
On a soggy December morning, I met with Marty Stange, the Environmental Director for the Hastings City Utilities, to tour his reverse osmosis (R.O.) water treatment facility. We extensively discussed soil health and its impact on groundwater and human health. Specifically, the nitrate, uranium, selenium, and chromium levels that are increasing, all of which are potential carcinogens. The rising levels of contaminants are alarming to me. I am a fifth-generation farmer from Milligan, Neb. and we use our aquifer to irrigate my family’s crops, tend our livestock, and sustain ourselves. This is a Nebraska-wide problem in one form or another. Do I have your attention?
Marty explained the high nitrate levels in their groundwater demand an expensive and sophisticated treatment (a plan he formulated). He took water samples at different well depths and plotted the concentrations of nitrates. He found that nitrates were exasperatingly high; 50 parts per million (ppm) at the top of the aquifer. The deeper he sampled, the “cleaner” the water (5 ppm at the well bottom). This confirms that nitrates actively leach from the root zone as the aquifer recharges. This is not a problem unique to Hastings.
With much deliberation, the City of Hastings settled on skimming the high nitrate water off the top aquifer layer, running it through an elaborate R.O. system, and injecting the cleansed water back into the aquifer. The high nitrate water then goes into a holding pond for future agricultural use.
Water consumers funded $15 million of capital improvements on this system. The annual operating cost is $1 million per year. Marty also explained how excess nitrates move down from the root zone to support the growth and respiration of otherwise harmless bacteria that live in the aquifer and vadose zone. A by-product of this respiration is the mobilization of chromium, selenium, and uranium from the parent material. It will be an additional $30 million investment for the City of Hastings above the $15 million already spent to treat high nitrates. The expected annual operating costs will more than double. This shouldn’t be happening. Legacy nitrate contamination is essentially a tax on the water users of Hastings.
Water quality is an issue and that effects all of us. It is the tie that binds rural to urban, and it is a non-partisan issue. What happens “on the farm” directly impacts all of us and Nebraska has a myriad of problems with water, including the water rights issue with Kansas over agreements on the quantity and quality of water in the Republican and Blue Rivers. Herbicides, pesticides, and nutrients are carried by silt in the runoff that fills our streams, rivers, and reservoirs.
This is where soil health comes in. Since the sodbusters pulled their plows, the practitioners of agriculture have been mining the Great Plains soil of its most valuable resource – carbon. Researchers estimate that when the buffalo roamed the plains, the soil organic matter was 9% to 11%. Depending on soil type, most soil tests today reveal organic matters anywhere from 1% to 4% and declining. This is not sustainable and it is a big deal.
Think of soil organic matter as the charcoal filter for your fish tank. It also builds soil structure that helps water infiltrate the soil faster, retain water longer, facilitates nutrient cycles to function properly, and helps mitigate nitrate leaching. That’s why the water at the bottom of the well is clean and why soil health should be important to all of us. From my standpoint, it means less fertilizers and herbicides used, less water pumped for irrigation, less erosion, cleaner surface and groundwater, and restored ecosystem services. It is a win-win-win. However, we need markets to help support those taking a regenerative approach.
Here is where you can make an impact. Currently, there is not a market for holistically grown goods. In the future, there will be labels on products such as sustainably, or regeneratively produced. As a consumer, you have the most persuasive tool to drive change – the mighty dollar. Keep the money in our communities by knowing a producer and buying from them. In my case, I have been documenting my family’s journey into soil health.
We are using cattle and cover crops to rebuild our soils. This impacts the ecosystems on our farm and in our community. I am trying to share our success and struggles with the consumers. There are others trying to do the same. Seek them out and support them. They are trying to regenerate their most valuable resource by returning carbon to the soil with the six soil health principles. Reward them for their efforts and create an incentive for others to adopt improved soil health practices. What happens on the farm affects you.
In closing, our water issues didn’t magically appear overnight. We all share responsibility for the situation that we now find ourselves in. Fortunately, the Nebraska Soil Health Coalition is a collaborative effort to increase sustainable agricultural production and thriving rural communities. Our mission is to advance producer-centered education, outreach, and adoption of soil health principles to build resilient farms, ranches, and communities across Nebraska. As a board member, I want you to become educated and intentional with your buying decisions. I want to help you understand the impact of good soil health on water quality, and the most valuable resource we have – our communities. You can learn more at www.nesoilhealth.org or contact me at Uldrich_Jordan@hotmail.com
Jordan Uldrich
Producer from Milligan, NE
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