The Press-Dispatch
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A-10 Pike County Planter SWCD Newsletter November and December 2017 The Press-Dispatch The Press-Dispatch Pike County Planter SWCD Newsletter September and October 2017 A- 10 Pike County SWCD SUPERVISORS Norman Dillon, Chairman Paul Lake, Vice Chairman Kelly Atkins, Supervisor Josh Collins, Supervisor Tom Rudolph, Supervisor Brad Smith, Associate Supervisor STAFF S. Erica Burkemper-Fischer, District Administrator Emily Kelly, Agronomic Technician Julie Loehr, Watershed Coordinator Travis Gogel, NRCS District Conservationist SWCD/NRCS HOURS Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Due to the nature of the work that the SWCD and NRCS staf f performs, at times there will be no one in the office. Call 812-354-6120 ext. 3 before visiting. Farm Service Agency COUNTY COMMITTEE Robert Weitkampt II, Chairman Chris Rudolph, Member Jeff Brenton, Member Katrina Seitz, Minority Advisor STAFF Amy Barber, County Executive Director Amy Foust, Program Technician Lisa Gladdish, Program Technician Brenda Nicholson, Program Technician FSA OFFICE HOURS: Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4:30pm Nov. and Dec. 2017 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 Special section published bimonthly by The Press-Dispatch Pike County Soil and Water Conservation District Newsletter Pike County Soil and Water Conservation District Newsletter Planter Planter DISTRICT MEETINGS The Soil & Water Conser va- tion District has set its 2017 monthly board meetings for the first Tuesday of ever y month. These meetings will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the USDA Ser vice Center confer- ence room in Petersburg, Ind. The meetings operate under an open door policy. Meetings are subject to unexpected cancel- lation the day of a scheduled meeting if a quorum cannot be met. For more information or to be added to the SWCD meeting email chain, contact the SWCD office at 812- 354-6120 ex. 3. From sewage to drinking water? Many Americans are disconnected from the process of how raw water is obtained and transformed into our drinking water, thus teaching the water cycle is impor- tant. Our National 4-H curriculum has a topic on water conser vation entitled There's No New Water! This water conser vation and water quality curriculum is grounded in the simple, yet powerful truth that water is a finite natural resource whose quantity and quality must be responsibly pre- ser ved, protected, used, and reused. It's a little gross to even speak about, true, but we all should be informed enough to know exactly where our toilet water goes once we flush. Some homes have septic systems in which the flushed water leaves the toilet and enters a septic field in the yard. Other homes and our businesses are connected to the town's sewer system, meaning the flush water enters the waste water treatment system. But from there….where? Waste water is treated in the wastewater plant and is released back into the water cycle, usually being discharged into a lake, stream or aquifer. Drinking water is then drawn from that lake, stream or aquifer and enters the water plant and is treated and prepped to be piped to your home. This cycle should have us all thinking about the treatment capabilities we have as humans. Is there anything entering our drinking water supply that we one day won't be able to "fix" or treat? Recent studies across the U.S. have indicated that caffeine is indeed show- ing up in our water supply. Perhaps this is because of America's ever increasing obsession with caffeinated products. The average adult consumes around 280 mg of caffeine daily, but not all of what is con- sumed is absorbed by the body. Some of that daily caffeine is excreted by the body. Also, many people and restaurants dump the used coffee grounds down the sink or disposal. Even if used caffeine is thrown in the trash for the landfill, it will enter our ground water supply after percolating down through the soil layers. For the coffee and energy drinking adult, this may not sound like a serious problem, especially if one can get their daily caffeine addiction satisfied by just turning on the tap. But joking aside, it's alarming to see the lab results. Caffeine is not a naturally occurring molecule in most ecosystems, yet it is now present in them. Ted Kallmyer of the Caf- feine Informer reports that Erie, PA had 60 parts per trillion in their drinking water supply when it was tested. National Geo- graphic reported that the Pacific North- west, the epicenter of U.S. coffee culture, has an elevated caffeine level according to a study done. And the National Center for Biotechology Information reports that Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay have concentrations of caffeine. A couple of things we need to think about with this information. One, there is no new water, we drink the same water the dinosaurs drank. Two, this research is new and it is still unclear exactly what consequences are coming. Those two thoughts should be heavy enough, but a more sobering thought is this….agriculture and industr y do not tend to release caffeine into the environ- ment, so high levels of caffeine is an indi- cator of the presence of sewer contamina- tion. In fact, researchers at the University of Montreal have discovered that caffeine traces in the water are useful indicators of sewer contamination. So, like the water cycle, I circle back around to the beginning. Knowledge of how we obtain our drinking water, knowl- edge that there is no new water, knowl- edge that what we are doing today can affect future days may just be the key to bringing you on board protecting this life giving, but finite natural resource. If you'd like to learn more about water conser va- tion, water quality and ways you can help protect our drinking water, call the Pike or Gibson SWCD office and ask to speak to the Watershed Coordinator. Fall Forestry Workshop, Nov. 4 The Owen County SWCD is hosting its Fall Forestr y Workshop on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Davies Property, 4601 White Hill Road, Bowling Green (1 mile north of State Road 46, near the Clay/Owen County line.) AGENDA 8:30-9 a.m. – Registration 9-10 a.m. – Developing a Vision for Your Woodlot (1 mile walk)-Perr y Seitzinger- Seitzinger Forestr y LLC, Consulting For- ester and STRC&D Forestr y and Invasives Committee Chairman 10-11:30 a.m. – Wetland Construction and Design, Tree Planting in Wetlands, and Wetland Wildlife (at on-site wetland area)- Jeffrey Kiefer- Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser vice 11:30 a.m.-noon – Classified Forest Program- DNR District Forester Noon-1 p.m. – Lunch – Pulled Pork, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, Sweets, Tea and Lemonade, catered by Steve Withem 1-2 p.m. – Invasives – ID and Manage- ment with emphasis on tools and resources for control- Will Drews, Knox County SWCD Natural Resource Specialist and SICIM Secretar y 2-2:45 p.m. – Native Planting after Invasive Control- Lenny Farlee, Extension Forester, Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Attendees are required to RSVP by Thursday, Nov. 2. The cost is $5. To register, contact the Clay County SWCD at 812-446- 8986 ext 3. For other questions, call the Owen County SWCD at 812-829-2605 or email andrea- oeding@iaswcd.org.