Submitted by: agcomm,  Thu Dec 18 12:35:24 1997


                        December 18, 1997
 
 Specialist Warns Against Stretching Facts Too Far In Water 
Quality Debate 
 
     Clean, pure water is a good thing. That's something no one
will disagree with.  But broaden the discussion to "how" and the
issue gets muddy.
     "At times rhetoric is accepted as reality even though the
facts are inconclusive," says Bruce Seelig, a water quality
expert with the North Dakota State University Extension Service.
     Recent debate over global warming at the environmental
summit in Japan illustrates how even a widely known theory like
global warming remains unproven to many scientists, Seelig says.
Water resource problems and their solutions are like
that--complex, and difficult and expensive to study.
     Research on processes such as water contamination often
looks at only one piece of a very large pie, he says.  And
because such research is expensive and long-term, it's tempting
to stretch results too far to meet the goal of improving local
water management.  That can lead to conclusions, decisions and
actions supported by incomplete evidence. 
     Water quality studies frequently have that problem because
they cover such large regions, he says.  "Acquiring data over
large areas is extremely expensive and time- consuming. As a
result, a variety of assumptions are often used to generate data
indirectly rather than acquiring actual measurements.  Along with
those assumptions, averages or other statistical methods are
generally used to express the data from these studies." 
     "The large-scale regional studies are important because they
help define regional trends and differences so we can better
direct our research and management activities," Seelig notes. 
"But these studies generally aren't complete enough or specific
enough to define local conditions that affect the relationships
between environmental factors." 
     To explain local cause and effect relationships, you need
accurate measurements and comparisons of local conditions, he
says.  Such studies are conducted on very small areas, fields or
plots, but provide the necessary linkage with local management.
     "We need to be able to use the results from both regional
studies and field studies to help us accomplish effective natural
resource management locally that together will have a positive
regional effect," he explains.
     NDSU and the North Dakota Department of Agriculture are
doing just that in a system designed to identify areas with high
potential for groundwater contamination from pesticides. 
     The system uses North Dakota Geological Survey information
and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service county soil
surveys combined with results from research to help identify
areas of potential groundwater contamination. The most
appropriate management practices then can be directed to each
area of different contamination potential. 
     The assessment program was introduced this summer to
producers in Barnes, Cass, Ransom, Richland and Sargent counties. 
Seelig and other specialists demonstrated how local fields
related to the regional scale in terms of potential contamination
of local aquifers and how specific management practices can
reduce the potential for contamination. 
     In McIntosh County, extension specialists added computer
technology to the assessment system.  A computerized county soil
survey was matched to the assessment process. As a result,
producers can look at any field and the computer tells them how
susceptible the aquifer below is to pesticide contamination.
     "It's a fast and easy way for farmers to evaluate their
management practices and adjust them to minimize the risk to
water resources," Seelig says. As additional county soil maps are
computerized in North Dakota, the aquifer protection program can
be extended to these areas.
     "The assessment process is not a substitute for continued
groundwater monitoring or research that helps explain contaminant
movement and fate under various environmental conditions," Seelig
notes.  "It does, however, provide a good working model that
links local data to regional data and may help us evaluate the
effects of local management on regional environmental
conditions."
                              ###
NDSU Agriculture Communication
Source: Bruce Seelig (701) 231-8690
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629