Contributions and Successes of The Rural Clean Water Program
The Rural Clean Water Program Experience

The Rural Clean Water Program

In 1980, the U.S. Congress established an experimental program to address agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in watersheds across the country. The experiment was called the Rural Clean Water Program, usually referred to as the RCWP.

The objectives of the RCWP (45 Federal Register 14006, March 4, 1980) were to:

Each of the 21 RCWP projects involved: 1) the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce NPS pollution and 2) water quality monitoring to evaluate the effects of the land treatment. BMP installation or adoption (often referred to as land treatment) was targeted to land areas or sources of NPS pollutants identified as having significant impacts on the impaired or threatened water resource. These areas are referred to as critical areas.

Contributions and Successes

The experience gained through the RCWP projects provides valuable information for personnel involved in NPS control programs and projects. The RCWP projects made significant contributions to the body of knowledge about NPS pollution, NPS pollution control technology, agricultural NPS pollution monitoring design and data interpretation, and the effectiveness of voluntary cost-share programs designed to assist producers in reducing agricultural NPS pollution (Gale et al., 1993). The purpose of this fact sheet is to present some of the many contributions and successes of the RCWP projects.

Florida: Taylor Creek - Nubbin Slough Project

The Taylor Creek-Nubbin Slough Basin, located in southern Florida directly north of Lake Okeechobee, covers 120,000 acres of flat, poorly drained land. Beneficial uses of the lake include drinking and irrigation water, flood protection, commercial and sport fishing, and wildlife habitat. High phosphorus concentrations in runoff to the lake promote eutrophic conditions, resulting in algal blooms and low levels of dissolved oxygen.

Land use is primarily agricultural, characterized by intensive dairy and beef cattle farming. The critical area (63,109 acres) included dairy farms, drained and fertilized pastures, and areas close to a waterway. The project water quality goal was a 50% reduction in phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in water flowing into Lake Okeechobee. BMPs installed included stream protection systems, reduction of barn waste, animal waste management, diversions, grazing land protection, permanent vegetative cover, sediment retention structures, and water control structures.

An intensive water quality monitoring program was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of BMPs in reducing phosphorus loads to the lake. The monitoring program was designed to facilitate comparison of water quality data collected before, during, and after BMP implementation. Accounting for changes in animal density, ground water table depth, and upstream phosphorus concentrations during the project period facilitated documentation of the effects on water quality of BMPs installed. Land treatment tracking (recording BMP implementation and location in relation to water bodies) aided in the determination that changes in water quality resulted from BMP implementation. The project exceeded its phosphorus reduction goals, despite substantial increases in animal density.

Delaware: Appoquinimink River Project

The Appoquinimink River watershed (30,762 acres) lies in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The 16-mile stream meanders through tidal marsh and is linked to several ponds and lakes. Two-thirds of the watershed is agricultural land planted in corn and soybeans.

High nutrient concentrations in runoff from agricultural land in the watershed were causing advanced eutrophication in several lakes and ponds used for primary and secondary contact recreation, such as swimming, boating, and fishing. Also affected were maintenance and propagation of fish and aquatic life, industrial and agricultural water supply, drainage, navigation (in the tidal portion of the river), and passage of anadromous fish. Problems included bacterial contamination, fish kills, and algal growth.

The objective of the RCWP project was to reduce cropland erosion and nutrient transport, decrease nutrient applications, and properly manage animal waste. The BMPs emphasized were no-till, pesticide and fertilizer management, cover crops, grassed waterways, and filter strips.

Producer participation was high and BMPs were applied to over 85% of the 13,000-acre critical area. No-till acreage increased from 50% of the cropland to 90%. Improved fertilizer management cut the pre-project phosphorus application rate in half. In one pond, sediment and phosphorus declined by 90% and 65%, respectively. Suspended solids in the river decreased by 60%.

The project combined excellent inter-agency cooperation and an effective information and education program. Benefits spread beyond the project area. By the end of the 10-year project, most farmers in the county had voluntarily adopted no-till techniques, although its use in corn production has since decreased as a result of slug damage.

Idaho: Rock Creek Project

The Rock Creek RCWP Project covered 45,000 acres within a 198,400-acre watershed in south central Idaho. Agriculture includes irrigated pasture and cropland and rangeland. Irrigation water diverted from the Snake River is delivered to farms through a network of canals. Return flows empty into Rock Creek, which discharges into the Snake River.

Poor water quality impairs recreation, salmon spawning, and fishing. Rock Creek delivers a disproportionate load of sediment to Snake River. NPS pollutants are sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen from irrigation return flows, streambank erosion, and animal waste.

The project objective was to reduce sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen discharging into Rock Creek. All irrigated cropland and animal operations were considered part of the critical area (28,159 acres). Land treatment to prevent sediment from entering irrigation drains by controlling erosion and trapping sediment was implemented on 75% of the critical area. BMPs included sediment retention structures, irrigation water management, vegetative filter strips, cover crops, conservation tillage, and animal waste management.

The objectives of the water quality monitoring program were to document: 1) changes in sediment and nutrient concentrations and 2) beneficial use improvements. Water quality was monitored both upstream and downstream of significant NPS pollutant sources before, during, and after BMP implementation. Effectiveness of individual BMPs was measured in this RCWP project.

Improvements in the ability of the stream to support designated uses were documented through monitoring of in-stream habitats, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish populations. Innovative techniques to measure trout spawning habitat by directly measuring substrate oxygen were developed in the course of the project.

Management practices, such as conservation tillage and water management, were found to be the most cost-effective BMPs for reducing sediment loss on a per-acre basis. BMPs implemented through the RCWP project decreased sediment and phosphorus delivery to the river by 75% and 68%, respectively. In addition, fish populations in Rock Creek below agricultural areas appeared to improve during the course of the project.

Vermont: St. Albans Bay Project

St. Albans Bay of Lake Champlain is located in northwestern Vermont. The watershed draining to the Bay encompasses over 32,000 acres of mostly agricultural land. Bacteria, sediment, and nutrients from dairy farms were causing high bacterial counts, algal blooms, and prolific aquatic plant growth, resulting in beach closings, decreased shoreline property values, and declining recreational use.

The RCWP project was aimed at reducing agricultural NPS pollution by implementing BMPs on 15,000 critical acres. Through the project, 74% of the critical area and 76% of the manure were treated with cropland protection and animal waste management system BMPs.

The extent and location of BMP implementation and land use were tracked using a geographic information system. Pertinent farm data, such as the quantity and timing of manure application and the number of cows under BMP manure management, were also recorded. These data were used to correlate land treatment to water quality on a subwatershed scale. The strongest correlation was between an increasing proportion of animals under BMP manure management and decreasing bacterial contamination in streams. Sediment and bacteria decreased in most of the monitored streams feeding the Bay. During the last three years of the project, bacterial counts near the public beach along the northern shore of the bay decreased to below state standards for swimming.

Oregon: Tillamook Bay Project

Tillamook Bay, bounded by the Coast Mountain Range and the Pacific Ocean, receives drainage from five watersheds (363,520 acres). Water quality is impaired by high fecal coliform levels caused by manure in runoff from dairy farms, which produce 322,500 tons of manure annually. Coliform levels threatened public health and resulted in closure of commercially important shellfish beds.

The RCWP project objective was 70% reduction in fecal coliform levels in the Bay. Farmers were highly motivated to participate, both out of concern for the shellfish resource and because of their awareness of the potential for state regulation if the problem could not be solved through voluntary NPS control measures. Manure storage and management BMPs were installed on 96% of the farms in the watershed. Innovative animal waste management practices developed for this high rainfall area (such as roofed and guttered manure storage areas) reduced bacterial contamination of the Bay. As a result, the number of shellfish beds closed to harvesting was reduced.

Nebraska: Long Pine Creek Project

The Long Pine Creek RCWP Project area lies on the northeastern edge of the Nebraska Sandhills in north central Nebraska. The Sandhills rest upon the Ogallala Aquifer, a 200-mile wide corridor of ground water extending south through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The aquifer is used for irrigation, stock watering, and water supply. The watershed is drained by Long Pine Creek, the longest self-sustaining trout stream in Nebraska, which supports contact recreation, fishing, and three threatened fish species.

Sediment, bacteria, and nutrients impair recreation and fishing. The primary sources of sediment are intensive grazing in riparian areas, streambank erosion, and irrigation return flows. Animal feedlots and a sewage treatment plant contributed to high bacteria and nutrient levels.

A system of erosion control and stream protection BMPs was implemented on 71% of the critical area (60,242 acres), which was defined on the basis of high erosion rates and proximity to waterways. Irrigation water management was used to minimize total water usage, thereby reducing pollutants entering streams and ground water. Installation of irrigation tailwater re-use systems and construction of a secondary water storage reservoir, which reduced irrigation water use, were major components of the management program. An effective information and education program resulted in reduced fertilizer and pesticide use.

An innovative practice implemented by Long Pine Creek Project participants was stream protection using cedar revetments. Dried cedar trees were secured with cable and steel fence posts along the edge of the stream to stabilize the streambank and reduce erosion. In combination with grazing land protection and fencing, the revetments decreased streambank erosion.

Significant reductions in sediment delivery were achieved. Trout habitat was improved and the creek's trout-carrying capacity increased. Comparison of pre-, during-, and post-project water quality data is ongoing. The length of the monitoring record (15 years) and a high level of land treatment in the critical area provide the potential for documenting the effectiveness of BMP systems.

Reference

Gale, J.A., D.E. Line, D.L. Osmond, S.W. Coffey, J. Spooner, J.A. Arnold, T.J. Hoban, and R.C. Wimberley. 1993. Evaluation of the Experimental Rural Clean Water Program. NCSU Water Quality Group, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, (published by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) EPA-841- R-93-005, 559p.


Written by

Judith A. Gale

Water Quality Extension Specialist

NCSU Water Quality Group

March 1995


North Carolina
Cooperative Extension Service

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL & LIFE SCIENCES

Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.

This fact sheet is one of a series of Rural Clean Water Program Technology Transfer fact sheets prepared by the NCSU Water Quality Group with support from the Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Cooperative Agreement No. 93-EXCA-3-0241).

Copies of the fact sheet series may be requested from: Publications Coordinator, NCSU Water Quality Group, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Box 7637, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7637, Email: wq_puborder@ncsu.edu, Fax: 919-515-7448.