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Watchful Citizens

“The salvation of the state is watchfulness in the citizen.” - Hartley Burr Alexander, 1922.

This quote by Hartley Burr Alexander is inscribed over the main entrance to the Nebraska State Capitol building. Honoring this sentiment, Nebraska Communities United (NCU) invites you to take part in a health-focused, agricultural and environmental initiative, The Watchful Citizen Program.

The Watchful Citizen program is designed to be the eyes and ears for grassroots Nebraska individuals and communities who have local CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) near their homes or place of business. Citizens who volunteer become part of a team that collects data regarding these CAFOs. Data collection will include noise and light pollution, road conditions, air quality and water testing.

The Watchful Citizen Program intends to promote public transparency in regard to industrialized ag companies, while holding them accountable to a sustainable standard.

NCU was founded in 2016 in response to the incursion of vertically integrated agriculture in Nebraska. For the past four years NCU has been educating citizens and farmers about regenerative farming strategies, and encouraging independent farming and ranching that is both profitable and ecologically responsible.

Randy Ruppert, President of Nebraska Communities United says, “An informed community is a strong community. These programs such as The Watchful Citizen and Citizen Scientist Water Testing, are designed to allow more Nebraskans to participate in the protection of our health, natural resources and communities.”

Citizen Scientists

A team of researchers at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln need the help of curious people like you.

The Citizen Scientist Program is a collaboration between the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and GC Resolve. Other participants include various High School Science and FFA Students, various organizations, and dozens of volunteer Citizen Scientists.

The reason we are testing private wells on farms is to give an opportunity for farm families and rural residents to increase awareness about rising contaminants in Eastern Nebraska, and to help improve their health by identifying potential contamination in drinking water supplies from excess nutrients.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?

The University of Nebraska Department of Civil Engineering will provide all testing materials to volunteers. Volunteers will measure the concentrations of key nutrients, nitrates, nitrites, and phosphates, using rapid test strips that provide accurate and reliable results in less than 1 minute. All volunteers will receive training (30 minutes) to ensure that they are comfortable with the tools provided.

The information that you collect will be sent to the University of Nebraska, by either mail or email, for analysis. Expert faculty and staff will answer questions and provide feedback to you on the levels of plant nutrients in the water that you tested. As a Citizen Scientist, you will be kept informed about the results of this program and alerted to future opportunities to improve your water resources.