groundwater Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington Court Rules In Favor Of Conservation Groups In Fight Over Cattle Lots And Groundwater

By Courtney Flatt July 6, 2021

The milking parlor at Jason Sheehan’s dairy operates nearly 24 hours a day. He ships around 20,000 gallons of milk each day. As a member of the groundwater advisory committee, he’s worked to show people the updates he’s made to reduce nitrates from his operation. He says nitrates also come from irrigated agriculture and septic tanks. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT/NWPB

It’s back to the drawing board for state regulators, after the Washington Court of Appeals ordered the Department of Ecology to rework permits for confined animal feeding operations, known as CAFOs. A panel of judges ruled that current waste discharge permits don’t adequately protect groundwater and don’t take climate change into account.Read More

Coeur d’Alene Tribal Youth Create Summer Podcasts About Water Issues

By Doug Nadvornick June 30, 2020

Kyra Antone is one of the mentors for Coeur d'Alene tribal youth members who have produced podcasts about natural resource issues. Courtesy of Coeur d'Alene Tribe

A group of Coeur d’Alene tribal students is learning how to tell stories and make podcasts. The program they’re making tackles a pretty weighty subject. The tribe is working with the University of Idaho and the state University of New York at Buffalo to prepare young people to become tribal leaders.Read More

Water Crisis In Eastern Oregon Puts Rural Community At A Crossroads

By Emily Cureton January 2, 2020

John Thelen's home well near Burns, Ore., produced this pile of black sand before it ran dry. He dug deeper only to reach drinking water contaminated with arsenic. Emily Cureton/Oregon Public Broadcasting

Groundwater in southeastern Oregon is drying up. Farming, which uses a lot of that water, could decimate the region unless communities make drastic changes soon.Read More

Latino Advocacy Group Encourages Yakima Valley Residents To Test Well Water For High Nitrates

By Courtney Flatt October 24, 2019

Martin Yanez and his sister Rosalinda Elsa Pina live in the Yakima Valley, near a large dairy. Their well water has high levels of nitrates, which can cause health problems. In the winter Elsa Pina uses extra gallons of water to make caldos, or stews. Boiling water with high levels of nitrates actually concentrates the contamination. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

Environmental and Latino groups are hosting a clean drinking water forum Saturday, Oct. 26. The goal is to help people learn how they can get their water tested – and why it’s important.Read More