Global Water Watch, which is based in Auburn University’s International Center for Aquaculture and Aquatic Environments, received a $299,999 grant through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Program to work on livestock water quality protection issues in the U.S. and Mexico. The grant will be used for a project entitled “Fostering Environmental Stewardship of the Gulf of Mexico: A Trans-Boundary Network of Water Education and Monitoring for Animal Producers, Classrooms and Community Volunteers.” This three-year project is led by Bill Deutsch, research fellow in the Auburn University Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquaultures and director of Global Water Watch. Auburn University will be cooperating with the Institute of Ecology in Veracruz, Mexico.

The goal of the project is to work with agricultural producers in Alabama and in the Mexican state of Veracruz to help decrease impacts to the Gulf of Mexico by livestock production. In 2007, Alabama had more than 1 million head of cattle and produced more than 1 billion broiler chickens and 2 billion chicken eggs. In the same time period, Veracruz had approximately 5 million cattle, 1.2 million hogs and 600,000 goats as well as significant trout farming operations.

“The Mobile River Basin drains about 70 percent of Alabama and, by flow, is the fourth largest basin in the U.S. contributing 1,800 cubic meters per second to the Gulf. The state of Veracruz is primarily agricultural and has 25 percent of the gulf coast of Mexico with 500 miles of coastline,” Deutsch explained. “This project will benefit the Gulf of Mexico by reducing the impacts of livestock production related to excess nutrients, pathogens and sediment loads while providing customized management practices for each farm.” Workshops and site visits will be held in both states to emphasize the use of water quality best management practices and on-farm water monitoring to ensure those management practices are working.

To aid in water monitoring efforts, middle and high school students and community groups will become certified in water monitoring via several sessions held in Alabama and Veracruz. At least 20 students will become certified water monitors and gain increased knowledge on watershed protection and the importance of protecting the Gulf of Mexico. The Certified Water Monitors will be strategically chosen to provide coverage for watersheds that drain into the Gulf in both states. As an added bonus for Veracruz students, the very successful Exploring Alabama’s Living Streams curriculum will be translated into Spanish and adapted for Mexican waters.

Bryon Griffith, director of the Gulf of Mexico Program said, “I am extremely pleased with the quality and commitment to protecting the Gulf environment in the projects this year. Whether it is educating our youth about the coastal environment, decreasing nutrient loading to our estuaries or making better decisions concerning critical habitat, these projects move us closer to the kind of Gulf of Mexico we want our children and grandchildren to inherit.”

This grant is part of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Regional Partnership Projects and supports the Governors’ Action Plan. For more information about the Gulf of Mexico Program, visit www.epa.gov/gmpo