The Rural Clean Water Program

The RCWP was administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The Soil Conservation Service (SCS), Extension Service (ES), Economic Research Service, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest Service, Farmers Home Administration, and many state and local agencies also participated in the RCWP. Programmatic and project-level decisions were made by national, state, and local RCWP interagency coordinating committees.

With a total appropriation of $64 million, the RCWP funded 21 experimental wa-tershed projects across the country. The projects represented a wide range of pollution problems and impaired water uses.

Each project involved both land treatment and water quality monitoring. Landowner participation was voluntary, with cost sharing and technical assistance offered as incentives for implementing best management practices (BMPs) designed to reduce NPS pollution. Landowners were contracted to implement BMPs, with the length of the contract depending on the practice being implemented.

While water quality monitoring was performed in all 21 projects, five projects (Idaho, Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Vermont) were selected to receive additional federal funding for comprehensive monitoring and evaluation. These projects are referred to as the CM&E pro-jects.

The Evaluation Process

The RCWP Evaluation Reports

The Summary Report contains lessons learned from the RCWP about the design, organization, funding, management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of agricultur-al nonpoint source pollution control projects.

The analysis focuses primarily on experi-mental NPS pollution control projects (designed to scientifically evaluate the effec-tiveness of land treatment strategies in improving water quality). Such projects of necessity involve land treatment and water quality monitoring programs sufficient to provide feedback on the relationship between BMP implementation and water quality changes. All NPS pollution control projects will not involve the high level of monitoring discussed in the report. However, many of the lessons discussed here are relevant to a wider range of NPS projects, such as educational projects designed to demonstrate specific BMPs and BMP systems.

A brief synopsis of each RCWP project is presented. A more comprehensive report on the RCWP (Evaluation of the Experimental Rural Clean Water Program), on which the Summary Report is based, is currently in national review and scheduled for publication in the spring of 1993. The report illustrates lessons learned from the RCWP with specific project examples; presents the results of farmer and project personnel surveys; and provides a detailed description for each of the 21 RCWP projects.

Another document addressing the results of the RCWP is the Seminar Publication - The National Rural Clean Water Program Symposium: Ten Tears of Controlling Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution: The RCWP Experience, published by USEPA (EPA/625/R-92/006).

Significance, Successes, and Contributions of the Rural Clean Water Program

The experience gained through the RCWP provides valuable information for personnel involved in current and future nonpoint source control programs and projects. The RCWP projects have made significant contributions to our body of knowledge about NPS pollution, NPS control technology, BMP effectiveness, and the effectiveness of voluntary cost share programs aimed at assisting producers in reducing agricultural NPS pollution.

The producers and project personnel who participated in the 21 RCWP projects benefited not only their communities, but also future NPS control programs. The RCWP projects resulted in the development of closer and more effective cooperation and communication among federal, state, and local agencies involved in NPS pollution control. The program achieved significant adoption of BMPs in critical areas (and often beyond project boundaries) and gained valuable insight into the effectiveness of these practices in improving water quality. Possibly the most important contribution made by the RCWP is the advancement of our under-standing of how to plan, implement, manage, and monitor voluntary agricultural NPS pollution control efforts.

Accomplishments of some of the RCWP projects are:

• Alabama: Over 100% of the critical area of the Lake Tholocco project was treated with BMPs designed to reduce sediment and fecal coliform bacteria in runoff from surrounding cropland. The resulting reductions in fecal coliform levels made possible the re-opening of the lake to fishing, boating, water skiing, and other recreational uses.

• Delaware: Water quality monitoring in the Appoquinimink River project documented a 60% decrease in phosphorus and a 90% decrease in sediment reaching impaired water bodies as the result of implementation of conservation tillage and animal waste management BMPs. Improved fertilizer management cut the pre-project phosphorus application rate in half.

• Florida: Fencing, water management, and animal waste management systems in the Taylor Creek-Nubbin Slough project have reduced phosphorus concentrations in water entering Lake Okeechobee by more than 50%.

• Idaho: Water management and sediment control BMPs reduced sediment and phosphorus concentrations in return flows from irrigated land in the Rock Creek project. Beneficial use improvements were documented through monitoring of in-stream habitats, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish populations. Techniques to evaluate trout spawning habitat by directly measur-ing substrate oxygen were developed by project personnel.

• Iowa: The Prairie Rose Lake project demonstrated that a very high rate of implementation is possible in a voluntary nonpoint source control project. Ninety-two % of the producers in the project area participated in the project, which was aimed at reducing sediment yield from excessively eroding cropland surrounding a recreational lake. Fertilizer and Integrated Pest Management were implemented on 60% of the critical area.

• Maryland: The experimental nature of the RCWP was well utilized by the Double Pipe Creek project team, with the result that much was learned about the best designs for animal waste storage BMPs in the area. RCWP funds were used in this project to hire a nutrient management specialist. This approach was so successful that when RCWP funds for the position ran out, the Maryland Department of Agriculture allotted funds to the Cooperative Extension Service to continue the position.

• Nebraska: The Long Pine Creek project utilized irrigation water management BMPs and cedar revetments to reduce the sediment load to a trout stream. A strong infor-mation and education program resulted in reduced fertilizer and pesticide use.

• Oregon: Innovative animal waste management systems installed on Tillamook Bay project dairies reduced bacterial contamination of oyster beds, resulting in the re-opening of shellfish beds to harvesting.

• Pennsylvania: Conestoga Headwaters project staff assisted Penn. State University personnel in developing a "quick" nitrogen test and deep-soil nutrient analysis technique. The test provides rapid feedback on soil nitrogen content and additional fertilizer needed to achieve optimum plant growth. The deep-soil analysis indicates the depth to which nitrogen and phosphorus were infiltrating, providing a tool for assessing the nutrient reserve and making management decisions.

• South Dakota: The Oakwood Lakes - Poinsett project contributed to NPS control science by: 1) monitoring inputs to ground water from fields; 2) evaluating nutrient inputs to lakes from surface and ground water; 3) evaluating transient movement of agricultural leachates in the vadose zone; and 4) developing innovative techniques for vadose zone and lake monitoring.

• Utah: In the Snake Creek project, animal waste management systems decreased phosphorus concentrations in Snake Creek and, as a result, reduced the impact of agricultural activity on Deer Creek Reservoir, an important water supply for Salt Lake City, Utah.

• Vermont: A paired watershed study documented pollutant export reduction associated with changing from the practice of spreading manure on frozen ground to the manure management BMP. Significant bacteria reductions in St. Albans Bay tributaries were documented.

Lessons Learned from the Rural Clean Water Program: Selected Highlights

• Federal funds for NPS pollution control projects must be committed up-front and for the entire project period.
• First priority should be given to projects where there is a high probability for reversing the water use impairment. This requires a clearly documented use impairment; well-defined, measurable water quality objectives and goals; local project support; and adequate technical assistance and information and education.

• Selection of projects as experimental projects in federally-funded nonpoint source programs should be contingent upon demonstra-tion that matching funds will be available to cover a portion of the project costs.

• Matching federal funds for pre-project planning and assessment should be made available to nonpoint source projects that appear to be strong candidates for experimental programs.
• Sufficient and dedicated funding for each project component relevant to the project's purpose must be made available. These elements include information and education, technical assistance, administration, cost share, water quality monitoring and evaluation, land treatment tracking and evaluation, and economic evaluation.

• Since monitoring is the primary and most defensible means for evaluating the effectiveness of an experimental nonpoint source pollution control program, sufficient financial and technical resources must be available to make adequate water quality monitoring and evaluation programs possible when the purpose of the project is to document the effect of land treatment on water quality. Funding for water quality monitoring and evaluation must include financial support for sufficient pre- and post-BMP implementation monitoring.

• Project goals must be realistic, specific, and measurable. Monitoring programs should be designed to determine progress toward estab-lished goal(s).
• Projects should designate or hire a project manager to coordinate daily project administration, coordination of local activities, publicity, and reporting.

• A core staff of personnel on detail to the project from participating agencies should be formed.

• At least two years of water quality monitoring is needed before land treatment is initiated to identify critical pollutant sources and establish baseline conditions.

• The cost of monitoring for the RCWP was approximately 16% of total program costs; the technology development and technology transfer benefits of monitoring have been substantial.

• The water quality problem must be well defined and documented. A water quality problem statement that includes the pollutant constituents and the impact on designated uses should be written.

• Watershed-scale projects designed to document water quality changes due to BMP implementa-tion require a long-term commitment to water quality monitoring.

• Detection of water quality trends is most effective when samples are collected at a consistent frequency and analyzed for a small number of relevant variables.

• Significant land use activities should be identified and accounted for in the monitoring program.

• A good experimental design for water quality and land treatment monitoring, such as the paired watershed approach, is essential to document a relationship between land treatment and water quality changes.

• Careful planning, including selection of appropriate indicator variables and data management systems, is required to link water quality changes to land treatment.

• A consistent improving trend in water quality after the implementa-tion of BMPs provides evidence to attribute water quality improvements to land treatment. Similarly, documented post-BMP implementation water quality improvements in multiple subwatersheds provides strong evidence that water quality improvements resulted from land treatment.

• Land treatment should be targeted to critical pollutant source areas where BMPs will have the greatest effect.

• Greater emphasis should be placed on the management and maintenance components of BMPs, even if the BMP is basically structural.

• The flexibility to try BMP innovations or modifications adapted to specific situations, while maintaining effec-tiveness, should be incorporated into NPS programs.

• Fertilizer and pesticide management BMPs are most cost-effective in terms of requiring the least cost share for the greatest water quality bene-fit.

• Projects must be flexible in modifying land treatment plans based on water quality monitoring results.

• A computerized data base such as a GIS facilitates BMP implementation tracking and data accessibility.

• The most effective approach to gaining producer participation is one-to-one contact.

• The availability and attractive level of cost share assistance is the most important factor in obtaining producer participation in voluntary NPS control programs.

• Producer involvement early in the project helps foster a feeling of ownership and often increases participation.

• Awareness of the impacts of agriculture on water quality does not necessarily translate into ownership of water quality problems by farm opera-tors. Educational programs must encourage farm operators to accept responsibility for the effects of their practices.

• Voluntary agricultural NPS pollution programs should place more emphasis on targeting critical area farm operators least likely to participate in such programs.

• Emphasis should be placed on educating farmers about less familiar BMPs, such as animal waste management systems and pesticide and fertilizer management.

Project Synopsis

The Sny Magill watershed 319 National Monitoring Program project is an interagency effort designed to monitor and assess improvements in water quality re-sulting from the implementation of two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) land treatment projects in the watershed (the Sny Magill Hydrologic Unit Area (HUA) Project and the North Cedar Creek Water Quality Special Project (WQSP)).

The 319 project area includes Sny Magill Creek and North Cedar Creek basins (together referred to as the Sny Magill watershed). Both creeks are Class "B" coldwater streams located in northeastern Iowa. North Cedar Creek is a tributary of Sny Magill Creek. The creeks are managed for "put and take" trout fishing by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and are two of the more widely used streams for recreational fishing.

Sny Magill Creek drains 22,780 acres and outlets directly into the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge and part of Effigy Mounds National Monument. The refuge consists of islands, backwaters, and wetlands of the Mississippi River. These backwaters are heavily fished and serve as important nursery areas for largemouth bass.

The entire Sny Magill watershed is agricultural, with no industry or urban areas. There are no significant point sources of pollution in the watershed. Land use consists primarily of cropland (42%), pasture (32%), and forest (23%). Half of the cropland is typically in corn, with the rest primarily in oats and alfalfa in rotation with corn. Row crop acreage planted to corn has increased substantially over the past 20 years. There are about 140 producers in the watershed, with an average farm size of 275 acres. Livestock include dairy cattle, beef cattle, and hogs.

Sny Magill and North Cedar creeks are designated as "high quality waters" to be protected against degradation of water quality. The state's Nonpoint Source Assessment Report indicates that the present classifications of the creeks as protected for wildlife, fish, and semi-aquatic life and secondary aquatic usage is only partially supported. The report cites impairment of the creeks' water quality primarily by nonpoint agricultural pollutants, particularly sediment, nutri-ents, and pesticides.

A paired watershed approach is being used with the Bloody Run Creek watershed (adjacent to the north and draining 24,064 acres) serving as the comparison watershed.

Coordination of land treatment and water quality data collection, management, and analysis among the many participating agencies is being handled by the IDNR - Geological Survey Bureau (IDNR-GSB) in an effort to maximize the prob-ability of documenting linkage between land treatment and water quality improvements. To the extent practicable, the agencies will coordinate land treatment application with water quality monitoring to focus implementation in particular subbasins, attempting to maintain other subbasins in an unaltered state for a longer period of time for comparison.

Project Time Frame

1991 - (approximately 10 years, if funding allows)

Pre-Project Water Quality

Monitoring conducted by the University Hygienic Laboratory (UHL) in 1976 and 1978 showed elevated water temperatures and fecal coliform levels (from animal wastes) in Sny Magill Creek. Downstream declines in nutrients are believed to be related to algal growth and in-stream consumption.

Assessments in North Cedar Creek during the 1980s by IDNR and the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) located areas where sediment is covering the gravel and bedrock substrate of the streams, lessening the depth of existing pools, increasing turbidity, and degrading aquatic habitat. Animal waste decomposi-tion increases biochemical oxygen demand in the streams to levels unsuitable for trout survival at times of high water temperature and low stream flows. The IDNR has identified these as the most limiting factors contributing to the failure of brook trout to establish a viable population (Seigley et al., 1992).

Nonpoint Source Control Strategy

The Sny Magill 319 project is intimately connected to two ongoing water quality projects in the watershed: the Sny Magill HUA project and the North Cedar Creek WQSP. The HUA is a five-year project begun in 1991 and covering 19,560 acres (86%) of the Sny Magill watershed. The remainder of the watershed is included in the WQSP, which began in 1988. The purpose of the projects is to provide technical and cost sharing assistance and educational programs to assist farmers in the watershed in implementing farm management practices that will result in improved water quality in Sny Magill Creek. Sediment control measures, water and sediment control basins, animal waste management systems, stream corridor management improvements, bank stabilization, and buffer strip demonstrations around sinkholes will be utilized to reduce agricultural NPS. A long-term goal of a 50% reduction in sediment delivery to Sny Magill Creek has been established.

Implementation of conservation measures has just begun in the HUA and is essentially complete in the WQSP. Farmer participation in the WQSP was approximately 81%. Data on actual acreage treated are being compiled.

No specific critical areas have been defined for the HUA project. Highly erod-ible land has been defined and an attempt is being made to treat all farms, prioritizing fields within each farm to be treated first. Structural practic-es, such as terracing and a few animal waste systems, are being implemented. Extension Service staff are assisting farmers with farmstead assessment and with Integrated Crop Management (ICM), in the hope of reducing fertilizer and pesticide inputs by at least 25% while maintaining production levels.

The IDNR-GSB is establishing a coordinated process for tracking the implemen-tation of land treatment measures with SCS, the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, and the Iowa State University Extension Service (ISUE). SCS is utilizing the "CAMPS" data base to record annual progress for land treatment and may link this to a geographic information system (GIS) system as well. ISUE will conduct baseline farm management surveys and attitude surveys among watershed farmers and will also have implementation data from ICM - Crop System records. IDNR-GSB will transfer the annual implementation records to the project GIS (ARC/INFO) to provide the necessary spatial comparisons with the water quality monitoring stations.

Participating agencies will meet in work groups as needed, generally quarterly, to review and coordinate the project. Monitoring results will be reviewed annually by an interagency committee to assess needed changes.

Water Quality Monitoring Design

A paired watershed study comparing Sny Magill watershed to the (control) Bloody Run Creek watershed (adjacent to the north and draining 22,064 acres) is planned. Watershed size, ground water hydrogeology, and surface hydrology are similar; both watersheds receive baseflow from the Ordovician Galena aquifer. The watersheds share surface and ground water divides and their proximity to one another minimizes rainfall variation. However, the large size of the two watersheds will create significant challenges in conducting a true paired watershed study. Within the Sny Magill watershed, subbbasins will be compared using upstream/downstream stations.

Primary monitoring sites, equipped with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream gages to measure discharge and suspended sediment, have been established on both Sny Magill and Bloody Run creeks. Other sites on both creeks will be sampled for chemical and physical water quality variables. An annual habitat assessment will be conducted along stretches of both stream corridors. Biomonitoring of macroinvertebrates will occur on a bi-monthly basis, and an annual fisheries survey will be conducted.

Project Water Quality Objectives

• Quantitatively document the significance of water quality im-provements resulting from the implementation of the HUA and WQSP projects

• Develop protocols and procedures for a collaborative intera-gency program to fulfill the USEPA standards for Nonpoint Source Monitoring and Reporting Requirements for 319 National Monitoring Program Projects

• Refine monitoring protocols to define water quality impacts and effectiveness of management practices

• Develop Iowa's capacity for utilization of rapid habitat and biological monitoring

• Use monitoring data interactively with implementation programs for targeting and for expanding awareness of the need for NPS pollution prevention by farmers

Information, Education, and Publicity

Information and education efforts in the watershed, led by the ISUE, will focus on:

• Improved alfalfa hay management to reduce runoff potential and increase profitability and acreage

• Improved crop rotation management and manure management (to reduce fertilizer and chemical use)

• Implementation of the Farmstead Assessment System

• Woodland management programs

• Intensive ICM assistance to producers in the watershed

Water Quality Data Management and Analysis

Data management and reporting will be handled by the IDNR - GSB and will follow USEPA's Nonpoint Source Monitoring and Reporting Requirements for Watershed Implementation Grants.

All water quality data will be entered in STORET. Biological monitoring data will be entered into BIOS. USGS data will be entered in WATSTORE. Data transfer processes among agencies are established; coordination will be established for reporting on implementation progress.

Statistical analysis and comparisons will be performed as warranted using recommended SAS packages and other methods for statistical significance and time series analysis.

For Further Information

Lynette Seigley or George Hallberg
Geologi-cal Survey Bureau, Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources
109 Trowbridge Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242
Tel: 319-335-1575.

Reference

Seigley, L.S., G.R. Hallberg, T. Wilton, M.D. Schueller, M.C. Hausler, J.O. Kennedy, G. Wunder, R.V. Link, and S.S. Brown. 1992. Sny Magill Watershed Nonpoint Source Pollution Monitoring Project Workplan. Open File Report 92-1, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Bureau, August 1992.

NWQEP NOTES is issued bimonthly. Subscriptions are free within the United States (contact: Publications Coordinator at the address below or via internet at wq_puborder@ncsu.edu). A list of publications on nonpoint source pollution distributed by the NCSU Water Quality Group is included in each hardcopy issue of the newsletter.

I welcome your views, findings, information, and suggestions for articles. Please feel free to contact me.

Judith A. Gale, Editor
Water Quality Extension Specialist
North Carolina State University Water Quality Group
Campus Box 7637
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695
Tel: 919-515-3723
Fax: 919-515-7448
Internet: notes_editor@ncsu.edu