February 2021 - 15

IRRIGATION & WATER MANAGEMENT
Partnership develops Washington ag water website
By Karen Hunt
Washington State University
A growing number of fruit and
vegetable growers in the Columbia
Basin are working with researchers in
Washington State University (WSU)
Extension to find an easier way to track
and share data on water quality used for
crop irrigation.
" Measuring water quality is important,
because it lets growers know the
likelihood that the water they are
using might be contaminated with a
foodborne pathogen, " said Faith Critzer,
associate professor and produce safety
Extension specialist at the WSU Irrigated
Agriculture Research and Extension
Center in Prosser, Washington.
" By monitoring
water quality, we
can make educated
decisions about
risks tied to that
source, " Critzer
said.
Producers have
FAITH CRITZER
historically tested
their water several
times throughout
the growing season
to meet buyer requirements, but increased
testing requirements may be put in place
in the near future, based on current
requirements in the Food and Drug
Administration's Produce Safety Rule.
" The FDA has proposed to increase
testing frequency beyond what is
currently required for buyer audits, "
Critzer said. " This is an important
change, because it significantly
increases the cost for growers to
adhere to regulatory requirements. It is
important for us to determine if there
are economical ways we can share
agriculture water testing data and GPS
coordinates, building a hub to crowdsource
measurement data. Both Critzer and Reiss
worked with the students to refine the data
entry fields needed by growers, and how
the website should be designed.
" By presenting real-world problems to
our students, we provided an opportunity
to take theory and apply it to actual
industry needs, " Reiss said.
In April 2020, students worked with
Producers have historically tested their water several times throughout the growing season to
meet buyer requirements, but increased testing requirements may be put in place in the near
future, based on current requirements in the Food and Drug Administration's Produce Safety
Rule. Photos: Washington State University
data that is already being collected, and
provide better coverage for the network as
a whole. "
Critzer teaches standardized curriculum
that explains key regulatory requirements
of the FDA Produce Safety Rule. During
one of her classes, growers aired their
desire to have a better way to share
information on irrigation water with
others who are also pulling from the same
water source, using a digital platform.
Water quality can change very quickly.
Through a collective testing approach, the
group as a whole can benefit from access
to more data to help drive daily decisions.
After identifying the need for a
platform, Critzer connected with
Tiffany Reiss, program developer
in WSU's Innovation and Research
Engagement Office (IREO). IREO's
Extension, Engagement and Education
(E3) program is a collaboration
between IREO, WSU Extension, the
College of Arts and Sciences, and the
Center for Civic Engagement to help
identify researchers and courses that
best fit industry and community partner
problems and projects.
All WSU undergraduate students are
required to take a capstone course that
puts their education into practice. There
is a constant demand for projects for
these courses that
students can tackle.
The E3 program
matches courses
with external
projects.
" Through the
E3 program, I
matched Faith's
identified need
with students in the
Voiland College of
Engineering and Architecture working
on a computer science capstone project, "
said Reiss.
Working with Critzer and technology
mentor Matt Johnson, a 2019 WSU
computer science graduate, the seniors
developed an idea for a website that
growers and farmers can use to log
growers to test a beta version of the
website and find out if the application met
growers' needs. Growers provided students
with feedback on features that could be
included in future versions of the website.
The growers agreed the website would be a
great tool for data collection.
While Critzer sees the need for
additional FDA guidance on the
Produce Safety Rule before further
implementation of the tool, she is already
planning to work with future capstone
classes to build on the progress made by
this first cohort of seniors.
Reiss says that by working to bridge
the gap between problems identified by
industry and community stakeholders
and research conducted by WSU faculty
and students, we will be able to solve more
problems together.
" You can't solve a problem if you don't
TIFFANY REISS
know what the problem is, " Reiss said. " By
partnering with industry and community
partners, we have the opportunity to use
our research expertise and student talent to
solve issues that we might not otherwise be
able to address. "
" This project, and working with the
senior capstone class, was a great marriage
between identifying a need with the
technical expertise to develop a solution, "
Critzer said. " Our students can be proud of
the end product, and the growers are eager
to see it come to fruition. " VGN
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February 2021

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