For example, a recent study suggested between the exposure of kids in the womb to organophospate pesticides and ADHD. More information about kids' health and pesticides is here.

But how useful is a sign that tells you to keep off a lawn until it's dry?  Does that mean dry to the touch of a grass blade or dry down to the soil?  It might make more sense to say 24 or 48 hours from the time of application, for example.

Here's what Minnesota law requires be on the sign:

“this area chemically treated. Keep children and pets off until ___ (date of safe entry)”, or a universally accepted symbol and text approved by the Commissioner that is recognized as having the same meaning or intent as specifed in this paragraph.  The warning sign may include the name of the pesticide used. "

With school back in session, it's important for parents to know that state law requires all parents to be notified by September 15 if the school plans to apply certain pesticides during the school year.  Under the law, parents can also register to be notified before individual applications if they differ from the schedule provided in the initial notice.

Dave Dempsey is communications director for Conservation Minnesota.

A perennial state-level competitor in the Canon Envirothon, Rushford-Peterson High School placed first in Minnesota and third in the 2010 national competition, in which more than 500,000 students from North America participated.

The Rushford-Peterson High School team placed third in a national environmental science contest.

The high school has approximately 600 students, and 10 formed the initial team.

The small community of Rushford, hit hard by severe flooding in August 2007, rallied around the Envirothon team as a source of pride, said advisor Craig Colbenson, a veteran environmental science teacher at the high school.  While the state of Minnesota contributed $2800, local individuals and businesses contributed the balance needed for travel and other expenses.  The national six-day final took place in Fresno, California.  Students from 45 states and nine Canadian provinces competed in the event.

“It’s part of the healing process,” Colbenson said, referring to the catastrophic flooding.

“I’ve had little old ladies stop me on the street and give me a couple of dollars.  One lady gave me a $100 check,” he said.  The floods of 2007 had destroyed her house.

Foresters, soil scientists, wildlife specialist and other natural resource professionals test the team’s knowledge.  A panel of judges receives an oral presentation from each team, containing recommendations for that year’s challenge. Before the presentation, each team receives a problem, retreats to a room for 24 hours and analyzes and solves it.

This year’s final topic was the protection of groundwater through urban, agricultural and environmental planning.  Colbenson said the issue is of particular importance in southeast Minnesota because of significant nitrate contamination of groundwater there.

By finishing third, the Rushford team won $15,000 in scholarships, divided equally among the five students sent to Fresno. The students were 2010 graduates Danielle Christian, Levi Brown, Carl Schiltz, Kevin O'Donnell, and Steven Koenen.

Teams competed for a share of more than $125,000 in educational scholarships and Canon products.

Since the late 1990s, Rushford-Peterson teams have won the Minnesota state competition six times, finished second three times, and finished third once.  “I’m a firm believer that success breeds success,” Colbenson added.

Minnesota soil and water conservation districts help organize eight regional competitions, with qualifying teams moving on to the state level.

The Rushford-Peterson district performs well in other competitions.  Students scored above state average on 13 of 14 assessments on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment II (MCA-II). 

Not long ago I had the opportunity to attend an impressive show produced by the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater. The performance titled “Water, Water Everywhere” was held at the Trollwood Arts Center on the outskirts of Moorhead.

As I’ve mentioned before, I sit on the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership Board and at the end of our last meeting the Board attended the show together. The theme fit perfectly with our commitment to sustainability.

Kristin Eggerling

We had allocated some of the funding for the two-week residency that culminated in the two performances in Moorhead. However, most of the funding came from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund which originated from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy amendment.

Sitting at the show, it occurred to me that this was a perfect example of what the Legacy funds are all about. More like a community workshop, the residency and show combined the arts with environmental education and history, and provided an opportunity for a healthy discussion about water, especially flooding.

Beyond the discussion, the show was meant to educate the participants and the public. The focus was on water and its role in our lives, especially for people who live close to the Red River, and the issues covered included bottled water use, water quality, flooding, water conservation and recreation, mosquitoes and more.

An element of history included telling the story of Robert Asp of Moorhead who wanted to build and sail a Viking ship to Norway in the early 1970s. He gathered lumber from northwestern Minnesota to construct his ship called the Hjemkomst. In 1980 the ship was transported to Duluth for a trial run. A short time later, Robert Asp died but his children and others were committed to following through with their father’s dream and they successfully sailed the ship to Norway. I’d heard of the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead but I had no idea what it was all about.

I’ve always enjoyed the Heart of the Beast Theater at the May Day Parade in Minneapolis and once again, they didn’t disappoint. The performers aged from the very young (6 months old) to the elderly. Participants helped write the script, created the puppets and performed on stage. The show took place outdoors at an amphitheater while dark, threatening clouds hovered over us. When the scene “Rain Rain” began it seemed that we might be immersed in a rain shower to get the full effect, but surprisingly the bad weather held off.  It was a powerful experience. If you get the opportunity to participate in a similar residency or attend a show I urge you to go – you won’t be disappointed.

Kristin Eggerling lives with her family in the far northwest corner of Minnesota in Hallock. She currently serves on a number of local, regional and state boards and works as a freelance writer.

What is the easiest, most cost-effective way to maintain significant water resources in our state?  Conservation.  Before you sigh and ask me to stop being the green police, hear me out.  I realize water has many beneficial uses and I use it every day – personal hygiene and basic household uses are high on my priority list.   But many things we do with treated drinking water can be a little silly.

The costs associated with transporting, treating, and discharging wastewater are significant.  Cities and government entities may be seeking new ways to reduce their infrastructure need and associated capitol costs while at the same time providing quality drinking water to their residents.  It is their job to provide drinking water for many decades to come.   

One particular practice that I see as wasteful is the dedicated practice of excessively watering our lawns.   I’ve spent plenty of time watering plants and trees at a garden center, because as we all know - living things need water.   But how much?  There is now technology that some cities are requiring for there to be automatic sensors installed with underground sprinkling systems.  Ground sensors measure the moisture in the soil and decide if the lawn really needs water.  How many times have you seen sprinklers going off when it is pouring rain?   That is unnecessary and pretty wasteful.   

While lawn sprinkling may seem like a drop in the bucket for all of our treated drinking water uses, think of how many houses with lawns there are in this state.  My family is guilty too.  I just remind myself, in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter if every inch of my lawn is perfectly green?   Some don’t even have access to clean drinking water, and here we are, watering grass every day.

Other ways that municipalities promote water conservation include odd-even address watering restrictions, or sometimes banning lawn watering altogether.  Some easy end of summer outdoor water-saving tips for homeowners and businesses:

• Only water when necessary, morning and evenings are best.  Watering mid-day loses the most to evaporation.
• Only water your lawns, don’t set the sprinklers so they also hit your driveway or sidewalk if you can help it. This water sheets right off into the storm drain or ditch… completely wasted.
• Get a shutoff nozzle for your hose.
• If you are really daring, try an alternative lawn with native grasses or a rain garden to help collect excess water.   Fall is a perfect time to plant.
• Harvest rain water or set up a greywater system for lawn and landscaping irrigation purposes.
• Ask your city what else you can be doing on your property, and ask them to conserve water too in parks, at city hall, and other city properties.

Thirty-eight years ago, the nation got its first major anti-water pollution law, the Clean Water Act.  It was one of those cases where government worked.  Many rivers and lakes became noticeably cleaner and less noticeably, harbored fewer toxic chemicals.  Sport fisheries and summer recreation rebounded.  That was as true in Minnesota as anywhere in the U.S.

But now the signs are mixed, and in some cases, they’re warnings, not rewards.

Take a look at a few recent Minnesota developments:

*Unusually early and abundant algae blooms have appeared in Minnesota lakes this summer, a result in part of urban and farm phosphorus runoff.

* When monitoring of Lake Superior beaches finally resumed this month (the tail end of the swimming season), warnings went up almost immediately in three places in Duluth.

*  Aquatic invasive species continue leaping from lake to lake.  Some of them promote murkier waters.

*  State rules to guard the quality of our inland lakes by limiting destructive development of homes, docks and other structures have stalled even as the evidence of their harm mounts.

This complacency and procrastination is ill-advised.

Then there are the water quality issues beyond one community’s or one state’s control – more frequent and higher-volume flooding that unleashes silt and sewage, mercury and other chemicals that travel here through the atmosphere from faraway places, and climate change, for which evidence is mounting.  

And then there’s the structure of the Clean Water Act itself, which increasingly appears antiquated.  It handled the challenges of 1972 well, but it’s not equipped to handle those we now face.  For example, it ties up state bureaucracies in seemingly endless assessment and plan development for cleanup of runoff rather than getting things done right away.  But thanks to Washington’s issues overload and gridlock, don’t expect the law to change.

Here's what U.S. EPA admitted last week in unveiling a new water strategy: "Despite our best efforts and many local successes, our aquatic ecosystems are declining nationwide." 

Yes, we’re lucky that Minnesota voters approved almost $100 million per year in new water cleanup through the 2008 Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. We’re lucky that more citizen volunteers than ever are helping monitor and restore our waters. 

But it’s going to be one step forward, one step back until we streamline governmental and business cleanup processes, and deal with our own individual role in pollution.  Even as simple a thing as driveway car washes and dog droppings running into storm sewers, multiplied hundreds of thousands of times, can exacerbate water pollution.

Are we ready to shoulder our share of the burden?

Dave Dempsey is communications director for Conservation Minnesota.

With funds from the environmentally-dedicated sales tax, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has launched the program to help livestock producers take the initiative on a non-regulatory basis to evaluate water quality issues and implement appropriate practices.

More here.