U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2002





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 SWAT Team Targets Water Pollution By Don ComisOctober 7, 2002 Rivers and lakes throughout the United States and world are kept cleaner with the aid of a computer model called SWAT, for Soil and Water Assessment Tool. Whether it's the Great Salt Plains Lake of Oklahoma--a shallow, briny lake that's an important way station for migratory birds--the Joanes River watershed in Brazil, or the Rio Grande watershed that spans eight states and parts of Mexico, water quality managers rely on SWAT to reduce the flow of silt, fertilizers or toxic chemicals into waterways. Agricultural Research Service engineers Jeffrey G. Arnold and Kevin W. King and agronomist James R. Kiniry, all with the Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory in Temple, Texas, developed SWAT by assembling 30 years of ARS research data into an easy-to-use package. The key is an interactive color mapping software interface that enables managers to bring large, complex watersheds to life. The maps pinpoint hot spots likely to be important sources of water pollution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses the model to set allowable pollution limits for 20,000 streams it has found to have poor water quality. The SWAT model helps managers extend the life of reservoirs and cut their maintenance costs by reducing the amount of soil entering them. It has even been used in drought-stricken parts of Texas to increase streamflow by showing where to remove brush that was lowering water levels. The model helps reduce farming's effects on waterways, whether that impact comes from pesticides and fertilizers in runoff from wheat fields of Oklahoma and Kansas washing into tributaries that feed into the Great Salt Plains Lake reservoir, or from large livestock feedlots polluting rivers that flow into downstream drinking water reservoirs. Excessive nutrients from fertilizers or manure cause algal blooms in waterways--or can even deplete the water of oxygen. For more on the SWAT model, see the October issue of Agricultural Research magazine. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov