Natrona County Conservation District

"Locally-led Conservation of Water, Soil & Natural Resources"

Natrona County Conservation District
5880 Enterprise Drive, Suite 100
Casper, WY  82609
307-261-5436, Ext. 4

Natrona County has a semi-arid climate; water is an essential and limited resource. Our average annual precipitation is only 11.9 inches.

 

 

Protecting or improving water quality while simultaneously managing selenium migration sounds complicated; however, both employ many of the same techniques and easily adopted best practices for small acreage properties, farms and ranches.

 

 

Selenium migration can be reduced through water conservation. Using less irrigation water to maintain landscaping and crops means less selenium is transported from yards and fields through creeks and drainages to the river.

Select an irrigation water delivery system appropriate for your application to avoid flooding, erosion and runoff.

 

 

Water or irrigate less frequently for longer periods to reduce runoff and increase depth of water penetration.

 

 

Create or maintain a Riparian Buffer adjacent to surface water bodies to filter contaminates from surrounding runoff.
 

 

Protect water from excess nutrients and sedimentation. Do not allow animal access to streams, ponds, or other surface water bodies.

For some very helpful information on water conservation and water quality on small acreages, please visit the following links:

 

Small Acreage Management Water Resources - http://www.ext.colostate.edu/sam/water.html
 
Small Acreage Management Pasture/Land Management -  http://www.ext.colostate.edu/sam/pasture.html