Agraria Journal Winter 2021

46% of US lakes and 43% of US river are polluted and unsafe for swimming or fishing. 46% of the US is experiencing drought conditions. Around the world, 1 of 5 children that dies under the age of 5 does so from exposure to polluted water. And by 2025, 3.5 billion people will be facing water shortages. Time to be a Champion for CleanWater BY SARAH HIPPENSTEEL HALL, I love to waterski, and one summer I had the opportunity to teach my daughter. It was a beautiful day on the Ohio River, we were with great friends, and we had a really good ski boat. But then we noticed tiny little green balls floating in the water. They were everywhere. We realized it was an algal bloom. We spent hours researching water- quality reports and found that just three days earlier, toxins were detected at our location, hundreds of times higher than the public health advisory. There were no warning signs or advisories. We spent days worrying that we might develop symptoms for things like liver failure. Fortunately, we did not. Unfortunately, the algae continued to grow and by the end of that summer, over 600 miles of the Ohio River were covered in algae and tested positive for toxins. This was not an isolated instance in Ohio. For three days in the summer of 2014, 400,000 residents in Toledo, Ohio, had no access to safe drinking water when a toxin created by an algal bloom in Lake Erie threatened the city’s water supply. The algal growth is fueled by nutrients that run off the land, mainly from fertilizers. And Lake Erie is surrounded by many, many farms. Here in southwest Ohio, with more than 70 percent of land in the Great Miami River Watershed actively used for agricultural production, it’s easy to see the importance of farming—as well as its influence on aquifers, and rivers and streams. Only 77 percent of the stream miles in the Great Miami River Watershed meet Ohio water quality standards. And the Ohio River is considered one of the most polluted rivers in the nation. The good news is that a solution to agricultural runoff is literally right under our feet—in the soil. Healthy soil, that is. Restoring and enriching soil health through regenerative farming conservation practices helps prevent runoff, improves water quality, biodiversity and also crop productivity. Healthy, carbon rich soil, holds water, and the more water infiltrating the soil, the less water available to run off a field. Regenerative agriculture aims not just to sustain the land in its current state, but to continuously improve soil health and the overall quality and health of the land, water, plants, and animals, leaving it better for the next generation. Whether you live in an urban neighborhood with a lawn and small garden or a farm with hundreds of acres, you can help build and maintain soil health by implementing regenerative practices. They include the following: • Minimize disturbance of the soil, which reduces compaction and encourages growth of microbial communities. • Keep the soil covered year round, with cover crops, plant residue, or mulch. • Improve biodiversity by growing different types of crops. Warning sign next to a Harsha Lake boat ramp in Ohio’s East Fort State Park, in June 2016. CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO GOVERNMENT 16 AGRARIA JOURNAL 2021 Water Woes NRCS