UC Davis experts: Water quality

UC Davis faculty members from a variety of disciplines are available to discuss issues related to water quality. If you need information on a topic not listed, please contact Patricia Bailey, News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu or Sylvia Wright, News Service, (530) 752-7704, swright@ucdavis.edu.

Wastewater management and reuse

Strict new regulations are making many California cities upgrade their sewage treatment programs. A UC Davis expert is available to talk to reporters about all aspects of wastewater management and reuse, including treatment by wetlands; filtration technologies; and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. George Tchobanoglous, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, was just named the 2003 winner of the Clarke Prize for excellence in water research. Contact: George Tchobanoglous, Civil and Environmental Engineering, (530) 756-5747.

Managing dairy manure

University of California researchers have developed technology and research to help dairy farmers managing their manure lagoons better, thereby lowering fertilizer costs and protecting groundwater. The dairy project is part of the Biologically Integrated Farming Systems administered by the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. The three Cooperative Extension specialists who developed the dairy program can talk about how the new system can help reduce excess nutrients moving into aquifers. Contacts: Stu Pettygrove, Land, Air and Water Resources, (530) 752-2533, gspettygrove@ucdavis.edu; Deanne Meyer, Animal Science, (530) 752-9391, dmeyer@ucdavis.edu; and Dan Putnam, Agronomy and Range Science, (530) 752-8982, dhputnam@ucdavis.edu.

Soil microbial ecology and pollutant biodegradation

Kate Scow, a UC Davis professor of soil microbial ecology, is an expert on the biodegradation of organic chemicals in soils and groundwater and the microbial ecology of agricultural and wildland soils. A major emphasis of her research group is bioremediation of the fuel additive MTBE, which involves fundamental studies of the physiology of an MTBE-degrading bacterium as well as field application and testing of bioremediation technologies in contaminated groundwater. Her research group is actively involved in developing molecular approaches for rapid characterization of soil microbial communities and quantitative methods for detecting specific groups of microorganisms in soil. Other research projects include characterizing rhizosphere communities of invading plant species, microbial ecology of serpentine soils, and using microbial fingerprints to determine sources of fugitive dust. Scow is also the director of the Kearney Foundation of Soil Science, an endowed research foundation currently focusing on soil carbon and California ecosystems. Contact: Kate Scow, Land, Air and Water Resources, (530) 752-4632, kmscow@ucdavis.edu.

Geochemistry of water pollution

Bill Casey is a UC Davis professor of hydrology and soil science. His research in aqueous geochemistry concerns the sources of pollutant materials in streams and the rates at which these materials transform in water and soil. Casey's research group specializes in the use of spectroscopic methods and small model molecules to detail how pollutant chemicals interact with the common minerals at the molecular scale. Contact: Bill Casey, Land, Air and Water Resources, (530) 752-3211, whcasey@ucdavis.edu.

Range management

Kenneth Tate is a UC Davis Cooperative Extension rangeland watershed specialist. He conducts a statewide research and extension education program focusing on the effects of range-management practices such as grazing, road construction and prescribed fire on water quality, riparian habitat and other watershed resources. Specific research projects focus on the relationships between rangeland livestock, pathogens and drinking water safety; factors determining stream temperature dynamics in rangeland streams; and evaluation of riparian grazing-management systems. Contact: Kenneth Tate, Agronomy and Range Science, (530) 754-8988, kwtate@ucdavis.edu.

Protecting rangeland water

Mel George is a UC Davis Cooperative Extension range and pasture specialist with the Rangeland Watershed Program, a joint program of the University of California Cooperative Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. The program was established in 1990 to conduct educational programs and provide technical assistance to private rangeland owners, government agency staff and public policy makers. He is an authority on range and pasture improvement, grazing management, rangeland water-quality issues, rangeland-management practices and ranch planning. Contact: Mel George, Agronomy and Range Science, (530) 752-1720, mrgeorge@ucdavis.edu.

Fertilizers and irrigation

Roland Meyer, a UC Davis Cooperative Extension soils specialist, can discuss soil fertility and plant nutrition; efficiency of fertilizer use; pollution of the environment by waste products, manures and fertilizers; application of fly ash and other wastes on agricultural, forest and range lands; water-quality evaluation and concerns; and soil-water-plant nutrition interactions and their effect on plant growth. Contact: Roland Meyer, Land, Air and Water Resources, (530) 752-2531, rdmeyer@ucdavis.edu.

Media contacts:

Patricia Bailey, News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu
Sylvia Wright, News Service, (530) 752-7704, swright@ucdavis.edu

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Last updated January 22, 2004