Find annual AWQA Accomplishments Reports online by clicking here.

2008 AWQA Accomplishments Update

Farm Water Quality Planning Education: From 2001-2007, 2,000 growers representing 350,000 acres of irrigated agriculture along the Central Coast participated in Farm Water Quality Planning Short courses developed by AWQA partners. AWQA partners continue to offer agricultural water quality educational opportunities, hosting 55 technical workshops in 2008 alone.

Permit Coordination: Streamlined permitting programs in several counties expedite the permitting and installation of conservation projects in partnership with 7 local, state, and national regulatory agencies. By the end of 2008, the 4th year of program implementation, the RCD of Santa Cruz County and NRCS reached a total of 47 projects completed under the Countywide Partners in Restoration permit coordination program restoring 76.5 acres of riparian/aquatic habitat and opening 16 linear stream miles for the migration of salmonids.

Conservation Practice Implementation: Land managers implemented many practices in Sanctuary watersheds with NRCS and RCD assistance in 2008, including:

• 18 miles of rural dirt roads treated to reduce sediment runoff
• 2,150 new acres of farmland planted with cover crops
• 34,715 new acres of rangeland managed with improved grazing techniques
• 2,440 feet of streambank erosion problems stabilized
• 3,100 feet of windbreaks and hedgerows planted

Applied Research: UC Cooperative Extension Advisors, working with growers and Fresh Express, a major lettuce handler and shipper, conducted three trials in romaine and iceberg lettuce to demonstrate practices to reduce water and nitrogen inputs on a commercial production scale in 2008. Their trials showed that commercial lettuce crops could be produced using about 30% less water and 50% less fertilizer nitrogen (than average) without significantly reducing yield. In some cases product quality even improved.

Addressing Food Safety and Water Quality Conflicts: AWQA partners have fostered collaboration and provided tools for food safety and water quality co-management through:

• Research to evaluate the effectiveness of water quality practices in reducing the concentration and transport of bacterial pathogens in irrigation tailwater; to investigate factors that affect E. coli growth and survival in agricultural soils; and to survey grower perspectives on the impacts of food safety metrics upon environmental protection.
• Education and outreach conducting trainings on the conservation aspects of food safety through Hartnell College to private sector food safety professionals; conducting technical trainings for conservation field staff on food safety considerations for conservation planning; hosting a food safety track during the 2007 National Conference on Agriculture and the Environment and hosting a Food Safety & Water Quality co-management conference.
• Regional Coordination of the Farm, Food Safety, & Conservation Network - a Central Coast region working group that supports the agricultural industry’s efforts to reduce food safety risks through methods which also minimize or avoid impacts to water quality, wildlife and habitat. Visit www.awqa.org/networkwiki

Past Accomplishments

2005

• AWQA was awarded the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award
  
• The nations largest berry producer reduce water use by as much as 50% with assistance from UCCE.
  
• NRCS helped farmers save 172 ac-feet of water in the Pajaro and Elkhorn Slough watersheds from improved irrigation efficiency. That is enough water to irrigate 60 acres of strawberries for an entire year.
  
• Erosion was reduced on 4.3 miles of farm access road.
  
• Farmers on over 1,000 acres of land are now using cover crops on their fields in the winter.
  
• Over 13,000 ft of hedgerows were planted this year.
  
• 870 ft of stream bank were protected.
  
• 18 Farm Water Quality Planning short courses were offered with 708 farmers participating. 22% of the courses in 2005 were offered in Spanish.
  
• UCCE conducted 19 field trials to evaluate the effectiveness of monitoring techniques and management practices to protect water quality.
  
• 70 one-page management practice information sheets were developed. Each practice sheet has a general description, picture, pros and cons, benefits to water quality (if known) and links to additional information.
  
• Ranchers in the region applied conservation practices to over 54,000 acres of grazing land, making up over 10% of grazing land acreage protected by NRCS in the state.

Congressman Farr speaking to AWQA partners and farmers

Rethinking the Way Agencies Do Business

• Financial Investment in Water Quality Protection
  
  
  • $Over 2 million in Congressional support has been obtained by Congressman Sam Farr for AWQA partners to implement the Agriculture and Rural Lands Action Plan.
    
    
  • Over $3 million in additional grants from private, state, and federal sources have been awarded to AWQA partners to finance educational, technical assistance, and resource assessment programs and project installation.
    
    
  • Over $4 million in US Department of Agriculture cost-share funding provided to farmers to implement environmental quality enhancement projects.
    
    
• Collaboration Leads to Progress
  
  • Making it easier for farmers to install water quality protection projects: One-stop permits are now available for farmers and ranchers in the Salinas Valley, Elkhorn Slough, and Santa Cruz County to implement water quality protection or enhancement projects.  Eight federal, state, and local regulatory agencies have authorized the use of 16 conservation practices for landowners working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service or Resource Conservation District.
    
    
  • The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Central Coast Agricultural Water Quality Coalition, NRCS, RCDs, and UC Cooperative Extension meet monthly to coordinate water quality protection efforts in the six county area.
    
    
  • Farm Water Quality Planning short courses were offered to more than 1700 agriculture producers representing more than 350,000 acres. The classes provided 15 hours of water quality education to improve management of pesticides, sediment and nutrients.
    
  • Economic cost estimate studies for 12 conservation practices have been developed by University of California Cooperative Extension at the request of farmers who need to know the bottom-line of investing in water quality protection.
    
    
  • Over 13 new technical brochures and 29 Fact Sheets on farming practices that affect water quality have been developed  by  the Resource Conservation Districts, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Bureau Coalition.

III. Preventing Erosion and Runoff Protects Water Quality
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) have assisted producers to complete the following in the years since the Agriculture and Rural Lands Action Plan was completed:

• Conservation plans have been developed for 97,200 acres of crop and range land.

• Conservation plans have been applied on 77,500 acres of crop and range land.

• 30,237 acres protected from soil erosion.

• 258,875 tons of soil per year prevented from eroding into the Sanctuary (equivalent to the area of a foot ball field piled 11 stories high with eroded soil).

• 2,182 acres of improved irrigation management to conserve water and prevent runoff and leaching.

• 3,258 acres of improved tillage to retain crop residue and prevent erosion.

• 1,000 acres of grassed buffers installed around cropland to protect water quality.

• Over 100,000 acres of prescribed grazing management to prevent overgrazing and reduce runoff and erosion.