Water Quality Monitoring in the Jersey Valley Watershed - Herron

Water Quality in the Jersey Valley Watershed

Callie Herron

UW Discovery Farms® Program

July 2015

SWCS Conference

Monitor surface water quality to understand its relationship to land management.

It all started with Jersey Valley Lake

• Lake water quality• Stream water quality• Edge of Field Overview• Comparing loss between systems

Lake water quality and its influences

Comparing edge-of-field management practices

8 permanent sites

5 grab sample sites

95% of land walked

Lake meets some fish and aquatic life standards, not recreational.

Fish & Aquatic Recreational

Phosphorus

Chlorophyll-a

P c

once

ntr

atio

n (m

g/L)

Stream above the lake is not impaired.

0.075

P C

once

ntra

tion

(mg/

L)The impact of the lake is localized.

0.075

Poor Health Good Health High Level of Management

At or below DF average

losses

?

Should it? Can we expect it to?

Monitoring multiple farming systems helps understand what drives losses in one system compared to another.

Edge-of-Field Site Descriptions

Site Use Tillage Manure

1 Corn, alfalfa None Surface apply, winter spreading

4 Corn, alfalfa, oats Vertical tillage Surface apply

5 Corn, alfalfa Manure incorporation

+ vertical tillage

Incorporate

Field management does not impact the amount of runoff during frozen or saturated conditions.

Frozen ground

Saturation

No till and reduced till systems minimize soil loss.

No till and reduced till systems lose dissolved P in the winter.

Maintain conservation practices.

Get nutrients below the surface.

Protect the soil surface.

The journey continues…

[email protected]

@DiscoveryFarms UW Discovery Farms