Water and Agriculture:
A Delicate Balance

“A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself - for it is from the soil, both from its depth and from its surface, that a river has its beginning.” — Laura Gilpin, American Outdoor Photographer (1891 - 1979)

According to a recent United Nations report “Water for Living,” when it comes to water consumption, people don’t even come close to plants. Up to 70 percent of the water we extract from ground water reserves goes to agriculture. On a worldwide scale, agriculture has been a remarkable success story, keeping pace with a human population that has roughly doubled in the past 50 years. How have farmers done it? It’s done with high-yielding seeds, new plants, pesticides and fertilizers better central strategies, and with the most critical and fragile element — fresh, clean water.

In Pennsylvania, agriculture is our leading industry, and, despite accelerating development, it remains one of the most important land uses in western Pennsylvania. Washington County, for example, next door to metropolitan Pittsburgh, still has a third of its total area in farmland (about 180,000 acres) and ranks fourth among all Pennsylvania counties in the number of active farms.

In occupying such a dominant part of the landscape, agriculture is a major contributor to water pollution; a situation that, if ignored, would seriously threaten our way of life. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is a leader in the growing effort to sustain farm economies in ways that protect the natural resources that make them possible. Recent federal and state programs and grants that promote and reward farmers who practice sound conservation agriculture are sometimes not embraced because farmers either are not aware they exist or have heard false information about the programs. WPC sees its role as not only getting the word out about available funding opportunities, but helping farmers choose the programs that work best for them.

WPC’s Ben Wright, watershed manager for the Upper Ohio River and assistant director of watershed programs, likens agricultural programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to tools in a toolbox, each designed to give farmers specific opportunities to practice sound conservation agriculture.

“CREP is a very big tool, but it doesn’t cover every scenario and it’s not the only tool in our toolbox,” Wright said.

Five years ago, WPC began prioritizing areas that were highly impacted by agriculture. Beginning in the Shenango River basin, WPC found the appropriate funding and constructed 20 miles of streambank fencing. In the Juniatia River, where agriculture is generally confined to the valley bottoms, WPC has targeted more than 50 miles of important stream ecosystems, including a large creek (Aughwick Creek) and a medium-sized river (the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River).

These are just samples of the work WPC has begun. Over time, it is hoped that the partnerships formed today will aid in maintaining working farm landscapes and livelihoods in western Pennsylvania, while protecting our region’s natural heritage. If managed properly, our fields, farms and forests can nourish a clean watershed and anchor our region’s conservation commitment.

For more information on our Freshwater Conservation Program call Ben Wright, watershed manager at 724-459-0953 (ext. 102) or e-mail Ben at bwright@paconserve.org.