2018 ASHS Annual Conference

A feature of irrigation water quality and conservation topics is the breadth of issues that horticulture growers face, each requiring specific recommendations. This diversity in water issues creates an opportunity and challenge for education. One approach we have taken is to develop detailed and representative case studies, for example a southern California nursery where water conservation practices were detailed and a positive economic return could be shown on investment in equipment for runoff capture and treatment. The CleanWater3.org website has research report components typical of grant projects, but we have maximized impact of publications and presentations with a biweekly posting of new research outputs in an email newsletter using Mailchimp^TM, in addition to Facebook^TM updates.

Other notable features of CleanWater3.org include a modern tile appearance whereby each site visit cycles through a different set of highlighted solutions to water-related issues; an “Ask the Expert” function where questions are routed to the grant team and are turned into frequently-asked-question topics; and a training section that features upcoming face-to-face and online workshops. Interactive decision-support tools include Waterborne Solutions, which is a searchable database of research on efficacy of sanitizing technologies against plant pathogens; a WaterQC tool to interpret water test results such as ion levels and turbidity; and GroZone Tracker for organizing onsite monitoring soil testing data. With this social media and website presence, in 2018 we reached 2075 users per month.