Floating islands are increasingly popular as a way to provide attractive centerpieces in ponds while improving water quality.

From the shore, floating islands look like normal earthen islands covered in plants, but they are much more than that. They are hydroponic systems that, when fully colonized by growing plants, are essentially wetlands that float on the water’s surface and provide many of the same services as natural wetlands.

If you own one of the 160,000 ponds in Mississippi, chances are you have invested tremendous amounts of cash and time in this resource. Building a pond can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and fish stocking, liming, fertilization and weed control are not cheap either.

Salt marshes are coastal wetlands common throughout the globe and visible just about any time you drive over a bridge along the coast.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Summer brings many activities: swimming in pools, recreation in Mississippi’s waterways, washing vehicles after traveling down dirt roads, and irrigating millions of acres of gardens and fields. These and many other activities rely on abundant water.

Putting a dollar value on clean water is difficult. Everyone uses it in their daily lives for drinking and domestic needs, but we also use water through the products we consume. This hidden flow of water is less obvious, so it’s often given less attention when we talk about water conservation.

Practical actions that can reduce lead in drinking water are highlights of a recently concluded multistate project.