| A unit of Lasting Forests
evolving since March 30, 1999 |
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A Total Forest Management Plan
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See Freshwater
Meeting the food requirements of a growing population may be over emphasized. The water needs may exceed those for food. Effective participation of the land owner in a regional water management system is well recognized. In the US, agriculture uses 85% of all water consumed. Fifteen percent of Americans obtain drinking water from wells, cisterns, and springs. A total approach is needed for balancing the often competing uses for water within forestry and agriculture and those for industry and urban uses. Often costs are high, and going back on a decision is amost impossible. Growing demands for water, especially for agricultural uses, requires developing new sources and more effective use of those present. Financial gains now increasingly suggest use of formerly- prohibitively-expensive subsurface waters. Such gains may be off set by increasing discoveries of polluted systems. Reasonable people concentrate no only on extracting water but on improving current uses of available waters (now less than 40% of that applied to crops), effects of "new water" on climate, water "mining" and recharge rates, evaporation control, and effects of salinization.
Agricultural and forest land needs to be perceived as the collecting and infiltration source for groundwater.
Efforts need to be expended to secure data about groundwater status in the region. These may be gained from the state agencies and local well drillers. Use of such data and on-site data, sampling theory, grid-based systems, and Landsat information can produce a data base for long-term estimates of change and for preditions. Given observed or likely changes on a tract (and their interpretations by experts) it may be possible to appraise natural variations, the significance of the change, and thus may assure neighbors and the public that activities on the site are not harmful to or improving the groundwater of the area and that undue further losses or changes of this essential resource are not being incurred by local citizens.
Ground water may have natural impurities, some of which may be harmful to human health and condition (e.g., arsenic and selenium). Most pick up magnesium, calcium, and chlorides. Water characteristics typically measured are:
Because of the high costs of such analyses, this list must be screened for relevant and purposeful use of data if obtained. Of course pre- and post-activity analyses can suggest beyond-normal changes or departures from normal but the significance of such departures must be known as well.
Standards or baseline data will be useful and cost effectiveness may be gained by regional work. The high cost of the first analysis may be an essential expenditure so that results of later less-costly analyses can be compared. For example, in the Tennessee River Basis, groundwater samples have had the following characteristics:
Contact US EPA (safe drinking water hot line) 800/426-4791
Promolife 888/742-3404
An integrated Virginia Tech study (Water Resource Center) on E. coli sources and controls was being proposed in 2004.
Software for ground water analyses and 3-dimensional pictures is available from the Scientific Software Group.
See EPA Groundwater modeling: an overview and status report, EPA 600/s2-89/028 September 1989 Paul, K.K. van der Heijde,et al.
Jorgensen, S.E. and M.J. Gromiec. 1985. Mathematical submodels in water quality systems, Elsevier Sci. Pubs,
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This Web site is maintained by R. H.
Giles, Jr.
Last revision July 20, 2001.