EPA REGION 2 Water Quality Program Annual Meeting 2006

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EPA REGION 2 Water Quality ProgramAnnual
Meeting2006

• University of the Virgin Islands
• Cooperative Extension Service
• Water Quality Program Activities
• FY 2005-2006

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The UVI-CES Water Quality Programactivities
focus on

• Non-point source pollution (NPS) education
• On-site waste water treatment (OWTS)
• Animal waste management
• Watershed protection

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Non-point source pollution (NPS) education
activities
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Non-point source pollution (NPS)
educationVIASyst Program

• Safe and Healthy Home and School presentations
  were to made to over 150 attendees from the VI
  general public, as well as more than 200 school
  students and staff.

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Non-point source pollution (NPS) education
VIASyst Program
PSAs on popular TV channels developed and funded
by the VI NPS Committee increased clients
requests for information.
PSAs images portraying local conditions were
developed by UVI-CES.
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Non-point source pollution (NPS) education
VIASyst Program
UVI-CES distributed publications developed by
UVI-CES and others to promote NPS awareness and
prevention.
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Non-point source pollution (NPS) education 9th
Annual NPS Conference UVI-CES Poster Presentation
This poster focused on improvements in water
quality management at Magens Bay resulting, in
part, from CESs long partnership with Magens Bay
Authority.
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On-site waste water treatment (OWTS) activities
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On-site waste water treatment (OWTS)Understandi
ng your septic system
An Understanding Your Septic System workshop
was presented to the general public on St. John.
Two more workshops are scheduled for St. Croix
and St. Thomas.
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On-site waste water treatment (OWTS)Alternative
waste water treatment consultation
The VI Department of Planning and Natural
Resources and the VI Department of Health
referred clients to UVI-CES for assistance with
alternative OWTS planning.
UVI-CES was referred to businesses because of its
previous involvement with alternative OWTS
construction at Magens Bay (above).
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On-site waste water treatment (OWTS)Alternative
waste water treatment consultation
UVI-CES assisted two hotels and a cable TV and
telephone company by providing technical
assistance regarding installations of constructed
wetlands alternative OWTS facilities.
A corner of the trench style alternative OWTS at
Vitelco is outlined in red.
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Animal Waste Management
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Animal waste managementAnimal waste management
on small farms
UVI-CES is establishing a demonstration small
animal waste management and recycling operation
on a St. Croix farm. Demo site workshops and
tours will show swine farmers how to raise their
animals on slanted concrete surfaces that allow
animal waste to be flushed through a septic tank
and recycled into crop fertilizer.
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Watershed Awareness and Protection
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Watershed awareness and protectionConservation
of Native Plants and their Habitats

• UVI-CES promotes conservation of native
  vegetation in watersheds to protect water
  quality. Technical information is shared via site
  visits, publication development and workshops.

Conservation of riparian forests is promoted in
this UVI-CES poster.
UVI-CES organized workshops on safe removal of
exotic plants from coastal areas.
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Watershed awareness and protectionPromoting the
Links between Land and Sea

• UVI-CES partnered with UVIs Conservation Data
  Center to produce a publication that focuses on
  watersheds and their vital link between land and
  sea. Response from the VI government agencies and
  the general public has been very favorable.

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Watershed awareness and protectionGrant-funded
Research to promote better watershed management
CES partners with a UVI scientific team from
Conservation Data center and Center for Marine
and Environmental Studies in a pilot study to
investigate effects of land-based pollutants on
water quality and marine resources. This grant is
funded by the Virgin Islands Experimental Program
to Stimulate Competitive Research (a National
Science Foundation program).
Brewers Bay watershed, St. Thomas, one of three
watersheds to be studied.