Addressing Water Quality in the East Fork Watershed: A Collaborative Effort

Transcription

1 Addressing Water Quality in the East Fork Watershed: A Collaborative Effort John McManus and Jake Hahn Clermont (OH) Soil & Water Conservation District OKI Annual Meeting Cincinnati Nature Center March 31,

2 East Fork Little Miami Watershed Large Midwestern watershed draining to a National Scenic River and then the Ohio River Agriculture 2

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4 East Fork Lake 2000 acre water surface 345 mi 2 of upland drainage 64% agriculture avg. farm 8 acres 1.5 % imperviousness Agriculture 4 uses flood control drinking water source recreation (State Park, 2 beaches) downstream protection (min 30 cfs discharge) 20 MGD DWTP 4

5 East Fork Lake - Algal Concerns Toxins Disinfection byproducts precursors Taste & Odor Filter clogging Oxygen deficiencies Light limiting Decreased recreational use Economy 5

6 East Fork Lake HAB History HABs first samples/microcystin first detected in peak 4.5 ppb at main beach First advisory in 2013 peak microcystin 88 ppb 2014 peak of 190 ppb Regional swim meet moved 2015 National Rowing Championships 6

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8 History of the East Fork Watershed Collaborative County starts East Fork Watershed study in 1996 Science Advisory Committee meets annually Early 2000s US EPA Office of Research & Development takes over Experimental Stream Facility 2008 SAC becomes EFWC agencies begin to coordinate programs 8

9 Experimental Stream Facility Owned by Clermont County, originally operated as Procter and Gamble, now by US EPA Office of Research & Development 9

10 East Fork Watershed: Test bed for Watershed Management R&D since 2008 Federal Partners State Partners Local Partners 10

11 East Fork Watershed Collaborative Ongoing Efforts Coupled monitoring and modeling programs Green Infrastructure and Ag BMP performance Evaluation of water quality trading programs / integration of economics TMDL Support Harmful algal blooms Others ecological tipping points, greenhouse reservoir emissions, fish response to pesticides 11

12 Collaborative Partner Roles Shared monitoring and sampling by many all USACE primarily lake sampling USEPA and Clermont OEQ/SWCD main stem and tribs Edge of field monitoring Clermont OEQ/SWCD Modeling US EPA Office of Research & Development, US ACE (lake) and Ohio EPA (TMDL) Drinking Water Plant processes Clermont Water Resources Dept. 12

13 Load Distribution for the Upper East Fork Watershed (all area draining to the lake) Nitrogen Phosphorus 13 Source: U.S. EPA Office of Research & Development

14 Load Distribution for the Upper East Fork Watershed (all area draining to the lake) Sediment 14 Source: U.S. EPA Office of Research & Development

15 US EPA SWAT model used to project high areas of sediment yield (rust colored area) Those areas were used by SWCD to target fields for cover crop placement. 15

16 From Monitoring to Implementation Primary role for SWCD With NRCS/FSA, work with producers to put practices on the ground EQIP / CRP Special EQIP Five Mile Creek Watershed Conservation Innovation Grant cover crops & detention basin/vegetated bed system Recently awarded RCPP grant 16

17 Conservation Innovation Grant 2011 Project: Demonstration and effectiveness of conservation practices for improving soil structure and reducing NPS pollution in Grassy Fork, a drinking water source on the East Fork Little Miami River, Ohio. 17

18 Goals of Project Use Cover and Capture Method to Improve Nutrient Capture in Agricultural Settings Cover: Use of Cover Crops Improve infiltration Improve soil biology Reduce erosion Reduce fertilizer/chemical inputs Capture: Urban Stormwater Basin Remove sediments Remove Phosphorus Remove Nitrogen Additional Benefits?? 18

19 Project Area Grassy Run Watershed Cincinnati Harsha Lake 19

20 Cover Crop (Cover Method) 20

21 Project Layout 700 Foot Detention 400 Foot SVB 21

22 Detention Design 22

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24 Submerged Vegetative Wetland 24

25 Submerged Vegetative Bed Design 25

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33 Post Construction Questions Water quality improvements (nutrient removals, sediments removed, pesticides) Sedimentation within the system Management issues (clogging, mowing, freezing) Flow rates through system Year long nutrient uptake 33

34 = Monitoring point Detention Basin Monitoring Goal: Measure nutrient loads to determine nutrient removal of the vegetated bed and entire BMP Submerged Vegetated Bed High Flow Bypass Channel Monitoring Equipment and Strategy: Rain Gage at upstream site Pressure transducer level sensor with Thel-mar Weir US & DS of SVB Ultra sonic flowmeter US and DS of BMP Autosamplers at each site triggered by flow will collect wet weather nitrogen and phosphorus data Discharge rating curves will be developed to determine nutrient loads and removal efficiency 34

35 level (ft) ppm 12/1/ rain CWLUS CWLBP PRECIP precip (in) TN TIN TP 0.0 CWLUS SVBINF SVBEFF CWLBP System not bypassing SVB Detention Basin Bypass Channel SVB 35

36 level (ft) ppm 12/6/ rain CWLUS CWLBP SVBINF SVBEFF PRECIP precip (in) TN TIN TP CWLUS SVBINF SVBEFF CWLBP System bypassing SVB Detention Basin Bypass Channel SVB 36

37 Additional Cover Crop Field Days Soil Quality Management Field Day 4R Field Day USEPA/NRCS Tour Hosted National CC Webcast 2014 Straw Blanket Installation Field Day Cover Crops for Southwest Ohio Manual Produced by our SWCD and NRCS staff Attendees: Cover Crops Planted: Cover Crop Manual Printed: 340 farmers and professionals 32 producers, nearly 3500 ac. under contract since Copies, available electronically 37

38 Additional Benefits 38

39 CIG Assistance Provided By: Ohio Division of Soil and Water Resources Ohio State University Extension Natural Resources Conservation Service Clermont County Office of Environmental Quality US Army Corp of Engineers US EPA Research and Development Ohio EPA East Fork Watershed Collaborative Hall Farms Cornwell Family Farms Clermont County Community Services Hazen and Sawyer Environmental Engineers 39