Yahara WINs Strategic Planning Workgroup April 29, 2013 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Yahara WINs Strategic Planning Workgroup April 29, 2013 madsewer.org

Welcome • Approval of Minutes from December 17

Adaptive Management-Brief Recap Enabling regulatory language for AM is in NR 217  Watershed focus-AM is what allows us to work together  Yahara WI NS goal meet phosphorus and TSS reduction  requirements in the Rock River TMDL from all sources-satisfy permit requirements TMDL focus is on streams and rivers  MMSD will submit an AM plan to DNR at time of permit reissuance  Specific requirements will placed in MMSD permit, including monitoring  Per NR 217: Monitoring in the receiving water at locations and times established in the  permit to assess phosphorus loading and to document progress toward achieving the applicable phosphorus criterion in s. NR 102.06. Need a scientifically-defensible monitoring plan 

Phosphorus Reductions Since 2008 Should reduce lbs that need  to be addressed through AM Some issues:  How to account for updated  modeling Translating between models  How to account for and credit  new practices Need to experts agreement 

Recalculating Phosphorus Load Reductions Account for reductions between 2008-2012 r ? ? ? ? ? Lbs, distribution and total cost may change

Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI) • Waunakee Marsh = 23,734 acres • Pheasant Branch = 14,442 acres Waunakee Marsh • 46 EQIP contracts totaling $1,115,838 • Practices contracted Pheasant – Nutrient Management Branch – Cover Crops – Diversions – Grassed Waterways – Etc…

Community Digesters Waunakee (2012) • – Treated 31,000,000 gallons of manure – Removed 67,000 pounds of phosphorus from watershed Waunakee – Reduced average PI on fields Marsh from 3.2 to 2.9 Six Mile Middleton (Predictions) • Creek – Treat 26,000,000 gallons of manure – Remove 44,000 pounds of Pheasant phosphorus from watershed Branch – Reduce average PI on fields from 3.9 to 2.9

Phosphorus Reductions Since 2008 • Agriculture • USDA • State • County • Landowner/Producer • Total phosphorus = 11,084 pounds • Urban • Urban Water Quality Grant • Total phosphorus = 3,325 pounds • Total sediment = 945 tons

MRBI 2 - Six Mile Creek  Six Mile Creek = 15,770 acres  2012  9 EQIP contracts totaling $103,416  2013 Six Mile  5 applications received Creek  Waunakee & Pheasant branch had 15 applications  Practices  Nutrient Management  Cover Crops

2013 Goals  Contact 100% of the producers  Inventory 70% of the land base  Develop a data record system  Reduce phosphorus loadings by 3,100 pounds  Develop conservation plans  Implement practices  Provide outreach and educational meetings

2013 Accomplishments Contacted 48 producers (100%) • Mailings  Phone calls  One-on-one meetings  Inventoried 13 producers = 45% •  Promoted 2 EQIP signups  Held farmer information meetings, meetings with UW- Madison, DNR, and MMSD.  Developing an additional county based cost share program  Developing record keeping system

Projected 2013 MOU Costs  Inventories  25 producers  Practices  15-20 practices available Six Mile  Total projected cost = Creek $70,000

Water-Quality Monitoring Update April 29, 2013 Todd Stuntebeck US Geological Survey

Good news… • The drought is officially over! • Precipitation ~5” above normal since Jan 1 • Winter snowfall >70” through March Through 4/28, 2 nd • wettest on record Source: National Weather Service, through April 28

Bad news… • Lots of runoff! ~1.5” Rain/Snowmelt Snowmelt ~2” Rain/Snowmelt ~5” Rain

Snowmelt 2013 ~ 2200 pounds of P

Daily Loads

Dorn@Q – Summary (through April 7) Event Start Event End Description Duration TP Load (Days) (lbs) 1/29/2013 1/31/2013 ~2” Rain on 3 1,100 Snow 3/10/2013 3/14/2013 ~1.5” Rain on 5 2,300 Snow 3/26/2013 4/1/2013 Snowmelt 7 2,200 “Winter” Total 5,600 7/4/2013 4/7/2013 All data 278 6,600

Some Perspective TP Load, Pounds WY2012 (Dry) WY1993 (Wet) Pheasant Branch at 1,350 26,350 Middleton (18 sq. miles) Yahara River at Windsor 6,300 38,700 (37 sq. miles) • Dorn @ Q (10 sq. miles): ~6,600 pounds through April 7

In a nutshell… • 3 relatively large winter runoff events (15 days) • At Hwy Q, streamflow for those 3 events represented about 45% of the total for the entire monitoring period, but about 85% of the TP load. • Relatively low sediment concentrations, coupled with relatively high ammonium and organic N concentrations, indicates that livestock manure was an important source of TP in winter/spring runoff at all sites.

Water Quality Monitoring-Pilot Project Primarily focused on USGS gaging stations

Water Quality Monitoring-Full Scale Project Purpose-demonstrate compliance  with TMDL and AM requirements Focus on streams and Yahara River  Things to consider:  Locations and frequency  Parameters  Chemistry & biology  Flow, concentrations or both  Who does what  Etc.  Discussions with DNR, USGS, etc.  A work in progress-share with SPW 

What have we heard so far? More frequent monitoring early on to  establish baseline Bugs and fish less frequent than  water chemistry Monitoring in all stream reaches  identified in TMDL Consider supplemental targeted  monitoring to demonstrate progress Concentration may be more  important than load Gaging stations may not be needed at  all locations

Water Resources Management Practicum Mitigating the Export of Transient Phosphorus- Laden S ediment in an Agricultural Watershed S amuel T . Christel Nicholas Funk University of Wisconsin – Madison

Proj ect Motivation  TMDL mandated for TP in Rock River Basin (2011)  Transient phosphorus-laden sediment complicates compliance with downstream water quality standards  Management solutions for transient sediment will help meet TMDL

Proj ect Goals Research management 1. practices for the reduction of transient stream sediment (and associated phosphorus) in select wetlands and surrounding agricultural drainage ditches. Create basin-wide 2. recommendations . Madsewer.org

Proj ect Rationale 1) Rogers et al. 2008 2) Lathrop et al. 2002-2006 Sixmile Creek Upper and Lower Dorn Creek Wetland S ix Mile Creek Dorn Creek

Rogers et al. 2008 • Two largest storms  96% of exported sediment • S ediment was 2x what entered the wetland

Lathrop et al. 2002-2006 also point to wetlands, flat reach channels, and ditches TP, 0-1 cm (mg/kg DW) Dorn Creek 0 – 800 800 – 1,000 1,000 – 1,200 1,200 – 1,800 1,800 – 2,600 = Wetland areas Figure Courtesy of Dr. Michael Penn

Upper Dorn Creek Wetland • Focus of study a. Previous research confirms it is a net source of P-laden sediment under high flows b. Ease of sampling and dredging access c. S urrounding drainage ditches

Proj ect Obj ectives 1. Quantify S ediment & Phosphorus  Upper Dorn Creek Wetland  Other depositional locations-ditches  Characterize sediment  Estimate residence time  Flux over observation period 2. Research management options  Investigate wetland modification to trap sediment  Estimate cost per lb/ P- dredging trapped sediment  Returning sediment to field  Basin-wide recommendations

Landowner Permissions  Field work requires access to sites from private property  Communication with landowners directly, mail, and email  Meeting at Rex’s Innkeeper May 2 nd from 6:30-7:30p  Keeping landowners informed  Permissions secured

Quantify S ediment • Measure depth of sediment • Locate sites of significant deposition • Determine residence time- Pb-210 • Characterize wetland stratigraphy • Install scour chains to measure flux before/ after large events

Phosphorus Measurements  Bray P1 S oil Test Phosphorus  Correlates with plant uptake of P; measures “ plant available P” for soil fertilizer recommendations  Extracts 30% of NaOH-P  Total Phosphorus  Persulfate digestion of sediment followed by ascorbic acid photometric method  TP is used for TMDL; concern in wastewater  NaOH-P  Non-apatite inorganic P = Bioavailable P  Readily taken up by algae

Phosphorus Measurements S ite specific TP – BAP correlation 3500 Hoffman (2008) 3000 2500 BAP (mg/kg) 2000 Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 A 1500 Site 3 B Site 4 Site 5 1000 Site 6 Site 7 Site 8 500 Site 9 0 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 Total P (mg/kg)

Management Options  Potential wetland modification  trap sediment  Periodic removal of trapped sediment  Reapplication to nearby fields (Contingent on WI P-Index)  Estimate cost per lb. P for dredging and transporting

Modeling Efforts S ediment and P flowing into wetland 2008 S WAT MODEL in an average year P8 S edimentation calculations, wetland S EDIMENTATION trap efficiency under varying designs MODELING Hydraulic/ mechanical dredging cost DREDGING COS TS estimates Cost per lb-P estimate