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The burning question: How do wildfires impact watersheds?

The burning question: How do wildfires impact watersheds?

Photo: Site of the Brian Head wildfire in Utah still showing clear impacts more than a year after the fire Image Credit: arbyreed (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Article: Maina, F. Z., & Siirila‐Woodburn, E. R. (2020). Watersheds dynamics following wildfires: Nonlinear feedbacks and implications on hydrologic responses. Hydrological Processes , 34 (1), 33-50. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13568

For people in the western United States, images of devastating wildfires have become a terrifyingly familiar … [more…]

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The Time is Now to Invest in Western Water Infrastructure

The Time is Now to Invest in Western Water Infrastructure

Commentary: The coronavirus crisis reminds those of us in the water world of the importance of the systems which sustain us.

Our water systems are among the very most important. The need for effective planning, preparation and implementation of water policy and infrastructure is critical, as we manage the engines which drive our economy, our health and our safety. It is most certainly a primary focus of the Western water … [more…]

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Study finds pharmaceuticals, other chemicals in remote Minnesota lakes

Study finds pharmaceuticals, other chemicals in remote Minnesota lakes

Photo: A remote lake in Cook County, Minn. A three-year study by the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa found pharmaceuticals and other chemicals in 28 lakes in northeastern Minnesota, including some with little or no human development. Courtesy Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

A study has found pharmaceuticals and other chemicals in remote lakes in and

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CSIRO and Goanna Ag develop technology to predict crop water needs

photo: camera monitoring soil and helping control irrigation

KEEPING AN EYE: A Goanna Ag canopy sensor on a tomato crop near Swan Hill, Victoria.

The CSIRO and local agtech company Goanna Ag have teamed up to give irrigators the technology to get maximum value out of every drop of water.

They are claiming WaterWise will be Australia’s only water-use efficiency product for irrigated crops that measures crop water stress and predicts future water needs in real time.

The

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What’s being done to restore wetlands?

What’s being done to restore wetlands?

Photo: As part of wetland restoration in New Jersey, teams intentionally added sediment. These additions to a degraded coastal marsh improved conditions for plant growth. Credit: Tim Welp/Christine VanZomeren

Wetlands are fun places to get muddy, enjoy the outdoors, and listen for birdsongs. They provide important habitat for wildlife, and for recreation. You’ve likely seen wetlands on the fringes of lakes, on river floodplains, along the coast, and anywhere else … [more…]