Grower hands-on workshops focus on water treatment

The Water Education Alliance will be hosting two Water Treatment and Recycling Workshops on Jan. 21 and Jan. 28-29. The Jan. 21 workshop will be conducted at Van Vugt Greenhouses in Pompton Plains, N.J. Educational sessions will cover: biology of water borne pathogens; water quality from a nutrition standpoint; water treatment equipment (copper, ozone, injectors and nutritional water quality) and oxidizing materials (sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, chlorine gas and activated peroxygen). Preregistration cost is $20 by Jan. 7 and $40 after that date. OFA members receive a 10% discount.

The Jan. 28-29 workshop will be conducted at the Center for Applied Horticultural Research at Altman Plants in Vista, Calif. Educational sessions will cover: plant pathogens in water systems; the benefits of slow sand filtration; water technologies for ornamental plant production; water testing equipment; water retention, capture and treatment; water quality and treatment from a plant nutrition viewpoint. This workshop will also include a tour of several production facilities to view how California growers have retrofitted their operations to capture irrigation water, filter, treat and reuse water. Preregistration cost is $250 before Jan. 14 and $295 after that date.