Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2017AR399B

Herbicide Mitigation Potential of Tailwater Recovery Systems in the Cache River Critical Groundwater Area

Institute: Arkansas
Year Established: 2017 Start Date: 2017-03-01 End Date: 2018-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $25,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $51,350

Principal Investigators: Cammy Willett, Deborah Leslie

Project Summary: In response to water supply concerns, farmers are constructing on-farm reservoir-tailwater recovery systems to reduce their reliance on groundwater in Arkansas's Cache River Critical Groundwater Area. However, the mitigation potential of these systems to remove herbicides from the recycled water has not been assessed. The objective of the proposed research is to evaluate the ability of the tailwater recovery systems to remove residual herbicides for the purposes of reapplication to fields during the production months and for injection into groundwater infiltration galleries during the off-season months. To accomplish this goal, six tailwater recovery systems in the Jonesboro, AR area will be sampled and analyzed for herbicide concentration at two week intervals from March through January. Samples will be analyzed at the University of Arkasnas using GC/MS, HPLC/UV-Vis, and ELISA kits. The project will support early career faculty , train graduate students, result in peer-reviewed publications, provide information for stakeholders, and facilitate collaboration between the University of Arkansas, Arkansas State University, and the Delta Water Management Research Unit of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.