The Corsica River Project ~A Five Year Update~ Monitoring from the Field to the Estuary LID/NPS Conference Philadelphia

Transcription

1 The Corsica River Project ~A Five Year Update~ Monitoring from the Field to the Estuary 2011 LID/NPS Conference Philadelphia

2 The Corsica River Watershed t

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4 Nutrient Loads by Land Use (MDE 2000)

5 809 Septic systems in the watershed 160 of these are adjacent to tidal waters

6 Onsite Sewage Disposal System (OSDS) Study Monthly monitoring of the groundwater associated with septic systems at 6 locations 3 existing homes 1 vacant lot 1 forested control 1 Ag field converted to recreational ball fields All homes were initially supposed to upgrade to denitrifying units, however only one home actually completed the installation of a denitrifying system.

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8 Average Total Disoveld Nitrogen (TDN) Pre-implementation ~vs.~ Post-implementation Average TDN mg/l Upgradient Drainfield 1 Drainfield 2 Down Gradient 1 Down Gradient 2 Pre Post Well ID

9 Things that need to be considered Lots of varibality within and between data sets Subsurface geology (clay lenses and preferential flow paths) Upgrade efficiencies are calculated under controlled environments Seasonal variables and groundwater elevation fluxes Dilution factors and travel time

10 Rain Gardens Intense effort from Corsica River Association members in promoting this program. Approximately 250 rain gardens and a substantial number (trailer loads) of rain barrels ~70 slated to be installed in May be one of the highest densities in the nation (besides Puget Sound, WA)

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16 Wooded Wetland Stormwater Retrofit Storm water retention and infiltration 1 st pool is sacrificial and has accumulated substantial amounts of sediment, organic matter and sand/gravel

17 Corsica Synoptics Conducted Spring and Fall Sampling consists of: Nutrient Analysis (TN/TP, NO 2 + NO 3, NH 4+, PO 4 3 ) Flow Measurements In situ measurements (D.O., Conductivity, ph, temperature) Quick and relatively inexpensive for the information provided Tracking land use changes/impacts Potential targeting tool for BMP implementation

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25 Corsica River Watershed Cover Crop Acreage by Year

26 Spring corn average ( cm) 40 Rootzone nitrate-n (kg/ha) corn-fallow corn-ccbarley corn-ccrye corn-ccwheat Crop sequence

27 Corsica Watershed TBB GVL OMS

28 TBB - Four Year Nutrient Loading TN (lbs) TP (lbs.) SQRT Flow Nutrient ( lbs.) / Flow (liters) Year

29 GVL - Four Year Nutrient Loading TN Load TP Load SQRT Flow Loading in lbs. / Flow in Liters Year

30 OMS - Four Year Loading Data TN Load TP Load SQRT Flow Laoding in lbs./ Flow in liters Year

31 Nutrient Loads from Tributaries to Corsica River Year Sub Watershed TN (lbs) TP (lbs) 2007 Old Mill Stream Gravel Run Three Bridges Old Mill Stream Gravel Run Three Bridges Old Mill Stream Gravel Run Three Bridges Old Mill Stream Gravel Run Three Bridges

32 DIN Transport in 3-Box Model (kg d -1 ) Nonpoint 92.5 Precip 2.1 Non-point 22.8 Box Box Box Net Flux Output (-100.6) 4.6 (-43.9) 12.4 (-28.1) 17.3 Point Non- Advective Corsica River Chester River

33 Chlorophyll a 50% reduction in Nitrogen loading would result in a 70% reduction in summer chlorophyll and a 75% increase in water clarity. This reduction would also yield a 95%/60% increase in areas that could support benthic algae and SAV respectively. Reducing the number of hypoxic hours by 80%. Tipping point to start a self sustaining ecosystem Source: Boynton et al. 2009

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41 Data Exists Not available

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43 Corsica Fish Kill Reports September 2005 estimated at 50,000 fish Karlodinium veneficum October 2006 estimated 1800 fish Karlodinium veneficum (>100,000 cells/ml) 2007 No Reports September 2008 estimated at 9100 fish Karlodinium veneficum (500 to 2,700 ng/ml ) 2009 through 2011 No reports

44 Corsica Report Card ( ) Total ( ) 1) Upgrade Centreville WWTP to ENR 2) Establish Cover Crops (4,000 acres) and Small Grain Enhancements (2,000 acres) annually 14,963( cover crop and small grain combined) 3) Forest/Grass Buffers on Ag land (100 acres) 93.3 acres a) Grassed Buffers(50) 82.7 b) Forested Buffers(50) 10.6 acres 4) Waste storage structures/heavy Use Area (HUA) Pads 1 Poultry Waste Structure -3000ft 2 5)Manure Transport tons 6) Horse Farmettes 50 acres (manure/stormwater mgmt) 30 ac 7) AdditionalAgricultural BMP Implementation a) Sed/Cntrl Ponds 4.0 ac b) Lined/Grassed Waterways(50) 68 ft/6.4 ac. c) Fencing 5,000ft d) Grade stabilization 5 Structures e) Stream Crossings 2 Structure f) Diversions 170 ft g) Ag wetland creation ac.

45 8) Retrofit 30 septic systems 15 9) Establish 200 ac of urban forested buffers 12 ac 10) Restore 50ac of urban wetland creation 88.3ac 11) Restore 2 miles of stream channel 0 miles 12) Restore 10 ac of SAV 0- SAV, 13) Restore 20 acres of oyster beds 10 oysters 14) Establish 300 acres of storm water retrofits ac 15) Rain Gardens (200) ) Programmatic Changes (Centreville Comp. Landuse Plan, Urban Growth Mgmt Boundary, Easement Incentive Program, Modify Stormwater Ordinance, Adopt LID in City and CTY codes. Tree Ordinance, Pet Waste Ordinance, Centreville Comp Plan, Adopted QA Stormwater ordinancew/ LID 18) Public Outreach-( Public Workshops, Educational DVD Programming, Outreach on BMPS for nutrient/sediment control, pet waste, street tree, stream buffer, and household waterconservation mgmt) 3450 Corsica Day, QA Fair, Outreach to homeowners and businesses, updates to Corsica River website, Radio/TV programming, Green business Awards

46 Lessons We know that monitoring can show land treatment effects on water quality.mainly demonstrated at small scales. Monitoring land treatment needs to be a part of projects evaluation. Field Scale monitoring has demonstrated that cover crops can be effective. Data review needs to be a continuous and ongoing activity. At the watershed scale (8 digit HUC), monitoring has shown no significant improvement in water quality.

47 The citizens of the Corsica River Watershed Queen Anne s Soil Conservation District