Local Water Quality and Watersheds Raccoon River & Des ......Raccoon River Nitrate Raccoon River...

Local Water Quality and Watersheds

Raccoon River & Des Moines River

Watersheds

Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico: Implications and

Strategies for Iowa

October 16, 2008

Ames, Iowa

Chris Jones and Roger Wolf

Finished Water Nitrate: Fleur Drive

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Fleur Drive Plant Finished Water Nitrate-N

1958: 1st year

over 1 mg/L

1969: 1st year

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1979: problem emerges,

8.2 mg/L average

1992: Removal

begins1999: Maffitt

Raccoon River NitrateRaccoon River Ave Monthly Concentration 1974-2007

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Des Moines River NitrateDes Moines River Average Monthly Nitrate-N 1974-2007

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Ion Exchange Nitrate Removal

What to do?

• Non-point source origins

• No stream standards

• No nutrient criteria

• No comprehensive plan to address

• Source water impairment

• Data upstream lacking

History DMWW – ACWA Collaboration

• DMWW Initiated Water Sampling Program in 1999 with

EPA grant

• Ag retailers and service providers in the Raccoon River

watershed meet with DMWW

• Organized ACWA as 501c3 in 2000

• In 2008 expanded membership into Des Moines River

watershed.

• Sell and apply most of the nutrients used on cropland in

the watersheds.

History ACWA• Mission: To reduce the nutrient loss – specifically nitrate – from

farm fields and to keep the nutrients from entering the Raccoon

and Des Moines River’s and connecting tributaries

• Annual assessment based on amount of Nitrogen fertilizer sold

previous year for application in watersheds

• Funding supports annual work plan approved by ACWA Board

• ACWA management is provided under contract with Association

Insight a subsidiary of Iowa Soybean Association

ACWA Objectives

• Be credible source of data regarding

nutrients entering the rivers.

• Establish ACWA as a bridge between

science and its application on the

land.

• Apply “best management practices” to

encourage

– Sound economics

– Strong environmental stewardship

• To know:

– the condition of the watershed

– characterization of the

problems and priorities – i.e..

location, extent, pathway, fate

– if strategies are effective

• We need:

– action based on what we learn

– dependable, systematic,

credible and responsive

monitoring and surveillance

Objectives ACWA –

DMWW Collaboration

Types of Monitoring• Refined Ambient / Certified Sampling

– Nitrate and Bacteria

• Real-time Remote Monitoring

• Investigative Monitoring

– Ammonia

– Cyanobacteria

• Effectiveness and Special Project Monitoring

– Bioreactors

– Event-triggered monitoring

– Paired micro-watershed studies (Lyons Creek)

– PPCPs

What Did We Uncover?

What did we uncover?

Watersheds with resource concerns:

• Outlet Creek

• Elk Run Creek

• Brushy Creek

• West Buttrick Creek

• Boone River

Real Time Monitoring

Probe

VM Nitrate vs SRR flow and NRR flow

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South Raccoon North Raccoon VM Nitrate

What Actions Did We Take?

• Targeted watershed projects

• Special projects

Brushy Creek

• Two year study of Bacteria sources/fate/transport

with Des Moines Water Works and the IDNR

• Contract with Iowa Soybean Association

• Sampling during flow events. 10 – 15 samples

per week

• Identified hotspots and site specific problems

• Led to local meetings and additional focus for

targeted solutions

• Also illustrated significant challenges with

understanding sources and in-stream dynamics

• DMWW leads WIRB grant approved 2008

• Will work with multiple local partners

Iowa Soybean Association Environmental Programs

• Objective: Advance agricultural leadership for environmental quality by developing, applying, and promoting programs that assist producers to perform agronomically and economically.

West Buttrick Creek

Actions taken –1) Cooperative project initiated with public and

private partners

2) Completion of Area Wide Plan; implementation of water monitoring plan

3) NRCS programs - additional funding provided for 50 individual nutrient and pests mgmt. plans, RMS planning

4) ISA mgmt. evaluation (guided stalk sampling & strip trials since 2002).

West Buttrick Creek

Resource concern -1) Water quality (nitrate, pesticide,

livestock runoff, lack of nutrient and pest mgmt. plans)

2) Soil quality (sheet, gully, and streambank erosion)

Response –

1) Greene SWCD / NRCS - 50+ nutrient mgmt.

plans; 65+ pest mgmt. plans; 50+ RMS

plans

2) ISA has worked with 50+ growers (approx.

2/3 of watershed) on mgmt. evaluation

3) Farmers fine tuning nutrient management

beyond recommendations

West Buttrick Creek

Status / outlook1) Area Wide plan implemented – ready for

update

2) Nitrate reductions observed, but could be

weather related

3) Additional mgmt and conservation efforts are

needed beyond just nutrient mgmt.

4) IDALS – Greene SWCD /NRCS installed

CREP wetland in 2007

5) ACWA and Sand County Foundation

supported Bioreactor installation in 2008 –

effectiveness monitoring underway

West Buttrick Creek

Boone River Watershed

Water Monitoring

• Multi-partnership effort

• 30 Sampling locations; HUC 12 Scale

• Nutrients and Bacteria

• Target “hot spots” – Priority watersheds

• Establish baseline; target priority issues

• Roll water monitoring into ACWA DSM River

water monitoring

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Boone River: Priority Sub Watershed

ISA Nitrogen management evaluation:

2004 corn stalk sampling – 28 growers; 245

samples collected

2005 corn stalk sampling – 31 growers; 318

samples collected

33 On-Farm demo trials (commercial & manure)

2006 corn stalk sampling – 55 growers; 440

samples collected

50+ On-Farm demonstration trials

2007 corn stalk sampling – 56 growers; 466

samples collected

Watershed Planning & Implementation –Multi-partnership effort; sub-watersheds identified

(Prairie Rivers RC&D, Hamilton SWCD, TNC,

CARD, ISU)

Funding – USEPA, Altria, Pioneer, Soybean

Checkoff, Leopold Center, ACWA, IDALS, DNR

2006 Corn Stalk Nitrate Analysis (Boone River) :

Comparison Between Growers

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Stalk Samples

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Boone River – Rapid Watershed Assessment

Make Decisions5. Develop alternatives6. Evaluate alternatives

7. Make decisions

Know the Planning Area1. Identify resource concerns

2. Determine objectives

3. Conduct inventories

4. Analyze resource data

Implement &

Evaluate8. Implement the plan9. Evaluate the plan

Phase I

Phase IIIPhase II

Planning Process - Area Wide Plans;

Watershed Assessments - Action

• Boone River RWA &

TNC’s Conservation Action

Plan

• Lyons Creek – Paired

Watershed Study

• ISA Conservation

Innovation Grant

• Proposal to conduct

Market-based feasibility

study

Lyons Creek Paired Watershed Study

• 600 – 1,100 acres

• Two treatment; one control

• Calibration – year 1

• Partnering with TNC, Iowa GSB, others

Lyons Creek Paired Watershed Study

• Collaborating with UHL

• Better understand nutrient dynamics in tile

drainage system

• Evaluate effectiveness of conservation

practices to reduce non-point source loads

• Existing drainage districts

• Working relationship with landowners;

willingness to implement

• Management change – nutrient management,

cover crops, strip tillage, other

• Multiple years

• Multiple grants to support

Nitrate not the only problem

Thank You

Discussion / Questions