Clean WateR3 is a federally funded Specialty Crops Research Initiative grant focused on research and outreach to help growers Reduce, Remediate and Recycle irrigation water. The grant team is managed by Dr. Sarah White at Clemson University and includes many research collaborators. We also collaborate with a number of industry partners and sponsors.
Clean WateR3 welcomes and encourages participation from other organizations and researchers. If you have general questions or comments about water quality, technologies, or monitoring, we would like to hear from you at watereducation@ifas.ufl.edu.
Troughs collect runoff for reuse
Growers recognize the need to conserve water and reduce runoff, but changes to water management can be risky. We aim to support nursery and greenhouse growers with research and information.
Clean WateR3 - Reduce, Remediate, Recycle
Our projects focus on developing sustainable remediation technologies to encourage use of alternative water resources, especially recycled irrigation runoff, to decrease dependence on potable water, and enhance long-term economic viability. This is possible thanks to an award from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative, and the involvement of 22 researchers in 9 universities. The objectives of this project are to:
Clean WateR3 strives to provide growers with the information they need to manage irrigation water effectively. We appreciate your input. If you have any resources you would like to see posted on our site, or if you have questions about water management or about our program, please contact us.
Our collaborators include university and industry colleagues who are undertaking research on water treatment and management.
School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences
Clemson University
E-143 Poole Agricultural Center, PO Box 340319
Clemson, SC 29634
p: (864) 656-7433
Sarah, WateR3 project director, will evaluate remediation technologies targeting nutrient and pathogen contaminants.
Environmental Horticulture Department
University of Florida
2549 Fifield Hall, PO Box 110670
Gainesville FL 32611-0670
p: 352 273 4581
f: 352 392 3870
Paul leads outreach efforts for WateR3 and the Water Education Alliance for Horticulture, and undertaking research on filtration and chemical remediation.
South Coast Research & Extension Center
University of California
7601 Irvine Blvd.
Irvine, CA 92618
p: (949) 653-1814
Darren will manage the collection of water samples in Southern California, and assist in developing and delivering workshops.
Department of Plant Sciences
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue 1110 Env Hort
Davis, CA 95616-8587
p: (530) 754-4135
Lorence studies irrigation and runoff management in nurseries, and effect of water quality on plant growth.
Altman Specialty Plants, Inc.
3742 Blue Bird Canyon Road
Vista CA 92084
Plant Science and Landscape Architecture
University of Connecticut
1376 Storrs Rd.
Storrs,CT 06269
p: 860 486 6043
Rosa is interested in improving water management in the green industry, specially in closed irrigation systems.
Environmental Horticulture Department
University of Florida
2549 Fifield Hall, PO Box 110670
Gainesville FL 32611-0670
p: 352 273 4581
f: 352 392 3870
Paul leads outreach efforts for WateR3 and the Water Education Alliance for Horticulture, and undertaking research on filtration and chemical remediation.
Department of Agricultural Education and Communication
University of Florida
117 Bryant Hall, PO Box 112060
Gainesville, FL 32611
p: (352) 273-0202
Laura is part of the sociology team conducting grower perceptions research that will guide Extension materials development.
Soil and Water Science Department
University of Florida
2181 McCarty Hall A, PO BOX 110290
Gainesville, FL 32611-0290
p: (352) 294-3151
Chris will evaluate the efficacy of using a treatment train bioreactor system to manipulate oxidation-reduction potentials to target removal of both nitrogen and phosphorus from production runoff.
Plant Pathology
University of Florida
p: (352) 392-3631 x 340
Phil provides expertise on the biology of pathogens found in greenhouse water, helping to author the Alliance's article on pathogen biology in GMPro.
Environmental Horticulture Department
University of Florida
1533 Fifield Hall, PO Box 110670
Gainesville, FL 32611-0670
p: (352) 273-4522
Maria will undertake research on filtration and chemical remediation, and aid with extension activities including this website.
Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication
University of Georgia
132 Four Towers, 405 College Station Road
Athens, GA 30602
p: (706) 542-5598
Alexa will be using social science research techniques to identify specific factors that influence growers' decision making, which will guide Extension materials development.
Department of Horticulture
University of Kentucky
N-308F Agri. Science Center
Lexington, KY 40546-0091
p: (859) 257-8903
Dewayne specializes in water footprint and carbon footprint of water for the model production system components using life cycle assessment.
Plant Science & Landscape Architecture
University of Maryland
2120 Plant Sciences Building
College Park, MD 20742
p: (301) 405-4323
John will focus on water and nutrient management to reduce contaminant loading into recycled water systems.
Plant Science & Landscape Architecture
University of Maryland
124 Wye Narrows Drive
Queenstown, MD 21658-0169
p: (410) 827-8056 x 113
Andrew research focus is water and nutrient management in production of container-grown ornamentals.
Plant Science & Landscape Architecture
University of Maryland
2106 Plant Sciences Building
College Park, MD 20742-4452
p: (301) 405-5586
Cassandra will focus on management of latent Phytophthora infections in nursery stock through microsensor-mediated irrigation.
p: 413-545-1045
Rob is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts where he supervises the diagnostic laboratory. With a research focus on plant bacterial and fungal diseases, Rob provides expertise in understanding the biology of pathogens found in irrigation water. He has helped author Alliance articles in GMPro magazine.
Technical Support Manager
Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supplies
Rick is the Technical Support Manager at Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery Supplies. He has been very generous in providing his expertise on chlorine dioxide to the Alliance, helping us both in the planning of workshops and the preparation of articles for GMPro.
Dept. of Horticulture
Michigan State University
1066 Bogue St.
East Lansing, MI 48824-1325
p: (517) 355-5191 x 1346
Bridget will conduct consumer research to better understand how plant consumers will react to marketing and merchandising that includes information about a plant’s water use in production and in the landscape.
Dept. of Horticulture
Michigan State University
A214 Plant & Soil Sciences Building
East Lansing MI 48824-1325
p: (517) 355-5191 x 1335
Bert is investigating the effects of recycled and remediated water on plant growth, quality and physiology.
Department of Horticulture
Michigan State University
A216 Plant & Soil Science Building
East Lansing, MI 48824-1325
p: (517) 355-5191 x 1336
Thomas will develop a model to manage nutrient and pathogen loads in irrigation runoff, and evaluate water treatment technologies.
Bill is a Technical Manager at Blackmore with an interest in plant nutrition, media, and water. Bill helped author the Alliance's first article in GMPro magazine, and is helping to coordinate upcoming Alliance workshops in the northeast.
Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics
Rutgers University
55 Dudley Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
p: (848) 932-9130
Robin will focus on the economic analysis of water recycling strategies and developing the economic components of a decision making tool for medium size nursery businesses.
Application Technology Research Unit
USDA-ARS
1680 Madison Ave., 215A Williams Hall
Wooster
p: (757) 374-8153
Jim will evaluate treatment technologies for remediation of total suspended solids and mineral nutrients under controlled conditions and in commercial ornamental nurseries.
Department of Environmental Biology
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
Canada
p: 519- 824-4120 Ext. 52741
An Adjunct Professor at the University of Guelph (Canada), Youbin conducts research on many aspects of greenhouse production, including water disinfestation technologies. Youbin will be an author on several of the Alliance's articles in GMPro magazine.
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
p: (541) 737-8170
Jennifer conducts research on management of Phytophthora spp. in nurseries.
Monrovia
13455 SE Lafayette Hwy
Dayton OR 97114
Walter is the Technical Services Manager at Monrovia’s nursery in Dayton Oregon. In this role he oversees irrigation, fertility and pest management, as well as environmental issues.
School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences
Clemson University
E-143 Poole Agricultural Center, PO Box 340319
Clemson, SC 29634
p: (864) 656-7433
Sarah, WateR3 project director, will evaluate remediation technologies targeting nutrient and pathogen contaminants.
School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences
Clemson University
P.O. Box 596
Georgetown, SC 29442-0596
p: (843) 546-1013 x 236
Dan leads the nursery operation modeling and water management system simulation team.
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
2133 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-2133
p: (979) 458-3277
Charlie will focus on the economic analysis of water management strategies and assess the economics of developed models.
Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Virginia Tech
1444 Diamond Springs Rd
Virginia Beach, VA 23455-3315
p: (757) 363-3807
Laurie will assist with coordinating and overseeing the floating Treatment Wetland research in Virginia.
Virginia Tech
p: (703) 361-5606 x 137
Saurav will assist in development and deployment of the online decision support tool to aid growers of containerized crop production systems and also assist in implementing the data management plan for the project.
Department of Biological Systems Engineering
Virginia Tech
1444 Diamond Springs Rd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
p: (757) 363-3835
David will assist in the development of a decision support tool to manage nutrient, carbon, water, and monetary flows in nurseries and conduct a research study on the effectiveness of floating wetlands for treatment of nursery runoff.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Dr. Hong's research program focuses on biology and management of plant pathogens in irrigation water. He has lent his expertise to the Alliance's GMPro articles on chlorination, and his knowledge of Pythium and Phythopthora is an asset to the group.
* Clean WateR3 project member
* Collaborator
Our Advisory Board are industry leaders who will help our Team assess water treatment technologies and evaluate project progression.
Altman Specialty Plants, Inc.
3742 Blue Bird Canyon Road
Vista CA 92084
Monrovia
13455 SE Lafayette Hwy
Dayton OR 97114
Walter is the Technical Services Manager at Monrovia’s nursery in Dayton Oregon. In this role he oversees irrigation, fertility and pest management, as well as environmental issues.
CleanWateR3 is supported by several grant-funded projects and contributions from our industry sponsors.
If you are interested in contributing to this program, please contact Paul Fisher at pfisher@ufl.edu.
If you have questions or comments about water quality, technologies, or monitoring, we would like to hear from you.
We also encourage inquiries from other organizations and researchers interested in participating in this program.
Please send us a message at watereducation@ifas.ufl.edu.
