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A completed three cell sand filter. (Photo by Jon C. Allen)

Dec. 22, 2008

Clean and Green environmentally impacts Gardez

By Brenda L. Beasley
Afghanistan

Few trees are on the valley floor.  Rugged mountains make travel difficult.  The city, at an elevation of about 7,600 feet, nearly a half-mile higher than Denver is in a province thats about the size of Delaware.  The terrain looks like a cross between the Badlands of South Dakota and the Painted Desert of Arizona.  This is the city of Gardez, the capital of the Paktia Province in Afghanistan, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Afghanistan Engineer District (AED), has established a successful Clean and Green program that is helping to sustain the environment, with a Horticulture and Re-Forestation Program on the horizon that could help further economic growth.

At the Afghan National Army (ANA) Garrison in Gardez, AED worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development, to collect and treat wastewater on the base for reuse in certain applications and to conserve clean treated groundwater as potable water.  Instead of drawing down the aquifer, the current status and health is unknown, recycled water is now used repeatedly for watering gardens, washing vehicles and flushing toilets. 

"Fresh water in Afghanistan is like gold," said Jon C. Allen, the AED operations and maintenance manager of region five.  "It's a precious commodity that needs to be protected."

Completed in October 2007, the program consists of four functioning components - a sand filter, a wastewater retention reservoir, a vehicle wash rack and a recycling station.  By reusing the treated wastewater for irrigation of plants and shrubs, the Afghan National Army realized a huge savings.  Then reusing it for washing vehicles instead of fresh water that comes from their wells at a finite cost per liter almost doubled their savings.   

"Altogether, we conserved 2 million liters of fresh water a month," Allen said.

"First, the sand filter purifies the wastewater generated by the Afghan National Army base.  All wastewater flows to a Master Lift Station where it is then pumped into the first stage of a four-stage wastewater treatment facility consisting of eight large lagoons," said Allen. "These lagoons are equipped with aerators that add oxygen to the water and simultaneously accelerate the process of separating solids which go to the bottom of the lagoons."

"Secondly, by creating a wastewater retention reservoir to capture the water for storage until needed, they were able to further develop a valuable resource in the arid Gardez, where wastewater evaporates quickly," Allen said. 

Previously the water simply exited the last stage of the wastewater lagoons, entered underground piping and flowed outside the base, where it was forgotten.
   
The third component, a vehicle wash rack, is a closed loop system, where excess water is captured, directed through an oil/water separator and then pumped into the first stage of the wastewater treatment lagoons. 

"The closed loop system helps make efficient use of the wastewater by preventing an outlet for evaporation," said Kathryn A. Carpenter, the program manager for water resources in AEDs Water and Infrastructure Branch.

Located near the water reclamation project is a burn pit that is used by the Afghan National Army to incinerate garbage and other various undesirable materials.  They took the program a step further and turned the pit into a recycling center where materials are segregated and then sold to the community in Gardez.

"This not only brings useful materials back to the community, but drastically reduces the amount of materials being incinerated," Allen said.  "It also resulted in a marked decrease in air pollution."

With the four components in place and functioning, there is a proposal that focuses on the next step, which is establishing a Horticulture and Re-forestation Program, Allen said.  

This will require the support of all organizations involved in the ownership and authority of the real estate inside and around Afghan National Army Garrison Base Gardez.  Non-government organizations have expressed an active interest in being involved in an agriculture project at Gardez.

If supported, the proposed benefits would include educating University of Gardez students on the complete growing cycle needed from germination to harvest; sustainability of not only food crops but also crops that can be harvested, processed, packaged and sold on the open market to provide a means of income for the community; and turning a brown, desolate piece of land into a lush, nutrient-rich source of food and income-producing agriculture, Allen said.

Like the rest of Afghanistan, Gardez has suffered from a decade-long drought.  Even the heavy rains of the winter have not replenished the water table in this area.  Sustainable use of limited natural resources is extremely important to an arid country that only gets 250 millimeters of rain per year on average. 

"The most readily available source of water is groundwater," Carpenter said.  "They've been in a drought since 1999, and the groundwater levels have been steadily declining."

Right now there is very little infrastructure to capture and hold water coming from the spring snow melt, which directly affects Afghanistan's agriculture.  About 80 percent of Afghanistan's economy is based on agriculture, which relies on irrigation.  Proper management of water resources supports irrigation, which in turn drives agriculture, which in turn boosts the local economy. 

"Water is the base of all life," Carpenter said.  "You're not going to have a sustainable economy unless you manage your water resources."

Since Gardez is also a major lumber market, many of its natural forests are being cut down.  The proposed re-forestation project will result from seedlings and produce forest products that will help provide food, wood, shelter and wildlife habitat.  It will also help to raise the aquifer levels and reduce soil erosion. 

"Plants hold soil in place and slow water down so it won't run off as quick," Carpenter said. 
"It percolates down into the ground and recharges the groundwater aquifer."

AED is continually bringing Western technology and ideas to Afghanistan.  The Afghans have embraced some, while others are slower to take hold.  Because it's been a struggle just to survive over the past 30 years, the culture in this country has never really embraced the idea of conserving natural resources.  But the concept of treating and reusing wastewater is very low technology which they'll be able to easily maintain. 

"What we're doing with this wastewater is very simple.  They'll be able to sustain use of this system after we leave," Allen said.  "We're helping them develop their water resources, which is a cornerstone of living for the future."

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This arch-shaped structure, called a chevron serves navigation by directing the rivers energy into the channel to scour its bottom. At the same time it diverts energy to maintain a side channel and protects the upstream end of a nearby island. Finally, careful examination of the left end of the structure will reveal fishermen, attracted to the deep hole and trailing sand bar that has built up downstream of the structure. (Photos by Alan Dooley)

Dec. 22, 2008

How do you spell cooperation? RRAT!

By Alan Dooley
St. Louis District

Each summer, the River Resources Action Team (RRAT) quietly meets on the Mississippi River, in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District's stretch of the river. 

This year the group met for two days, moving downriver from the northernmost extent of the District, just below Lock and Dam 22 at Saverton, Mo., to the Corps' service base in St. Louis.  Next year they will start in St. Louis and travel to the end of St. Louis' area of responsibility, almost 200 miles away, at the confluence with the Ohio River. Then they will return to the northern half of the District a third year.  And so on.

During the journey, about 50 representatives of the Corps, other federal agencies, state agencies from both sides of the Mississippi River and non-governmental organizations like The Nature Conservancy and the American Land Conservancy, along with the occasional news reporter, focused their attention on the state of the Mississippi River and its future.

This year, as in many recent years, the journey was made via Barge 53, a flat barge with a weather cover at one end, pushed by a Corps tow boat.

"It wasn't always an endeavor this size," said Claude Strauser, a retired river engineer who made the trip again this year.  "The first time we did this was in June of 1972.  It involved about six people who went out onto the river to view results of our first attempt to modify traditional river engineering structures to accommodate environmental goals.  We went to see how a series of dikes that were notched to create islands were performing," Strauser recalled.

On that occasion, someone commented that it was valuable to get out of the office to be able to focus on the river.  On the return trip the discussion drifted to how this might be a good thing to do again.

And the "Annual Mississippi River Coordination Trip" was born.  But that name didn't really lend itself to a catchy, easily-remembered acronym, so eventually the RRAT emerged.

During the trip there's a lively interchange and exchange of information between many agencies and groups that at best had ignored each other and at worst opposed each other.

"In the early years we did a lot of scowling at each other, but that takes more muscles than smiling; finally we gradually broke down and agreed to see if we had any goals in common," retired Corps veteran Strauser said.

"Today, while we may not start everything together, we are all honestly determined to seek what we refer to as 'and' answers to challenges," Strauser said.

"We want to identify ideas that will make navigation safer and more efficient, avoid causing problems for water users and provide environmental benefits," Strauser said.

"We definitely don't want to find 'or' answers.  If we define an answer that will do one thing 'or' another, then we are picking a winner and appointing a loser," he said.

In the course of RRAT trips, discussion topics cover a gamut of concerns.  This year for example, they included: proposed fish passages at Locks and Dams 22 and Mel Price, an update of the Navigation Ecosystem Sustainability Program, dredged material placement, the Mississippi River Water Trail and the status of levee repairs following the floods of 2008.  Rather than simply something for everyone, there was a lot of things for a lot of people.

The agenda, distributed in advance, allows for instant interjection of passing sights.

"There!  Those are Asian Carp.  There's a whole school of them."

"If you look to the right, that's where the levee at Winfield, Mo., was overtopped and breached this summer," another person announced as the barge passed.

Brian Johnson, who headed this year's program for St. Louis District, told of the many unforeseen benefits of such gatherings.

"It is amazing to bring people together who are separated by geographic boundaries and agencies that may not have had a history of working with each other.  The sense of partnership that arises is really remarkable," Johnson said.

"A lot of times we suddenly realize that we have common or complementary interests.  One group may want to get rid of water while a neighboring interest desperately wants water.  You see it now in our PL-84-99 levee repair work.  We are working hard to repair the damaged levees but also striving to find ways to improve the environment at the same time," he said. 

Johnson, the ecosystem restoration business line manager , says he never ceases to be amazed what people can achieve if they collaborate without concern for who gets credit or whose name will be attached to a project.

Business line managers are a relatively new entity in the Corps.  They seek to bridge areas of interest, such as planning, engineering, environmental, contracting and resource management to make things happen.

"You have to be willing to be truly collaborative and understand that success comes from getting projects on the ground that improve habitat and the environment.  No single agency or individual can make it happen alone," Johnson said, discussing the recent success of more than 20 agencies working together on a watershed planning study aimed at improving the middle Mississippi River.      

A key element of success of the RRAT trip is a willingness to give anyone the floor to present their ideas.  Questions are asked in an unfettered environment.  Nobody seeks gain over other participants.

Craig Uyeda from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission was onboard for this year's trip. 

"We have held cooperative meetings of this type in Arkansas, but this takes it to a whole new level. I'm going to take some of these ideas back and see if we can form a group like this."

Another representative told how important it is to openly share plans and propose solutions, such as was being done on the trip.  He admitted that failure to do so had subjected his agency to criticism and court intervention at several junctures in recent years.

Another key to the success of the RRAT trips seems to be their somewhat primitive nature.  For example, the participants are largely exposed to the weather, at the mercy of Mother Nature.

The forward part of the barge is covered with an open shelter, similar to a carport.  The RRAT trip normally takes place in July, and the cover provides relief from the sun.  But this year, due to flooding on the Mississippi River, the trip was delayed until September.

St. Louis District river engineer Leonard Hopkins said, "One year we borrowed the enclosed barge from the Vicksburg District.  It was fully enclosed, with wonderful panoramic windows, air conditioning and flush toilets.  But when we were finished, everyone said they hated it.  They felt cut off from the river, its sounds, its smells, the wind.  So we've been outside ever since."

The environment is changing.  In the early days, participants were cut off from the rest of the world once the barge pulled away from the shore.  Today, cell phones and BlackBerries have several people wandering away to make calls or reply to e-mails.  But the serenity of the journey, where the pace is dictated largely by the scenery and the discussion topics pull most of them back into the group during carefully interjected breaks.

"You have to plan carefully," said trip coordinator Dawn Lamm, St. Louis District.  "There are meals, overnight accommodations, pick ups and drop offs to be arranged, lunches on the river and a steady stream of snacks and beverages to be planned and provided," she said.

But in the end, the ability of the barge to be slowed to discuss a specific site, or to hurry down the river, or to take a short side trip up the Illinois River because they are ahead of schedule, is what makes the event move forward without feeling pushed.

Every RRAT trip ends with a 'hot wash,' or After Action Review.  "What went right?  What went wrong?  What can we do better?" Brian Johnson asked.  "Next year we will go from St. Louis to the Ohio River," he reminded the group.  "If you have any ideas how to make the trip better we would love to hear them."

As RRAT 2008 participants reached St. Louis, they helped each other carry heavy luggage up the 40 steps from the river bank.  Many had made the RRAT trip together several times before, some  for years.  For some, though, it was their first trip.

But for all, RRAT spelled 'cooperation,' and they had become a talkative, sharing, collegial family.  Hand shakes, hugs and looks back to the river are final gestures for the year.   

Most will be back when Barge 53 sets sail next year from St. Louis.  The Mississippi River is, simultaneously, ever-changing and changeless.  For two days the RRAT group was part of it, and the feeling lingers long after the trip ends.

So do the results.

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X marks the spot. James Gracey, a forester with the Corps at Wappapello Lake, points out the evidence that this tree in the Old Greenville Historic Area is infested with the emerald ash borer. The invasive species leaves its tracks below the bark in the cambium layer of the tree. (Photo by Nicole Dalrymple)

Dec. 22, 2008

Emerald Ash Borer found at Wappapello Lake: Drawing the battle lines in Southeast Missouri

By Nicole Dalrymple
St. Louis District

Battle lines are being drawn in Southeast Missouri after the discovery of an emerald ash borer infestation at Wappapello Lake.  A multi-agency effort between local, state and federal agencies is in full swing to contain the spread of this invasive species, which has been found in nine other states and is threatening the ash tree population.
 
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an emerald-colored exotic beetle, native to Asia that was first confirmed in southeastern Michigan in 2002 but believed to have been there several years before.

Experts believe the bug arrived in crate or pallet material on a vessel that crossed the Pacific Ocean with commodities and wares for the American market.  The introduction of non-native species is one of the potential hazards associated with globalization and increased international trade. 

The EAB, not much larger than a thumbtack, deposits its eggs in the bark of ash trees.  Its larvae hatch and burrow through the bark, feeding on the underlying cambium, or living layer of the tree.  The larvae pupate over the winter, emerge as adult beetles in the spring, breed, fly to other ash trees, and start the cycle over again.  The life expectancy of an adult beetle is less than one month.

The beetles seek and attack trees already distressed by injury and drought.  The presence of the beetle is often revealed by the occurrence of D-shaped exit holes, the spot from which the adults have emerged in the spring and early summer. 

Another sign is S-shaped galleries revealed when bark with exit holes is peeled back.  These galleries are the aftermath of the larvae feasting on the cambium layer during the previous summer and fall.  The larvaes feeding activities sever the vessels that transport nutrients and water from the tree's roots to its crown. 

Thanks to environmental factors and natural resistances, the EABs destructiveness on the Asian ash population is limited.  In contrast, North American ash trees, which make up about 25 percent of the nation's eastern deciduous forests, have no similar resistance and are being killed by the millions.  More than 20 million ash trees are known to have already been killed in Michigan and Indiana alone.

James Gracey, a forester with the Corps at Wappapello, explained that there are four species of ash at the lake: white, blue, green and pumpkin.  "All four are naturally occurring in Missouri and all four are vulnerable to the EAB," he said. 

The EAB will attack and kill all 17 species of ash native to North America.   

"Ash is a very valuable wood," Gracey added.  "It is used for lumber and furniture and is very common in the southeast portion of Missouri, as well as throughout the Mississippi River valley." 

The discovery of the EAB at Wappapello Lake is the first citing in the State of Missouri and the first on Corps land within the Mississippi Valley Division.  The Great Lakes and Ohio River Division has confirmed that the EAB has been found at Corps lakes along the Wabash River, on land managed by the State of Indiana, and at Delaware Lake near Columbus, Ohio.  The EAB has also been found in Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. 
   
"It was certainly upsetting news to learn that the EAB was here," said Gary Stilts, Wappapello Lake operations manager.  "We like to be first in things but not something like this.  But it happened and we have it, and we'll do everything possible to stop it here." 

Based on a tree-ring study done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it appears that the EAB has been present at the Old Greenville location for 4-5 years, within a year of the confirmed finding in Michigan. 

Despite the length of infestation, the EAB appears to have remained relatively confined.  Infested trees have been found within a one-mile radius, approximately 120 acres, in and near the lake's Old Greenville historic area and campground.  Searches continue  for infested trees outside of this area. 

The lake is taking on an aggressive strategy of tree removal to hopefully stop the spread of the EAB and contain this infestation.  This has required permitting, special certifications and coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Missouri Historic Preservation Office.  
  
"We are attacking the problem on different levels and with several different strategies," Gracey explained.  "We will remove as many trees as possible before next spring and then continue efforts in the summer.  We won't be done in one year."

Because the EAB will attack ash trees ranging in size from 1-inch diameter to the largest in the forest, and the dense concentration of ash in the infected area, the impact could be the removal of hundreds of thousands of trees.

Unfortunately, tree removal is the only way to eradicate the EAB, Gracey explained, but the staff will work responsibly.  "Only ash trees are being targeted for removal," Gracey said.  "We will leave the other trees alone.  We don't want to remove trees that aren't vulnerable to the EAB."  

Containment and eradication is a team effort, drawing on the resources of the  Corps, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Agriculture and many state agencies, including the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Conservation. 

Gracey, who has been a forester for 26 years and leads the natural resources team at Wappapello, said he and his team are embracing a 'refuse to lose' moniker and are actively seeking ways to remove the trees at a low cost to the government and big benefit to the natural resource and those who enjoy it.

Gracey likened the infestation to having cancer.  "If you have cancer and go into remission, you always monitor and keep up with your check-ups," he said.  "When we think the EAB is gone and that we have been successful, we will continue to monitor, because it could always be reintroduced."

Additional steps being taken to help stop the spread and prevent additional infestation, include a federal and state quarantine on moving firewood out of Wayne County, Mo. 

Visitors to Wappapello Lake and to Missouri are also being urged to avoid bringing firewood in from outside of the state.  Transporting firewood is most likely the way EAB got to Wappapello Lake.  The suspected area of initial infestation is right next to a campsite. 

"The discovery of this highly destructive pest at a campground is a strong indication that it probably arrived in firewood," said Rob Lawrence, Missouri Department of Conservation forest entomologist.  "If people knew how devastating this insect can be, they would never consider bringing firewood from out of state."

Ongoing efforts in Missouri are being closely watched by neighboring states.  Gracey said that the ash tree population of northeast Arkansas forests is about 50 percent, much higher than that in Missouri.  "If the EAB is found in Arkansas it could have a devastating impact on the state's forests," he said.

"In reality, containing the EAB is going to be very difficult," Gracey conceded, "but we aren't going to give up without a fight.  I don't want to look back 10 to 15 years from now and wonder if we could have done more.  We are going to do everything possible, using all the resources we have available, to keep the infestation contained.   We are going to give 110 percent."

Visitors to Corps facilities are urged to refrain from bringing in firewood from other states, but to buy local wood and burn all firewood while on site.

For additional information visit:
http://www.emeraldashborer.info/
http://mdc.mo.gov/forest/features/firewood.htm