Overview Water is a scarce resource, and getting more so. Both water quality and availability for different users are issues of major concern, even in the humid Southeastern United States.
Water is a primary requirement for many food production systems.
Even though rainfall is high in the Southeast, many crops are irrigated. Fruit and vegetable crops, for example, require irrigation for successful production on most farms in the region. These crops are critical to a healthy diet and the Southeast is a major supplier of fruits and vegetables not only for citizens in this region, but for the entire United States. In this module we will examine how human activities affect water quality, learn the basic steps in conducting biological assessments of water quality, and explore the issues involved in water use and quality at the local level. We may be able to do an actual biological assessment of water quality on our field trip.