Role of Watershed Districts in Ag Conservation Bruce Albright, BRRWD Administrator

Transcription

1 Role of Watershed Districts in Ag Conservation Bruce Albright, BRRWD Administrator Watershed Summit 2015: New Management Barriers/ Solutions to Accelerate Ag Conservation February 21, 2015

2 Examples of Watershed District Projects / Efforts in Ag Conservation

3 BRRWD BWSR Clean Water Fund Projects 2011 CWF Grant Projects BMP Implementation Plan Upper South Branch Area Wolverton Creek Restoration and Sediment Reduction Project Hay Creek/Stinking Lake Sediment Reduction 2012 CWF Grant Projects Terrain Analysis for Remainder of the BRRWD 2013 CWF Grant Projects Conservation Drainage Grant - Clay County Ditches 9, 32, 33 Targeted Drainage Water Management Upper South Branch BMP Implementation Project Part 2

4 Drainage Systems under BRRWD Jurisdiction 75+ Legal Ditch Systems 470+ miles of legal drainage ditches

5 MN Drainage Law MN Statutes 103E 103E rod bufferstrip required on new systems Provision Subd. 6 (2007): Allows incremental installation of bufferstrips and side inlets on ditch systems. 103E.015 Consideration of multi-purpose water management (2014) To achieve drainage and water quality improvement goals 103E.227 Allows for the impoundment and diversion and rerouting (2010) of drainage system waters To conserve and make more adequate use of our water resources or to incorporate wetland or water quality enhancing elements Used on Bisson Lake and the USFWS project upsteam of the Branden Dam on Becker CD 5

6 Conservation Drainage Grant Clay County Ditches 9, 32, 33 Completed in Side Inlet Sediment contols & 40.6 acres of new bufferstrips were be established Reduces Sediment Load by 2915 tons per year Reduces Phosphorus load by 3900 pounds per year

7 Conservation Drainage Clay County Ditches 9, 32, 33 Before After

8 MAWQCP: WHISKEY CREEK PILOT 1785

9 MAWQCP: WHISKEY CREEK PILOT One of Four Pilots in the State Pilot size: 137,130 acres = sq.miles Wilkin and Otter Tail Counties Whiskey Creek is impaired for Turbidity Also impaired for: Dissolved Oxygen Fecal Coliform Aquatic Macroinvertebrate bioassessments

10 MAWQCP: WHISKEY CREEK PILOT Contact Person: Bruce Albright, BRRWD Administrator Partners: Outreach is being completed by existing BRRWD, Wilkin and West Otter Tail SWCDs staff Wanted people familiar to producers marketing program. Social indicators Survey and KAP Survey showed that SWCDs and Watershed District were the most trusted among agencies Existing staff will be backfilled as necessary by additional administrative staff.

11 MAWQCP: WHISKEY CREEK PILOT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE MDA Contact/Fiscal Agent Bruce Albright, BRRWD Administrator Field Level Assessment (75%FTE) Wilkin County Donald Bajumpaa Craig Lingen Local Level Steering Committee Local Pilot Advisory Committee Field Level Assessment (25%FTE) Otter Tail County Brad Mergens Aaron Larsen

12 WHISKEY CREEK / WILKIN CD NO. 31 Current Advisory Committee Members: Mike Van Epps Centrol Crop Consultant Pat Freese Wilkin Co. landowner John Haarstad Otter Tail Co. Landowner Jerry Nordick Wilkin Co. landowner Bruce Brenden Otter Tail Co. Landowner Rick Drevlow Otter Tail Co. Landowner Rick Swenson Crop Production Services

13 WHISKEY CREEK / WILKIN CD NO. 31 Incentives: Practices Side Inlet sediment controls Water and sediment control basins (WASCOBs) Vegetative Bufferstrips Cover Crops Drainage Water Management, etc. WRP CRP Incentive level = State cost share up to 75% on EQIP projects and 75% for practices not associated with EQIP Incentive for buffers yet to be determined.

14 WHISKEY CREEK / WILKIN CD NO. 31 Priority Ag/ Environmental Concerns: Expanded buffers on waterways Erosion Control Excess nutrients EQIP Scoring Reflects Priority Concerns (250 Points Total) Assessment Tool Ran on Participants Operation (55 pts.) Soil Erosion Practice addresses Excess bank erosion along channels and shore (50 pts.) Soil Erosion Practice addresses Concentrated flow erosion (45 pts.) Practice located in a field adjoining a water body [lakes, rivers, wetlands, perennial and intermittent streams] (40 pts.) Soil Erosion Practice addresses Sheet, Rill, and wind (30 pts.) Water Quality Degradation Practice addresses excess nutrients in surface and groundwater (30 pts.) Leads to More Ag Conservation because additional Conservation measures are generally required to become Certified.

15 WHISKEY CREEK / WILKIN CD NO. 31

16 WHISKEY CREEK / WILKIN CD NO. 31

17 Engineering Tools LiDAR Elevation Data Detailed topographic depiction of the landscape

18 Stream Power Index Calibration to real world. Prioritizes BMP Implementation to maximize benefits. Information Developed by the BRRWD but shared with SWCD Partners

19 Inlet Pipe Example : Wolverton CWL Project Inlet Before Construction Inlet After Construction High SPI Treatment Inlet Pipe to Wolverton Creek After Construction

20 Wolverton CWL Project Tributary to Wolverton Creek Before Construction High SPI Treatment Riffles in Tributary to Wolverton Creek After Construction

21 Example Subwatershed Project Whisky Creek Tributaries Constructed in Currently in Post-construction Monitoring Phase Project Involved 6 Components Floodwater Impoundment 346 A-F Storage (1.62 ) Channel Restoration Set-back Levees to Prevent Overland Flooding Diking/Ringdiking 800 Acres WRP Wetland Restorations Bufferstrips Cost = Approx. $900,000

22 Whisky Creek Tributaries

23 Whisky Creek Tributaries

24 Two-stage channel June 2009 Aerial Before Construction October 6, 2004 During Construction October 25, 2004

25 RWMP / MN Watershed Law The mission of the BRRWD is to alleviate flooding and to manage the water resources of the District in a manner that best protects this valuable resource. Identifies existing and emerging issues, such as impaired waters, tile drainage, drought planning District Programs Rules, Data Collection and Management (RAL s), administration District broken down into planning regions, each region has identified problems/goals Targeted goals for water quality, FDR, NRE Buffalo River, Upper Red, and Otter Tail River TMDL/WRAPS 1W1P

26 BRRWD SIS (2010) & KAP (2014) Surveys Learn about residents knowledge, opinions, practices, and constraints with regards to water quality Lack of knowledge about the consequences of water pollution Study results indicated opportunities to improve respondent knowledge Survey indicated landowners get their information and trust local agencies (WD/SWCD) for water quality information BRRWD is in an advantageous position to conduct effective community outreach campaigns KAP survey ran at start and again at end of MAWQCP pilot Different KAP results depending on landowner/renter

27 ANY QUESTIONS?