
The goals of the watershed education management programming area include: (1) educating rural residents and people in rapidly growing communities about how to maintain and protect the functions and quality of their local water bodies and natural systems, and (2) providing educational materials that are effective and well designed to meet the needs of regional watershed working groups and Extension professionals.

Outcomes expected are that an increased number of homeowners, businesses, and community groups in the Pacific Northwest will gain knowledge about natural system functions and develop the behaviors needed to protect water and land resources. There will be regionally consistent education messages that are practical, effective, and based on current scientific research. Extension faculty and staff throughout the region will be trained to disseminate accurate information in effective ways to affect changes in behavior within the larger communities.

Washington State University logo University of Idaho logo Oregon State University logo University of Alaska Fairbanks logo Northwest Indian College logo Environmental Protection Agency logo USDA-NIFA logo

Pacific Northwest Regional Water
Quality Coordination Project
Partners

Land Grant Universities
Alaska
Cooperative Extension Service
Contact Fred Sorensen:
907-786-6311
http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/
University Publications:
http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/

Idaho
University of Idaho
Cooperative Extension System
Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025
http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html
University Publications:
http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.html

Oregon
Oregon State University
Extension Service
Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/
University Publications:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/

Washington
Washington State University
WSU Extension
Contact Bob Simmons:
360-427-9670 ext. 690
http://wawater.wsu.edu/
University Publications:
http://pubs.wsu.edu/

Northwest Indian College
Contact Charlotte Clausing:
360-392-4319
cclausing@nwic.edu or
http://www.nwic.edu/

Water Resource Research Institutes
Water and Environmental Research
Center (Alaska)
http://www.uaf.edu/water/

Idaho Water Resources
Research Institute
http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/

Institute for Water and Watersheds
(Oregon)
http://water.oregonstate.edu/

State of Washington
Water Research Center
http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/

Environmental Protection Agency
EPA, Region 10
The Pacific Northwest
http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/

Office of Research and Development,
Corvallis Laboratory
http://www.epa.gov/wed/

For more information contact
Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or
seago.jan@epa.gov

The Project
Land Grant Universities, Water Research Institutes and EPA Region 10 have formed a partnership to provide research and education to communities about protecting or restoring the quality of water resources. This partnership is being supported in part by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Our Goal and Approach
The goal of this Project is to provide leadership for water resources research, education and outreach to help people, industry and governments to prevent and solve current and emerging water quality and quantity problems. The approach to achieving this goal is for the Partners to develop a coordinated regional water quality effort based on, and strengthening, individual state programs.

Our Strengths
The Project promotes regional collaboration by acknowledging existing programs and successful efforts; assessing program gaps; identifying potential issues for cross-agency and private sector collaboration, and developing a clearinghouse of expertise and programs. In addition, the Project establishes or enhances partnerships with federal, state and local environmental and water resource management agencies, such as by placing a University Liaison within the offices of EPA Region 10.

Measuring stream turbidity and water flowAgricultural Water Conservation and Management
The overarching goal of this programming area is to provide regional programming to the public, Extension personnel, and state and federal partners on a variety of conservation issues and opportunities such as: irrigation management, water reuse, aquifer storage and recovery, water harvesting, water and energy linkages, and rural conservation techniques.

Outcomes expected are that citizens understand that better conservation of water resources requires an understanding of technologies, reliable local expertise, and open lines of communication between regulatory agencies and stakeholders. The anticipated outcomes of this project will be the creation of a regional network of conservation specialists, an agricultural irrigation web site for the region, and an informed public through state-of-the-art knowledge transfer of agricultural water conservation techniques that work to regional water users and decision makers.

Evaluation
Evaluation of outcomes will be accomplished by conference surveys, pre- and post- training questionnaires that are statistically analyzed using approved methodologies, and advisory committee reviews. End users using the web-based Survey Monkey procedure will evaluate fact sheets. In addition follow-up needs assessment surveys will be conducted throughout this four-year programming period as deemed appropriate.

National Water Quality Program Areas

The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight themes of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

  1. Animal Waste Management
  2. Drinking Water and Human Health
  3. Environmental Restoration
  4. Nutrient and Pesticide Management
  5. Pollution Assessment and Prevention
  6. Watershed Management
  7. Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management
  8. Water Policy and Economics
This material is based upon work supported by the
National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U. S. Department of Agriculture,
under Agreement No 2008-51130-4734.

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Download the informational PDF flyer here

A cooperative program consisting of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture
and
the Land Grant Colleges and Universities.

- a Regionally-Based National Network -

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USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture
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NIFA National Water Quality Program

This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2008-51130-04734.

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page last modified on August 30, 2008

NIFA PNW Regional Water Quality Program