UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF GREAT LAKES
NATIONAL PROGRAMS
230 South Dearborn St.
Chicago, Illinois 60604
July, 1978
EPA-905/9-78-00
c.t
VOLUNTARY AND REGULATORY
APPROACHES FOR NONPOINT
SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL
(CONFERENCE)
MAY 22-23, 1978
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
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EPA-905/9-78-001
VOLUNTARY AND REGULATORY APPROACHES
FOR
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL
(Water Quality Planning)
CONFERENCE
Held At
Sheraton, O'Hare Motor Hotel
6810 North Mannheim Road
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
May 23-24, 1978
Presented Papers Compiled
By
Ralph G. Christensen Carl D. Wilson
Section 108(a) Program Coordinator Nonpoint Source Coordinator
Region V - Chicago Region V - Chicago
Published by
Section 108(a) Program
Great Lakes National Program Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
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DISCLAIMER
This conference report has been reviewed by the Great Lakes National
Program Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and approved
for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily
reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products contribute
endorsement or recommendation for use.
ii
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VOLUNTARY AND REGULATORY APPROACHES
FOR
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL
(Table of Contents)
Program Schedule
May 22-23, 1978
MAY 22. 1978
8:00 - 9:00 AM
9:00 - 9:05 AM
Page
9:05 - 9:15 AM
SESSION CHAIRPERSON:
9:15 - 9:35 AM
9:35 - 9:50 AM
9:50 - lOtlO AM
10:10 - 10:30 AM
10:30 - 10:50 AM
10:50 - 11:10 AM
REGISTRATION
Call to Order - RALPH G. CHRISTENSEN
Section 108a Program Coordinator
Great Lakes National Program Office
U.S. EPA, Chicago, Illinois
Welcome and Introduction - DR. EDITH J. TEBO
Director, Great Lakes National Program Office
U.S. EPA, Chicago, Illinois
MADONNA F. MCGRATH
Chief, Environmental Planning Staff
Great Lakes National Program Office
U.S. EPA, Chicago, Illinois
Public Law 95-217 (Amendments to PL 92-500) U.S. EPA
Headquarters Perspective.
NATHAN CHANDLER, Agricultural Advisor to U.S. EPA's
Administrator, DOUGLAS M. COSTLE, Washington, D.C.
U.S. EPA's SAM-31 Memorandum on Policy, Guidance and
Approval Criteria for 208 Water Quality Planning.
MICHAEL W. MACMULLEN, Chief, Water Quality Management,
Water Division, U.S. EPA, Chicago, Illinois
208 Water Quality Planning from Perspective of the
National Association of Conservation Districts.
JAMES E. LAKE, Water Quality Specialist, National
Association of Conservation Districts, Washington, D.C.
Wisconsin's Approach to Implementing the State's
Nonpoint Source Program.
JOHN KONRAD, Chief, Special Studies Section, Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin
COFFEE BREAK
Urban Drainage - A Brief Overview
RALPH V. NORDSTROM, Land Use Coordinator
U.S. EPA, Chicago, Illinois
10
13
23
28
iii
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11:10 - 11:30 AM
11:30 - 11:50 AM
11:50 - 1:00 PM
SESSION CHAIRPERSON:
1:00 - 1:40 PM
1:40 - 2:20 PM
2:20 - 2:40 PM
2:40 - 3:20 PM
3:20 - 4:20 PM
Page
Best Management Practices for Urban Drainage - Rochester, 31
New York. CORNELIUS MURPHY, Managing Engineer, O'Brien
& Gere Consulting Engineers, Inc., Syracuse, New York
Institutional Considerations for Urban Nonpoint Source 4]
Pollution Control. GERALD C. MCDONALD, Director,
Rochester Pure Water Districts, Rochester, New York
LUNCH
RALPH V. NORDSTROM
U.S. EPA 108a Project Officer
Washington County Project, Chicago, Illinois
The Need for Sediment Regulation: The Washington County 42
Example. FRED MADISON, Washington County Project Director,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
Institutional Needs for Effective Nonpoint Source 48
Pollution Control Programs. STEVE BERKOWITZ^JIM ARTS
, Water Resources Center, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, Wisconsin
COFFEE BREAK
Conservation, Education and NPS Pollution. The Washington 57
County School Program. VICKI VINE, Project Director with
Title IV - CESA Grant. WES HALVERSON, WCP Principal
Investigator.
Development of Resource Information for Local Decision-
makers. DAN WILSON, Resource Agent - University of
Wisconsin - Extension, West Bend, Wisconsin
65
MAY 23. 1978
SESSION CHAIRPERSON:
8:15 - 8:45 AM
8:45 - 9:15 AM
RALPH G. CHRISTENSEN
Section 108a Program Coordinator
U.S. EPA, Great Lakes National Program Office
Chicago, Illinois
Geologic and Mineralogic Characteristics of the Red Clay 77
Project. JOSEPH MENGEL, B. E. BROWN, University of
Wisconsin, Superior, Wisconsin
Significance of Vegetation in Moderating Red Clay Erosion.
LARRY KUPUSTKA, DONALD DAVIDSON, RUDY KOCH, University of
Wisconsin, Superior, Wisconsin
79
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Page
9:15 - 9:45 AM Effects of Red Clay Erosion on the Benthic Environment. 97
PHILLIP DEVORE, L. T. BROOKE, W. A. SWENSON, University
of Wisconsin, Superior, Wisconsin
9:45 - 10:05 AM COFFEE BREAK
10:05 - 10:35 AM Land Management Practices for the Red Clay Project. 121
JOHN STREICH, District Conservationist, Soil Conservation
Service, Superior, Wisconsin
10:35 - 11:05 AM Multiple Agency Management for Nonpoint Source Pollution 130
Control. STEPHEN C. ANDREWS, Cirector, Red Clay Project,
Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District,
Superior, Wisconsin
11:05 - 11:35 AM Demonstration of Effective Shoreline Protection. 134
TUNSER EDIL, PETER MONKMEYER, THEODORE GREEN III, PAUL
WOLF, Department of Civil Engineering, University of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.
11:35 - 1:00 PM LUNCH
SESSION CHAIRPERSON: CARL D. WILSON
U.S. EPA, Section 108a Project Officer
Black Creek Project and Regional Nonpoint Source
Coordinator, Chicago, Illinois
1:00 - 1:30 PM ANSWERS Model, A Financial Savings Procedure. 153
LARRY F. HUGGINS, Project Investigator, Department of
Agricultural Engineering, Purdue University,
West Lafayette, Indiana
1:30 - 2:00 PM Sediment Contributions to the Maumee River. What 170
Level of Sediment Control is Feasible?
EDWIN J. MONKE, Project Investigator, Department of
Agricultural Engineering, Purdue University,
West Lafayette, Indiana
2:00 - 2:30 PM Nutrient Availability; Parameters That Can Be Controlled 179
and Estimated. DARRELL W. NELSON, Project Investigator,
Department of Agronomy, Purdue University,
West Lafayette, Indiana
2:30 - 2:45 PM COFFEE BREAK
2:45 - 3:05 PM Tile Drainage. Will Best Management Practices Increase 199
or Decrease Loadings to the Maumee River?
A. B. BOTTCHER, Project Investigator, Purdue University,
West Lafayette, Indiana
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Page __
3:05 - 3:45 PM Results of a Voluntary Program for Nonpoint Source 208
Pollution Control.
JAMES B. MORRISON, Black Creek Project Editor,
Writer and Agricultural Information Specialist,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
3:45 - CLOSING REMARKS- CARL D. WILSON, Remarks on NFS vs 217
Point Source Pollution Costs.
vi
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WELCOME
BY
DR. EDITH J, TEBO, DIRECTOR
GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE
U.S. EPA, REGION V
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60604
I am happy to welcome you to this conference which we have entitled
"Voluntary and Regulatory Approaches for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control."
We will share with you, today and tomorrow, considerable discussion on non-
point source pollution control as it relates to the Clean Water Act, PL 92-
500 and its 1977 Amendments. The agenda for this conference provides for
an overview of the Nonpoint Source Pollution Control mandate to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency through PL 92-500.
Nonpoint source pollution is recognized internationally as a problem,
and is being addressed in the Great Lakes under the United States-Canada
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. One of the references of this water
quality agreement is directed to inventory land-use activities and their
effects on the Great Lakes. To do this, we implemented four land-use
pilot watershed studies in the United States and six watershed studies in
Canada to prepare the information and remedial-measures recommendations
to best reduce and control nonpoint source pollution to the Lakes. Region
V has committed $13 million to support the Section 108(a) demonstration
projects and land-use watershed studies. Additional funds have been and
will be awarded through Section 208 grants to plan and implement nonpoint
source pollution controls. Summary reports on the land-use watershed
studies findings are available at the IJC Regional Office in Windsor,
Ontario, Canada. The comprehensive reports will be available late this
summer.
Russell Train, our former EPA administrator, stated in a speech in
Bettendorf, Iowa, that nonpoint sources of water pollution, such as
runoff from croplands; urban stormwater; and strip mining, are becoming
the single most important water quality problem. Douglas Costle, our
present EPA Administrator, stated in a recent speech to the National
Association of Conservation Districts at Annaheim, California, that
"Silt and sedimentation are the biggest sources of pollution in this
country."
Congress placed primary responsibility for the management of non-
point source pollution in the hands of the States. This is as it should
be. States and local units of government are better able to identify
their problems as part of their over-all planning process than is the
Federal government. We want to see local government, acting on a
regional basis, getting more and more into the business of really facing
up to these issues. Plans for solving such problems would be created
and carried out through a political process in which both citizens and
their elected officials—not experts or appointed officials—make all
the basic choices and decisions. We want to encourage State and local
governments to tell us at the Federal level how we can help with programs
that are conceived and implemented at lower levels.
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To highlight some problems associated with nonpoint pollution, let
me give you some examples:
1. Two billion tons of sediment are delivered to lakes and
streams annually from over 400 million acres of croplands, as well as
large amounts of nitrogen from fertilizers, phosphorous from nonpoint
sources, animal wastes from feedlots, and toxic pesticides.
2. Between 5 and 10 percent of the total sediment load is
estimated to come from 10 to 12 million acres of commercial forest
harvested per year.
3. Strip mining, which affects about 350,000 acres annually,
results in the discharge of millions of tons of acidity and sediment.
4. Urban sprawl, which consumes hundreds of square miles per
year, generates sediment at an even greater rate than agricultural
activities.
5. The runoff of stormwater in urban areas accounts for
pollution of waters with large amounts of toxic and oxygen-demanding
materials.
Nonpoint sources of water pollution have become more than 50 percent
of the total water quality problems. As site-specific sources of pollu-
tion are reduced by municipalities and industries, other sources gain in
relative importance.
The technical information to be reported to you today comes from
four of our Section 108(a) Great Lakes demonstration grant projects.
The principal investigators will discuss their work and their findings
with us, and try to answer any questions that you may desire to ask.
The information presented here today, hopefully, will provide you with
a clearer understanding of the nonpoint source problems confronting us.
We will report to you some methods and best management practices that
have been successfully demonstrated to reduce and control the problem.
There will be two movie films shown during this conference that
identify nonpoint source problems and offer some solutions. These
films cover the geographic area of the continental United States.
Descriptive brochures on the films entitled "Nonpoint '83" and "Runoff;
Land Use and Water Quality" are available at the registration desk.
There are copies of the Black Creek Project final technical report
available at the back table along with other informational brochures
for your use.
I hope the papers presented today will benefit you in your planning
activities. I appreciate your attendance at this conference. If we can
be of assistance to you during the day, please contact Mr. Ralph
Christensen or Ms. Peggy Harris, who will be happy to help you.
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THE CLEAN WATER ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1977, PL 95-217
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY HEADQUARTERS
PERSPECTIVE
by
Nathan Chandler*
I am very pleased to have this opportunity to give you the EPA
perspective on the 1977 Clean Water Act Amendments as they relate to
voluntary and regulatory programs for nonpoint source pollution control.
As my boss, Administrator Douglas Costle, pointed out in December to the
National Association of Conservation Districts, EPA is giving greater
attention than ever before to nonpoint source pollution control. The
reason for this is quite simple. As industrial and municipal point
sources of pollution are brought under control, the nonpoint sources
become a larger proportion of the total water quality problem.
In addition, EPA is very much concerned that nationwide estimates
show a yearly loss of between 9 and 12 tons of topsoil per acre, the
irretrievable loss of 1.5 to 2 million acres of farmland to urbaniza-
tion, and the likelihood that by the year 2000 our present consumption
of water will have to double to a staggering one trillion gallons per
day. I mention these grim statistics at this meeting because water
quality control and resource conservation are intimately linked. One
goes hand in hand with the other.
Having said a word about the linkage between pollution and conser-
vation, I'd like now to make a few generalizations about the clean water
act amendments and then talk about some new EPA initiatives.
The Clean Water Act of 1977, Amending the 1972 Act, was a mid-
course correction. It reaffirmed our national goals of achieving
fishable and swimmable waters by 1983 and zero discharge of pollutants
by 1985. Section 101 reaffirmed four basic national policies.
1. The prohibition of the discharge of toxic pollutants in
toxic amounts.
2. Federal financial assistance for the construction of
publicly-owned treatment works.
3. The development and implementation of areawide waste
treatment management planning and implementation processes adequate
to control pollutants in each state.
4. The continuing need to develop the necessary technology
for water pollution control.
*Nathan Chandler, Agricultural Advisor to U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Administrator, Douglas M. Costle,
Washington, D.C. 20460
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The 1977 Amendments seek to sharpen EPA's four policy areas more
effectively in order to reach our National goals. Toxic substances,
included in both the clean water act and the Toxic Substances Control
Act of 1976, are going to be more closely regulated. In fact, under
TSCA, EPA is empowered to control the manufacture, sale, and distri-
bution of dangerous toxic substances to totally prevent their entering
the environment.
Federal financial assistance for the construction of publicly-owned
treatment works has been funded at approximately $5 billion a year for
fiscal years 1978-82. Rather than having just one-third of the nation's
muncipalities in compliance, as is true at present, this long-term fund-
ing should see a substantial majority in compliance by 1983. I think it
is worth noting here that municipalities must give serious consideration
to land treatment of wastewater and that municipalities that do use land
treatment of wastewater, and that municipalities that do use land treat-
ment will receive an additional 10 percent funding.
Our principal concerns today, however, focus on areawide waste
treatment management planning processes, and on research and demonstra-
tion, as they apply to nonpoint sources of water pollution.
The regulatory authority for the control of nonpoint sources of
pollution, as stated in section 201, is unchanged. EPA's mandate is a
broad and, we trust, a creative and constructive one. Briefly, the
language of the law says, and I quote, "It is the purpose of this title
to require and to assist in the development and implementation of area-
wide waste treatment management plans ...to the extent practicable,
waste treatment management shall be on an areawide basis and provide
control or treatment of all point and nonpoint sources of pollution..."
Section 208 encourages and facilitates this areawide waste treat-
ment management planning and implementation process. The big news, I
think, is that despite the mixed record of 208, areawide planning and
management have emerged substantially strengthened both in the law and
in EPA's policies.
Congress made five basic changes to strengthen the 208 program.
I am going to enumerate them first and then discuss each at greater
length.
1. Time for Preparing Plans;
2. Areawide Waste Treatment Management;
3. Irrigation Return Flows;
4. Dredge and Fill Permit Program;
5. Agricultural Cost Sharing.
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You'll be glad to know, I'm sure, that on all five counts the news
is good. Now let me expand and explain.
In regard to the timing of areawide planning—that is, 208—any
statewide agency designated as the appropriate agency after 1975, which
received its first grant before October 1, 1977, shall receive a grant
of 100 percent for the first two years, and have three years after the
receipt of the initial grant to prepare an initial plan. In short, the
amendments reward previous accomplishments and hard work. Tom Jorling,
head of EPA's water program, has reaffirmed the agency's commitment to
those 208 agencies which have performed, and he has served notice that
those which do not perform will not continue to receive EPA backing.
The key to effective planning is the assiduous cultivation of the
kind of broad public participation that assures that areawide planning
is areawide in fact as well as in name. Also, EPA will be looking for
plans that identify the major problems and propose appropriate solutions
for those problems. It is essential not only that we get more bang for
the buck, but we do not waste time and money tilting at windmills.
Now, when it comes to areawide waste treatment management, each
208 plan must include an identification of open space and recreation
opportunities expected from improved water quality, including potential
use of lands associated with treatment works. Once again, the Congres-
sional and EPA thrust is to go beyond clean-up to, if you will, a sort
of resource recovery.
Before I leave this item, I'd like to say that EPA has just completed
some excellent new materials on how the public can achieve full benefit
from improved water quality, and how communities can take advantage of
the new fishing, swimming, and recreation opportunities. In short, we're
beginning to reach the point where our National goal of fishable and
swimmable waters can be turned into a reality.
I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that the new amendments drop irriga-
tion return flows from the definition of a point source and transfer them
to the 208 areawide waste treatment planning program. However, States
are not precluded from regulating irrigation return flows under the
permit program.
In regard to dredge and fill permit programs, I'm sure you will
also be glad to know that discharges from dredge and fill that are from
normal farming and ranching activities, including the construction and
maintenance of farm or stock ponds; irrigation and drainage ditches;
certain roads; and other farming dredge and fill operations resulting
from an approved 208 program, are exempt from the 404 permit requirements.
Finally, but certainly not least, is the development of agricultural
cost sharing, sponsored by Senator Culver and operating as the rural
clean water program. The Culver amendment does two major things: It
provides funds and it ties tightly together 208 planning and implementation.
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I think I would be doing this audience a disservice if I did not say that
Congress is going to be watching very carefully to see if the financial
inducements and the administrative mechanisms of the rural clean water
program will justify new levels of funding.
These five changes made by the Congress were designed to increase
substantially our, and your, effectiveness in improving water quality
management programs in the nonpoint source area. Congress and EPA both
recognize that because of the naturally occurring sediment and attached
pollutants, and because of the difficulty of obtaining hard data due to
the multiplicity of nonpoint sources of pollution, there are no numbers
associated with nonpoint source pollution as there are with the point
source permit program. Sometimes this has been construed as an invitation
to do as you please. Nothing could be further from the truth.
If I made no other point today, I want to make it absolutely clear
that EPA and the Congress are expecting an acceleration of the implemen-
tation of the 208 nonpoint program through the application of the best
management practices to control the most critical water quality problems.
Just because it is difficult to measure the amount of sediment;
nutrients; salts; pesticides; organics; pathogens; oil; grease; and
thermal changes stemming from nonpoint sources, it does not now mean,
as it sometimes has in the past, that nonpoint polluters can claim that
it is the known point sources (which can be measured) that must bear the
burden of regulation and cleanup. That just will not wash with Congress
or EPA.
Like a compass which always points toward the north pole, the
indicators of the water quality problem point to severe nonpoint
problems. As a Nation, we cannot afford the luxury of further delay
or absolutely precise solutions. The time to move forward is now.
There are a great many things that we do know about these problems.
We do have the management techniques that can reduce the pollution
potential of a great majority of nonpoint sources. For example, we
know that if we manage more closely the timing, type, and amount of
fertilizer and pesticides, as well as tillage practices, that we can
reduce substantially the pollution potential of a farming operation.
Many farmers are using these successful management tools today.
Tools which have been conceived and developed by farmers who want to
make the best use of their limited soil and water resources, as well as
the crops which are nurtured by these resources. These techniques are
the best management practices which EPA requires in the nonpoint source
portion of the water quality management plan.
Of course, best management practices vary from terrain to terrain
and crop to crop, but that does not mean that they are not well known
for every area of the country. Thus, I have no qualms in telling you
that EPA's water quality management program is focusing on the accelerated
application of these down-to-earth solutions to local problems with
every expectation of substantial success. These best management practices
are solutions which good managers have initiated and other good managers
have adopted. In fact, it is because these best management practices
have been widely accepted that EPA expects a voluntary program to evolve
from most water quality plans.
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However, where critical water quality problems are not dealt with,
EPA favors having, as some six States have already done, a back-up
nonpoint source regulatory program. I do not think there is any great
need to dwell on that point. Most farmers recognize the necessity to
protect their own investment, and are not about to sit quietly by while
a few recalcitrant landowners imperil the success of the voluntary approach.
EPA views farmers as concerned and informed businessmen and citizens, and,
so, while a back-up regulatory approach may be necessary, a voluntary
approach is preferred.
EPA is putting particular emphasis on three initiatives to speed up
solving the worst nonpoint source water quality problems. The first is
the model implementation program; the second, the rural clean water
program, sometimes referred to as the Culver amendment; and the third is
the integrated Federal water quality management program. I want to say
a word or two about each of these programs and how each relates to the
general nonpoint source problem.
The model implementation program has been designed to do three things:
o Help those areas which have identified water quality problems
to move forward more quickly in implementing solutions.
o Identify major roadblocks, whether of a technical, legal, or
social nature in the implementation process.
o Review EPA and USDA laws and authorities to see where changes
may be necessary for more effective implementation of water
quality management plans.
More than one hundred MIP applications were reviewed by States, EPA
regions, and USDA/EPA national committees; from which seven were selected
from different parts of the country. These seven are:
1. Indiana Heartland - Indiana
2. Maple Creek - Nebraska
3. West branch of the Delaware River — New York
4. Little Washita River - Oklahoma
5. Broadway Lake Watershed - South Carolina
6. Lake Herman - South Dakota
7. Sulphur Creek - Washington
There is one essential element common to these seven model implemen-
tation projects—the various people involved, including State and local
officials, as well as farmers, have agreed to agree. All concerned have
recognized that the problem is of sufficient severity to demand concerted
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action. While everyone may not have agreed with the chosen solution,
everyone did agree that cooperative, coordinated action was required.
These model implementation programs are moving forward, and we expect
to learn a good deal from all seven, which will prove of widespread
usefulness in combatting similar tough problems.
The second EPA initiative, the rural clean water program, is the
new program that will put into effect the agricultural cost-sharing
portion of the Clean Water Act of 1977. This portion of the act
authorizes The Secretary of Agriculture, with the concurrence of The
Administrator of EPA, to establish and administer a program to enter
into long-term contracts of not less than five years, nor more than ten
years, with rural landowners and operators for the purpose of installing
and maintaining best management practices to control nonpoint source
pollution and to improve water quality.
Only those States or areas which have an approved agricultural
portion of a 208 plan qualify for financial assistance. The agricultural
problem, priorities, and the best management practices identified in the
approved 208 plan determine which best management practices will be cost
shared. The primary objective of the rural clean water program is to
accelerate the implementation of nonpoint source control programs and
the application of best management practices for high priority water
quality problem area.
The last of the three initiatives, the integrated Federal water
quality management program (Section 304(k) of PL 92-500) authorizes
$100 million per year for fiscal years 1979-1983. This program is
designed to serve as a catalyst in bringing Federal agency expertise
to State and local agencies involved in critical water quality manage-
ment problems. These funds will be used to accelerate ongoing Federal
programs in areas which have been identified by 208 agencies as having
significant water quality problems. Recognizing that the successful
implementation of many 208 programs is dependent upon the expertise
and support of Federal agencies, these funds could be used, for example,
by the Cooperative Extension Service to assist in implementation of an
educational program regarding nutrient use above a recreational lake
where eutrophication is a problem.
I think you can see that these three programs—the Model Implemen-
tation Program, the Rural Clean Water Program, and the Integrated Federal
Water Quality Management Program—are all aimed at accelerating the
attainment of our National water quality goals.
I am sure that I don't need to remind this audience that 1983 and
1985 are just around the corner. The problem of time is one with which
even the titans of the modern world have had to contend.
This reminds me of a story about Winston Churchill when he was Prime
Minister of Great Britian during that nation's darkest hours. Churchill
was speaking before a key group of military personnel. He was introduced
not only as the Prime Minister of England, but as the only man who had
drunk enough brandy to fill the hall in which Churchill was speaking to
a hypothetical mark halfway up the wall. As the Prime Minister walked to
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the podium, shuffling his papers, he started his address by looking back
at that hypothetical' mark on the wall and said, "So much to do and so
little time to do it in."
I would like to emphasize the fact that we recognize that nonpoint
source problems are complex and widespread, and that we do not expect all
such sources to be cleaned up quickly or completely. But we do intend to
move ahead with all of our authorities without delay, employing the whole
range of pollution control tools, including education; regulations; improved
management; incentives; and voluntary programs. The most critical water
quality problems will be addressed first; all fifty States are in this
process. Most have identified agricultural activities as a major nonpoint
source of pollution. In carrying out this program, EPA has encouraged
voluntary programs reinforced by effective and reasonable back-up regula-
tory authority.
Thank you very much.
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY SAM-31 MEMORANDUM ON POLICY, GUIDANCE
and
APPROVAL CRITERIA FOR 208 WATER QUALITY PLANNING
by
Michael W. MacMullen*
Perhaps none of EPA's State and Areawide Program Memoranda (SAM's)
has been so widely discussed, and so little understood as SAM-31. Many
people active in some phase of the water quality management planning proc-
ess have asserted that SAM-31 removes any substantial requirement for a
regulatory program of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control. For exam-
ple, substantial discussion was had within the Legislature of one Region V
State to the effect that since SAM 31 provided for voluntary NPS control
programs, there was no compelling reason for the State to adopt even a min-
imal regulatory control program on its own initiative. As a result of these
discussions a very promising sedimentation control regulation was removed
from further legislative consideration. I believe that SAM-31 will come to
be recognized as one of the most important policy statements on management
control mechanisms for NPS of pollution which have yet been produced and
distributed.
The basic thrust of SAM-31 is squarely to the heart of the matter: that
Regulatory Programs are in fact required for NPS control, where these pro-
grams are determined to be the most practicable method of assuring that an
effective NPS control program will be implemented. Determinations of prac-
ticability are to be based on economic, technical, social, and environmental
factors coupled to an analysis of the historical effectiveness of any exist-
ing non-regulatory programs within the planning area. The 208 agency, in
consultation with the Regional Administrator, is to determine the need for
regulatory programs. Certainly, it should be pointed out, here at the onset
that regulatory programs are not required where the plan prepared under
Section 208 certified that substantial water quality problems resulting from
NPS do not now exist and are not likely to develop in the foreseeable future.
In order to be approvable a proposed Regulatory Program must include the
following elements:
1. Authority to control the problem which the program addresses.
2. Authority to require the application of Best Management Prac-
tices (BMPs).
3. Authority to implement appropriate monitoring and inspection
activities.
*Michael W. MacMullen, Chief, Water Quality Management Section, Planning Branch
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region V
10
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4. Authority to implement the chosen control tools such as per-
mits, licenses, contracts, etc.
5. Enforcement authority.
6. A designated management agency or agencies responsible for
implementing the regulatory program.
Other approaches to nonpoint source control may be approved by the
Regional Administrator as fulfilling the appropriate NPS control require-
ments only where in his judgment the program will result in achievement of
the desired water quality goals. This means that the responsibility is im-
posed on the appropriate 208 Planning Agency to demonstrate, within the
covers of the plan, that a non-regulatory program can and will work. Even
then, full approval of non-regulatory programs will only be given where im-
plementation efforts, such as hiring of personnel or budget allocations have
actually commenced. If implementation is to occur in stages, and stage one
has been implemented, and a definite schedule for implementing future stages
has been agreed upon, full approval may be granted. In any event, approval
is to be given only when the following conditions are met:
a. Identification of specific BMPs.
b. Agreement on a schedule of milestones, such as implementation,
monitoring and program evaluation.
c. Provision of an effective educational program to inform the
affected public of the requirements.
d. Provision of adequate technical assistance and financial assist-
ance, if needed.
e. Agreement to reporting system (at least annual) to the Regional
Administrator on progress made in implementation.
Approval of non-regulatory approaches is to be withdrawn, if the
Regional Administrator determines that implementation milestones are not
being met. These non-regulatory approaches will therefore be allowed to
continue from one reporting period to the next only when continuing and sub-
stantial progress, including the application of BMPs is being made toward
attaining water quality goals. Where such progress is not being made, ap-
proval of these non-regulatory approaches is to be reworked, and it will be
presumed that a regulatory program is the most practical means of assuring
program implementation.
The Regional Administrator is to disapprove a proposed NPS program as
being inadequate for the NPS portion of the plan, when he has reason to be-
lieve it will not be effective and will not lead to the application of BMPs.
Factors he should consider in taking this action should include the severity
of the NPS problem, past experience of the involved governmental unit with
the proposed approach, and the type of program that is proposed.
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Where substantial water quality problems continue to exist, those
programs which are merely a continuation of an existing program (i.e.,
which do not provide additional educational, technical, or financial
assistance, or those which utilize techniques and institutions which have
not been successful) which have been in place for a sufficient time to
evaluate their effectiveness, shall not qualify as acceptable.
The finding by the Regional Administrator of an unacceptable NFS plan
element can be expected to have a number of widespread impacts. In the first
place, nothing is more contemporary to the American political scene as the
complex interplay between taxation levels, regulation by government in gen-
eral, and land use restrictions in particular. Rejection by EPA of wholly
voluntary NFS control programs will undoubtedly be a highly visible and in
some quarters, a highly controversial action. Some people may view the
action, as a significant step in the direction of decreasing on the one
hand, the individual's right to manage his or her own land as they see fit,
while increasing on the other hand, the level of governmental control over
private property. Additionally, disapproval of a NFS plan element may very
well have serious, long term consequences as to the viability of the specif-
ic planning agency's continuing designation as a Section 208 agency for the
geographic area in question. In any event, the implications of SAM-31 and
its plan review and approval criteria are such that the fact of the immediate
and long term significance of this policy memorandum does not appear open to
serious question.
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CONSERVATION DISTRICT INVOLVEMENT
IN
208 NONPOINT SOURCE IMPLEMENTATION
(NACD PERSPECTIVE)
by
James E. Lake*
As a representative of the National Association of Conservation
Districts, I am very pleased to participate in this conference. Many
conservation districts throughout our country, as well as NACD, have
been very much involved in water quality planning, and expect to play
a very significant role in implementing "Best Management Practices for
Nonpoint Source Pollution Control," which is certainly a key issue at
this conference.
The activities of conservation districts have been ongoing for more
than forty years in the United States.
The conservation movement began in 1937 when model legislation was
furnished to the States by President Roosevelt providing for the creation
of conservation districts by State law. Since that time, all States;
Puerto Rico; and the Virgin Islands have adopted such laws. Some three
thousand conservation districts have been created throughout our Nation.
Most States' district laws provide for establishment of districts
as political subdivision of the State. Although State laws governing
conservation districts vary in some respects, their purposes are the
same everywhere—that is, to focus attention on land, water, and related
resource problems; to develop programs to solve those problems; and to
enlist the support and cooperation from all public and private sources
to accomplish district goals.
Conservation districts are managed by local citizens who know their
local problems. Usually, districts have from five to seven officials
who are either elected or appointed, depending on the laws of the partic-
ular State. There is a growing trend to provide for the election of
these governing bodies at the general election. Over seventeen thousand
men and women now serve as district officials. Originally, conservation
districts primarily served agricultural co-operators—cities and towns
not being included within most districts' boundaries. However, in recent
years, conservation districts have either by amendment to the district
laws, or by the redefining of district boundaries included the entire
soil and water resource areas encompassing urban and city dwellers as
well.
Most conservation officials are farmers and ranchers; however, they
are being joined more and more in recent years by bankers, homeowners,
sportsmen, businessmen, county officials, and many other citizens concerned
*James E. Lake, Water Quality Specialist,
NACD, Washington, D.C. 20005
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about natural resources. An increasing number of States are requiring
representation on district governing bodies by urban and nonfarm
interest.
In every district, officials develop and continually maintain a
long-range plan which contains facts about the soil, water, and related
resource problems of their district. The long-range plan also outlines
measures that can be taken to correct the problems identified. The
long-range plans must continually be updated in order to provide current
resource information that is needed to assess current problems and to
provide a base for setting new priorities. All districts prepare an
annual plan of operation to guide the current year's activities. To
accomplish the goals spelled out in the long-range plan and the annual
plan of operations, district officials have developed working agreements
with many local, State, and Federal agencies.
Through a memorandum of understanding, districts receive Federal
assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture's Soil
Conservation Service to provide technical assistance to individual land-
owners and land users for palanning and installing conservation practices
needed on their lands. Districts also have memorandums of understanding
and cooperative arrangements with many other Federal, State, and local
agencies.
There are now over two million district co-operators throughout the
Nation. These co-operators have been working with conservation districts
voluntarily to apply conservation practices (many are synonymous with
Best Management Practices) on their land for the last forty years.
However, with all these indications of success, the fact still remains
that there is a tremendous job to be accomplished in soil and water
conservation. New problems continue to arise, and millions of acres of
our valuable cropland are still unprotected and are eroding at a rate
accelerated by man's activities that will deplete the soil resource if
it continues. Furthermore, the resulting sediment is recognized as the
largest single polluter of our streams by volume. In addition, it is
recognized that water quality can be further degraded by the excessive
nutrients and pesticides carried by the sediment.
Just last year, the General Accounting Office reported on a survey
of the effectiveness of conservation work throughout our country. The
report indicated that the Soil Conservation Service estimated an average
of nine tons of soil per acre per year was being lost from our Nation's
croplands, and that a significant amount of cropland losing soil in
excess of the tolerable soil loss limits has not been protected by the
application of erosion control practices. In fact, the report indicated
that 42 percent of the 335 million acres of cropland harvested in 1975
did not have adequate erosion control techniques applied.
In recent years, attention has turned toward the effects of erosion
and related pollutants on water quality. Several major events over the
past few years have led to the involvement of conservation districts in
208 water quality planning. In 1970, a National Sediment Conference
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identified sediment as a serious polluter of our Nation's waters. Con-
servation districts 'became more concerned about those water quality
problems that might be created by agricultural activities. In 1972,
the National Association of Conservation Districts, EPA, the Council of
State Governments, SCS, and others worked to develop a Model State Act
for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control, to be considered throughout the
country. The Model Act was published by the Council of State Governments
in its 1973 Suggested State Legislation. Following this, NACD received
a grant from EPA to assist individual States to hold sediment control
institutes. The purpose of these institutes was to discuss the problems
related to sedimentation and water quality; to discuss potential legis-
lation and sediment control programs that could be implemented to reduce
these problems; and to educate individual district officials as to the
seriousness of erosion, sediment, and related water quality problems.
Fourty-five sediment institutes were held in cooperation with State Soil
and Water Conservation agencies, SCS, and State associations.
As of 1977, 15 States, the Virgin Islands, and the District of
Columbia had adopted various forms of sediment control legislation. The
legislation in these States is quite diverse and may vary a great deal
from the model legislation introduced in 1972. However, the control of
erosion and sediment is an important feature of all of these laws.
A brief summary of the sediment control laws in three of these
States follows:
Virginia
The efforts of Virginia's Soil and Water Conservation Commission
and the Erosion and Sediment Control Task Force of the Governor's
Council on the Environment in 1971-1972 resulted in the 1972 enactment
of a bill for erosion and sediment control on land disturbing projects
other than agricultural or silvicultural.
The purpose of the law was to establish and implement a statewide,
coordinated program to control erosion and sediment, and to conserve
and protect the land; water; air; and other natural resources of
Virginia. The State Soil and Water Conservation Commission was assigned
responsibility for administering the law.
Guidelines, standards, and criteria were adopted by the Commission
and became effective July 1, 1974. Local control programs consistent
with the State program are developed and carried out by (1) the soil
and water conservation district; (2) where appropriate, by counties,
cities, and incorporated towns; or (3) by a joint venture between a
district and a county, city, or town. These local programs are approved
by the Commission.
If any county, city, town, or district fails to fulfill these
requirements, the Commission develops and adopts a program to be carried
out by the district, or if there is no district, by the county, city or
town.
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The local programs require an erosion and sediment control plan
approved by the local government before land disturbing activities
can begin. The local authority can require an applicant to insure
that emergency measures for appropriate conservation be taken at the
applicant's expense. To insure this, the authority can require a
letter of credit, cash escrow, performance bond, or other legal arrange-
ment before issuing the permit.
Iowa
Iowa's erosion and sediment control law requires abatement of
erosion when a complaint is filed with the commissioners of a conser-
vation district, provides for adoption of soil loss limit regulations
by districts, and provides for State financed cost-sharing for installing
needed measures. Penalties are imposed when the landowner fails to
initiate necessary work within specified time limits.
Iowa was the first State in which districts experienced this new
responsibility governing agricultural lands. A key stipulation in the
Iowa law is that cost-sharing and technical assistance must be available
before a landowner can be required to install measures to meet the
requirements of the law.
Maryland
Maryland's Statewide Sediment Control Act was adopted in 1970 by
the Maryland General Assembly. The Department of Natural Resources is
the responsible agency. The act requires that before land is cleared;
graded; transported; or otherwise disturbed for any purpose (except
agriculture and single-family dwelling construction), the proposed earth
change shall first be submitted to and approved by the appropriate soil
conservation district. State projects, Federal projects, or projects on
State-owned lands are approved by the Department of Natural Resources.
Under the act, each county and municipality is required to adopt grading
and sediment control ordinances and have them approved by the Department
of Natural Resources (DNR). All 23 counties and Baltimore City adopted
ordinances by the end of 1972. The Maryland Attorney General has ruled
that "Protective stormwater measures may be imposed by the Soil Conser-
vation District" under the 1970 Sediment Control Law.
In 1972, when Congress passed amendments to the Clean Water Act,
P.L. 92-500, it possibly enacted the most significant legislation
involving conservation districts since their creation. Never before in
the 40-plus years of conservation district activities in this country
have the challenges and opportunity been greater than they are today
as a result of Section 208 of that law. Section 208, as you know,
requires that each State develop State or areawide plans for controlling
pollution from both point and nonpoint sources. Nonpoint sources
include such areas as agriculture, silviculture, surface-mined areas,
and construction sites. Districts because of their experience became
directly involved in nonpoint planning for these activities in mdny
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States. Some of the key provisions of Section 208 that have provided
the opportunity for district involvement are: the emphasis on local
involvement, the requirement for identification of water quality prob-
lems by source, and the need for development of best management prac-
tices that will help solve the identified nonpoint source water quality
problems. The provisions also require that the agency or agencies to
manage the nonpoint program be designated by the governor. All of these
provisions led very naturally to the involvement of conservation districts.
The language of Section 208 also spells out that the programs are
to be carried out at the local and State levels, with local participation
playing a major role in formulation and implementation of the 208 plans.
Soil conservation districts are the key local agency for involving rural
landowners and concerned citizens. As local landowners themselves,
district officials provide the grass roots contact between government at
all levels and the local people.
In addition, districts have perfected working arrangements which
allow the integration of Federal, State, and local governmental agencies.
Through this cooperation, conservation districts also have the technical
expertise to provide landowners assistance in making decisions affecting
nonpoint source pollution control on their land. They also have a
tremendous amount of necessary resource information such as soil surveys,
resource maps, conservation needs inventory data, soil loss information
(Universal Soil Loss Equation) that is needed to identify the critical
areas where water quality problems do exist.
In addition, districts with the technical assistance of SCS have
the expertise to assist landowners with the development of plans out-
lining Best Management Practices on their lands. Many existing and
well-known conservation practices that have been used for years, such
as grassed waterways; terraces; erosion control structures; minimum
tillage; pasture land management; and many others, are "Best Management
Practices" whenever they are identified as the best known means of
control for agricultural nonpoint source water quality problems addressed
in a 208 plan. Just because we have developed a new term which describes
those measures to be applied to solve water quality problems related to
agriculture, it does not mean that we scrap all the existing technical
methods that we have used in the past. Instead, we will be focusing
on how to use our technical experience more efficiently in addition to
searching out new methods of control which will also be recognized as
"Best Management Practices" to improve water quality.
Districts have some real challenges to meet, and in some cases,
changes to make in their own organization, in order to accomplish the
objectives of the nonpoint source control efforts under Section 208.
To meet these challenges, districts will need to, and are, reassessing
their priorities. The days of the "first-come-first-serve" approach
for assistance are numbered. Setting priorities for conservation
planning and application is a responsibility of conservation districts.
Not only is this an important aspect of 208 planning, but of ongoing
district programs as well. The Soil Conservation Service has agreed to
provide technical assistance in accordance with the priorities set by
district officials. This means that technical assistance should, and
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will be, available to landowners and operators on a "worst-first" basis
in the future. It will mean that instead of working with the most aggres-
sive landowners who request assistance for relatively minor problems,
the Soil Conservation Service and other district co-operating agencies,
such as the Cooperative Extension Service, must concentrate on working
with the less progressive operators who usually have the more difficult
problems, but are more hesitant to request assistance. As a result of
this approach, implementation will be accomplished in the critical areas
first in order to have the greatest and most immediate impact on water
quality.
With the growing responsibilities conservation districts are being
asked to assume, the need for additional district administrative and
technical staff is critical. In many States, county and State government
provide funds to enable districts to fill at least part of this manpower
need.
Federal personnel ceilings limit the number of SCS and other agency
personnel available to districts. If some additional manpower needs can
be met from State and local sources, better use of SCS technical assist-
ance can be made in solving critical land protection and water problems.
Districts will need to continually improve their educational and
informational programs in the future in order to show the need for addi-
tional support.
Districts are demonstrating their ability to make these adjustments
as well as their ability to manage programs for the installation of Best
Management Practices in several programs already underway in the country.
The following programs are illustrative of districts' abilities to manage
programs in the future. The three examples that will be briefly discussed
are the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Program, the Montana National Streambed
and Land Preservation Law, and the Black Creek Demonstration Project in
Indiana.
Pennsylvania Clean Streams Program
Several developments in Pennsylvania revealed the need for an expanded
program for erosion and sediment control. These included the erosion and
sediment problems created by industrial development and urbanization; a
growing interest in, and citizen support for, total watershed management
programs; and the general recognition that sediment was the largest single
pollutant, by volume, of water resources.
On September 21, 1972, following study by the Environmental Quality
Board (EQB) and public hearings, rules and regulations for erosion and
sedimentation control were adopted by the EQB pursuant to the existing
Clean Streams Law. Under the regulations, all earth-moving activities,
regardless of size, must have an erosion and sedimentation control plan.
In addition to an erosion and sedimentation control plan, earth-moving
activities greater than 25 acres must, with certain exceptions, have an
erosion and sediment control permit from DER.
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The Department of Environmental Resources developed an operating
procedure that would utilize conservation district expertise in the
program. The staffs of the Bureau of Water Quality Management, the
Bureau of Soil and Water Conservation, and the Bureau of Litigation
and Enforcement jointly developed this procedure.
On projects requiring departmental permits, an application for an
erosion and sedimentation control permit is submitted to the conservation
district along with an erosion and sediment control plan. The conserva-
tion district has 45 days during which to act upon the application.
Following technical review, the conservation district board, at an
official meeting, takes action to recommend to the department that a
permit should either be issued or denied. This recommendation is forwarded
to the department's regional office where the permitting process takes
place.
Through a department policy established by the Secretary of the
Department of Environmental Resources, the Bureau of Soil and Water
Conservation is to provide technical support on erosion control matters
to other bureaus within the Department. Inspection and enforcement
activities are handled by the Office of Deputy for Protection and
Regulation and Deputy for Enforcement within the Department. Included
in the operating procedures is a provision that the Department may dele-
gate portions of the enforcement program to local jurisdictions.
The resources management portion of the program has been assigned to
the Bureau of Soil and Water Conservation and the 66 conservation districts.
The Bureau's Division of Soil Resources and Erosion Control implements
the Department's program through informational, training, administrative,
and liaison activities. Districts provide information, planning assist-
ance, plan review, and land-use monitoring assistance to the Department
of Environmental Resources. Twenty-three districts have requested and
have been delegated authority in the inspection portion of the program
to date.
Montana National Streambed and Land Preservation Law
In 1975, the Montana Legislature passed the Natural Streambed and
Land Preservation Act, referred to as S.B. 310. This law provides that
conservation districts must review and approve all proposed projects
which affect perennial streams such as channel changes, new diversions,
rip rap, jetties, new dams and reservoirs, commercial; industrial; and
residential developments, snagging, dikes, levees, debris basins, grade
stabilization structures, bridges and culverts, recreation facilities,
commercial agriculture, and certain farming; grazing; and recreation
activities. Conservation districts have the option of modifying this
list to meet local needs.
When a district receives a proposed project, the Department of
Fish and Game (DFG) is notified. If the DFG or the district requests
it, a review team consisting of representatives of the district, DFG,
and the private landowner examines the site of the proposal. If
agreement is not reached, the District Court is asked to appoint an
arbitration board. Technical assistance is provided by the Soil
Conservation Service to all members of the team.
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Under S.B. 310, the conservation districts held hearings on their
proposed rules and regulations. There was substantial publicity on
the new program in the newspapers, the special articles appeared in
farm and livestock magazines.
In 1976, the first year the law became effective, Montana districts
processed some 2,000 proposals.
The Black Creek Study, Allen County, Indiana
The Black Creek study was undertaken in 1972 by the Allen County
Soil and Water Conservation District as a result of a grant from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region V, Chicago. Technical assistance
was provided by the Soil Conservation Service and research support was
supplied by Purdue University, the Agricultural Research Service, and
the University of Illinois.
The project demonstrated the ability of a Soil and Water Conservation
District to efficiently administer an extensive program for nonpoint
source pollution control. The reliance on the local conservation district
for the administration was shown to be a very important aspect of public
acceptance and voluntary participation.
The Allen County Conservation District also demonstrated the ability
of a district to efficiently handle cost sharing funds and to carry out
long term contracts with private landowners.
Some of the major points substantiated and highlighted by the Black
Creek study were that:
* The cost of achieving treatment on every acre of land to
improve water quality would be extremely high. It probably would not be
physically possible regardless of cost; therefore, water quality improve-
ment must be approached by treating the critical areas first. It is,
therefore, obvious that the critical areas must be identified for any
watershed before treatment efforts begin.
* Once critical areas are identified, Best Management Practices
need to be selected for treating the critical areas. Best Management
Practices for the Black Creek Watershed were identified by the District
Board of Supervisors with assistance from the Soil Conservation Service
staff. These included: field borders, grade stabilization structures,
grassed waterways, livestock exclusion, pasture planting, sediment
control basins, terraces, limited channel protection, and tillage methods
which increase crop residue and surface roughness.
* Farm-by farm conservation plans were found to be essential
in programs of water quality improvement. The plans should be simple
in format and selective in approach. Obligations of participating
farmers must be clearly delineated.
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* A voluntary program with sufficient incentive payments
and technical assistance can achieve significant land treatment aimed
at improving water quality. Regulations or the threat of regulation
may be required to achieve treatment on land owned by the relatively
small number of nonco-operators.
* Traditional cost-sharing programs based on a fixed per-
centage payment for every practice are not adequate to sell best
management practices for water quality improvement. While an overall
average might be set, local districts should have the responsibility
for setting the rate for individual practices within the limitations.
* Public information is critical to a successful land treat-
ment program. Landowners and the general public should be kept up to
date on all phases of a program from conception through planning to
implementation.
A recent significant opportunity for district involvement in Best
Management Practice implementation arises out of the new amendments to
the Clean Water Act signed by the President on December 15, 1977. The
agricultural cost-sharing section introduced by Senator Culver of Iowa
authorizes $200 million in fiscal year 1979 and $400 million in fiscal
year 1980 to be used for cost-share assistance for implementation of
Best Management Practices in rural areas having significant nonpoint
water problems identified in the 208 water quality plan.
The amendment passed the Senate and House with very little dissent.
Districts are identified in the law as the local governmental agency
responsible for determining (in cooperation with the Secretary of
Agriculture) priority amoung individual landowners and operators
requesting assistance to assure that the most critical water quality
problems are addressed first, and for approving co-operators' plans
outlining Best Management Practices to be installed on their land with
cost-sharing pursuant to long-term contracts. This important legislation
has specifically named conservation districts for direct involvement in
carrying out the law.
The program which is being developed pursuant to this legislation
will be called the Rural Clean Water Program. The Secretary of Agricul-
ture has designated the Soil Conservation Service as the lead agency
responsible for carrying out this program.
In order for landowners to be eligible for participation in the
program, their land must be identified as part of the critical areas
addressed in a 208 plan certified by the governor of that State and
approved by EPA.
Since this program is directed at designated critical areas with
significant water quality problems, it is necessary that priorities
be set and funds assigned accordingly, both on a National and State
basis. For this reason, not every district or county will be included
in the program.
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The Rural Clean Water Program provides four options to the Secretary
of Agriculture through SCS for carrying out the program at the State
and local levels. These include entering into agreements for administra-
tion of all or part of the program with:
1. Soil Conservation Districts, or
2. State Soil Conservation Agencies, or
3. State Water Quality Agencies, or
If none of the above, then
4. Transfer of funds from SCS to ASCS for administration of the
program. Regardless of the option selected, district officials will be
jointly responsible for setting the priorities for assistance as well as
solely responsible for approving plans on which contracts for cost-sharing
will be based.
Districts have been working with State and areawide agencies to develop
the nonpoint source phase of 208 plans for some time now. In fact, in over
half the States, the State conservation agencies are preparing the agricul-
tural nonpoint plans under contracts from the State water quality agencies.
In many other States, districts are actively assisting in the development
of the agricultural nonpoint plan through cooperative agreements.
As a result of this participation and the fact that they have the
expertise and working tools to accomplish implementation, conservation
districts are being identified in many plans as the management agency
for implementing the agricultural nonpoint plan.
In summary, the outlook for conservation districts, as a result of
the 208 water quality effort, is excellent. The opportunity for districts
to get conservation on the land has never been greater. The changes
taking place in district operations are all positive changes toward
meeting modern needs, more efficient use of resources; people; and tax
dollars to protect both our soil and water resources.
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THE WISCONSIN NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION ABATEMENT PROGRAM
JOHN G. KONRAD*
Water Quality in Wisconsin rivers and lakes have undergone considerable
change over the last decade. Rivers which have been burdened by large
loads of industrial waste are being improved through the construction of
new treatment systems. Removal of domestic sewage through construction
of new municipal waste treatment facilities and upgrading of existing
plants has also improved water quality. Dissolved oxygen levels are
increasing in many streams and fish are now present in waters where they
could not survive 10 years ago.
However, the quality of snow melt and rain water from city streets and
agricultural lands has not improved. Pollutional loads from urban areas
have increased as a result of population increases and urban/suburban
development. In rural areas, many agricultural conservation practices
were developed to enhance productivity by minimizing the loss of top
soil. With increased implementation of conservation practices, water
quality benefits should be positive. This is not always the case.
Funding for the cost sharing of these practices has decreased, and there
has been a trend toward supporing practices which have a greater economic
benefit for the farmer and generally a lower level of water quality
control. Since records are not kept of the removal of conservation
practices as land changes hands or as owners change cropping practices
or convert to larger sized equipment, it is impossible to maintain an
accurate assessment of the amount of land currently protected by conservation
practices.
The 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act set as a
national goal to "maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity
of the nations waters" and to provide for "fishable and swimable conditions."
One of the mechanisms established for achieving these goals was the
Areawide Water Quality Management Planning process (Section 208). Since
relatively little was known about the effects of land derived pollutants
on water quality, the 208 program became the major means by which nonpoint
source pollutants were to be assessed and remedial programs developed.
In Wisconsin, we have completed over four years of non-point source
assessment under 208 and other programs and although we do not completely
understand all aspects of the problem, we feel a remedial program can
now be developed. In March, 1978, the Wisconsin Legislature on recommendation
of the Governor, passed a bill establishing a Non-Point Source Grant
Program. This program will provide funding, on a 50% cost share basis
to implement the non-point source recommendations of 208 plans. We
believe this is the first program of its kind in the country, in that
it's objectives are water quality protection and improvement, it provides
funds for both urban and rural areas and funds will be available July 1,
1978. I would like to discuss the way in which this program will be
conducted.
The legislation authorized the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as the
State Water Quality Agency to develop this grant program. The DNR is
the responsible agency for 208 planning and as such is in the best
position to insure consistency with water quality objectives. The
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program will utilize the State Board of Soil and Water Conservation
Districts for coordination of cost sharing for Best Management Practices
anf for technical assistance with local management agencies. The program
utilizes the 208 planning process to identify problems and develop
needs. In Wisconsin, these 208 plans will cover major drainage basins
except for two designed areas where the planning is defined by political
boundries. However, in each case the 208 plan will identify problem
watershed areas and local management agencies. General needs will be
identified and these areas will be prioritized within the plan. These
watershed areas will then be evaluated using a statewide priority system.
A minimum of 70% of the funds available for cost sharing in any given
year must be used in these Priority Watersheds. The remaining funds can
be used outside these priority areas, however, they must be used within
an area where an approved 208 plan exists. Thus, the program is targeted
at areas where nonpoint source problems have been indentified and will
be used only for the implementation of Best Management Practices recommended
in the 208 plan.
Once a watershed has been designated as a Priority Watershed, two additional
levels of planning are initiated. A Priority Watershed Plan will be
developed which will identity general problem areas and the magnitude of
practices required, this information will be used by the local management
agency for implementation and by the state for coordination of available
funds between Priority Watersheds. Priority Watershed Plans will be the
responsibility of DNR, but other agencies at the state and local level
will have input.
Several techniques and tools will be used to develop the Detailed Watershed
Plan. Critical areas will be identified by known water quality or as
percieved by local agencies and individuals. (Fig. 1) In 1977 Soil and
Water Conservation Districts were requested to coordinate local meetings
to identify problem areas. The results of these meetings and other
water quality and land use inventories will be used to make these initial
identifications. A Priority Management Area (Fig. 2) for initial
implementation will be identified. This is an area which produces the
major portion of the runoff from the watershed and thus proper levels of
management become more critical in this area. For example, it may be
possible to control 70-90% of sediment by management of 10-20% of areas.
Although techniques are not well developed for identification of Priority
Management Areas, it corresponds in general to the most hydrologically
active area, within the watershed, as modified by level of management,
intensity of land use, soil type, topography, etc. Significant source
activities will be identified within the Priority Management Areas
utilizing information from Soil Surveys, The Conservation Needs Inventory
(CNI). An update of the CNI was completed in 1976 involving 2% land
samples of 160 acre cells. Also, streambank surveys, and potential
animal waste indicators (such as the Livestock Shoreline Hazard Index,
developed by DNR) will be used. This Index relates the livestock density
to the stream density in a % mile critical zone next to the stream.
Once the Priority Watershed Plan is developed and approved, funds will
be identified and the local management agency or agencies will design
and implement Best Management Practices in the areas identified in the
Priority Watershed Plan. This is actually a third level of planning and
will be the major responsibility of the local Management Agency. Activities
24
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other than technical assistance which will be conducted or coordinated
by the Local Management Sgency will be education, cost sharing of practices
and possibly enforcement of regulations.
Although the Local Management Agency will be identified in the 208 plan,
the Priority Watershed Plan could refine the activities of local agencies
and will provide for coordination between those units of government and
agencies involved at the local level. Idealily a single agency should
be identified which can administer both urban and rural portions of the
program as well as any regulatory functions. In many cases this may not
be possible.
In summary the Wisconsin Non-Point Source Grant Program provides for
implementation of non-point source controls on a priority basis which
will result in maximum water quality benefits for the money spent. We
believe this will be a workable program which will meet both state and
Federal objectives and goals. The program is compatable with the Rural
Clean Water Program. The program provides $1,500,000.00 in FY 1979 and
a projected $6,000,000.00 as a continuing biannual appropiation. The
legislature has also directed that a report on the program be made prior
to Janaury 1, 1982 evaluating the need for regulatory measures. We
believe regulations will be required for some special land use activities,
such as construction earlier than that date in order to meet program
objectives. We also believe that regulation will probably be necessary
in most other areas. However, intensive problem oriented voluntary
programs in rural areas have never been adequately evaluated, thus a
three year evaluation period was provided. The program has been designed
so that minimal modification of the institutional structure will be
necessary to add a regulatory mechanism.
*Chief, Special Studies Section
Bureau of Water Quality
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
25
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CO
26
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F
PRIORITY MANAGEMENT ,AREA
AND SIGNIFICANT SOURCE ACTIVITIES
A BARNYARD
\ Row CROP
• STREAM BANK EROSION
D URBAN RUNOFF
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URBAN STORM WATER - A BRIEF OVERVIEW
By
Ralph V. Nordstrom*
It is often convenient when beginning a talk to cite an authority
from the past whose quotation is topical and whose conclusions support
the points you wish to bring forward. If one attempted this with
urban storm water (USW) , one is hard pressed to find anyone who has
said anything on this subject, much less anything of significance. In
this instance, the only thing that came to my mind was an expression
often heard in the French medieval villages as the shutters were opened
on the second floor windows and the pots were emptied into the streets
below, "Garde 1'eau"—Look out for the water! While it may outwardly
appear tenuous to relate sanitation conditions in a medieval village to
the USW problems of contemporary cities of the 20th century, both are
examples of how growth and development were dealt with at two quite
separate points in time.
We have to recognize that the USW pollution problem is the result
of approximately 80 percent of the United States population living on
that urbanized portion which comprises 10 percent of this country's
land area. With growth progressing at a rate of about 1,500 square
miles per year in perhaps as many or more communities, it is indeed
a difficult and complex problem to deal with. Further, as the benefits
of point source controls become effective, the need to deal with non-
point pollution, including USW, becomes all the more apparent and
necessary.
Pollution from urban runoff occurs when precipitation bathes the
urban environment and carries pollutants from roof tops, lawns, side-
walks, parking lots, industrial complexes—whatever constitutes a
surface in the urban environment. Once this process is initiated,
the USW is either routed through conventional wastewater treatment
facilities and given some level of cleanup, or, in some instances,
when the volume of the USW overloads the capacity of the waste treat-
ment plant, is directly passed on to the receiving waters. When the
latter happens, the USW takes with it large amounts of organic debris;
nutrients; heavy metals; and microorganisms, any or all of which can
have a significant impact on receiving water quality. It is important
to recognize that the total annual pollutant load in stormwater during
the runoff periods can be considerably greater than the annual pollu-
tant load discharged from municipal treatment facilities during dry
weather flows. Obviously, even the highest levels of treatment of
the dry weather flows become almost valueless when offset by untreated
USW.
*Ralph V. Nordstrom, Land Use Coordinator,
U.S. EPA, Region 5, Chicago, Illinois
28
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From the perspective of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the object of USW management is to reduce the negative impacts of run-
off waters to an acceptable level with reasonable costs. Several
methods may be used to achieve this objective. They are:
Source controls which limit contaminants.
1. Erosion control of construction sites.
2. Neighborhood sanitation—street sweeping,
trash removal.
3. Restriction on pesticides, fertilizers,
deicing compounds.
Collection Systems Controls.
1. Separation of stormwater and sanitary sewers.
2. Flushing of deposits built up in sewerlines.
3. Inflow/infiltration controls.
4. Temporarily increasing sewer line capacity
and storage capability.
Storage.
Use of tunnels, parking lots, rooftops to create
surface and subsurface impoundments to provide
temporary storage of stormwater.
Combinations of the above.
The application of these control methods is often restricted by the
suitability of the control to the urban situation it is being used in.
In an existing development, street cleaning and other contaminant-
limiting methods may be the only practical manner of dealing with the
problem. However, in newly developing areas, source controls; collection
system controls; and possibly various storage devices could be used to
attenuate the rate of runoff. Consequently, newly developing areas may
provide the greatest flexibility in USW control application. Further,
they should also provide opportunities to maximize a preventive approach
which stresses utilization of the existing natural features to reduce
stormwater flow. Often it is possible to maintain and provide sufficient
open space, as parks; playgrounds; greenbelts, to allow recharge of
ground waters and to maintain surface catchment ponds for permanent or
temporary storage. The recharge of ground waters would not only reduce
volume of flow, but often reduce the capital costs required to contain
these flows. In short, by minimizing the impacts of development, it
is possible to preserve some of the watersheds existing runoff character-
istics. This may seem a simple straightforward concept, but many com-
munities fail to provide this type of guidance to development.
29
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Planning for spatial allocation of development can reduce runoff
generation as can public acquisition of open space and preservation of
permeable areas.
Regulation of certain types of land uses through performance
standards can also reduce the generation and accumulation of runoff.
Runoff detention in impervious areas reduces the peak flow and
extends the period of treatment. Runoff detention in previous sites
allows ground water recharge through percolation and reduction of total
overland flow. Through the above devices it is possible to develop
smaller treatment facilities and lower operating and maintenance costs.
A preventive approach with USW requires that urbanizing areas not
necessarily accept whatever development comes along and simply collect
the runoff as if it were raw sewage. In turn they should directly
regulate activities or insure that the development that does occur is
accompanied by safeguards that will minimize the generation and accumu-
lation of runoff waters.
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BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR URBAN DRAINAGE
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
by
Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr.*
"'Managing Engineer, O'Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc. , Syracuse, New York.
31
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The recently issued Fifth Annual IJC Report on Great Lakes Water Quality
(1) has acknowledged the impact of urban runoff in the Great Lakes Basin as
evidenced in the following excerpts:
"The Commission believes that combined sewer overflows and
stormwater flows from urban areas are reaching serious proportions
and contribute significant amounts of a wide range of harmful
substances in the Great Lakes."
"The Commission is aware that substantial funds and manpower are
being directed to finding solutions to this complex problem in both
countries."
"The Commission considers it a matter of high priority that these
efforts be accelerated."
Urban runoff is composed of two major components, stormwater and combined
sewer overflow. Stormwater discharges consist of runoff from impervious areas
which has been contaminated by pollutants accumulated on the various surfaces
due to chemical spillage, air pollution, atmospheric washout, the application
of highway deicing agents, and the accumulation of surface debris and liter.
The pollutant loading from urban runoff is as variable as the land use
activity, annual rainfall and surface management practices employed for each
drainage area. In general urban stormwater discharges are characterized by
significant and variable concentrations of suspended solids, nutrients, heavy
metals, biochemical oxygen demand, viruses, indicator organisms and
toxicants. Combined sewer overflows typically have similar characteristics
as stormwater discharges except for significant increased concentrations of
viruses and indicator organisms.
The concentration of biochemical oxygen demand substances characteristic
of combined sewer overflows can be significantly greater than that exhibited
by stormwater, particularly for those systems which exhibit a strong first
flush effect. A range in urban runoff constituent concentrations measured as
part of the IJC PLUARG Pilot Watershed Studies is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Urban Runoff Unit Area Load Analysis
Constituent Load (kg/ha/yr)
Suspended Solids 200 - 4800
Total Phosphorus 0.3 - 4.8
Total Nitrogen 6.2 - 18
Lead 0.14- 0.5
Copper 0.02-0.21
Zinc 0.3 -1.0
a. Source: IJC PLUARG Pilot Watershed Studies
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URBAN RUNOFF TOXICANTS
To date investigators have to a large degree neglected the toxicants
contributed to receiving waters by urban runoff. In the course of conducting
the Rochester, New York Combined Sewer Overflow Abatement R & D Program (EPA
Grant No. Y005141) O'Brien & Gere in conjunction with the Monroe County
Division of Pure Waters has evaluated the concentrations of a number of
toxicants within combined sewer overflows. Figures I and 2 present the annual
variation of mercury and chlorinated organic concentrations measured on
composite wastewater samples collected throughout the year. The average
measured mercury concentration measured during the 1975 monitoring year was
18.1 yg/1. A review of the data indicates that the annual contribution of
mercury on an area! basis is 0.034 kg/ha (0.03 pounds/acre).
The chlorinated organic concentrations averaged 6.6 yg/1 for the 1975
monitoring year with peak concentrations of 32 yg/1. This represents an
annual contribution of chlorinated organics on an areal basis of 0.011 kg/ha
(0.01 pounds/acre).
The test catch basin study clearly indicates that toxicants discharged in
urban runoff can be very significant and in many cases exceed the discharge of
these same toxicants from point sources in urban areas. Through more
comprehensive evaluations it may well be established that the contribution of
toxicants from urban areas to tributary receiving waters may be more
significant that the load of oxygen demanding constituents.
Figure 1. Annual Variation In Combined Sewer Overflow Mercury
Concentrations 1975 Data
OCT NOV DEC
DURATION (Months)
33
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Figure 2. Annual Variation in Combined Sewer Overflow Chlorinated
Organics Concentrations 1975 Data
S
tn
o
§
(E
O
5
30.
20-
o—-Pi
I i k^i
-I 1-tl 1 1 1 1 1 1 -I— I
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
DURATION (Months)
ABATEMENT ALTERNATIVES
The abatement of combined sewer overflow and urban stormwater discharges
has classically involved capital intensive abatement measures. This is
reflected in the 1974 Need Survey which projected 43.5 billion dollars to
abate category V discharges (combined sewer overflow) and over 200 billion
dollars for category VI discharges (stormwater) (2). These capital
expenditure estimates have been developed based on the construction of
extensive storage and treatment facilities.
Classical urban runoff abatement options have involved a balance of
storage and treatment capacity. Storage has been typically provided via in-
system tunnel and off-line cavern facilities. Treatment facilities have for
the most part involved the application of conventional flocculation/
sedimentation, swirl treatment and microscreening technology.
In light of the very significant capital and operating costs associated
with the application of capital intensive storage/treatment alternatives, the
application of Best Management Practices (BMP) offers itself as a very
attractive alternative to the solution of wet weather induced water quality
impairment. A BMP program has been developed as a first phase solution to the
combined sewer overflow problem presented by the Rochester, New York combined
sewer system. The following presents an introduction to BMP practices, the
BMP program developed for Rochester, New York and some of the preliminary
results of that program.
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BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
A rational and cost/effective solution to the abatement of both
stormwater and combined sewer overflow involves the application of the concept
of Best Management Practices (BMP) (3). A BMP program focuses on the source
and collection system management. A breakdown of the various elements of a
BMP program is shown in Figure 3.
Source management involves the application of measures to reduce or
prevent pollutant loading before runoff enters the conveyance system. Typical
source management abatement measures include the application of surface flow
attenuation, use of porous pavement, erosion control, restrictions on
chemical usage, land use planning, and improved sanitation practices
including trash removal and street cleaning.
Collection system management involves the application of all abatement
alternatives which pertain to the collection system. Collection system
management alternatives therefore involve all those abatement alternatives
applicable after the runoff enters the collection system. Typical solutions
fall into two basic categories, structural intensive and minimal structural.
The collection system management alternatives which are of interest in a
BMP program involve those requiring the expenditure of minimal resources.
Relevant collection system management practices involve inflow/infiltration
control, improved system regulation, optimized system control, polymer
addition for friction reduction, and minimal improvements to make the
collection system self consistent (elimination of conveyance system
throttling constraints).
Figure 3. Combined Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Best Management
Practices
( BMP)
SOURCE MANAGEMENT
I
BEFORE RUNOFF ENTERS
SEWER SYSTEM
D SURFACE FLOW ATTENUATION
d USE OF POROUS PAVEMENT
D EROSION CONTROL
D CHEMICAL USE RESTRICTIONS
D IMPROVED SANITATION PRACTICES
COLLECTION SYSTEM
MANAGEMENT
AFTER RUNOFF ENTERS
SEWER SYSTEM
Q INFLOW /INFILTRATION CONTROL
O IMPROVED REGULATION
D OPTIMIZED SYSTEM CONTROL
Q POLYMER ADDITION FOR FRICTION
REDUCTION I
D MINIMAL IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE
SYSTEM SELF CONSISTENT
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
A Best Management Practices Implementation Program has been developed
for the Rochester, New York Pure Waters District for the abatement of combined
35
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sewer overflow discharges to the Genesee River, Irondequoit Bay, and the
Rochester Embayment of Lake Ontario (4). This program is broken down into
fourteen major elements which are presented as follows:
1. Preparation of Detailed Work Plan
2. Second Generation Monitoring System Evaluation
3. Interceptor Improvements-Assessment of Cost Benefit and Development
of Basis of Design
4. Combined Sewer Overflow Regulation Modifications
5. Selective Control Adjustments of High-Impacting Overflows
6. Pollutant Source Control Measures
7. Additional Control Structure Evaluations
8. Control System and Operating Logic
9. CSO Receiving Water Impact Studies
10. Receiving Water Benthic Demand Studies
11. Evaluation of Developmental Sewer Flow Monitoring Equipment
12. Hydro-Brake and In-Line
13. Catchbasin Evaluations
14. Program Evaluation and Final Report
The basic approach being employed in the Rochester BMP program involves
the assessment of baseline conditions utilizing an upgraded combined sewer
overflow monitoring system, the implementation of each BMP program element,
and the evaluation of program effectiveness through the collection of process
efficiency data. The overall program effectiveness will be assessed through
the post implementation evaluation of CSO monitoring data as well as receiving
water response. The program is approximately 2-1/2 years in duration and is
being conducted in very close coordination with existing and anticipated EPA
Construction Grant activities.
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM,
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
Part of the collection system management program developed for the
Rochester BMP program include the removal of interceptor throttling
constraints in conjunction with improved system regulation. The location of
the significant interceptor bottlenecks and key regulators are shown in Figure
3. The constraints were identified through mathematical modeling of the
collection system.
In order to evaluate where resources should be effectively applied,
network hydraulic modeling was conducted to identify the annual volume of
overflow and annual duration of overflow for the existing interceptor system,
the upgraded interceptor system, and the upgraded interceptor system in
conjunction with improved regulation. The results of this hydraulic modeling
activity is presented as Figures 4 and 5 as well as Table 2.
36
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Table 2. Overflow Frequency and Volume Model Output
Volume - MG
Condition
Existing 1005
Removal of
Flow Re-
strictions from
M.S.D.S. 1005
Modified
Regulators 858
Removal of
M.S.D.S. Re-
strictions and
Modified
Regulators 556
Min. Yr. Ave. Yr. Max. Yr.
1574
1903
1574
1432
1903
1695
1060
1217
Duration - Hrs.
Min. Yr. Ave. Yr. Max. Yr.
362
362
255
83
425
572
25
297
572
414
119
147
The exhibits indicate the combined sewer overflow volumes and frequency
based on annual projections for the minimum, maximum and average rainfall
years of record under three sets of system conditions.
1. Existing M. S.D.S. interceptor
2. Removal of restrictions within the M.S.D.S.
3. Existing M.S.D.S. with modified regulators
Figure 4. Rochester BMP Program Interceptor Modification
o
5
2400r
2200
2000
g 1800
^ 1600
g 1400
O 1200
g 1000
3 800
600
400
200
0
T
2
CONDITION
37
Legend
§ Max. Year
D Ave. Year
@ Min. Year
-------
Figure 5. Rochester BMP Program Interceptor Modification
600T
O 500+
U.
•u
z
fc
400-
300-
200
100 +
0
Legend
S Max. Year
D Ave. Year
@ Min. Year
1
i
3
I
4
CONDITION
Considering the average year modifications to the regulators would
result in a 9% decrease in CSO volume and a 30% decrease in the number of hours
of overflow; whereas, total system improvements involving the M.S.D.S. and the
would result in a 33% decrease in overflow volume and a 72%
hours of overflow. It can be seen that improvements to the system
greater percentage decrease in hours of overflow than in volume of
is due to the fact that improvements to the M.S.D.S. and/or
result in the capture of a greater percentage of smaller storm
events, whereas, the larger events, which result in larger volumes of
overflow, are not as significantly affected.
regulators
decrease in
result in a
CSO. This
regulators
The regulator modifications under consideration involve minimal
structural changes to the existing structures. From an intensive field survey
of the regulators and the subsequent hydraulic analyses conducted, the ability
to increase the regulated flow would include such items as adjusting a float
level, enlarging an orifice opening, and increasing a weir height.
The M.S.D.S. interceptor improvements involve the elimination of three
major flow restrictions which are indicated on Figure 3. These lengths
requiring improvement include:
38
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1. The section of interceptor from the Carthage Drive jum.
to the intersection of Norton Street and St. Paul Boulex
the East Side Trunk Sewer (E.S.T.S.) enters the M.S.D.S.
2. The interceptor siphons under the Genesee River from the
Street screenhouse to the junction chamber at Carthage Drive, an*.
3. The siphons under the Genesee River from the Glenwood Screenhouse to
the junction chamber at Carthage Drive.
The presented regulator and interceptor modifications are only a portion
of the system management portion of the BMP program. The effectiveness of
these modifications and their associated low capital investment (^$8,000,000)
indicate the effectiveness of the BMP methodology in handling urban runoff
problems.
ADVANTAGES OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE PROGRAM
The application of a BMP program is anticipated to offer a number of
advantages over the application of conventional capital intensive technology
to solve urban runoff pollution problems. These advantages are outlined as
follows:
Solutions are more quickly facilitated
Less capital intensive
Addresses the problem at the source
Maximizes the use of existing facilities
Minimizes the development of secondary problems
A BMP based solution to stormwater and combined sewer overflow problems
may only provide a partial solution. More capital intensive classical storage
and treatment options may be required to meet water quality objectives.
However, BMP based solutions may offer very cost/ effective interim measures
which serve as a good first step. Results from the BMP Implementation Program
can be used to better define the reduced overflow problem and thus possibly
scale down the more structurally intensive alternatives.
In light of the extensive capital costs associated with classical
solutions, BMP programs offer a very viable alternative to the abatement of
urban stormwater and combined sewer overflow problems. It is the hope of all
those associated with the Rochester, New York program; that the demonstration
and evaluation of BMP abatement measures will show these solutions to be
extremely cost/effective and practical.
39
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REFERENCES
c+
~ —'•
?^° ual Report-Great Lakes Water Quality", International Joint
P-o • Windsor, Ontario, Canada (1976).
•£. C"
%%• 'of Needs for Municipal Treatment Facilities" USEPA Office of
ro^ zardous Materials, Washington, D.C.
nent Practices - Urban Runoff Sources of Water Pollution,"
lication, February, 12, (1976).
_~ ncinagement Practices Implementation Program" Federal Great Lakes
Initiative Grant No. G0053341, Monroe County, Division of Pure Waters,
Rochester, New York, November (1978), Detailed Work Plan, January
(1978).
40
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INSTITUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
URBAN NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL
by
Gerald C. McDonald*
Paper not available at the time of printing. Paper can be obtained by
requesting it from the author or Great Lakes National Program Office,
230 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
*Dr. Gerald C. McDonald, Director, Rochester Pure Waters District, 65 Broad
Street, Rochester, New York 14614.
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THE NEED FOR SEDIMENT REGULATION:
THE WASHINGTON COUNTY EXAMPLE
by
F. W. Madison and C. P. Runge*
The Washington County Project is funded under Section 108 of Public
Law 92-500 and is attempting to design a mechanism—or mechanisms—to con-
trol sediment problems in Washington County in southeastern Wisconsin.
The grant for the project was awarded to the State Board of Soil and Water
Conservation Districts (BSWCD), and through the State Board linkages were
established between the cooperating project agencies and the local Soil
and Water Conservation District.
A brief word about Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) in
Wisconsin as the arrangements there are somewhat unique. Chapter 92 of
the Wisconsin Statutes creates SWCDs and states that the SWCD supervisors
shall be those persons who serve on the Agriculture and Extension Educa-
tion Committee of the County Board which is a standing Committee of that
Board created under Chapter 59 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
This relationship gives the SWCDs some natural ties to county govern-
ment. It means that in Wisconsin, Soil and Water Conservation Districts
are coterminous with counties. On the other hand, it does mean that Soil
and Water Conservation District Supervisors do not stand election for their
jobs but rather that they are handed the responsibilities if they serve on
the Agriculture and Extension Education Committee.
It should be noted here that recent amendments to Chapter 92 provide
for the appointment of two additional persons to the committee5 a feature
designed primarily to insure representation from either urban areas or
the education community if such representation is appropriate or necessary.
Washington County was selected for the project because it is a county
in transition. Basically a rural county with a strong rural tradition,
it now finds itself under tremendous pressure from the Milwaukee Metropol-
itan Area and Milwaukee County with which it shares a common border.
All the classic problems are there: sewer extensions, septic tanks, farm
lands being held for development, prime ag lands being converted to houses,
city folks scattering around the countryside wanting to live in the country
yet demanding urban services and the list goes on.
It should be obvious, however, that the county serves well as a loca-
tion for the project. It has provided an on-the-ground opportunity to
monitor selected land uses to determine sediment and nutrient yields and
then to install remedial measures and to assess their effectiveness in
*Director, Washington County Project and Assistant Professor, Wisconsin
Geological and Natural History Survey, Department of Soil Science, Univer-
sity of Wisconsin-Madison; Professor, Law School and Director, Center for
Study of Public Policy and Administration, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
42
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reducing pollutant outflow. By working with governmental bodies in both
incorporated and unincorporated areas, the project has had the opportunity
to test ideas and strategies on people responsible for program development
and implementation and to work with county officials and citizens alike to
develop mechanisms for sediment control. It has provided researchers with
valuable data to assess the economic impacts of varying levels of sediment
control on individual farmers, to evaluate the problems of sediment losses
from land in transition between farming and housing as well as insights
into a wide variety of other problems.
It probably should be noted here that we may have found in Washington
County the ultimate accomodation between urban and rural interests. There
is now pending in Germantown—a rapidly developing area in the southeastern
corner of the county—an application for a permit for the construction of
a condominium for horses.
Finally, Washington County has served as an important testing ground
for public information and education strategies. Public understanding
and awareness of nonpoint problems and solutions is a key ingredient of
any NFS control strategy whether voluntary or regulatory.
The Washington County Project devoted a good deal of time and effort
to reviewing the statuatory aspect of sediment control. Initially,
existing authorities available to local jurisdictions which might be
utilized for sediment control were identified and examined and then the
decision was made to develop a two phase approach with Phase I including
those pollution control initiatives which a local government might take
under existing authority and with Phase II envisioning a more extensive
approach with the distinct possibility of new state enabling legislation.
By way of background, it should be pointed out that water resources
management for water quality has been and continues to be the prime respon-
sibility of the United States Government and the several states. On the
other hand, land use management issues have been handled for the most part
at the local level; but the problem of nonpoint source pollution from land-
based activities demands that the water quality programs and the land use
programs be linked in an effective and manageable way. Therefore, our
objective in the Washington County Project has been to develop programs
for sediment control that would be implemented locally in response to and
consistent with federal and state water quality goals and requirements.
We have concentrated initially on the development of tools which can
be used by the local authorities in the development of a strong institu-
tional structure to manage the sediment control programs. This includes
both voluntary and regulatory components. The two major regulatory compo-
nents that we have worked with are related to erosion control under a land
subdivision ordinance and an agricultural soil conservation ordinance.
The land subdivison ordinance, under the general existing authority of
Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes, is at the present time being incor-
porated into the Washington County subdivision ordinance.
It provides in general that the Soil and Water Conservation District
may pose objections to preliminary plats if it considers that land is
unsuitable for subdivision and construction, or if adequate provisions
for stormwater management and soil conservation have not been made. This
kind of amendment to the existing county ordinance has been recommended
43
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for County Board approval both by the Washington County Park and Planning
Commission, which handles zoning in the county, and by the Washington
County Soil and Water Conservation District. Several municipalities are
also proceeding under their home rule authorities with similar amendments
to their subdivision control ordinances.
The rural ordinance has been drafted pursuant to the Chapter 92 of
the Wisconsin Statutes, which delegates to the Soil and Water Conservation
District the authority to formulate and enforce land use regulations pro-
vided that these regulations are approved by the County Board and by the
voters affected by the regulations through referendum in their particular
area. To date, this authority has been used effectively in only one town
in one county of the state—a town in Vernon County. The proposed rural
ordinance has been drafted in cooperation with the District, but as yet
no firm plans have been made to submit it for referendum; but I must say
in all candor, given the reluctance of EPA and the State of Wisconsin to
pursue a regulatory program at this juncture, in my judgment the Washington
County authorities are unlikely "to lead a charge" for enactment of a
regulatory measure in their county at this stage of the game. But with
respect to what it would do if it were enacted, the ordinance as now
developed, would require that farming units larger than 10 acres meet cer-
tain limited soil loss requirements as calculated by the Universal Soil
Loss Equation. Soil losses could not exceed on the average three tons
per acre per year for any farming unit, or more than nine tons per acre
per year for any one acre parcel, the "hot spots" within a farming unit.
Any farm owner or operator who had a District approved soil and water
conservation farm plan would be presumed to be in compliance; and capital
expenditures could not be required for compliance unless cost sharing
monies were available.
It has been estimated by our working group the soil losses on about
20% of the cropland in Washington County exceed three tons per acre per
year; average soil loss for cropland there is about 2.4 tons. Under the
proposed ordinance, it is anticipated that between 100 and 150 farms—
of the nearly 1400 farms in the county—would be required to reduce soil
losses by 50%. This reduction would result in an overall 35% reduction
in sediment losses from cropland. Our work suggests that most of the non-
complying farms could comply by adopting modest changes in crop rotations
and tillage practices.
Furthermore, our economic analysis indicates that the typical farmer
would not suffer a significant loss of income if he is obliged to comply
with such an ordinance. We consider this kind of modest regulatory approach
administered at the local level to be a vital element in ensuring that no
farmer is contributing an excessive amount of sediment to the lakes and
streams, although, and this is the conventional wisdom of the day, a
wholly voluntary approach to the problem supported with substantial cost
sharing funds might be modestly effective. But we of the project believe
there is little evidence to suggest that enough remedial change would be
accomplished unless a reasonable regulatory program is in fact employed!
However, it is not likely that there will be an immediate federal or state
requirement for the regulation of agricultural practices.
There is widespread belief that voluntary programs should be tried
before any type of regulation is imposed; and one can't quarrel with the
44
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general principal of that, except as I suggested, we have grave doubts as
to whether or not a wholly voluntary program will, in fact, meet the prob-
lem. It is also quite certain that if these voluntary measures fail to
meet the national water quality objectives, then some form of regulation
will become mandatory. Mr. Douglas Costle, the Administrator of EPA, has
observed in a recent speech to the Conference of Soil and Water Conserva-
tion Districts: "You and we need to encourage achieving the goals of the
Act by voluntary means. If and when these means do not succeed, we need
to ensure that there is an effective reasonable regulatory backup to get
the job done in a timely fashion."
As part of the 208 planning process, the Soil and Water Conservation
Districts in Wisconsin, under the auspices of the State BSWCD and Depart-
ment of Natural Resources (DNR), inventoried approximately 2% of the land
in each county. Specific management practice information was collected.
For croplands, this included information on slope, soil type, slope length,
and data on rotations, plowing methods, and the utilization of conservation
practices.
From this data, we were able to estimate average annual soil loss rates
for each field surveyed via the Universal Soil Loss Equation. The results
obtained from this evaluation can only be viewed as approximations due to
the small proportion of land sampled. Of the 120,000 acres of harvested
croplands in Washington County, 2900 acres were analyzed in the 36 quarter-
sections sampled. This does provide, however, the best information avail-
able on how lands with high erosion potential are being managed.
The results for 6 counties in southeastern Wisconsin are shown in
Figure 1. The critical finding is that to a large extent in all counties
analyzed, a relatively small acreage accounts for a fairly large propor-
tion of the total soil loss from surveyed croplands. About 50% of the soil
loss comes from between 10-20% of the land.
We have looked at the results from Washington County in more detail
in order to characterize more precisely the nature of the major contributing
areas. The results are not surprising. The 21% of the cropland that is
on slopes greater than 6% contributes 57% of the total cropland soil loss.
Nearly 70% of these steep lands are plowed up and down slope. Fields on
slopes greater than 12% included only 6% of the cropland acreage but account
for 31% of the total soil losses. Of this land, the 20% in continuous corn
accounts for 70% of its losses. In fact, one 20 acre field of the 146
surveyed accounted for nearly one-fifth of the total cropland soil loss,
with an average soil loss rate of 62 tons per acre per year. This evidence
suggests rather strongly that significant reductions in sediment losses
from croplands can be achieved by focusing our efforts on relatively small
areas. Such an approach would seem to make infinite good sense from almost
any way you look at it.
Why should we regulate sediment control seems to be the next question.
There appear to be several compelling reasons. First, and perhaps fore-
most, it should be apparent that voluntary programs have not been particu-
larly successful. Nationwide participation in federal cost sharing programs
hovers around 30% after 30 plus years of experience.
In recent demonstration projects like the Allen Co. Project in Indiana
and the White Clay Lake Project in Wisconsin, full cooperation has not
45
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100-
90-,
80
70
60-
% Total
County
Soil Loss 50
(cumulative)
40-
30-
20-
10-
Figure 1. Cumulative Distribution of Cropland Soil
Loss in Southeastern Wisconsin Counties*
*Based on a 2% sample of land in each county
46
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been achieved and problems have not been solved. In the latter case, for
example, much can be made of the fact that of all the farms in the water-
shed having livestock, all but three installed barnyard and waste handling
facilities with project funds. This is about 85% cooperation; it should
be noted that among the noncooperators, one farmer waters his hogs in the
lake itself and another regularly spreads manure in the winter time along
a perennially running stream. Quite clearly, cooperation of 75 or 85%
of the farmers in a given watershed does not guarantee solution of the
nonpoint problem.
Further, it is our judgment that a modest regulatory program like the
one designed by the Washington County Project would serve to focus insti-
tutions on the problem. Our proposed ordinance makes the cropland problem
into a critical areas problem which, once identified, becomes the focal
point for local, state and federal agency efforts. Wall to wall conserva-
tion, though desirable, is not feasible given our current constraints on
technical manpower and the time constraints imposed by the Congress in
PL 92-500 and PL 95-217.
Nationwide, the nonpoint problem is assuming an ever greater percentage
of our total water quality problems. Current estimates are that the prob-
lem is now about 50% point and 50% nonpoint. Yet, the President's budget
for FY 1979 would appropriate $4.5 billion for point source control pro-
grams and zero dollars for nonpoint programs unless the $90 million ear-
marked for Agricultural Conservation Programs is considered to be for
nonpoint control. Hopefully, the Congress will move to rectify this imbal-
ance, but even so, the disparity in support for the two efforts will remain
great.
The significant fact here is that as the point source problem moves
toward solution, nonpoint programs will receive more and more attention
and will probably require more and more public monies. These monies simply
are not going to be made available unless reasonable constraints are placed
upon their use.
In summary then, it does not appear to be a question of regulation
but rather a question of how to design a regulatory program which will help
us to solve the problem, which will provide adequate controls on the expen-
diture of public funds and which will not impose undue economic constraints
on those who are affected. Such a program is within our grasp and we are
doing ourselves and the public a great disservice by suggesting that we
might be able to handle the problem in some other way.
47
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INSTITUTIONAL NEEDS FOR EFFECTIVE NONPOINT
SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL PROGRAMS
by
Jim Arts and Steve Berkowitz*
In this paper we discuss two major topics:
(1) What does our experience in Washington County tell us about how well
existing programs have worked to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation?
(2) What are the institutional changes needed to improve implementation
of erosion control and water quality programs?
There is no question that the effort to reduce nonpoint source pol-
lution (NPS) will be intensive and complex. In Wisconsin new cost-sharing
programs are coming on line, and the 208 process will soon be reaching the
crucial implementation stage. Serious consideration must be given to
determining the best institutional methods for implementing new and con-
tinuing programs.
We should point out, incidentally, that the Washington County Project
has by design focused on sediment, rather than upon the entire spectrum
of NPS problems; but we believe that, in general, our conclusions regarding
the control of sediment are applicable to other forms of NPS as well.
The success of the programs designed to control NPS pollution hinge
on the degree to which existing action agencies can be directed toward
solving specific problems. The most important ongoing programs are admin-
istered at the local level by the county Soil and Water Conservation Dis-
tricts (SWCD), federal Soil Conservation Service (SCS), and federal
Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS). To highlight
the institutional changes which may be necessary to enable these agencies
to effectively take on an expanded role in water quality improvement, we
have made a careful evaluation of these programs' performance within the
context of their existing mandate which is directed toward soil erosion
control. While generalizations about these programs cannot be justified
conclusively on the basis of just one case study, we feel the Washington
County experience is representative and underscores some of the critical
institutional questions which must be addressed by those involved in the
development of NPS control programs.
Figure 1 shows the average annual practice accomplishments by SWCD/
SCS technical staff from 1973 to 1976 in Washington County (this includes
nearly all ASCS-cost-shared projects). About 1000 acres per year are being
protected with major erosion control practices and another 2000 acres per
year have conservation cropping systems developed for them. While these
accomplishments are substantial, two questions arise immediately: (1) is
this enough? and (2) is the current effort being directed to where the
*Project Assistants, Water Resources Center, University of Wisconsin-
Madison.
48
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Practice ,fcreS
(Average Annual)
Major Erosion Control 976
Stripcropping 226
Diversions 49
Grass-Waterways 237
Minimum Tillage 288
Contouring 138
Critical Area Planting 9
Conservation Cropping Systems 1949
Vegetative Cover Practices 210
Woodland Practices 179
Wildlife Practices 456
Drainage Practices 237
Total Accomplishments 4007
*Derived from SCS "F-Reports" for 1973-74, 1974-75, and 1975-76, and
ASCS Annual Reports.
Figure 1. Practice Accomplishments of the Washington County
SWCD, SCS and ASCS, 1973 to 1976.
49
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needs are greatest? The answers to both of these critical questions can
only be roughly given, due to the limited amount of information available.
From our analysis of a 2 percent survey of land in the county in 1976, we
estimate that approximately 20 percent of the actively farmed land in
Washington County is losing more than 3 tons/acre/year or about 20,000 to
25,000 acres. This suggests that the current accomplishment levels are not
enough to meet accepted erosion control standards, particularly when one
considers that there is currently no means of assuring that practices in-
stalled are maintained. We also have found that a lesser amount of land
contributes the greater proportion of cropland soil loss, emphasizing the
need for programs to be focused on those lands with the greatest needs.
We have utilized data collected by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional
Planning Commission to determine how well practice accomplishments in the
past have been directed toward those areas most needing treatment. Our
findings are disturbing, as shown in Figure 2. The distribution of ten
years of SWCD/SCS and ASCS major erosion control practice accomplishments
among lands of varying slopes were evaluated. While this analysis can only
be viewed as a rough one, there appears to be little correlation between
practice accomplishments and erosion control needs. The accomplishment
distribution follows the area distribution closely, suggesting a fairly even
spread of projects over the land. This brings out the primary institutional
dilemma—how can programs be better directed to areas with the greatest
needs.
We have also studied the past allocation of technical assistance
staff time and conservation cost-sharing expenditures in Washington County.
Our findings are presented in Figure 3. Only 15 percent of the technical
assistance effort and 32 percent of the cost-sharing expenditures, on the
average in recent years, has gone into implementing practices which primarily
reduce soil loss. The ability of both programs to assist farmers with high
priority needs has been compromised in part by substantial commitments to
more production oriented practices.
The traditional conservation planning process needs to be evaluated.
The large proportion of technical staff time that currently goes into
planning (36 percent) is particularly questionable when viewed in the con-
text of what is getting accomplished. As of July 1976, over 100,000 acres
of the land in farms in Washington County (65 percent of the county total)
still were not covered by a farm conservation plan. The current rate of
planning is around 3000 acres planned per year. Consideration should be
given to developing a less comprehensive single-problem oriented conserva-
tion plan.
This information suggests that a redirection is needed in Washington
County to focus more of our limited personnel and financial resources on
the problem areas. The next question is to consider how this can be done.
First of all, we believe it is necessary to define an institutional
focal point for local planning and implementation. In 208 terms, who is
going to be the local management agency?
After considering various alternatives, we believe the that Soil and
Water Conservation District is the best alternative. In fact, if the SWCD
did not exist, it may have been necessary to create it. We note that the
SWCD has had a long history of directing programs related to soil erosion,
50
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70-
60-
50-
% OF 40.
TOTAL
30 -
20 "
10 -
pMHM
A
••*•
B
•^•i
C
••M
A
— •
B
•^•••B
C
A
B
•MM
C
pi"
••MM
C
A-% OF PRACTICES WITHIN
SLOPE CLASS
B-% OF CROPLAND AREA
WITHIN SLOPE CLASS
C-% OF CROPLAND SOIL LOSS
WITHIN SLOPE CLASS
0 -
/o
- 6 % 6 - 12 % 12 — %
Figure 2.
SLOPE CLASS
Distribution of Installed Agricultural Erosion Control Practices by Slope Class in
Washington County, 1965 to 1975.*
*Derived from SEWRPC data and our analysis of data from a 2% survey of county lands.
-------
SWCD/SCS TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
July 1973-July 1976
Average annual work-hours
Hours
3870
22%
3000
36%
2000
1000
6%
6%
4%
11%
15%
ADMINISTRATION
CONSERVATION
PLANNING
DRAINAGE
PRACTICES
FARM PONDS AND
HEDGEROWS
GRASSLAND, WOODLAND
WILDLIFE PRACTICES
RUNOFF AND ANIMAL
WASTE CONTROL
STRUCTURES
EROSION CONTROL
PRACTICES
ASCS COST-SHARING
PROGRAM
1968-1976
Average annual costs
Dollars
$48,700
26%
$40,000
15%
$30,000
10%
$20,000
16%
2%
$10,000
32%
$0
ADMINISTRATION
DRAINAGE
PRACTICES
FARM PONDS AND OTHER
FARM IMPROVEMENT
PRACTICES
GRASSLAND, WOODLAND
WILDLIFE PRACTICES
ANIMAL WASTE CONTROL FAC
EROSION CONTROL
PRACTICES
•o
c
O)
CL
x
LIT
ES
Figure 3. Allocation of Technical Assistance Effort and Cost-Sharing
Funds in Washington County, Wisconsin.
52
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and that it has developed interagency agreements and working relationships
with most of the other agencies which are likely to play a role in the sedi-
ment control process. In addition, the SWCD has a major role in the recently
enacted federal and state cost-sharing programs.
Furthermore, given the tradition of local control of land use, it is
politically realistic to keep land use decision-making at the local level.
We are not unmindful, of course, that water pollution is a matter of state
and national concern, and that there is a legitimate role for state and
national participation and oversight.
But we all most be very careful not to fall into the trap of guilelessly
recommending a particular agency for the task, then washing our hands of
the matter, hoping that all will be well. We believe there is a great dan-
ger in overselling the Districts, and that without a much greater effort
to support them, they will fail.
We are satisfied that most of the erosion and sedimentation problem
is caused by a minority of landowners. Clearly the key to a successful
sediment control program is the ability to reach those who are causing the
problem. This implies the need for a fairly intensive public information
campaign. But it also suggests that hand in hand with this general informa-
tional program there must be an intensive effort to focus on a particular
set of landowners, and here we're talking mostly about farmers, and to
persuade them to adopt the necessary conservation practices. Given the
probability that there will be no regulatory program for croplands in the
immediate future, at least in Wisconsin, the techniques used to inform and
persuade must be effective, or the program will fail.
We are coming to what we perceive to be the heart of the sediment con-
trol program and the key to its success. That key is the decision made by
each of the scores or hundreds of individual landowners in each county who
are contributing substantially to the problem. A vital influence on that
landowner's decision should be the representative of the governmental agency
which is responsible for the implementation of the conservation program.
Thus the key to success is not in this room, nor in the planning exer-
cises of the 208 planning agencies, but rather it is where and when the
county or district conservationist and the landowner meet. It is in the
local offices of conservation districts and in the fields and farmsteads
across our state. What happens when the conservationist meets the farmer
in his barnyard or in his back forty is more important to the success of
the sediment control program than what happens in the 208 planning agencies.
We are not saying that the 208 process is without merit and that, God
forbid, all of us are wasting our time here today. Surely some element of
planning and academic information exchange is essential. But we must be
very careful not to substitute talking about the problem for actually doing
something about it.
If you accept our conclusion that the most important actors in the
effort to do something about the problem are the landowners themselves and
the local conservationists who work directly with these landowners, then
some rather important conclusions almost ineluctably follow. The essential
conclusion is that our human and financial resources ought to be centered
53
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on the county conservationist who spends his time working in the field,
rather than upon the distinguished members of this gathering. But there
is a trend in our society, and we note this parenthetically, to focus more
and more of our financial resources upon those of us who think about a
problem rather than on those who actually do something about it. In this
regard we quote from an article by Tom Bethell in the June 1978 issue of
Harper's:
It seems to me that government activity today is increasingly
dominated by one of the most ominous trends of our time...:
A person in our society will be paid more money, and be more
highly esteemed, if instead of solving a problem materially
he solves it on paper.
"At some point," continues Bethell, "problems jump across from real life
onto a piece of paper. At that point they become more more pliable, remu-
nerative, and status laden."
If you are with us this far, we would urge you to consider some of
the implications of this argument. The first is that we must be willing
to allocate far more resources to increasing the caliber and number of
county level people who can handle the technical and administrative work
and deal with the human interaction factors necessary if the program is
to be successful. State and federal nonpoint programs should provide
much of this money. We should note in this regard that the recently
enacted Wisconsin Fund which provides a million and a half dollars for
NFS programs provides $200,000 for state DNR administration and $30,000
for the State Board of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, but only
$50,000 to be spread across the state for assisting county implementation
programs. We suggest that this is a rather inauspicious start.
Second, and related to the first point, states must provide training
and education for people who are currently on the front line. It's not
realistic to expect that we could replace en masse the group of conser-
vationists now in the field with a new set of enlightened county conserva-
tionists, even if such a mythical manpower pool existed. Besides, we
recognize that there are some very competent and dedicated county and dis-
trict conservationists in our counties. Our argument is that we should
give them the attention and respect they deserve, and that we should work
to improve the abilities of those who are not meeting the demands of the
position. None of us would feel comfortable if the airlines were casual
in assuring that their pilots were properly selected and trained. We
would suggest that the direction of a nonpoint program is as important for
the future of our country as is zipping people across our skies, and that
we ought to be sure that those who direct our local, soil and water con-
servation programs are as adequately trained.
Third, we would urge our friends in the federal agencies (we are
thinking in particular of SCS, and to a lesser extent of ASCS) to consider
carefully how their personnel policies affect the output of their agencies.
Bureaucratic agencies have the almost inevitable tendency, as they age,
to become ladened with higher paid workers who tend to focus increasingly
on administrative duties rather than upon front line program implementation.
This is particularly true if a limitation on numbers of personnel or budget
limitations reduce the percentage of newer members as compared to older
54
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members. We should point out that this general tendency toward an increase
of administrative duties is likely to be reflected by an increase in the
number of strictly administrative or supervisory personnel, as well as by
an increasing percentage of the time of county personnel which is spent
in administrative duties. We are not now charging that SCS and ASCS have
these problems, but rather suggest that since the problem is so common at
least the potential is surely there.
Fourth, some kind of institutional system must be designed to reward
those who are actually doing the front line work. An adequate initial
salary would, of course, be a good place to start. But we know that
people don't work for money alone, but also for the respect and satisfac-
tion they get for a job well done. We can do much more to ensure that
the achievements of those most responsible for increasing conservation
practices are given adequate respect and compensation.
Fifth, we suggest that there is some danger in recommending that all
that is necessary at the local level is some kind of on-paper coordination
of related programs. We have seen too many federal and state efforts to
coordinate programs which were merely symbolic and lacked substance.
Don't misunderstand us: we clearly feel that an integration of county
level programs is essential, and we have been moderately successful in
Washington County in improving the coordination of District, SCS and ASCS
programs, and those of the county planning and zoning agencies. Coordina-
tion, it must be said, is a necessary, but not sufficient condition.
The last point we wish to make concerns who is calling the shots at
the local level. It is clear, we think, that in examining the mission
statements of the Districts, SCS, ASCS, and Extension, we find that the
Districts have the responsibility for determining policy direction at the
local level. The duty of the SCS vis-a-vis the District, for example, is
to provide technical assistance. It is just as clear, however, that in a
great many Districts, the District Supervisors have never assumed a strong
policymaking role, and that this role, in many cases, has fallen by
default to the SCS District Conservationist. We are not so wedded to
administrative theory and legalism that we would insist that in every case
the various agencies be compelled to do only that to which they are limited
by their mission statements. In many cases, the SCS, for example, has
played the essential conservation role in the county, and we acknowledge
that. We also recognize that nationally the Service is redirecting its
efforts in recognition that previous work has been inadequate from a water
quality and perhaps from a soil erosion point of view.
But we also believe that new program and policy directions require
that we give greater support to local level decision-making and implementa-
tion of soil and water conservation programs, recognizing that general
standards will be set by state water quality agencies. Districts should
be given the resources to assume their historic role, and the other related
agencies should maintain their particular areas of expertise.
This places a great burden on the District for developing long and
short range plans and integrating these plans into state water quality
plans; for assuming lead agency status in coordinating county level pro-
grams; for directing, in cooperation with the extension services, an
intensive informational program; and for working directly with landowners
55
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to ensure implementation of needed sediment control plans. In addition,
we think that the District could play a major role in coordinating their
programs with those of the county and municipalities. In Washington
County, for example, the District will be working with the county zoning
office and, we anticipate, with the cities and villages in administering
construction site erosion control ordinances. The District is the only
agency with a full set of authorities and interagency agreements and
working relationships to do all of this.
We, along with many others, are promoting Conservation Districts.
But we must point out that without support, success of local programs can-
not be guaranteed; indeed it is unlikely unless greater support is given
to these Districts. We recognize that local governments have not always
responded enthusiastically to social needs, and we are aware (Washington
County is a good example) that the road to convincing the local units to
assume responsibility can be long and hard. But we think, too, that in
the long run these locally directed and implemented programs are the keys
to success.
56
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EDUCATION AND NFS POLLUTION
THE WASHINGTON COUNTY SCHOOL PROGRAM
by
Vicki K. Vine and Wes Halverson*
PRESENT SCHOOL CURRICULA AND RESOURCE ISSUES
Environmental Education is not new to schools. Conservation educa-
tion has been a part of school curricula since the late 1930's. Many
schools have good school camp programs at the sixth grade level and con-
servation courses taught in the high school. Unfortunately, the sixth
grade camp is only a three day exposure to environmental topics which
students participate in once during their school career. In a Washington
County High School with an enrollment of almost two thousand, seventy-
five students take the conservation course offered each year. Obviously,
neither of these efforts alone will provide an educated citizenry able to
solve complex problems concerning natural resources. Environmental
education must be incorporated into subjects which all students study
throughout their school career.
Curricula varies between school districts as well as within schools
in the same district. Individual teacher surveys are necessary to deter-
mine the extent and content of environmental issues taught with tradi-
tional subjects. The literature lacks a good analysis of this type, but
we can take a closer look at curricula in Washington County Schools.
We can gain a better understanding of curricula needs by examining a
typical science curricula. Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS)
(1) is used in many of the Washington County Schools. This curriculum
was copyrighted in 1972 by the Florida State University. The materials
are good, but it was developed more than six years ago. Current resource
issues are not addressed. For example the Environmental Science segment
does not mention energy issues, and in the chapter addressing water pol-
lution the topics discussed are organic factory wastes, nonbiodegradable
chemicals, sewage and phosphate detergents as water pollutants. This
limited discussion of water pollution sources would not help a student
understand the need for 208 Water Quality Planning. The ISCS program
was developed in Florida for use nationally. It cannot explain why the
City of New Berlin has a shortage of potable water to a student in New
Berlin. It does not discuss the effect of millpond drainage and restora-
tion in Hartford to students in the adjacent school. High costs of text-
books and the related lab equipment prohibit a school from frequently
updating curricula.
Today's curricula does not adequately explain current resource prob-
lems with a local emphasis. The solution seems obvious—teachers must
*Water Quality and Land Use Curriculum, Project Coordinator, Cooperative
Education Service Agency 16, Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Research Assistant, Water Resources Center, University of Wisconsin-
Madison.
57
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supplement textbook curricula with units developed locally relating to
current resource issues. This may sound easier than it really is. In a
questionnaire sent to school administrators, teachers and board members,
two problems were identified. First, teachers often lack the technical
background needed to understand complexities of resource issues. A
middle school social studies teacher may have difficulty understanding
208 Water Quality Planning. In their article "Inservice Education: It
Can Make A Difference" (2), Hounshell and Liggett explained, "Teachers
are victims of change brought about by a very rapidly changing techno-
logical society. Undergraduate on-campus teacher education programs and
even graduate on-campus programs serve a function but they cannot do it
all." Many school districts devote a number of days each year to inser-
vice education for their staff. Resource issues are seldom on the agenda
during inservice education programs. This is due to the lack of interest
and expertise in school curricula which has been shown by resource or
education agencies.
Another difficulty identified on the school questionnaire was the lack
of time available for teachers to develop new units or adapt units devel-
oped in another part of the country. A teacher would need to spend several
hours developing a teaching unit from technical bulletins and information
available through university extension, regional planning commissions, or
other government agencies. With fiscal constraints, fewer schools can
provide curricula development time for their teachers. Teacher guides
accompanying resource publications would reduce the amount of time needed
for teachers to incorporate material into their curricula.
After this brief look at the needs of school curricula, we can learn
how the Washington County Project (WCP) school program, Water Quality and
Land Use Curricula assisted teachers with development of curricula.
THE WASHINGTON COUNTY PROJECT SCHOOL PROGRAM
Early in the Washington County Project, Fred Madison, Wes Halverson
and Dan Wilson began working with county schools to inform teachers about
local soil and water problems. Presentations were made during teacher
inservice days. This brief exposure increased teacher awareness of local
issues but did not give teachers an adequate background to prepare curric-
ula materials for their students. A one credit seminar "Understanding
Nonpoint Pollution" was held during the spring semester of 1977. Partic-
ipants were introduced to physical, biological and institutional aspects
of soil and water problems. Part of each session was devoted to review
of available curricula materials. The seminar was attended by teachers
of various disciplines and grade levels as well as citizens and agency
employees.
Development of curricula specifically related to the soil and water
resources of the Kettle Moraine geography and its eventual adoption by
public and private schools in Washington County required a still more
intensive program. Wes Halverson worked closely with school administrators
and teachers to write a proposal which was submitted to the Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction in January of 1977. The project was funded
for Fiscal Year '77 from the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965, Title IV-C. This funding along with extensive support from
5-8
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the EPA funded Washington County Project sustained the following curriculum
development project.
The project goal during the initial year was to plan school curricula
enabling students to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to
land uses that affect water quality. Activities began early in May when
teachers were recruited from a consortium of six private schools and six
public Washington County school districts to attend a one week summer
workshop. This was an intensive training program, with Washington County
Project staff providing instruction. Sessions involved the study of aquatic
biology, soil characteristics, Washington County resources and the land use
simulation game, Water and Land Resource Utilization Simulation (WALRUS).
Twenty-three teachers from 14 different schools participated; all grade
levels were represented along with a variety of disciplines including social
studies, communications and physical science.
The next segment of the project took place after the training workshop.
Each participating teacher was paid to develop a unit related to soil and
water resources which they would teach during the fall semester. WCP
staff compiled soil and water learning activities developed in environmental
awareness centers throughout the country. These were given to teachers
for use as "raw materials" when developing units.
The units developed for elementary school students involved a variety
of lessons covering many concept areas. Some lessons included the following
activities. First graders discussed the importance of water after a paper
bag was placed over their bubbler during a warm September day. Other stu-
dents studied soil erosion and found examples near the school. Water puri-
fication was demonstrated as students poured dirty water through a container
of soil. In another activity, students learned what a watershed is, which
watershed their community is in and what types of land use are common up-
stream.
Middle school and high school students also studied soil and water
resources in many different ways. A seventh grade class discovered that
the cause of bank erosion on a stream adjacent to their school was students
walking along the waters edge. Another middle school class studied the
nearby millpond and learned about the community's restoration program. A
high school communications class studied interviewing and critical listening
techniques before talking with contractors about construction site erosion.
In a different approach to residential development, a social studies class
learned why some community members wanted to change the zoning of a resi-
dential area to prohibit apartment buildings. A role playing activity con-
cluded the unit with a public hearing which brought out the effect of
development on a small community. An upper level physics class calculated
the amount of runoff from the small watershed around their school and
estimated the nutrient loading rates to an adjacent stream.
As teachers prepared and taught units, valuable assistance was provided.
A tour was held for teachers to become more familiar with Washington County
resource problems. Teachers made contact through project staff with govern-
ment agencies such as Soil Conservation Service, Department of Natural
Resources and Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to obtain
technical information and maps of specific resource problems. Pre and post
tests were developed for the teachers. These tests measured student gains
in knowledge, skills and attitudes.
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The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title IV-C funding
is structured for use by one school district or a small consortium. Pro-
posal writing procedures require communication with all public schools in
the consortium as well as the private schools located within their juris-
diction. In Washington County that means 6 public school districts and
12 private schools were contacted. Proposal writing becomes very time-
consuming and costly when it is necessary to work with such a large group.
These problems were compounded this year as a consortium was formed from
Washington and Waukesha Counties. Thirty-four public school districts
and more than sixty-five private schools were contacted during the planning
process. A grant proposal has been submitted to continue this project as
a three year Innovative/Exemplary Demonstration Program. This project
would continue curricula development and test a diffusion mechanism with
"teachers teaching other teachers."
Resource Agencies and Curricula Development
The school program funded through the WCP and ESEA Title IV-C has
developed an efficient procedure for curricula development and implementa-
tion. It demonstrates a technique which allows resource agencies to work
closely with teachers. The curricula developed can be easily adapted by
teachers in similar geographical areas. In Eugene Vivian's Sourcebook for
Environmental Education (3), he states one reason conservation education
has failed: teachers used a variety of resource agency staff to give
talks. Vivian goes on to say that teachers were unprepared to teach
ecological concepts on their own after resource agency staff left the
classroom. He predicts that environmental education will also fail if the
same process is used. If resource agencies are concerned about school
curricula they must assist teachers. The schools are willing and anxious
to participate. In a questionnaire addressed to school administrators,
teachers and board members in Washington and Waukesha Counties, 94 percent
of the responses indicated that "water quality impacts of land use activ-
ities should be part of the school curricula." Sixty-four percent of the
responses indicated those issues were not adequately addressed in their
school.
As legislation mandates that citizens are more involved in resource
management we must ask if they are prepared to make or understand the
decisions affecting their life-styles. We have explained why the present
school education process does not give citizens an adequate understanding
of resource issues and how government or public agencies can provide up-
to-date curricula and assist teachers in implementing those materials
with multidisciplinary kindergarten through twelfth grade curricula. We
now need to consider if this can be done efficiently on a larger scale
than one county. The next segment of this paper will explain a mechanism
to meet the increasing needs of a democracy facing changing resource
dilemmas.
LOCAL WATERSHED PROBLEM STUDIES—A NATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROJECT
The purpose is to mount and sustain a national program of school
curriculum development and teacher inservice training on water resource
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issues prevalent in local communities. Supporting a local approach allows
for extra sensitivity toward community aspirations and toward different
community social-economic histories. An expected outcome will be school
teachers who understand their own community water resource problems and
are able to interpret the arduous characteristics of those problems for
young people.
Large and small watersheds are natural boundaries which teachers can
also consider natural curriculum boundaries. Conceptual continuity logi-
cally follows from small watershed studies to larger intrastate watersheds
and eventually into interstate watershed basin studies. In some regions
of the country, international boundary water issues occur also and can be
incorporated into the curriculum without conceptual difficulty. Climatol-
ogical regions around the world and within large countries actually deter-
mine major watershed patterns and the unique biological communities which
are familiar to natural scientists.
Our efforts should delineate institutional and organizational arrange-
ments that will allow watershed curricula to evolve within climatological
regions.
Study Units Build School Curricula
Before we consider procedural arrangements, let's consider the basic
essence of teaching and learning. That basic essence is diversity. Stu-
dents have learning needs which differ and teachers teach differently,
even in the same school and about the same subject. The curricula must
be flexible to meet these diverse needs. Study units on a specific
resource issue and completed over a short period of time offer teachers
and learners maximum flexibility.
Teachers use units to organize student learning activities, reading
materials and audio visual aids. Their daily lesson plans usually follow
some type of unit structure. Units are designed to teach one or more
concepts and often cover many skill development objectives. Units give
structure to the school learning experience without reducing the teacher's
curriculum discretion. Teachers pick study units which incorporate easily
because they complement regular programme syllabi and satisfy student needs.
We should encourage three types of study units. A single subject
unit which can be taught by one teacher has enough learning activities to
cover all the resource issue concepts but not in great depth. Other units
should cover only one or two concepts but be dovetailed with units taught
by other teachers in the same school. The learner receives indepth exper-
iences from more than one teacher on the same resource issue. These are
multidiscipline units and depend on good coordination between teachers.
The third type are interdisciplinary units and work when teachers from
different disciplines team teach the same learning activities. These units
are good for projects where students spend time working in the community
and contribute to resource problem resolutions.
The total school curriculum evolves by combining the various study
units developed in different academic disciplines and at different grade
levels. We can help teachers best by suggesting learning activities which
they themselves organize into study units. We should evaluate the units
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and describe the learning process in participating classrooms. Following
a program with the teachers as active participants will make the water-
shed problem studies curriculum adoptable elsewhere.
Begin the Program with Teachers—The Washington County Model
The national project staff should start first by building teacher
awareness locally. Graduate level evening seminars raised awareness and
gave teachers an opportunity to improve their professional status. Resource
agency and nongovernment organizational publications can be used to stimu-
late group discussions. Inservice seminars help build a teacher constit-
uency interested in adopting the resource issues into local school curricula.
The national project staff should complement the seminar approach with
guest talks during teacher inservice programs which are normally held in
the fall before school starts. The talks usually reach more teachers than
the seminars but the information transfer level is much lower. They should
also make a third approach through local newspapers and radio talk shows.
After a sufficient campaign, school mailings should be used to recruit
K-12 teachers who are willing to attend a summer workshop.
The most intensive teacher training occurs during the workshop held
at an environmental awareness center. Resource agents and nongovernment
organizational representatives, e.g., National Wildlife Federation, Con-
servation Education Association, Association for Environmental and Outdoor
Education, can make the maximum impacts on teacher awareness there, and
the teachers can provide valuable feedback on teaching and learning needs.
This is also the time when the project staff should provide model learning
activities and organize interdisciplinary teams to evaluate the activities
and establish unit learning objectives. Give teachers paid time after the
workshop to write their own study units based on the learning objectives
agreed upon.
Pilot Test the Study Units after the Workshop
Unit evaluation should be continuous and from three different but
overlapping approaches. Formulative evaluation starts when the unit
learning activities are designed. The project staff should screen and
select relevant environmental education activities already developed and
translate current water resource research into new learning activities.
Teachers will form study units from these or other learning activities
after the workshop. The project staff should evaluate the teacher written
units to assure continuity between the activities and the learning objec-
tives previously established. The units will go to project clerical
staff for typing before grade level evaluation. A panel of environmental
education and reading consultants should review the units and confirm the
grade level designation based on the psychomotor development of learners
at that age.
The next two evaluation approaches occur in the classroom. The
teachers who write the units will teach them during the school year fol-
lowing the workshop. A quantitative measurement should be made of student
learning, usually in the form of pre and post tests. The score differences
indicate how much students learn and the next approach will explain why
the students learned. This approach is an ethnographic study of the
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teacher/learner milieu which occurs in each cooperating school. The descrip-
tive case study information will make the future dissemination of the study
units possible. New teachers can review the units and pick those which
were taught in learning environments similar to their own.
Qualitative research can give the project staff and evaluators neces-
sary insight about the learning milieus which occur in the three suggested
unit types. If a single subject unit teacher adapts the unit procedures
extensively, it may somehow affect student performance. Testing only mea-
sures performance. Observation and interviews are necessary to understand
the teacher's adaptive behavior and how the students respond. Maybe the
adaption stimulates enthusiasm, a student quality that is important but
difficult to measure on a test.
Additional factors enter the learning milieu when two or more teachers
collaborate on an environmental education program. Other teachers would
want to know how these teachers cooperate to organize learning time,
schedule shared students, arrange field trips or handle disruptive student
behavior and classroom discipline. Answering these questions may help
other teachers try the new curriculum. Without descriptive information
they may be reluctant.
An Appropriate Organizational Structure
Existing state educational institutions should administer the state
and regional programs of water resources curriculum development and teacher
training. After the curricula are developed, a national distribution pro-
gram should be administered through one federal resource agency or a coali-
tion of agencies working with the Office of Education. Such an arrange-
ment exists now in the Federal Interagency Committee on Education.
The university water resources centers could carry out the program
objectives in each state. Acting as the administrative agencies, centers
should recruit and hire teachers from state areas designated to have criti-
cal water resource issues. Members of a state advisory committee should
designate the areas and practicing teachers would be hired who work in
either private or public schools and are willing to help develop the
curricula. The advisory committee should be comprised of representatives
from the state department of public instruction, a state resource agency
and the participating university. This committee could handle other proj-
ect policy functions also.
The centers would coordinate the water resources information transfer
occurring between resource agencies, nongovernment organizations concerned
with environmental education and the participating teachers. The centers
will also run the summer workshops, evaluate the study units and research
the environmental education learning process.
Two types of publicity activities should be conducted to inform con-
cerned publics about the education program. One type includes feature
articles and public service announcements for local media use that inform
the general public. These will help promote school environmental learning
activities. A second type should be facilitated between participating
students and teachers. Newsletters, slide programs and project reports
are traditional methods which should be used. The centers could also make
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short video tape programs about the learning activities and exchange them
between classrooms in different climatological regions. If six regions
are established, a third grade class in one climatological area would see
what other third grade classes are doing in five different climates.
One center in each climatological area should also administer regional
activities. It will handle the video tape program distribution between
classrooms and conduct large watershed or basin conferences that partici-
pating teachers and students can attend. The regional center should also
have the major responsibility of training staff who work in each state
center within the climatological area. It should coordinate curriculum
development within the climatological region and balance the teacher
training activities so that an equitable distribution of federal funds
occurs between states and a valuable curriculum guide evolves.
REFERENCES
1. Silver Burdett. 1972. Environmental Science, Intermediate Science
Curricula Study. General Learning Corporation, Morristown, N.J.
146 p.
2. Jaus, Harold H. 1976. Inservice Education: It Can Make a Difference.
School Science and Mathematics. Vol. LXXVI No. 6:78-87.
3. Vivian, V. Eugene. 1973. Sourcebook for Environmental Education.
The C. V. Mosby Company. St. Louis, Mo. 206 p.
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DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCE INFORMATION FOR LOCAL DECISION-MAKERS
by
Alan Carpenter and Dan Wilson*
Public Law (PL) 92-500, enacted in 1972, expanded the national pol-
lution abatement program by establishing provisions for control of both
point and nonpoint sources of water pollution. Measures to develop and
implement controls for point source pollution have progressed relatively
rapidly. But as point sources have been eliminated or reduced, the sig-
nificance of nonpoint sources (NPSs) has become apparent. For example,
it has been estimated recently that 50% of the pollutant loadings in
southeastern Wisconsin are from NFS.
PL 92-500 gave the states the primary responsibility for directing
water quality protection and improvement through the areawide water
quality management planning process. Implementing potential voluntary
or regulatory measures designed to abate NPS water pollution is probably
most appropriate at the county level.
Historically, the county has been the unit of government primarily
responsible for implementation of land management decisions. Existing
educational, technical assistance, cost sharing, and regulatory programs
pertaining to land use activities are all under the auspices of local
agencies. Because NPS water quality decisions will be closely tied to
land use, it seems appropriate that the majority of NPS technical and
financial aid determinations be made at the county level.
The Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has been the local
unit of government responsible for soil erosion control efforts. It is
the SWCD's goal to plan and implement programs of local assistance which
encourage the conservation and proper use of soil and water resources in
the District.
The most recent amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act, PL 95-217, have created a new opportunity for SWCDs to become equal
decision-makers with the agencies of the USDA in determining priorities
for NPS assistance to landowners and operators. This process has been
developed in order to insure that the most critical water quality prob-
lems are locally addressed.
The Wisconsin legislature has recently enacted a water pollution
control grant program, allocating $1.2 million for NPS projects in fiscal
year 1978-79. Although this program will be coordinated by state agen-
cies, effective planning and implementation will depend on significant
SWCD participation.
*Project Assistant, Water Resources Center, University of Wisconsin-
Madison.
Resource Agent, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Washington County,
West Bend, Wisconsin.
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But to date, many SWCDs have not had their own staff support or the
technical knowledge necessary to make soil erosion and water quality
management decisions. This is due to the part-time role of SWCD Super-
visors and their commitments to their own employment as well as county
government in Wisconsin. Therefore, in the past, many of the SWCD's
decisions have been made for them by other agencies.
Now, new decisions must be jointly made by the SWCD, USDA and state
water quality agencies which consider relationships between land manage-
ment and water quality. In order to set priorities for distribution of
funds where they will provide the highest return in water quality, the
SWCD needs to either develop on its own or be provided with background
resource information.
This paper draws on the experience we are gaining in developing
countywide NFS abatement strategies in conjunction with the SWCD Super-
visors in Washington County, Wisconsin. It is geared primarily to the
county-based technical personnel who must provide local officials with
the necessary information to enable them to implement effective NFS pro-
grams. Although Washington County is detailed in this example, we believe
the resource materials development process could be used as an example
for other areas as well.
DEVELOPING COUNTYWIDE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING NPS POLLUTION ABATEMENT
PROGRAMS
In order to establish countywide priorities as to the direction of
NPS pollution abatement programs, clearly stated definitions of the
county's NPS water quality abatement goals must be formulated.
In establishing goals, federal and state water quality standards
must be considered. One of the major features of PL 92-500 is the goal
that all of our nation's waters would achieve "fishable/swimmable"
status by 1983. In Wisconsin, the State Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) has used its rule making authority to promulgate water quality stan-
dards for the state's surface water; compliance with these standards would
be necessary to meet the federally mandated "fishable/swimmable" status.
These standards relate to a number of parameters including dissolved oxy-
gen, temperature, pH, bacteria, and toxic substances. Substantial por-
tions of Washington County's waters do not meet the state's standards and
are not classified as "fishable/swimmable" at the present time. County
NPS programs should be directed toward meeting the "fishable/swimmable"
criteria, both to comply with the spirit and intent of state and federal
laws, and to maximize opportunities for receiving funding assistance.
Another crucial aspect of the prioritization process centers around
values decisions. Public decision-makers are sometimes reluctant to admit
that subjective considerations are part of their method of operation, but
the values questions are inescapable here. For example, should priority
be given to restoring marginal waters to high quality status or to pro-
tecting existing high quality areas? Should preference be given to lakes
over streams? Should waters which contain unique life forms such as
endangered species of fish be accorded special preference?
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The entire issue of public and private use of waterbodies must be
thoroughly discussed. If all users of lakes and streams would be equally
benefited by NFS pollution abatement, potential user conflicts would be
minimized. However, various user groups have somewhat different percep-
tions as to what constitutes high quality water. Water quality "improve-
ment" which would render a lake less weedy and more suitable for water-
skiing may not always benefit the local fishermen.
There are several other preference factors which are also worth men-
tioning. They include the degree of public access to the waterbody, the
body's economic significance for recreational use and its proximity to
urban areas where the majority of the potential users live.
This short discussion of values considerations is not meant to be
exhaustive. Rather, it is intended to be illustrative of the types of
questions which decision-makers must face.
Hopefully, decision-makers will make efforts to bring the public into
the prioritization process. One of the most important aspects of public
involvement is the identification of what people want from their streams
and lakes. Thus, the consideration of values is central to the develop-
ment of a water quality management program which has widespread public
acceptance and support.
OBTAINING, ANALYZING AND COMMUNICATING WATER QUALITY
AND LAND USE INFORMATION
Once the NFS management goals have been developed, information relat-
ing to land use and water quality must be gathered, analyzed and then pre-
sented in such a way that it can be readily communicated to a broad
spectrum of persons. A management program must have as its base a
thorough inventory of water quality for major waterbodies in the county
and the point and nonpoint sources and types of water pollution.
Unfortunately, relevant data exists in a wide range of sources includ-
ing governmental agencies, regional planning commissions, educational
institutions, scientific literature and from local residents. Data tends
to be available from a particular source along discipline lines with per-
sons in one discipline, e.g. , water chemistry, often being unaware of the
existence of data in another discipline, e.g., aquatic biology. Thus,
acquiring water quality information for a county involves contacting many
persons and asking numerous questions.
The first step in the data collection process is to decide what types
of information are needed to adequately determine existing county water
quality. Table 1 shows the types of information which are useful for
streams and lakes. Each of the items listed here either directly reflects
lake or stream conditions or directly affects surface waters. In some
counties key information concerning items in Table 1 will simply not be
available, causing those data which are available to be given extra weight
in decision-making processes and identifying areas in which future data
aquisition is needed.
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Table 1. Information Relating to Water Quality of County Lakes and Streams
A. Water Resource Information
1. Map locations of named streams and lakes
2. Lake morphometry—area, mean depth, maximum depth, volume, general
estimate of relative size of littoral zone, navigability, water
residence time
3. Stream flow records, stream width and depth, navigability
4. Water quality parameters—temperature, secchi depth, specific con-
ductance, concentrations of dissolved oxygen, bacteria, phosphorus,
nitrate, ammonia, alkalinity, chlorophyll-ji, suspended sediment
5. Fisheries data—significance of sport fishery, rough fish problems,
presence of endangered species, fish kills, estimate of angling
pressure, state agency management plans
6. Algae and macrophyte growths—problem locations, type of affected
lake users, effectiveness of any previous treatment measures,
estimates of problem severity
7. Aquatic insect sampling data
8. Water quality indexes—trophic state index, lake carrying capacity
B. Cultural and Social Information
1. Assessment of visitor use according to user class—fishing, boating,
swimming, hunting, riparian open space
2. Water quality objectives of local residents
3. Activities and objectives of local groups involved in water quality
issues—lake protection districts, lake associations, sportsmen's
clubs, environmental organizations
4. Economic significance of the water
5. Availability of public access
C. Land Use Information
1. Land topography and soil types
2. Major land uses and management practices on steep lands and near
waterbodies
3. Location of exclusive agricultural lands
4. Riparian development—location of platted land, tiled out septic
systems
5. Location of riparian wetlands—significance as fish spawing habitat,
significance as sediment and nutrient filter
6. Wildlife and open space—general wildlife and open space values,
hunting on and around lakes, wetlands
7. Land use regulations affection lakes and streams—shoreland and
floodplain zoning ordinances, sediment control regulations, county
zoning and subdivision maps
8. Best management practice information
9. Sources and characterization of pollution—point source locations,
analysis of effluent concentration and rate of discharge (pollutant
loadings), locations of evident NFS pollution problem areas such as
livestock in stream or lake, barnyard runoff, cultivated steep
slopes, tiled out septic systems, construction sites
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Next is the problem of where this water quality-related information
is located and how it can be obtained. Table 2 summarizes the principal
sources of data which have been utilized in inventorying the waters of
Washington County or could be utilized in other counties. Much of the
information used in the formulation of a countywide water quality manage-
ment program will be available from public agency personnel. Local
employees of the state's natural resource department will be especially
valuable both in terms of the information they can directly provide and
the reports and studies with which they are familiar. Regional planning
commissions, assuming one exists to serve the county, are very important
sources of a number of types of water quality information ranging from
water chemistry data to planning reports, maps and expert assistance.
Regional planning commissions often have staff members who deal directly
with water quality problems including nonpoint source pollution. Public
input can also be invaluable at this stage. Individuals and citizens
groups such as lake protection districts, lake associations, hunting and
fishing clubs, environmental organizations, and school groups often have
detailed information on specific streams and lakes.
Once the available water quality data have been assembled, they must
be analyzed if they are in raw form. Water chemistry data are sometimes
available in numerical form but without adequate explanation as to what
the numbers imply. Tables of data, even though the numbers be valid and
useful, are not suitable for management purposes until they are given
meaning in terms that nontechnical persons can understand. It is impera-
tive that data analysis be done with an eye toward the ultimate purpose:
the development and implementation of a NFS pollution control program by
professionally nontechnical persons.
Fortunately, many of the data that one will obtain will already be
analyzed in some sort of report format. This makes the technical assis-
tant's job somewhat easier but does not mean that the conclusions of other
people should automatically be accepted, since people sometimes differ as
to the significance and meaning of identical sets of data.
Still remaining is the problem of organizing the water quality infor-
mation in such a way that it can be clearly and easily communicated to
the SWCD supervisors,other governmental personnel and the general public.
We have adopted the strategy of using maps and tables to summarize and
convey the most significant water quality information. For Washington
County, we selected planimetric maps with a scale of 1:48,000 which are
produced by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.
The 3' x 4' map size is convenient for spreading out on a table or large
desk top and for displaying in small meetings.
The number of different maps should be limited so that handling them
does not become a major problem. It is possible to place several types
of related information on one map without creating too much clutter. How-
ever, maps made of mylar with but a single type of information can be
overlain on a light table in various combinations. This flexibility is
often very helpful.
We have produced several maps for the Washington County SWCD. They
illustrate water resources, water quality problem areas, land slope,
general land use, and livestock concentrations. With these maps it is
possible to quickly ascertain where the significant bodies of water are
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Table 2. Sources of Water Quality Related Information for Wisconsin
Counties
1. Surface Water Resources Reports—DNR publications
report done for each county; catalogs all named streams and lakes
in county; may be out of print but probably available from District
DNR offices
2. Lake Use Reports—DNR publications
reports done for major lakes in each county; limited water chemistry
data; more detailed information on soils, land use, algae and macro-
phytes, hydrography, fisheries
. Water Resources Data for Wisconsin—USGS publications
annual compilation of flow, sediment discharge, sediment concentra-
tions, and temperature from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream
gauging stations
4. Water Quality of Selected Wisconsin Inland Lakes—DNR publications
annual compilation of water chemistry data for lakes throughout
Wisconsin
5- Lake Classification - A Trophic Characterization of Wisconsin Lakes
Paul D. Uttormark and J. Peter Wall, June 1975 (EPA-660/3-75-033;
available from US-GPO), a study at U.W. Water Resources Center
and funded by EPA; developed a lake classification system for
Wisconsin lakes
6. Wisconsin Trout Streams
Wisconsin DNR Publication No. 6-3600(74), lists all of the state's
designated trout streams by county; designated trout streams are
subject to more restrictive water quality standards than other
streams
1' Classification of Wisconsin Lakes by Trophic Condition
Wisconsin DNR, April 1975, also includes limited water quality data
8. Water Quality Information: Wisconsin Great Lakes and Tributary Streams
Wisconsin DNR, August 1975, an annotated bibliography
9. Various DNR reports and studies—contact District and local DNR per-
sonnel
a) drainage basin reports have been prepared for streams through-
out Wisconsin
may include extensive water chemistry and biological sampling
data, lake data may be included, summary of condition of
basin streams
b) basin water resources plans
tend to be somewhat general and lacking in quantitative data
but can be useful background information sources
c) reports on investigation of pollution
tend to be somewhat dated, information on point sources,
results of chemical and biological sampling near the point
sources; mostly on streams
d) research reports and technical bulletins
e) fish distribution data—contact the DNR fish manager; these
data are being computerized and will soon be accessible for
entire state
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Table 2. Continued
f) each DNR district has a staff person who is responsible for
coordinating NFS pollution abatement activities; this person
will be very helpful
10. Environmental Impact Statements
major state and/or federal projects which could have major impacts
on the environment require an environmental impact statement; such
statements often contain a variety of useful information which
relates directly to water quality
11. Regional Planning Commission Reports
regional planning commissions prepare valuable water quality reports
and sometimes cooperate with DNR in the gathering and analysis of
water quality data; lists of publications are typically available
from RFC offices where information on recent water quality planning
activities are also available
12. Lake Management Districts
districts frequently hire consultants to perform water chemistry
and biological studies on their lakes; district DNR personnel will
be able to provide information concerning the existence of the
Districts
13. County Soil Surveys
detailed surveys have been prepared or are in the process of being
prepared for each county in Wisconsin; these surveys contain a
wealth of useful information such as suitability of soils for various
uses, detailed soil maps and areas of riparian organic soils; avail-
able from county agent
14. Aerial Photographs
each county ASCS office has an extensive collection of aerial stereo
photos which allow the viewer to visualize the landscape three
dimensionally; photo scales are 1:20,000 (before about 1970) and
1:40,000 (after about 1970); these photos are very useful for locating
steep slopes which are being farmed; regional planning commission may
also have aerial photographs of different scales and dates
15. Maps
Topographic maps are available for the entire state from the Wisconsin
Geological and Natural History Survey in Madison; planimetric county
maps of various scales are available from the county, the regional
planning commission, or the state department of transportation
16. College and University Personnel
faculty members commonly conduct research concerning water quality
and may be aware of other information which would be helpful in
developing the management program
17. Legal and Regulatory Information
a) Wisconsin Water Quality Standards—from Wisconsin Administrative
Code, Chapters NR102-104
b) Wisconsin Natural Resources Laws—a compendium of all state laws
related to natural resources; available from DNR, Madison
c) County Shoreland and Floodplain Zoning ordinances—indicates what
are permitted, conditional and prohibited uses in shoreland and
floodplain areas; available from county corporation counsel
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Table 2. Continued
d) County and town zoning maps—counties and towns which have a
zoning ordinance will also have a zoning map indicating what
types of land use are permitted on each parcel of land; avail-
able from county zoning officer or town zoning committee
18. Agricultural Statistics
the Wisconsin Statistical Reporting Service collects a variety of
data on crop acreages, livestock numbers, and farm population from
local tax assessor farm reports annually for the entire state;
this information is available on a township, countywide or state-
wide basis
19. Land Management Data
the SWCDs, under the auspices of the State Board of Soil and Water
Conservation Districts and the DNR, collected detailed land manage-
ment information for approximately 2% of the land in each county
during 1976-77; included were data on crop rotations, plowing
methods, the utilization of conservation practices and the proximity
of feed lots to waterways; while not enough land was surveyed to
permit identification of specific problem areas within each county,
this survey provices the best general information available on a
county basis concerning the management of potential problem areas
72
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located, which of the waters have water quality problems and what type(s)
of land use activities may be contributing to the problems. This kind
of countywide overview is essential for local NFS problem identification.
In addition to the maps, a written report summarizing and discussing
the water quality situation in the county is recommended. The report
would serve to give more specific information about particular portions
of the county and would give background information useful in interpreting
the maps. The written report and maps should be periodically revised,
as new data becomes available.
In order to have a solid framework of understanding from which NFS
programs can be implemented, local technical people and decision-makers
need to have at least some rudimentary knowledge of water quality, water
pollution and land use problems. These terms are frequently used in
discussions of NFS programs but it is likely that their meanings and
relationships are not clear to everyone. On a somewhat higher level of
sophistication, technical terminology, e.g., the various water quality
parameters, must be set forth and clearly explained. A glossary of tech-
nical terms written with a minimum use of jargon and containing numerous
examples of how the terms are used would be very helpful. An enumeration
and explanation of the various types of NFS pollution sources is required
background information. This listing should include sources which are
known to or could reasonably be expected to occur in the county. The
particular pollutants known to be associated with each of the sources
should be identified. Then the general impacts of these types of pollu-
tion sources and their respective pollutants on water quality can be dis-
cussed. Clearly, decision-makers can make rational decisions concerning
NFS programs only if they are familiar with water pollutants and their
effects on water quality. The decision-makers must be aware of the cause
and effect relationships among land use, water pollution and water quality.
IMPLEMENTING NFS ABATEMENT PROGRAMS WITHIN A SPECIFIC WATERSHED
After watersheds have been prioritized and several watersheds have
been selected, the NFS programs can then be implemented in these specific
areas.
While general questions of water use have been considered on a county-
wide level, they must be examined more closely on a watershed or subwater-
shed basis. Public and private use of streams and lakes varies widely
from watershed to watershed and even within a watershed. For example,
upper reaches of streams are typically non-navigable so boating is not an
issue there, while further downstream boating may be an important activity.
The type of use which a body of water receives will influence the choice
of particular NFS programs appropriate for the situation.
The next step in the implementation of an NFS program in a specific
watershed is the identification of the most significant sources of water
pollution and water quality problem areas. We recommend the preparation
of maps similar to those developed on a countywide basis but here covering
only the watershed in question. These maps would show land use, soil
types, topography, land cover, significant sources of pollution, and water
quality problem locations. The bulk of the information necessary to
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produce these maps will already have been obtained in the process of
locating countywide water quality data, as previously outlined.
Water quality information relevant to the. watershed must be analyzed
to determine how the current water quality compares to state standards
and recommendations from various groups. In some situations water quality
will be difficult to quantify due to the lack of data. Then either the
qualitative data must be given more weight in determining water quality
or a limited sampling program could be contemplated to provide at least
a partial quantitative information base.
The technical specialist will also want to personally inspect the
watershed to field check the published data which is available, insofar
as this is feasible. The locations and types of pollution sources can
be ascertained in the field after suspected pollution sources have been
determined from topographic maps, aerial photographs and water quality
data.
These field checks will reveal where the major water pollution sources
are located and water chemistry data will indicate the current levels of
various pollutants in streams and lakes. In counties where the technical
specialist has the requisite background data and expertise, the calcula-
tions of the trophic state index (TSI), lake sensitivity index and per-
missible pollutant loading can be made. All of these calculations
represent a fairly high level of sophistication, requiring someone familiar
with these procedures. We do not believe that satisfactory NFS programs
necessarily require the quantification of pollutant loadings, TSI and the
like. However, if these factors are quantified, they can more accurately
indicate the nature and extent of NFS water pollution, its effects on lakes
and the likelihood that water quality problems can be abated.
After the watershed's major pollution sources have been identified
and the water quality has been characterized, the mechanisms which are
available for controlling the NFS water pollution problems can be deter-
mined. This involves consideration of best management practices, the
level of funding available and the coordination of the activities of the
local NFS implementation agency, e.g., the SWCD, and other agencies.
Developing a list of alternative management practices for NFS pollu-
tion is a relatively straightforward task. It is also fairly easy to
determine what types of pollutants are controlled by each practice and
what specific practices are applicable to land use activities. However,
reliable evaluations of the cost effectiveness and practicality of alter-
native management practices are much more difficult to determine. In
the short term, identification of those practices which will be considered
"best management practices" (BMPs) for specific land use activities may
be subject to considerable uncertainty and controversy. When these deter-
minations are made they will be based primarily on the degree of expected
improvement in local water quality. This is significant because some
conservation practices which are currently supported do riot contribute
to NFS pollution abatement and would not be eligible for NFS pollution-
cost-sharing funds.
The determination of which management practices constitute BMPs for
each major type of land use will probably be made at the state level.
From the array of suggested or approved BMPs, the local NFS agency can
74
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decide which BMP is most appropriate for each NPS pollution source. These
decisions would reflect the practicality and cost-effectiveness of each
BMP to the extent that such information is available.
Finally, the implementation of appropriate BMPs where they are needed
will be the most difficult but most important part of the management pro-
gram. A variety of tools exists and should be investigated. Federal,
state and, in some cases, county agencies sponsor cost-sharing and tech-
nical assistance programs which can be directed toward implementing NFS
water pollution abatement practices. The various units of government
regulate land in a number of ways which affect NFS water pollution.
Zoning has been used for over fifty years to regulate land use activities.
Wisconsin is fortunate to have shoreland and floodplain zoning ordinances
in all counties of the state. These ordinances recognize the public
rights in lakes and streams of the state and are designed to minimize
damage to the state's navigable waters caused by riparian land use.
Some counties and/or townships have enacted sediment control ordi-
nances of various kinds. These ordinances can be especially effective
at reducing sediment runoff from construction sites. Wisconsin's new
Farmland Preservation Act is designed to keep prime agricultural land in
production by providing tax breaks to farmers participating in the farm-
land preservation program. It is reasonable to assume that farmers
electing to join this program may be individuals who would be interested
in participating in voluntary NFS pollution abatement programs. Such
potentially willing participants should be identified by county decision-
makers .
It is also important that state agencies and local governmental
units coordinate their NPS water pollution activities such that all inter-
ested parties work toward a common goal. Unfortunately, such coordination
has often been the exception rather than the rule, but this situation can
change. Of particular importance is the cooperation between the county
zoning officer and the county level NPS water pollution abatement agency,
presumably the local SWCD. As mentioned previously, shoreland and flood-
plain zoning ordinances, plus sediment control regulations covering con-
struction sites can have significant impact on reducing existing NPS
pollution and on preventing new problem areas from developing. However,
zoning regulations will be effective only if the county zoning officer
and the SWCD work closely on zoning matters which could affect water
quality.
As is evident, the local NPS program implementation agency does not
operate in a vacuum. The decisions of federal, state and county agencies
have land use implications and, hopefully, will be in harmony with those
of the local NPS agency. Interagency cooperation is critical to the
success of NPS programs. We envision the local NPS agency assuming the
leadershop role in this endeavor.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Water pollution has been a matter of public concern for some time.
In the past, nearly all water pollution abatement efforts have been
directed at point sources such as municipal sewage plants and industrial
discharges. With the passage of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
75
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Amendments in 1972 came the recognition that NFS pollution is a major,
if not the major, cause of the deterioration of our nation's waters.
Subsequently, more attention has been given to establishing programs
which will reduce NFS water pollution although funds specifically ear-
marked for NFS abatement programs did not exist.
Beginning in 1977 the funding picture began to change dramatically.
In the near future, the states will hopefully have at their disposal
sizeable sums of money to abate NFS pollution. Since NFS pollution is
essentially a land use problem and since land use decisions have histor-
ically been handled at the local level, we believe that the SWCD, the
local agency responsible for NFS control programs, is the most logical
place to vest responsibility for administering NFS control funds.
We have outlined the steps which could be taken to develop a county
level NFS pollution abatement program and implement it in specific water-
sheds. We recognize that SWCDs do not typically possess the staff sup-
port needed to develop such a program. The acquisition and analysis of
water quality data is generally beyond capabilities of part-time SWCD
Supervisors.
There are several possible sources of staff support needed to develop
an NFS water pollution abatement program. University Extension personnel
would probably have the expertise to do the job but are generally so
overburdened with current responsibilities that additional duties are
often out of the question. Likewise, Soil Conservation Service (SCS)
personnel would very likely posses the skills required but are also
overburdened with their own tasks. Regional planning commission (RFC)
staffs often have water quality management personnel but RPCs do not serve
all local areas, nor is it likely that they have staff time available
either.
We conclude that in light of the increasing level of responsibility
which is likely to be given to the SWCDs in administering NFS programs,
each SWCD requires a professional staff person accountable directly to
the District to handle technical matters such as the gathering and
analysis of water quality data, the preparation of resource maps and so
forth. In this way, the District will not be forced to utilize valuable
staff time from other agencies. It is important that the SWCD have its
own staff if it is going to effectively spend public funds.
In closing we would like to quote Reuben Schmahl, Washington County
Board and SWCD Chairman as follows: "Our efforts in 'nonpoint' pollution
control become very complicated. Any attempt to implement a corrective
program involves many people and agencies of varied interests to carry
on a study and implement acceptable objectives in a practical manner. I
am of the firm belief that Soil and Water Conservation District Boards
are logical entities to take leadership and accept responsibility to
achieve reasonable and effective locally administered programs dealing
with land use and water quality."
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RED CLAY SLOPE STABILITY FACTORS
Little Balsam Creek Drainage 92°15'W, 4-5°30'N
Douglas County, Northwestern Wisconsin
by
Dr. Joseph T. Mengel, Jr.
Department of Geosciences
University of Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin
Data collected in this investigation outlines the
mineralogical character and range of mechanical behavior of
the red clay and establishes the Little Balsam drainage as
representative of many of the geologic and engineering con-
ditions in the Nemadji River watershed and other parts of
the red clay plain which borders the southwestern side of
Lake Superior.
Man's removal of the forest cover, modification of the
natural drainage and other practices have promoted drying
of a 5-7 foot thick surface zone in the Little Balsam
drainage and elsewhere in the red clay area. Slope in-
stability results in two well defined types of situations:
(1) when decreased moisture leads to fissure development in
the brittle surface zone which, although strong because of
its low matrix moisture content, slides on or flows over
plastic clays below when moisture accumulates in the fis-
sures, and (2) when an increased slope angle and lack of
toe support result from stream erosion of the base of a
slope having the characteristics outlined in (1).
The changes which promote drying also affect the rate
and quantity of runoff, thereby increasing lateral and ver-
tical erosive capacities as stream volumes and velocities
increase. Even in localities where forest cover remains
along portions of a stream course the entire natural rela-
tionship between streams and bank materials has been
altered within the memory of those now living. The result
has been an acceleration in the time rate of bank failure
and an increase in its frequency throughout the red clay
area. The topography will continue to evolve under the
influence of the awesome power of natural processes, but
if man uses the land according to a plan which incorporates
realistic agricultural and engineering practices their rate
of operation can be slowed and a new equilibrium established.
It is therefore recommended that:
1. Channel deepening in any part of the drainage basin be
minimized through methods to retard upland runoff and
through minimization of drainage diversion from the
upland surface.
77
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2. Slope toes be protected by vegetation or by other means
especially in reaches not now being actively eroded.
3. Efforts be made to maintain and improve vegetative cover
and accumulation of a water retaining mat of organic-
rich materials which protect slopes from sheet erosion
while maintaining soil moisture at more nearly the
levels found below 10 feet.
4. Land buyers/owners be warned of the continuing evolution
of slopes steeper than 10-15° and appropriate set-backs
be made according to the slope characteristics.
Sponsored by
United States Environmental Protection Agency
and
The Red Clay Project
Under Terms of Grant Number G-005140-01
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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VEGETATION IN MODERATING RED CLAY EROSION
by
L. A. Kapustka, D. W. Davidson and R. G. Koch*
Vegetation contributes to the abatement of soil erosion by deplet-
ing soil water content, intercepting and redistributing incoming pre-
cipitation, retarding runoff, maintaining soil porosity and increasing
soil strength. Although these plant properties are accepted generally,
the relative contributions of each applied to a specific problem are
speculative. Studies performed during the past 2-1/2 years have sought
to define the capacity of vegetation to moderate erosion of the red
clay zone of the Nemadji River Basin which empties into western Lake
Superior. These investigations have had two main thrusts: 1) the in-
fluence of the vegetation on soil water content and 2) the distribution
and strength of plant roots in the region.
Soils
The soils of the Nemadji River Basin are derived from glacial till
and lake sediments. The clays of lacustrine origin, the predominant
soil type, are of the montmorillonite type <2 y diameter. Beach sands,
unsorted sand, silt and clay from glacial drift comprise the remaining
soil components. Generally, the lacustrine clay zones are well drained
whereas the glacial till zones are poorly drained (1, 2).
The clays, remarkably uniform throughout the study area, have a
bulk density (g-cm~3) ranging between 0.94 and 1.12 with a mean of 1.05.
The Plastic Limits range from 20-30%. The Liquid Limits typically range
from 40-80% (3). Auger borings reveal relatively uniform moisture con-
tent >40% for depths greater than 3 m.
Vegetation
Presettlement; As revealed from survey records of 1860 (4) the
Nemadji Basin as a whole was dominated by white pine (Pinus strobus L.)
with an importance percentage of 27.2. Almost one-fourth of the white
pine were 60 cm DHB or larger, a size unmatched by any other tree in
the forest. Spruce (Picea spp.), tamarack (Larix laricina Du Roi) and
birch (Betula spp.) were other species contributing significantly to
the character of the forests. As a synthetic unit, the forests were
moderately dense with 187 trees-ha . The average diameter of the
trees was near 28 cm.
Discernable patterns of forest communities are difficult from gross
surveying data. At the minimum it was possible to distinguish flood
plain forest types exemplified by ash (Fraxinus spp.); upland vs ravine
forests indicated by significantly larger tree diameters in the ravines;
and on a large scale white pine and tamarack forests. Computer gener-
ated distribution maps identified a white pine community restricted
* Center for Lake Superior Environmental Studies and Department of
Biology, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Superior, Wisconsin 54880.
79
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chiefly to the elevations <330 m which approximates the lake bed of
glacial Lake Duluth. Similarly tamarack tended to occupy the sandy,
poorly drained soils outside the former lake bed (4).
Contemporary Vegetation; Human impact on the vegetation of this
region which has been significant since the logging activities of the
last century. After the forest cover had been removed, much of the area
was converted to agricultural use. This usage seemingly reached its
maximum extent during the 1920's and 1930's. Gradually, agricultural
interests have diminished and much of the area is reverting to forest
cover. The extent of these activities is reflected by the proportions
of various vegetation types (Table 1) occurring in the subbasins
Table 1.
Area Represented by Different Community Types in the Two Study
Basins
Little Balsam
Skunk Creek
Area
(Acres)
% of
Total
Area
(Acres)
% of
Total
Woodlands
I. Aspen Hardwoods 418
II. Northern Hardwoods
A. Aspen/Birch Dominant 962
B. Oak/Maple Dominant 409
C. Maple/Basswood Dominant 147
III. Conifer 70
IV. Ravine Forest 182
V. Plantations 28
Wetlands
VI. Hardwood Swamp 378
VII. Conifer Swamp 21
VIII. Bog 64
IX. Marsh
A. Wet Shrubland 102
B. Marsh
Fields
X. Abandoned
A. Herbaceous 2
B. Shrubby 29
XI. Agricultural Fields 542
XII. Construction Zone
13.3
30.5
13.0
4.7
2.2
5.8
0.9
12.0
0.6
2.0
3.2
0.1
0.9
10.8
201
2999
288
73
138
213
43
600
231
10
206
7
41
28
1455
7
3.0
45.2
4.3
1.1
2,
4,
.1
,7
0.6
9.0
3.5
0.2
3.1
0.1
0.6
0.4
21.9
0.1
(Little Balsam Creek and Skunk Creek). Though similar community types
exist in the two subbasins, field sampling data reveal generally dis-
similar vegetation (Table 2). These differences are indicative of vary-
ing land use practices between the subbasins. Generally the vegetation
patterns of the Nemadji Basin as a whole show similar evidence of dis-
turbance. Of the forested stands, the successional pattern from aspen
to the maple-basswood unit has potentially interesting consequences to
the erosion question (Figure 1).
80
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Table 2. Comparison of Diversity and Similarity for Stands (Little
Balsam/Skunk)
Stand
Aspen
Aspen-Birch
Ravine Forest
Wetland Hardwoods
Agricultural Fields
Shannon-
Wiener
1.454/1.197
1.551/1.556
1.232/1.333
1.055/1,579
1.605/1.613
Simpson
.071/.098
.051/.058
.107/.098
.218/.041
.032/.037
Index of
Similarity
0.21
0.53
0.44
0.26
0.59
The aspen tend to be more open than other types, having ^200 trees-
ha communities to ^450 trees.ha"-'- in the maple basswood. Since the
diameters of all communities were similar (X=19. 7 ;f 1.47 cm) the aspen
stands also had the smallest phytomass. A significant correlation is
the inverse relationship between aspen I.P. and total stand density
(trees-ha ) (r = -0.87, significant at 0.01 level). Linear regression
analysis of shrub density and herb biomass reveals no trend (r=0.01).
The correlation of tree density and shrub density was not significant
(r = 0.46), nor is there any demonstrable relationship between shrubs and
aspen importance (r = 0.03). No significance was found between tree den-
sity and herb phytomass (r = 0.05). Likewise there is a positive, but
not significant trend between density and aspen importance percentage
(r=0.64). If shrub density and herb phytomass are relativised (ex-
pressed as a percentage of the maximum value) and combined, there is a
moderate inverse trend, but no significant correlation (r = -0.69) be-
tween tree density and the shrub-herb component (5).
Documentation of these trends would require additional data points,
not currently available. The data suggests, however, that the increase
in phytomass of the herbs to be expected under a more open canopy in
the less dense stands of aspen may be less than anticipated. Additional
work to clarify the potential relationships between aspen and ground
cover has begun.
METHODS
Soil Moisture
Soil moisture conditions were monitored weekly during April-
November in 1976 and 1977 in the following vegetations: aspen, birch,
fir, maple, pine, grazed pasture, abandoned agricultural field (grass
covered) and bare soil. Three replicates in each vegetation type were
measured by gypsum conductivity blocks and the Beckman Soil Moisture
bridge at depths of 5, 15, 30, 60 and 100 cm. Calibration in units at-
mospheres (V soil) was achieved with a Wescor C-52 Soil Psychrometer.
Stemflow-Throughfall: Thirty-eight trees representing quaking
aspen, paper birch, red maple, red oak, balsam fir, black spruce and
white pine were prepared for monitoring stemflow (SF) and throughfall
(TF). Rain gauges were placed in a fixed pattern under the canopy to
detect the amount of TF to be compared to the amount of precipitation
81
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t
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measured in gauges in the open (6). Three gauges were placed along each
of the cardinal directions to collect TF of the inner canopy, the mid-
canopy and the outer canopy. A polyurethane collar was molded to the
trunk of each tree to enable collection of SF water following procedures
described by Likens and Eaton (7). During the 2 year period 35-50 rain
periods were measured for SF and TF depending on the time of installa-
tion for the various specimens.
Surface Runoff; The volume of surface runoff and the amount of
sediment was determined during the summers of 1976 and 1977. Five
replicate enclosures (1 mxl m) were positioned in each of the following
four conditions: grassed with apparent slumping, grassed stable, wooded
with apparent slumping, and wooded stable. Runoff was collected in
sunken 20 1 carboys with an overflow connected to an 80 1 plastic gar-
bage can. After rainfalls the volume of runoff was measured and the
amount of sediment load was determined from aliquots of the runoff.
Each aliquot was filtered through a 0.45 p millipore filter and the
dry weight of sediment was obtained. Considerable variability in both
the volume of runoff and the sediment load occurred for similar amounts
in rainfall. Thus for analytical purposes, the data was organized in
groups according to the amount of precipitation (i.e. £ 15 mm, 16-30 mm,
31-45 mm, 46-60 mm, >60 mm). ~
Root Excavation
Excavation sites for determining root distribution patterns were
located semi-randomly adjacent to transects established to quantify soil
slumping activity. Along such transects 5 quadrat sites (0.5 mxl.O m)
were excavated at 10 cm depth intervals to a total depth of 50 cm.
Visible root material was collected from each layer and later washed to
remove adhering soil particles. Additionally, a subsample of the soil
from each layer was brought to the lab to estimate the quantity of the
finer root materials. Quantitative data (mass and calculated root
lengths) were obtained for 12 diameter size classes. Linear regression
analysis was employed to describe trends and patterns of root distribu-
tions.
Root Tensile Strength
Fresh root segments (5 cm length) from various species were sub-
jected to a steadily increasing force applied along the longitudinal
axis. The breaking strength was determined with Ametek force gauges
mounted horizontally. Linear regression equations of log tensile
strength vs. log diameter were calculated for each specimen. Generally
more than 60 measurements per specimen were used to develop the equa-
tions.
For convenience we have included rhizomes in the root materials.
83
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RESULTS
Stemflow-Throughfall
The amount of water channeled down the stem of any given species
was quite variable and exhibited no significant correlation with the
amount of incident precipitation. Grouping of the trees by species and
tree size provides some discrimination. For example, mid to large size
birch with its curled bark tend to have small amounts of stemflow com-
pared to other deciduous species of similar size. Trees with side
branches appressed to the main stem (0 < 30°) have larger volumes of
stemflow than trees with spreading branches. Although the volume of
stemflow often exceeds 20 1 for rains of 1 cm or more, this redistribu-
tion represents a very small percentage of the incoming rain. If stem-
flow is divided by the projected area of the canopy the stemflow typi-
cally is <1% of the incident precipitation.
Unlike SF, TF was correlated strongly with incident rainfall.
Significant differences are apparent among the different positions of
the canopy (inner, middle, outer) for many specimens. Also major dif-
ferences exist among the species. Generalized features of TF (Figures
2 and 3) are obtained from the linear regression analysis of TF and in-
cident rainfall.
E
E
X
0
.a
o
PRECIPITATION (mm)
Figure 2. Relationship Between Precipitation (cm) and
Throughfall (% of Incoming Precipitation).
84
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oe
Figure 3.
PRECIPITATION (mm)
Relationship Between Precipitation (cm) and
Throughfall (cm).
Three patterns (Figure 4) appear related to general differences in mor-
phology.
PRECIPITATION (mm)
Figure 4. Throughfall Patterns for Three Canopy Types.
85
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More open canopies such as aspen and birch are typified by larger
amounts of TF, intermediately dense canopies like oak, maple, white pine
have substantial amounts of TF whereas dense canopy trees like spruce
and fir have limited TF. The minimum rainfall to obtain measurable TF
ranged from 0.5 mm for a birch to 3.2 mm for a spruce. Additional in-
terception (precipitation that never reaches the ground) occurs during
the initial period of rainfall as the bark and leaves absorb water.
Experimental measures of water absorption by samples of bark, indicate
a rapid absorption during the initial 2-4 minutes of exposure to water.
Saturation is approached within 30 minutes. The amount of absorption
(saturation level) was quite variable (10-60% of weight of water to
weight of bark with a mean of 30%) and revealed no consistent patterns
among species.
Soil Moisture
The unusually dry summer of 1976 provided excellent conditions for
monitoring the effects of vegetation cover types on soil moisture. De-
pletion of soil moisture was considerable in all plots as precipitation
declined. The most effective cover types with respect to the depletion
of soil moisture were grazed pasture, abandoned field with predominant
grass cover and aspen (Figure 5). Much less effective were fir, pine,
maple, and bare ground (Figure 6) .
Following light rains the surface soils (top 5 cm) with less cover
(bare soil and grazed pasture) recharged more extensively than soils
with more cover, reflecting the significance of rainfall interception by
vegetation. With larger rains the bare soils were less efficient in
capturing the precipitation than the more vegetated soils. The vege-
tated soils tend to have a more porous structure resulting from a higher
organic carbon content, from root penetration and subterranean animal
activity which promotes percolation. In the more compacted bare soils
the surface is readily saturated and excess moisture is lost as surface
runo f f.
The summer of 1977 was wetter than normal with numerous small rains
occurring throughout the months of April through June and mid July
through October. Except for a brief period in early July the soils in
all plots remained relatively saturated (f soil= -1.5 to -4.0 atmos.)
throughout the 1 m profile. The surface soils (upper 15 cm) began to
dry down in the same pattern as observed in 1976.
The measures of red clay consistency (3) demonstrate a rather
narrow range of soil stability with respect to soil moisture content.
Our measures of the permanent wilting point of the soils indicate that
plants can draw down the soil water content to 11.8+0.3% thereby in-
ducing soil fracturing. Large fissures (>2 cm wideband several meters
long to depths of 15 cm or more) were common in the grassy areas in
1976. Many of these fissures remained throughout 1977. During wet
periods when precipitation exceeds Evapotranspiration (P/E >1) the
soils exceed the liquid limit and are subject to liquid flow.
Weather data for the Little Balsam subbasin appears to fluctuate
more than at the nearest official weather monitoring site, the Duluth
International Airport, For the months May-October rainfall in the
86
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T—I—I—I—I—I—I—I—I
-20-
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Figure 5. Weekly Soil Moisture Conditions (Y Soil) at 5 «ra ( ) , 15 fcm (—) and 30 cm (-•-) Depth.
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88
SOIL (ATMOSPHERE)
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XI
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Little Balsam sites was 242.6 mm for 1976 and 741.2 mm for 1977 (8).
At Duluth rainfall for the same periods were 332.0 mm and 604.8 mm
respectively. The 30 years mean precipitation for the period is 526.5
mm (9). For the western Lake Superior region the typical annual evapo-
transpiration potential is less than the expected annual precipitation.
The probability of evapotranspiration exceeding precipitation is only
1 year in 50 (10).
Measurements of soil slumping indicates the major activity occurs
during the spring thaw period, especially if the soil was wet prior to
freeze-up (11). Plants develop the potential to remove significant
amounts of water from the soil only after the expansion of leaves,
which in this region occurs in mid to late May. A comparison of the
soil moisture conditions of 1976 and 1977 suggest that plants can have
a significant draw down of soil moisture only during the drier than
normal years. In unusually dry years certain vegetation covers, es-
pecially the grass and sparse aspen areas, the soils dry below the plas-
tic limit creating future erosion problems.
Surface Runoff
The volume of runoff in areas with slumping was considerably
higher than in stable areas for both grassed and wooded areas (Figures
7 and 8) and tended to increase logarithmically with increasing amounts
25.0i
20-0-
15.0-
E 10-0-
5.0-
SURFACE RUNOFF - Mean of 5 plots
Grass slumped
Grass stable
6-30 31-45 46-60 >60
Figure 7.
PP" — mm
Mean Surface Runoff of Grassed Areas.
89
-------
SURFACE RUNOFF - Mean of 5 plots
CN
E
25.0
20,0
1&0
10.0-
5.0-
Woods slumped
Wood stable
i —r
<15 16-30 30-45 45-60
PT-mm
Figure 8. Mean Runoff of Wooded Areas.
>60
of rainfall. In both grassed and wooded areas, the amount of runoff
from the stable soils appears relatively high in the >60 mm category.
This may be due to circumstances as only 3 rains of this magnitude
were recorded and 2 occurred after the soil surface had frozen and leaf
fall had begun. Otherwise the volume of runoff between the wooded and
grassed areas is remarkably similar.
The sediment load was extremely variable, especially in the grassed
areas (Figures 9 and 10). Again major differences are apparent between
the slumped and stable areas. The major difference occurred between
the grassed and the wooded areas with approximately 10-fold more sedi-
ment in the runoff from the grassed areas.
Root Distribution
Trends in root distribution with respect to depth and soil type
reflect differences in vegetation cover significant to erosion control.
In the wooded clay soils (Table 3) up to 55% of the root mass was found
in the upper 10 cm of soil with an additional 20% in the 10-20 cm layer.
For smaller roots (i.e. <1 mm diam.) as much as 70% (dry weight basis)
occur in the upper 10 cm and 90% in the upper 20 cm of soil. Although
90
-------
GRASS
SURFACE RUNOFF-SEDIMENT LOAD
200
150
60
PPT —mm
Figure 9. Mean Sediment Load of Grassed Areas.
91
-------
Table 3. Mean Root Biomass of Skunk Creek Transect No. 6 (Gram Oven Dry Weight Rounded to Nearest Gram)
Root Diameter (mm)
Depth
0-10 cm
10-20 cm
20-30 cm
30-40 cm
40-50 cm
Totals
<0.5
159
40
9
6
4
221
0.5-
0.99
105
42
20
10
7
187
1.0-
1.99
46
28
18
9
5
107
2.0-
2.99
29
15
9
11
5
71
3.0-
3.99
22
12
10
4
6
56
4.0-
4.99
24
12
8
3
4
51
5.0-
9.99
39
47
30
14
11
142
10.0-
14.99
20
32
12
12
3
78
15.0-
19.99
45
30
10
0
0
86
20,0-
24.99
34
74
0
0
0
109
25.0-
29.99
80
11
31
0
14
137
^30
198
40
0
0
0
239
Totals
807
327
160
71
62
1489
Table 4. Mean Root Length of Skunk Creek Transect No. 6 (cm)
Root Diameter (mm)
Depth
0-10 cm
10-20 cm
20-30 cm
30-40 cm
40-50 cm
Totals
<0.5
203002
51136
12556
8069
6052
280816
0.5-
0.99
31478
1279
6329
3062
2231
55803
1.0-
1.99
4310
2630
1711
903
513
10069
2.0-
2.99
1175
629
362
453
229
2850
3.0-
3.99
438
237
211
75
120
1083
4.0-
4.99
328
158
86
45
54
673
5.0-
9.99
164
208
125
54
76
627
10.0-
14.99
33
81
28
19
10
168
15.0-
19.99
36
29
9
0
0
74
20.0-
24,99
18
35
0
0
0
53
25.0-
29.99
27
5
11
0
6
49
>30
38
9
0
0
0
47
Totals
241048
67950
21341
12683
10393
352317
Table 5. Mean Root Biomass of Little Balsam Transect 5 (Grams Oven Dry Weight Rounded to Nearest Gram)
Root Diameter (mm)
Depth
0-10 cm
10-20 cm
20-30 cm
30-40 cm
40-50 cm
Totals
<0.5
26.1154
2.0617
1.1529
0.5204
0.3553
30.2057
0.5-
0.99
11.0469
2.2247
2.0415
0.8948
0.8342
17.0421
1.0-
1.99
29.8678
8.0153
8.2147
5.1335
4.9019
56.1332
2.0-
2.99
39.8549
26.9410
31.6661
25.9891
24.6179
149.0690
• 3.0-
3.99
17.5660
6.6026
5.8784
6.1627
7.8969
44.1066
4.0-
4.99
15.6290
2.2124
0.4987
0.2030
2.0798
20.6229
5,0-
5.99
2.7817
10.1146
3.3887
0.0550
0
16.3700
10.0- 15.0-
14.99 19.99
0 0
1.4050 0
1.7715 0
0 0
0 0
3.1765 0
20,0-
24,99
0
0
0
0
0
0
25,0-
29.99
0
0
0
0
0
Q
>29.9
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
142.8617
59.5773
54.6125
38.9585
40.6860
336.6960
These data do not include roots, from the Boil subsample,
-------
WOODS SURFACE RUNOFF - Sediment load
Woods stable
<15 16-30 30-45 45-60 >60
PFT-mm
Figure 10. Mean Sediment Load of Wooded Areas.
the linear regression of root mass (Y ) and soil depth (X) describes a
significant relationship (Ym = 839.9 - 180.5X; r =-0.696), the relation-
ship between total root length (¥-,_) and soil depth is even more pro-
nounced (Table 4; Y]_ = 5 .54 - 0. 35X; r =-0.906). By comparison, the
grassy slopes contain approximately 1/5 to 1/3 as much root mass as the
wooded areas (Table 5). Furthermore the upper 10 cm harbor as little as
30% of all roots in the 50 cm profile, Generally the grassed areas
have a rather uniform distribution throughout the remainder of the pro-
file. This uniformity appears to result from the distribution of
Equisetum rhizomes, while the grass roots diminish rapidly with depth.
A few of our sites were located on sandy soils. The distribution
pattern of roots was more diffuse and thus less predictable in the loose
soil. No statistically significant trend between root mass and soil
depth was present (r =-0.211), but a significant trend between root
length and soil depth was described (Y± = 5 .0531 - 0 .1442X; r =-0.663).
Root Tensile Strength
The tensile strength of small roots of various woody species ap-
pears to be correlated with the strength of wood as measured by the mod-
ulus of rapture for those species. Wells (12) demonstrated a relation-
ship among numerous morphological features and the successional position
93
-------
of the species in the Eastern Deciduous Forest Complex, The modulus of
rupture was significantly, positively correlated with advancing succes-
sional development. Representative values of the modulus of rupture
(K Pa) for major taxa in our area are willow,2 33,000; aspen, 35,000;
black ash, 41,000; paper birch, 44,000; American elm, 50,000; red maple,
53,000; northern red oak, 57,000; and sugar maple, 57,000 (13). If the
relationship between root tensile strength and the modulus or rupture
is widespread, then the more advanced successional species can be ex-
pected to have the greatest per-unit root strength. Our measures of
root tensile strength shows maple to be substantially stronger than
aspen in nearly the same proportion as the modulus of rupture would sug-
gest. Also our limited data of the tensile strength of grass roots in-
dicates they are only 10 to 50% as strong as the aspen roots.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
It appears as if reduction of soil water content by plants may
lead to counterproductive results. The vegetation types most effective
in soil water depletion are effective only in drier years and then
lower the water content of the clay below the plastic limit. Conse-
quently, other vegetation types which tend to have greater amounts of
cover, appear to be more effective in reducing erosion due to other
factors. Perhaps the most significant factor is the relatively stronger
roots of the more advanced successional woody species. Because of the
relatively shallow rooting pattern and the relatively weaker roots of
the herbaceous plants compared to woody plants, slumping and surface
erosion tends to be greater in areas with predominant herbaceous cover.
Although no vegetation is expected to abate completely the erosion
forces of this geologically young region, woody climax vegetation ap-
pears to be most capable of ameliorating the process.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The following guidelines for management of vegetation in the red
clay zone are intended to be simple, feasible practices that will lead
to significant reduction of erosion.
— On construction sites, vegetation should be established at the
earliest opportunity.
— Where possible, woody species should be phased into the herbaceous
cover.
— Among woody species, the more advanced successional species are
preferred, largely due to their greater root strength,
— Along stream banks and associated drainage areas, soil stability
equations should be employed to demarkate the "100-year safe zone."
Within this zone, all human activity that arrests or reverts the suc-
cessional process should be prohibited. This includes logging and
unnecessary construction unless these activities are consistant with
forest management practices that promote advanced successional stands.
2 This value is for black willow but is presumed to be indicative of the
wood strength of willows in the red clay area.
94
-------
— In critical erosion sites, the establishment of advanced succession-
al woody vegetation should be actively promoted by acceptable meth-
ods of forest management including planting of seedlings, selective
cutting, and fertilizer application.
REFERENCES
1. Mengel, J.T. 1973. Geology of the Twin Ports area, Superior-
Duluth. Geology Dept., University of Wisconsin-Superior.
2. Andrews, S.C., G.R. Christensen and C.D. Wilson. 1976. Impact of
non-point pollution control on Western Lake Superior. Technical
Information Service, Springfield, VA.
3. Mengel, J.T. and B.E. Brown, 1976. Culturally induced acceleration
of mass wastage on red clay slopes, Little Balsam Creek, Douglas
County, Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin-Superior.
4. Koch, R.G., L.A. Kapustka and L.M. Koch. 1977. Presettlement
vegetation of the Nemadji River Basin. Journal of the Minnesota
Academy of Science 43:19-23.
5. Koch, R.G., L.A. Kapustka and S,M. Stackler. 1977. Vegetative
cover of the Little Balsam and Skunk Creek watersheds. Second
Annual Report and Supplement, Red Clay Erosion Demonstration
Project, University of Wisconsin-Superior.
6. Eaton, J.S., G.E. Likens and F.H. Bormann. 1973. Throughfall and
stemflow chemistry in the northern hardwood forest. Journal of
Ecology 61:495-508.
7. Likens, G.E. and J.S. Eaton. 1970. A polyurethane stemflow col-
lector for trees and shrubs. Ecology 51:938-939.
8. Olson, D.E. 1978. Red Clay Project; Annual Report 1976-1977 and
Quarterly Progress Reports for 1977. Department of Physics, Uni-
veristy of Minnesota-Duluth.
9. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1977. Local
climatological data, annual summary with comparative data. Duluth,
Minnesota.
10. Visher, S.S. 1966. Climatic atlas of the United States. Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
11. Davidson, D.W. and L.A. Kapustka. 1977. Role of plant roots in red
clay erosion. Red Clay Project Annual Report.
12. Wells, P.V. 1976. A climax index for broodleaf forest: An n-dimen-
sional, ecomorphological model for succession, iri J.S. Fralish,
G.T. Weaver and R.C. Schlesinger. Proceedings of the First Central
Hardwood Forest Conference, 17-19 October 1976, Southern Illinois
University, Carbondale.
95
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13. Forest Products Laboratory. 1974. Wood Handbook: Wood as an
engineering material. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture.
96
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THE EFFECTS OF RED CLAY TURBIDITY AND SEDIMENTATION
ON AQUATIC LIFE IN THE NEMADJI RIVER SYSTEM
by
P. W. DeVore, L. T. Brooke and W, A. Swenson
Red clay erosion in southwestern Lake Superior has been a natural
process along shorelines and in tributary streams and rivers since de-
cline of lake levels following the Pleistocene period. Exposure of the
unconsolidated glacial lake deposits resulted in fairly high and con-
stant rates of erosion long before man began to alter the landscape.
Rates of erosion along the Lake Superior shoreline have averaged up to
3.1 meters/year since 1938 (1) with contributions of 2x10" metric tons
of red clay soils annually (2). An additional 5.6x10^ metric tons are
resuspended in the lake due to wave action and 3.2x10 metric tons are
added by stream erosion (3). There is evidence that rates of erosion
were accelerated by logging operations during the late 1800's, but this
increase probably did not add significantly to the impact of the red
clays on the Lake Superior ecosystem.
Despite persistent turbidities and sedimentation in southwestern
Lake Superior, the fishery has been historically productive. Lake
herring seem to have thrived as the clays add nutrients to the somewhat
sterile environment and the reduced photic zone concentrates the plank-
ton (4). Not until introduction of rainbow smelt resulted in another
planktivore selecting this same concentrated food source, which included
larval herring, did herring stocks collapse (5,4). Walleye continue to
benefit from the moderate turbidities in the lake and river mouths.
The resultant low light intensities in the relatively productive inshore
areas and broad shallows such as the Duluth-Superior estuary allow wall-
eye stocks to reside in these waters without retreating to deep water
sanctuary. The walleye population in southwestern Lake Superior is one
of five stocks in the entire Great Lakes not experiencing declines (6).
Red clay turbidity is a possible contributor to this stability.
Nutrient inputs to Lake Superior due to red clay erosion may have
had a significant impact on production before settlement of the basin,
but orthophosphate loading today from shoreline and stream erosion (302
metric tons annually) is only 3.7% of the contribution from the Duluth-
Superior metropolitan area alone (7). Contributions of metals and other
solutes are also insignificant when compared to present loadings from
other sources (8). An exception to this is silica, which is loaded at
a rate of 14,400 metric tons per year. This may be an important element
in maintenance of diatom populations, the primary group of phytoplankton
in Lake Superior. Silica availability in Lake Michigan may have con-
tributed to limitations in diatom production in those waters (9).
The only detrimental effects which have been well identified from
moderate rates of sedimentation are those on salmonid reproduction.
Substantial rates of flow through the gravel are required for selection
by the female as a spawning site (10,11) and for survival of eggs and
emergence of fry (12,13,14). Reviews of adverse effects on the benthic
97
-------
fauna (15) do not identify any effects of low level deposition, perhaps
because such studies are rare or absent in the literature.
The study of aquatic life in the Nemadji River System, which pro-
duces 89% of the total erosional material from streams entering Lake
Superior from Wisconsin, was begun with the realization that red clay
erosion: 1) had minimal direct physical impacts on aquatic life in Lake
Superior, 2) resulted in spatial redistribution of organisms and affected
species interactions in Lake Superior, 3) was a fairly general character-
istic of the Nemadji watershed with few areas severely aggravated by man
(90% of the watershed is second growth forest), and 4) had turbidity
levels which seldom exceeded 100 ftu's (65 ppm), minimal in comparison
to suspended solid concentrations in waters where previous studies con-
cerning the effect of erosion and sedimentation had been conducted.
The effects of turbidity and sedimentation on aquatic life have
generally been studied in situations where there are massive movements
of soils (e.g. logging operations, poor agricultural practices over
large areas) or a source of inorganic sediment (sand pit washing, mining
clay wastes, etc.). The burden of sediment which is discharged into
stream and river systems under these conditions has afforded excellent
opportunities to assess the effects of extremely high levels of stream
sedimentation on aquatic life (16,17,18). Few studies, however, have
measured the effects of erosion and the resultant turbidity and sedi-
mentation which occur naturally in a young river system flowing through
highly erodable bed materials such as is the situation in the glacial
lake deposits characterizing the Nemadji River Basin. This study of-
fered the unique opportunity to assess the effect of relatively low
level sedimentation in such a system.
NEMADJI BASIN STUDY AREA
The Nemadji River Basin includes 740 km2 (460 mi2) in Carlton and
Pine Counties, Minnesota and Douglas County, Wisconsin. The basin is
essentially a level plain representing a portion of the abandoned lake
bed of glacial Lake Duluth. Lake deposits of clay, silt and sand com-
prise the central portion of the Nemadji watershed. The Nemadji is a
young river meandering through a level plain of highly erodable lake
sediments. Land use is 90% second growth forest. The area was clear-
cut in the early 1900's and is now predominantly regrowth of aspen,
birch and some pine (19).
Two tributaries to the Nemadji River were selected for implementa-
tion of erosion control measures and were of primary interest to this
study. These are the Skunk Creek Basin in Minnesota, a relatively high
sediment-producing watershed covering 17.2 km2 (10.7 mi2), and Little
Balsam Creek in Wisconsin, a moderate sediment-producing basin covering
9.7 km2 (6 mi2). Skunk Creek remains relatively turbid year-round.
Stream discharge varied from 0-5.78 cms (0-204 cfs) in April-September
1976. The average gradient is 6.25 m/km (33 ft/mi). Little Balsam
Creek is a relatively clear trout stream which maintains a more stable
discharge [.02-1.87 cms (.75-66 cfs) in November 1975-September 1976].
Average gradient is 20 m/km (105 ft/mi). Land use within both water-
sheds is of relatively low intensity. The primary sediment producing
98
-------
problems are stream bank and roadside erosion.
Eight study sites were selected and used for the entire September
1975-May 1978 study period. These included two sites on the Nemadji
River, two sites on Little Balsam Creek, two sites on Skunk Creek, one
site on Empire Creek and one site on Elim Creek, Empire Creek has sim-
ilar discharge and water temperatures to Little Balsam Creek, but has no
clay in the watershed. Elim Creek is a tributary to Skunk Creek. Five
other sites (four in the Nemadji River and one in Balsam Creek) were
initially included in the study but were eliminated after the first year
due to redundancy of the information gained (see 20 for a more complete
description of study sites).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Three products of erosion which affect the aquatic ecosystem are
nutrient input, turbidity and sedimentation. Each of these factors has
possible effects associated with it, as outlined in Table 1. Studies
conducted in the Nemadji River System have addressed most of the items
in this outline.
Table 1. Potential Effects of Erosion on Aquatic Ecosystems
Nutrient Input
Turbidity
Reduced Light Penetration
Primary Production
Rooted Plants
Reduced Visibility
Inhibits Sight-Feeding Fish
Organism Interactions (Behavioral Changes)
Increased Substrate for Microorganisms
Sedimentation
Direct Effects on Organism
Clogging Gills
Inundation
Change in Substrate
Cover Rocky or Riffle Areas
Eliminate Interstitial Space
Change Character of Substrate in Pools
The purpose of this report is not a detailed summary of the methods
and analyses of all aspects of our studies, It is rather a summary to
identify the probable consequences of erosion in this system and poten-
tial remedial actions which might be undertaken to minimize any adverse
effects. A more detailed report will be available in September 1978,
Chemical and Physical Characteristics
Potential adverse impacts of red clay erosion on water quality,
aside from the problems created by clogged water intakes, have been
identified as oxygen depletion and nutrient inputs (21) . Adequate
99
-------
monitoring of oxygen levels in red clay areas has been conducted to demon-
strate that oxygen is not depleted by the red clays or associated organic
compounds. The lowest level of oxygen saturation recorded in this study
was 54.6% (Table 2). Average saturation levels at sites with the highest
mean annual turbidities (Skunk Creek) exceeded 92%,
Bahnick (7) showed that orthophosphate is removed from water by
red clay in solution if it exceeds an equilibrium concentration of 0,06-
0.13 mg/1. Turbid water sites on Skunk Creek had average orthophosphate
concentrations within tnese ranges (Table 3). Clear water sites (Empire
and Little Balsam Creeks) had generally higher average orthophosphate
levels than turbid water sites with the exception of Elim Creek and Skunk
Creek downstream from Elim which were affected by barnyard runoff.
Table 3. Range and Means (in Parentheses) of Nitrite, Nitrate and Ortho-
and Total Phosphate for Ice-Free Periods Between August 1976
and April 1978,
Little
Balsam
Empire
Skunk Above
Elim
Skunk Below
Elim
Skunk at
Hanson Dan
Elim Below
Dam
Elim above
Dam
NC-2
(ppb)
0.0a-74.50
(6.72)
0.0a-37.90
(3.28)
0.0a-13.53
(0.85)
0.0a-42.30
(2.35)
0.0a-12.20
(1.02)
O.Oa-25.92
(5.29)
0.0a-26.40
(5.45)
N03
(ppb)
0.0a-533.80
(88.47)
O.Oa-263.54
(42.62)
O.Oa-56.38
(18.04)
0.0a-76,30
(18.91)
0.0a-126.93
(28.13)
0.0a-161.21
(36.48)
O.Oa-338.88
(67.76)
0-P04
(ppb)
O.Oa-868.37
(98.43)
0,Oa-886.88
(96.10)
O.Oa-246.52
(39.76)
0,Oa-535.57
(99.65)
0.0a-216.37
(62.93)
O.Oa-793.26
(200.59)
0,Oa-649.52
(144.23)
T-P04
(ppb)
O.0a-I219.17
(514.63)
0.0a-1094.54
(307,03)
60,3-610,95
(242,35)
38.8-1168.79
(463.43)
42.8-1160.54
(326.82)
0.0a-1028.92
(623,07)
46.0-890,84
(540.06)
aBelow minimum detectable levels.
Red clay, although not contributing significantly to orthophosphate
levels in the watershed, may serve to transport these nutrients to Lake
Superior when runoff from domestic and barn yard wastes causes phosphate
concentrations to exceed the equilibrium concentration. Nutrient con-
tributions from the Nemadji River watershed are relatively insignificant
when compared to those from municipalities, however.
Primary Production
Standing crop of periphyton on artificial substrates was measured
100
-------
Table 2. Range and Means (In Parentheses) of Turbidity, Dissolved Oxygen, Percent Oxygen Saturation, Conduc-
tivity, and Temperature at Eight Sites in the Nemadji River System for the Period May 1976-October
1977.
Site
Nemadji River
(near mouth)
Nemadji River
(Central Portion)
Nemadji River
(Central Portion)
Little Balsam Creek
(Near Mouth)
Little Balsam Creek
(Headwaters)
Empire Creek
Skunk Creek
(Above Elim Creek)
Skunk Creek
(Below Elim Creek)
Elim Creek
Turbidity
(ftu's)
12-220
(51.6)
7-300
(45.3)
4-460
(51.5)
2-63
(10.5)
2-9
(4.6)
1-28
(6.4)
12-200
(40.6)
10-500
(54.2)
4-500
(68.3)
Dissolved
Oxygen
(ppm)
6.0-11.7
(8.6)
6.0-13.4
(10.1)
7.0-13.4
(10.5)
9.2-12.8
(11.0)
6.7-12.2
(9.4)
9.4-12.8
(10.6)
8.8-12.4
(.10.3)
7.0-12.7
(10.0)
8.0-12.8
(10.7)
% Oxygen
Saturation
54.6-96.4
(80.2)
54.6-112.0
(92.1)
64.2-119.1
(96.1)
88.2-123.1
(99.0)
57.4-107.6
(84.0)
85.1-105.7
(93.0)
80.0-113.0
(94.2)
70.5-122.1
(92.9)
79.4-124.6
(98.2)
Conductivity
ymho/cm
82-300
(186.4)
99-280
(187.4)
70-309
(172.8)
48-182
(123.1)
30-179
(96,4)
47-191
(114.1)
43-232
(139.3)
59-238
(154.0)
110-276
(174.9)
Temperature
°C
1.2-22,2
1.3-25.0
1.6-23.3
1.8-18.2
1.5-16.2
1.5-12.8
0.5-21.1
0.3-21.9
1.9-20.0
-------
in Little Balsam, Empire and two Skunk Creek sites during the ice-free
months from late 1976 through August 1977 using chlorophyll a as an es-
timator. Glass slides (25 mm x76 mm) at two depths (4 and 30~ cm) and
two positions (horizontal and vertical) were used as standard substrates
for collection and analysis. Thirty centimeters was a fairly moderate
maximum depth but was felt representative of the maximum depth of rif-
fles where most of the available substrate for periphyton production oc-
curs. Horizontal substrates were used to identify the effect of sedi-
mentation on production. Standing crop measurements do not necessarily
reflect actual levels of primary production in these tributaries, but
was effective in assessing the effect of existing conditions within each
tributary on production on a standard substrate.
Standing crop of chlorophyll a. was plotted with data from 1977 pre-
ceding that from fall, 1976 to demonstrate seasonal trends in primary
production (Figure 1). Production in the Skunk Creek sites increased
earlier in the spring and decreased earlier in the fall than the other
test sites. This was a result of minimal ground water discharge, Stream
discharge in Skunk Creek depends primarily on surface runoff, and water
temperatures are very responsive to ambient air temperature. Empire and
Little Balsam Creeks have much greater ground water discharges, result-
ing in more stable flows and cooler temperatures which are not as re-
sponsive to air temperatures.
Empire Creek is the only watershed with no clay soils, and sedi-
mentation was minimal except when discharges were high enough to trans-
port sand to the water surface. The angle of orientation of the slides
had little effect on production at this site. Differences in standing
crop due to orientation were fairly pronounced at the other three sites,
with differences about as great on Little Balsam Creek, which is char-
acterized by very low turbidities, as on the relatively turbid Skunk
Creek sites. Minimal quantities of silt and clay decrease periphyton
populations on surfaces which retain sediment.
Reduction in standing crop of periphyton with depth appears to be
as great in the clear-water Little Balsam Creek as the turbid Skunk
Creek sites. Turbidity at levels encountered in Skunk Creek during this
study apparently does not have a great effect on production at 30 cm.
Estimates of total annual production derived from measuring the areas
under the curves show significantly lower levels only in Empire Creek,
the only site with no clay in the watershed (Table 4). Skunk Creek
Table 4. Relativized Values for Total Annual Production of Periphyton
on Glass Slides at Two Depths and Two Angles of Orientation in
Empire, Little Balsam and Skunk Creeks.
Depth
(cm)
4
30
Empire
Horiz .
0.39
0.37
Creek
Vert.
0.43
0.37
Little Balsam
Creek
Horiz.
0.61
0,55
Vert.
1.00
0.78
Skunk Creek
(above Elim Cr.)
Horiz .
0.65
0.48
Vert.
0.95
0.78
Skunk Creek
(below Elim Cr,)
Horiz ,
0,46
0.39
Vert,
0.94
0.63
102
-------
4 CM
30 CM
so
to
HO
10
EMPIRE
HORIZONTAL
VERTICAL
E
x
o
S
*0
to
10.
LITTLE
BALSAM
O
ee
o
<0
60
to
iff
O
SKUNK
(ST 11)
SKUNK
(ST 13)
\=*
DATE
DATE
Figure 1. Mg/m of chlorophyll a. on glass slides at 4 and 30 -cfm and in
Horizontal and Vertical Orientations in
Empire, Little Balsam and Skunk Creeks.
103
-------
below Elim Creek has slightly depressed levels. Water temperature and
incident light (Empire Creek has the lowest mean annual temperature and
densest tree canopy) have greater effects on production than the turbid-
ity and sedimentation encountered in this study.
Microorganisms
Microorganisms are generally monitored in water quality studies as
an indicator of human and animal waste pollution (fecal coliform), Their
importance to the aquatic ecosystem may be overlooked or not under-
stood. The natural stream ecosystem, unlike lakes, is driven primarily
by organic inputs from terrestrial sources. Primary production within
the stream generally assumes a relatively minor role as an organic
source. The stream insects which eat the leaves and particulate organ-
ics derive minimal nutritional value from the organic source itself, but
depend primarily on the bacterial and fungal populations which actually
decompose the organics. Microorganisms are thus the basic food source
for stream macroinvertebrates.
The study of microbial populations was begun in this study when it
was noted that macroinvertebrate populations in turbid stream equaled or
exceeded those in the clear water streams. Clay particles have been
cited as a suitable substrate for bacteria and fungi as they concentrate
dilute organics (22,23) and nutrients. Microbial growth is therefore
possible in this microenvironment where substrate, enzymes, and nutrients
may be so dilute as to be limiting in the water column (24,25). It was
thought that the clays and associated microfauna could be enhancing macro-
invertebrate populations by serving as a food source in turbid streams,
Average bacterial counts for 1977 and 1978 were higher in turbid
Skunk Creek than in the clear water Empire and Little Balsam Creeks
(Table 5). Although many other factors influence microbial populations,
Table 5. Turbidity, Bacteria, Fungi and Fecal Coliform in Three Tribu-
taries of the Nemadji River. Values are Ranges and Means (In
Parenthesis) Estimated from 1977 and Spring 1978 Samples.
Station
Little Balsam
Empire
Skunk
Below Elim
Turbidity (FTU)
3-25
(5.9)
2-25
(4.9)
10-220
(50.3)
Bacteria/ml
90-3200
(1076.7)
90-1400
(819.3)
230-8000
(1499.4)
Fungi/ml
13-6500
(689.2)
5-590Q
(650.4)
33-325
(157,6)
— — — — ___... — —_
Fecal
Coliform/
100 ml
0-114
(15.6)
0-134
(16.4)
0-1030
(174.2)
this indicated a positive trend with turbidity. If the bacterial fauna
was closely associated with the clay particles in turbid samples, actual
populations could have been higher as the membrane filter technique used
for enumeration would allow only one colony count per clay particle,
104
-------
even if several bacteria were present, Fungal populations exhibited
opposite trends as counts were generally lower in Skunk Creek,
The trends which appear for between site comparisons of fungal and
bacterial counts are not apparent for within stream counts, No consis-
tent correlations were found as turbidity increased at each site. Fac-
tors associated with rainfall and increasing turbidities (dilution, nu-
trient input, terrestrial microbes) cause greatly fluctuating popula-
tions and obscure relationships,
Fecal coliform counts were higher in Skunk Creek than in the other
two sites (Table 5), but this site is in an area with more livestock.
Fecal coliform counts are associated primarily with human and barnyard
wastes and are more indicative of point-source pollution. Relationships
with red clay erosion are somewhat obscure.
Potential trends of higher bacterial populations appear possible,
but present techniques reveal no startling increases. Difficulties in
accurate enumeration may mask more significant differences, however,
The fact that clay particles may concentrate bacteria and fungi is po-
tentially beneficial to macroinvertebrates as they are more readily
available to the large number of insects which feed by filtering parti-
cles from the water column.
Macroinvertebrates
The effect of heavy sedimentation on stream macroinvertebrates has
been shown by some authors to affect the numbers and biomass of orga-
nisms with very little associated change in species composition (17,18),
Herbert et al. (18) found the bottom fauna to be 3,3 times more numerous
where heavy~ciay sediment was not polluting the stream, No changes in
species composition were noted, Turbidity levels of the polluted stream
in that study varied from 900-7500 ppm, a minimum of 6 times the high
levels normally found in the Nemadji Basin. Other authors, including
studies cited by Cordone and Kelly (15) and Chutter (26), found signifi-
cant changes in the composition of the bottom fauna with increased sil-
tation.
The effect of sedimentation on the benthic fauna seems to be mani-
fested primarily through changes in the character of the stream substrate.
Complete inundation of pools and riffles by silt and sand, as has occurred
in several studies, would have obvious effects on faunal composition
through formation of a monotypic environment. It is also a very unstable
environment, unsuitable for trapping detritus and prone to be flushed
away during floods. When a rocky stream substrate is not completely
covered, reduction in the benthic population may occur through elimina-
tion of interstitial space. The preference (or greater population size)
of insects has been found to be large rubble >medium rubble>gravel >
bedrock >sand (27,28,29). Generally, the more interstitial space, the
higher the preference for the substrate,
Rates of deposition in areas of the Nemadji River Basin where most
of the erosional products are clay are not great enough to inundate any
of the rocky substrate. The most dramatic effects of erosion are in
reaches of the river where large quantities of sand are contributed to
105
-------
the bed load. The substrate in these areas is extremely unstable and har-
bors the lowest benthic populations in the system (Site 4, Figure 2),
E3 ra
4 5
NEMADJI
8 9 10 11
LITTLE BALSAM EMPIRE SKUNK
12 13
ELIM SKUNK
Figure 2. Average Number of Organisms in Surber Samples From
Sites on the Nemadji River and Tributaries
Only the biting midges, Ceratopogonidae, seem to be adapted to this
shifting sand. In more upstream areas of the Nemadji and in the tribu-
taries where little sand is contributed to the bed load a pool-riffle
continuum is formed with stable substrates and resultant increases in
benthic populations.
The turbid tributaries with stable substrates support as large a
benthic population as do those streams with minimal erosion and high
water clarity (Figure 2). The lowest populations, in fact, occur in
Empire Creek (with the exception of the Nemadji River sites with un-
stable substrate) which has one of the lowest mean annual turbidities
and no clay in the watershed. Small gravel predominates in the riffle
areas as opposed to rubble and large gravel at all other sites. The
lack of the larger substrates is a major factor in reducing benthic
populations. The highest average number of benthic organisms (Site 9
on Little Balsam Creek) is in an area with an extremely stable discharge
and rubble in both the pools and riffles,
106
-------
The total number of taxa (generic level) occurring at the various
sites is also insensitive to clay sedimentation (Figure 3), Again, only
100
<
X
<
O
ce
Uf
m
O 20
I
8 9 10 11 12 13
LITTLE BALSAM EMPIRE SKUNK ELIM SKUNK
Figure 3. Total Number of Taxa in Surber Samples From
Sites on the Nemadji River and Tributaries
the Nemadji River sites with unstable sand substrates demonstrate a sig-
nificant decrease.
With the lack of responsiveness in both total number of organisms
and number of taxa, it is not surprising that species diversity does not
change in relation to levels of turbidity or clay sedimentation (Figure
4). The differences which were formerly apparent in the Nemadji River
sites in total numbers and number of taxa are, in fact, obscured. The
sandy substrate is not an environment which limits survival in so much
as it prevents occupation. No species dominates, resulting in the col-
lection of many genera in fairly low numbers and a fairly high species
diversity. Species diversity is thus a very poor index of the effects
of turbidity and sedimentation under conditions encountered in this
study.
The taxonomic composition of the turbid and clear water sites dif-
fered slightly, but no changes could be positively identified as a nega-
tive impact of silt and clay sedimentation. At the ordinal level, there
is a distinct reduction in the number of Plecoptera (stoneflies) from the
clear-water Little Balsam and Empire Creek sites to the relatively turbid
sites in the Nemadji River and Skunk Creek (Table 6), This may not be
related to turbidity or sedimentation, however, as stoneflies are ex-
tremely sensitive to high temperatures (30) and the higher average
107
-------
Table 6. Percent Composition of Benthic Samples of Major Groups of Organisms for All Samples in 1975-1977.
Chironomidae is not included with other Dipterans.
Plecoptera
Ephemeroptera
Trichoptera
Coleoptera
Diptera
Chironomidae
Oligochaeta
Nematoda
Nemadj
4
1.12
7.96
0.28
0.50
38.79
47.70
3.25
0.02
i
5
3.05
16.20
38.90
4.23
7.04
27.75
2.70
0.03
Little
8
7.32
8.98
39.46
0.62
6.81
31.54
5.07
0.02
Balsam
9
14.16
8.77
19.64
0.32
18.83
36.73
1.00
Empire
10
15.18
6.09
3.24
0.13
18.74
55.79
0.27
0.04
Skunk
11
3.23
21.18
18.54
15.70
9.47
26.51
3.99
0.08
Elim
12
4.50
22.68
8.93
5.65
6.34
53.36
2.15
0.06
Skunk
13
2.22
11.82
24.10
16.27
6.20
34.45
3.17
0.16
o
OO
-------
4.0
ee
ut
5
a.
2.0
z
o
z
•,i-
:'-:'-T-
8 9 10
LITTLE BALSAM EMPIRE
11
SKUNK
12
ELIM
13
SKUNK
Figure 4.
Shannon Weaver Diversity Indices for Benthic Samples From
Sites on the Nemadji River and Tributaries.
temperatures in Skunk Creek could effect this change
Oligochaetes are one of the most sensitive indicators of silt in
the substrate. The largest numbers occurred in the lower reaches of the
Little Balsam where small quantities of clay and silt are found in the
predominantly sand substrate of the pools. The relative numbers of
oligochaetes remained low at all times, but areas with no clays in the
sediment had 1% or less in the benthos and areas with small to larger
amounts of clay sediment generally had 2.5-5.0%.
The mayflies, generally considered one of the most sensitive orders
of insects for pollution studies, had significantly greater populations
in turbid Skunk Creek than in the clear-water tributaries. No genera
seemed to be hindered by turbid or silty conditions, but silt-loving
genera such as Caenis sp., Hexagenia sp., and Ephemera sp. increased
significantly. The family Heptageniidae and Isonychia sp, also increased
in numbers.
The beetle larvae, Optioservus sp,, is perhaps the best indicator
for levels of silt which are potentially detrimental to spawning success
of the salmonids which require a free flow of water through the rocky
riffles. Optioservus sp. (which represent most of the Coleoptera in
Table 6) is found almost entirely in riffle areas and occurs in signif-
icant numbers only where there is silt in the interstitial spaces of the
109
-------
riffles. This condition cannot be tolerated for salmon and trout re-
production. Optioservus sp. is a major portion of the benthos in Skunk
Creek and occurs in significant numbers in the riffle areas of site 5
on the Nemadji River (Table 6) where there are substantial quantities
of silt. It occurs infrequently in those sites occupies by trout and
the Nemadji River site 4 where sand predominates in the substrate.
Laboratory Studies: Laboratory analysis of the levels of turbidity
which affect activity and respiration in the stonefly, Pteronarcys dor-
sata, demonstrated that turbidities must be much higher than those en-
countered in the Nemadji River system to elicit any response, at least
for the test organism. At the nominal turbidity levels of 2,5, 100, 250,
500 and 1000 ftu, respiration rates were not significantly higher except
at the 1000 ftu level (Table 7). This was the only turbidity level at
which siltation was observed on the body surface. Increased respiration
was probably a result of increased activity levels in an effort to keep
the gills cleared. Similar behavior is elicited in insects at low oxygen
levels.
Table 7. Mean Respiration Rates of Pteronarcys dorsata With Levels
of Significance for Comparisons with Control (2.5 ftu).
Turbidity Level (ftu)
2.5 100 250 500 1000
pi 02/g dry wt/hr 338.95 275.71 407,21 295.35 709.41a
Significant at .01.
Levels of activity at the nominal turbidities of 1.5, 25, 60, and
150 ftu were monitored at three discharges (250, 500 and 1000 ml/min).
There were no significant trends at 1000 ml/min (P = .54). Activity in-
creased with turbidity at 500 ml/min but was not significant at the 95%
confidence level (P = .059). There was a significant increase in activ-
ity at 250 ml/min (P = .03). Activity did not increase appreciably until
turbidities reached the highest level (150 ftu) . Although this turbid-
ity level does occur in the Nemadji River System, it is equaled or ex-
ceeded only during high water periods at which time current velocities
are quite high.
Fish
The Nemadji River headwater streams are in both sandy and clay type
soils. Those streams originating in the sandy reaches have good aquifers
and are generally cold-water trout streams. Those in areas dominated by
clays have very poor aquifers and receive most of their discharge from
surface runoff. These streams will either not support trout or are very
poor trout waters due to marginally high water temperatures and unstable
discharges. Of the study streams, Empire and Little Balsam Creeks orig-
inate in sandy areas and are trout waters. Skunk and Elim Creeks and
the main body of the Nemadji River originate or flow primarily through
clay soils and do not support viable populations of cold-water fish.
Differences in discharge and temperature thus made interpretation
110
-------
of differences in fish populations among the study streams difficult.
The Nemadji River and turbid tributaries support fish populations domin-
ated by minnows but no major predators. Three trout were found in three
years of sampling Skunk Creek, A few migrant spawning brown trout and
steelhead and a rare northern pike or rock bass composed the predator
population in the Nemadji River with the exception of large population
of walleye during late spring and early summer in deeper reaches of the
river close to Lake Superior, This lack of predators in the turbid
streams is probably related more to channel form, temperature, and dis-
charge than turbidity.
Lake trout have been shown to avoid turbid waters in Lake Superior
(4) and it is likely that the waiting-watching-darting which typifies
feeding behavior in stream-dwelling trout is hindered by turbid water,
However, low discharges and marginal temperatures which characterize tur-
bid streams in the Nemadji drainage are probably as inhibitory to trout
habitation as turbidity.
The reliance of trout on water discharge as a dimension of space
(they allow the food to come to them instead of actively seeking) make
them one of the best adapted of the predatory game fish for small streams
or shallow rivers where little foraging space is available, Streams
the size of Little Balsam, Empire and Skunk Creeks would not provide
adequate space for any other game species. The middle reaches of the
Nemadji River, with widths exceeding 20 meters, are typified by shallow
pools and no undercut banks. The lack of living space for large fish
other than trout, water temperatures which are not tolerated by trout,
and lack of winter refuge when ice forms on this shallow river combine
to provide a habitat which is suitable only for year-round residence of
minnows and other small species and as a seasonal spawning ground for
some Lake Superior fish.
The major importance of the Nemadji River to fish is as a spawning
ground. Turbidity in the lower reaches and mouths of rivers has been
cited as a potential deterrent to spawning runs of trout (21), Signifi-
cant spawning runs of steelhead occur in the Nemadji River during its
most turbid periods, however, as the trout traverse up to 100 km of
river to spawn in headwater streams where clays are absent.
Fish reproduction in most of the Nemadji River proper is limited to
those species which do not bury their eggs. The salmonids, which bury
their eggs, require fairly high rates of water flow through a rocky sub^-
strate for selection as a spawning site (10,11), survival of eggs, and
emergency of fry (12,13,14), Natural rates of siltation in the Nemadji
River are much too high for successful reproduction of these fish, even
with major erosion control efforts.
The warm and coolwater species which migrate from Lake Superior to
utilize area streams and rivers for spawning include burbot (Lota lota) ,
walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax),
and suckers (both Catostomus sp, and Moxostoma sp.). All of these fish
broadcast their eggs over rocky areas after which they settle and adhere
to the substrate or find refuge in the interstitial spaces. Both field
monitoring and laboratory bioassays were conducted to assess spawning
success of these species (except burbot) in the Nemadji River System and
the effect of turbidity and siltation on egg survival.
Ill
-------
All species mentioned above except the walleye utilize the Nemadji
River for spawning. Walleye have not been observed to spawn in the
Nemadji River, although they do spawn in the adjacent Pokegama River
which has similar levels of turbidity and siltation. It therefore seems
likely that factors other than turbidity discourage its use. Spawning
success of the major runs of smelt, longnose and white suckers, and
silver and shorthead redhorse was monitored using daily drift net sam-
ples during the periods of hatch. All of these species drift passively
back to the harbor and Lake Superior after hatching, enabling rough es-
timates of total hatch when stream discharge and drift densities are
known.
Smelt and suckers (all four species) hatched successfully in the
Nemadji River in both 1976 and 1977, Larval smelt production in 1976
was estimated at just under 20,000,000. The major portion of the smelt
hatch was missed in 1977, but the tail of the curve indicated similar
trends. Sucker production in 1977 was estimated in excess of 23,000,000,
Estimates in 1976 were not possible as fry were concentrated at the sur-
face. Up to 2000 fry were captured in 15 minutes in the net with a
mouth opening of .04 m , however. The only other species of fry cap-
tured is unidentified at present, but is probably a minnow. Numerical
estimates of the unknown species were 590,000 and 1,900,000 in 1976 and
1977 respectively. Although some fry production may occur in clear-
water tributaries, the collection of viable eggs and emergent fry in the
Nemadji River indicate that most production occurs within the turbid
waters.
Laboratory bioassays on egg survival of smelt and walleye indicate
some reduction in walleye egg survival at turbidities above 10 ftu (Fig-
ure 5). Survival exceeded 50% of control up to 50 ftu, however, which
is representative of actual stream turbidity values. Results of smelt
egg survival bioassays were not consistent between 1976 and 1977 as no
reduction in survival occurred with turbidity in 1976, but survival de-
creased with an increase in turbidity in 1977 (Figure 5). Survival was
not reduced to zero at any turbidity level tested.
Survival in the bioassays was probably much lower than would occur
at similar levels of turbidity in a natural system. Although the bio-
assays were conducted in a flowing water system, sedimentation on the
eggs was much higher than has been seem to occur at high turbidities in
the river. This is a result of more laminar flow in the test chambers
and lower velocities than would occur at high turbidities in the river.
It appears that egg survival and hatching success may be slightly
impaired in species of fish which could spawn In the Nemadji River, but
this effect does not seem to be critical in light of the reproductive
success of smelt and suckers. Erosion which caused severe silt deposi-
tion over spawning sites would be harmful, but the velocities which
occur in the system under the conditions of high turbidity are suffi-
cient to maintain most of the fine sediments in suspension until they
reach the slower deeper areas of the river where these species do not
spawn. The only tributaries where spawning success could be signifi-
cantly reduced are the cold water streams which are used for salmonid
reproduction. Slightly aggravated erosion would be enough to cause
sufficient sedimentation to impair intragravel water flow.
112
-------
100
80
60
<
>
O
tt
20
V/AUEYE
Z
ut
U
a
1001
80
RAINBOW SMELT
60
40-
I
n
T
i
1976
1977
20 40 60 BO
TURBIDITY (FTU)
100
Figure 5. Mean and Range of Survival of Walleye and Rainbow Smelt Eggs
Incubated at Various Turbidities (FTU). Eggs Incubated During 1976 Were
on Gravel and Sand; Those Incubated During 1977 Were on Gravel Only.
During Both Years Two Current Velocities Were Used But No Significant
Differences Were Found. Mean Water Temperatures Were 10.0 and 8.3 C for
Smelt Egg Incubation and 10.3 and 8.9 C for Walleye Egg Incubation for
1976 and 1977, Respectively.
The single most important factor regulating fish population size
within the Nemadji River System is channel form. The species which in-
habit different portions of the system are dictated primarily by water
temperature and discharge, but physical characteristics of the channels
which provide cover and depth are uniformly beneficial to all of these
populations. Maximum standing crops and production for both warm and
cold water fish are inevitably associated with habitat diversity (see
reviews by 31,32). One of the most important components of habitat in-
volved in the concept of "suitable living space" for fish is cover,
which might be provided by water depth, overhanging banks, submerged
rocks, logs, and other "snags". Suitable cover has been demonstrated
to be the primary factor regulating population size of brown trout (33)
113
-------
and is similarly important for other species. Cover in the form of roots
along channel banks harbored the largest concentrations of fish in both
Skunk Creek (primarily minnows) and Little Balsam Creek (trout), The
toes of the clay banks in these streams slump rather than form under-
cut banks, eliminating this excellent form of cover.
The influence of channel form and undercut banks on carrying capac-
ity of the stream is well illustrated by a comparison of Little Balsam
and Empire Creeks. These streams have similar discharges, water quality,
and water temperatures but the sandy banks in Empire Creek are steep-
sided and undercut. Banks in Little Balsam Creek seldom undercut and
cover is primarily in the form of roots and logs. Many authors have
cited food supply as a limiting factor for trout populations (34,35,36).
However, Empire Creek maintains a much higher population and biomass of
trout than Little Balsam Creek despite extremely low populations of mac-
roinvertebrates (refer to Figure 2) , the primary food source for stream
dwelling salmonids. The small insect population is not a result of
cropping by the trout populations, but the prevelance of small and con-
solidated gravel and rock as opposed to the larger rock and rubble in
the riffle areas of Little Balsam Creek. The total number of fish in
Empire Creek was 42% higher per unit area than in Little Balsam Creek.
In addition the Empire Creek population was composed of a much greater
percentage of "desirable" species as it was dominated by brook trout and
Little Balsam Creek was dominated by the smaller minnow species which
can utilize cover as small as that offered by rubble in the riffle areas.
The general effect of channel shape on carrying capacity is illus-
trated in Figure 6. The first diagram is representative of channel form
Figure 6. Typical Channel Forms and Approximate Fish Biomasses
(modified from 37).
114
-------
found in Empire Creek, the second the form in many of the areas with
clay slumpage, and the third is typical of a channelized stream. Bio-
mass estimates are representative of expected population sizes of all
sizes and species of fish (modified from 37). "Catchable" fish would
decline even more drastically as the channels become less and less suit-
able for large fish.
Cover is one of the most important factors in maintenance of large
populations for all species complexes in the Nemadji River System. Cov-
er limitations as a result of bank slumpage is the major red clay as-
sociated feature affecting aquatic life. Practices commonly associated
with "river cleanup" such as stump and snag removal should be discour-
aged as it provides the best cover available in these streams. Other
practices which slow the rate of toe erosion of the banks may be bene-
ficial in maintaining steeper banks which maintain water depth and are
a form of cover.
CONCLUSION
The potentially severe effects of erosion and sedimentation on
aquatic life should not be underestimated. Adequate documentation
exists to identify the severe short and long term effects of soil mis-
management on all levels of the aquatic flora and fauna (reviews by
15, 38). It should not be assumed, however, that relatively low levels
of'erosion are detrimental to all aquatic systems. Our experience in
turbid areas of Lake Superior and the Nemadji River System, which is
turbid throughout the year due to erosion of unconsolidated glacial
lake deposits, indicate that the direct physical effects of low level
turbidity and sedimentation are minimal. More important -effects within
these systems are a result of behavioral changes, many of which could
be considered beneficial to the indigenous species.
Problems attributed to red clay turbidity have included replacement
of desirable by less desirable fish species, discouragement of spawning
runs, decreased oxygen levels, increased nutrient levels, and general
statements of "adverse effects on biological life processes." None of
these statements have proven true through our studies in the Nemadji
River System. Accusations such as "turbid streams are unattractive
and difficult to fish" (39) are harder to refute, and may stand as
some of the more damning evidence against moderate turbidities in cool
and warm water streams. More realistic problems include sedimentation
necessitating dredging in river mouths and clogged water intakes, but
these are not biological and have not been considered within the scope
of this paper.
The only conclusive detrimental biological effects of relatively
low levels of sedimentation are the adverse impacts on salmonid repro-
duction. These have not been addressed through our studies, but ade-
quate documentation exists in the literature to identify the sensitivity
of salmonid eggs in redds, which require a flow of water through the
gravel, to sedimentation (12,13,14). There is also evidence that sal-
monids will avoid turbid waters, both in lakes (4) and in streams.
This seems to be a result of their reliance on sight feeding on drift-
ing macroinvertebrates, at least in lotic systems. Reproductive success
115
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in the Nemadji River System, much of which is too warm for salmonids,
does not seem to be greatly affected by existing turbidities judging
from both documented reproductive success of smelt and suckers and egg
survival bioassays on these species and walleye.
Existing levels of streambank erosion in this river system should
therefore not be assumed to have widespread detrimental effects on the
aquatic biota. The watershed is relatively unperturbed at this time
and erosion control practices cannot be expected to have a significant
positive effect on aquatic resources. Careful management along road-
side right-of-ways and curbing extensive cattle grazing of streambanks
will help to prevent widespread degradation of the system, but the most
positive results of the present erosion control engineering studies will
probably be the development of techniques to prevent slippage of hill-
sides and losses of roads and personal property,
SUMMARY
1. Red clay does not contribute significant quantities of nutrients
to Lake Superior but may serve to transport nutrients contributed from
point sources,
2. Oxygen levels are not significantly affected by red clay or as-
sociated organics.
3. Primary production does not appear to be significantly affected
by turbidity within the range of depths at which most production occurs
in these relatively shallow streams.
4. Bacteria exhibit no definite trends with turbidity within sites,
but do seem to have higher counts in turbid than in non-turbid sites.
Fungal counts exhibit opposite trends. Bacterial and fungal populations
are generally beneficial to the aquatic system as they are the primary
food source for many of the macroinvertebrates.
5. Number of macroinvertebrates per unit area, total number of
taxa, diversity, and biomass are not significantly affected by clay tur-
bidity and siltation within the Nemadji River System.
6. Substrate size had much greater effects on macroinvertebrates
than turbidity and sedimentation. Only where sand was the primary prod-
uct were significant detrimental effects of erosion identified.
7. All genera of insects which occurred in clear streams also
occurred in turbid streams. Certain silt-loving insects, especially
certain mayflies and beetle larvae, were found only in the turbid
streams.
8. Laboratory monitoring of activity and respiration of the stone-
fly Pteronarcys dorsata demonstrated no significant effects at turbidity
levels normally encountered in the Nemadji River System.
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9. Fish populations were not demonstrated to change as a result
of turbid conditions because of water temperature and discharge dif-
ferences between turbid and clear water sites. All species complexes
benefitted by increased cover which is harder to maintain in turbid
streams due to increased tendencies for slippage at toes of the clay
banks.
10. Walleye in the lower Nemadji River, the Duluth-Superior Har-
bor, and Lake Superior benefit from red clay turbidity as it enables
them to inhabit the shallow, more productive waters,
11. Rainbow smelt and four species of suckers successfully re-
produce in the turbid areas of the Nemadji River System.
12. Egg survival bioassays with walleye and rainbow smelt in-
dicated decreased survival at turbidities over 10 ftu. Survival was
at least half of control at turbidities prevalent in the Nemadji River,
Levels of sedimentation in the bioassay were much higher than in the
natural system, probably resulting in higher egg mortality than would
naturally occur.
13. Channel form and available cover are the primary factors af-
fecting fish population size for all species complexes in the Nemadji
River System.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The major effect of the red clays on the aquatic biota are associ-
ated with characteristics of the soils which affect channel form. Un-
dercut banks and other channel characteristics which provide cover have
major impacts on all types of fish populations. The major recommenda-
tions which can be identified through this study are therefore related
to preservation of the toes of slopes to maintain undercut banks (though
they seldom occur in these soils), steep sided channels, and pool depth,
all of which provide forms of cover. Recommendations are as follows:
1. Retaining peak discharges after rainfall should slow erosion
rates and preserve streambanks. Floodwater retaining structures may
be effective, but barriers in streams and substitution of a lake for a
stream environment is potentially disruptive and self-defeating. More
desirable controls would be retention by adequate vegetative cover and
leaf litter and land use practices which minimize runoff.
2. Vegetation which stabilizes streambanks may allow undercutting,
steeper banks, and deeper pools. Woody root systems provide excellent
cover for forage fish and harbored major fish concentrations in study
streams.
3. Removal of stumps and other snags is definitely detrimental to
fish populations. The pools eroded around such structures coupled with
the associated cover provide some of the best habitat in these turbid
streams. The erosion is insignificant compared to benefits to fish pop-
ulations.
117
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4. The grazing of cattle and other lifestock on streambanks
breaks down slopes, eliminates cover, potentially decreases stream
depth, and generally disrupts the stream biota, Livestock exclusion
is recommended,
REFERENCES
1. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 1977. Shore erosion
study report. Coastal Zone Management Project.
2. Hess, C.S. 1973, Study of shoreline erosion on the western arm of
Lake Superior. Geography Department University of Wisconsin-Madison.
51 pp. unpublished.
3. Sydor, M. 1976. Red clay turbidity and its transport in western
Lake Superior. Final Report, EPA Grant R005175-01.
4. Swenson, W.A. 1978. Influence of turbidity on fish abundance in
western Lake Superior. Final Report, EPA Grant R-802455 (EPA Ecol.
Res. Ser.; Due Press), 83 p.
5. Anderson, E.D., L.L. Smith. 1971. Factors affecting abundance of
lake herring (Coregonus artedii Lesueur) in western Lake Superior.
Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 100:691-707.
6. Schneider, J.C. and J.H. Leach. 1977. Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum
vitreum) fluctuations in the Great Lakes and possible causes, 1800-
1975. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. 34 (10) -.1878-1889.
7. Bahnick, D.A. 1977. The contribution of red clay erosion to orth-
phosphate loadings into southwestern Lake Superior. J. of Environ.
Qual. 6 (2):217-222.
8. Bahnick, D.A., T.P. Markee, C.A. Anderson and R.K. Roubal. (in press).
Chemical loadings to southwestern Lake Superior from red clay ero-
sion and resuspension. Int. Assoc. for Great Lakes Res.
9. Schelske, C.L. and E.F. Stoermer. 1971. Eutrophication, silica
depletion, and predicted changes in algal quality in Lake Michigan.
Science 173:423-424.
10. Stuart, T.A. 1953. Water currents through permeable gravels and
their significance to spawning salmonids, etc. Nature, London 172
(4374):407-408.
11. Stuart, T.A. 1954. Spawning sites of trout, Nature, London 173
(4399):354.
12. Hertzog, D.E. 1953, Stillaguamish slide study. Wash. Dept, Fish.
29 pp. (cited in Cordone and Kelly, 1961).
118
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13 Peters, John C. 1965. The effects of stream sedimentation on
trout embryo survival. Pages 275-279 In C.M, Tarzwell, ed. Bio-
logical problems in water pollution, 1962. U.S, Dept, Health, Educ.
and Welfare.
14 Hausle, Donald A. and D.W. Coble, 19.76. Influence of sand in redds
on survival and emergence of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis).
Trans. Am, Fish. Soc. 105:57-63.
15 Cordone, A.J. and D.W, Kelley. 1961. The influences of inorganic
sediment on the aquatic life of streams, Calif. Fish and Game,
47:189-228.
16 Tebo L.B., Jr. 1955, Effects of siltation, resulting from im-
proper logging, on the bottom fauna of a small trout stream in the
southern Appalachians. Prog. Fish. Cult. 17:64-70.
17. Hamilton, J.D. 1961. The effect of sand-pit washings on a stream
fauna. Vehr. Internat. Verein, Limnol. 14:435-439.
18. Herbert, D.W., J.S. Alabaster, M.C. Dart and R. Lloyd. 1961, The
effect of china clay wastes on trout streams, Int. J. Axr Wat.
Poll. 5(l):56-74.
19. Andrews, S.C., R.G. Christensen, and C.D. Wilson. 1976. Impact
of non-point pollution control on western Lake Superior. U.S. EPA
Publication 905/9-76-002, 146 pp.
20. Swenson, W.A., L.T. Brooke and P.W. DeVore. 1976. Effects of
red clay turbidity on the aquatic environment. Pages 207-230 In
Best management practices for non point source pollution control
seminar, EPA-905/9-76-005.
21. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 1976. An analysis of the Inter-
national Great Lakes Levels Board report on regulation of Great
Lakes water levels, wetlands, fisheries, and water quality. Work-
ing paper 76-04, 92 pp.
22. Heukelekian, H. and A. Heller, 1940. Relation between food con-
centration and surface for bacterial growth. J. of Bact. 4:547-558.
23. Zobell, C.E. and C.W. Grant. 1943, Bacterial utilization of low
concentrations of organic matter. J. of Bact. 39:555-563.
24. McCabe, P.A. and J.I. Frea. 1971. Effect of mineral particulates
on microbial degradation of solid organic materials. Proc, 14th
Conf. Great Lakes Res. 44-51.
25. Pfister, R.E., P.R, Dugan and J.I. Frea. 1968. Particulate frac-
tions in water and the relationship to aquatic microflora. Proc,
llth Conf. Great Lakes Res. 111-116.
26. Chutter, P.M. 1969. The effects of silt and sand on the inver-
tebrate fauna of streams and rivers. Hydrobiologica 34:57-72.
119
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27. Wene, G. and E.L, Wickliff. 1940. Modification of a stream bottom
and its effect on insect fauna. Can. Ent. 72:131-135,
28. Bell, H.C. 1969. Effect of substrate types on aquatic insect dis-
tribution. J. Minn, Acad. Sci. 35:79-81,
29. Brusuen, M.A. and K.V. Prather, 1974. Influence of stream sedi-
ments on distribution of macrobenthos, J. Ent. Soc. British Colum-
bia 71:25-32.
30. Hynes, H.B.N. 1972. The ecology of running waters. U. of Toronto
Press, 555 pp.
31. White, R.J. 1973. Stream channel suitability for coldwater fish.
Proc. 1973 Ann. Meeting Soil Cons. Soc. Am. pp. 7-24.
32. Funk, J.L. 1973. Characteristics of channels for warm water
fisheries. Proc. 1973 Ann. Meeting Soil Cons. Soc. Am. pp. 1-7.
33. Lewis, S.L. 1969. Physical factors influencing fish populations
in pools of a trout stream, Trans. Am, Fish Soc. 98(1):14-19.
34. Leonard, J.W. 1948. Importance of fish food insects in trout man-
agement. Mich. Cons. 17(1):8-9.
35. Ellis, R.J. and H. Cowing. 1957. Relationship between food and
supply and condition of wild brown trout, Salmo trutta Linnaeus,
in a Michigan stream. J. Limno. and Oceanography, 2(4):299-308.
36. Allen, K.R. 1951. The Horokiwi stream, a study of a trout popula-
tion. New Zealand Mar. Dept., Fish. Bull. 10, 231 pp.
37. Gebhards, S. 1970. The vanishing stream. Idaho Wildl, Rev. 22(5):
3-8.
38. Herbert, D.W. and J.C. Merkens. 1961. The effect of suspended
solids on the survival of trout. Int. J. Air Wat. Poll. 5(1): 46-
55.
39. Wisconsin Department of Resource Development. 1967. Water quality
standards for interstate waters with report on implementation and
enforcement, 33 pp.
120
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LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THE RED CLAY PROJECT
by
U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service*
On July 10, 1975, the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service (SCS)
entered into a 3.5-year cooperative agreement with the Douglas County
Soil and Water Conservation District, the designated fiscal agent of
the Red Clay project. The Service agreed to provide technical assist-
ance to implement an accelerated erosion and sediment control program
in the Western Lake Superior Basin (Red Clay project).
Under this program, demonstration erosion and sediment control
measures were planned and installed by the soil and water conservation
districts (SWCD's) of Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, and Iron counties,
Wisconsin, and Carlton County, Minnesota, with the SCS providing techni-
cal assistance.
This work was in addition to the ongoing district programs of the
five counties. One of the objectives was that the implementation of a
demonstration program would provide the SCS, Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), and SWCD's with a technical evaluation of water quality
changes resulting from the installation of erosion and sediment control
measures. The knowledge gained is to be used on a regional and state-
wide basis for assistance in directing of other SWCD programs.
The following was provided by the SCS:
1. A soil survey and interim report for the Nemadji River and Fish
Creek basins.
2. Land use analysis and soil loss inventory for specified study areas.
3. Conservation plans for the purpose of developing cost-sharing con-
tracts for the installation of conservation systems in the five SWCD's.
4. Construction inspection for structural measures installed by local
contract.
5. Technical assistance in preparing an operations manual.
6. Project evaluation.
Planned activities in the Red Clay project area where SCS technical
assistance was provided:
Bayfield County SWCD - Upland Conservation Treatment
Streambank and Slide Stabilization
Soil Survey (Fish Creek Basin)
*SCS, Minnesota and Wisconsin
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Carlton County SWCD
Douglas County SWCD
Iron County SWCD
- Upland Conservation Treatment
Streambank and Slide Stabilization
Sediment Retention Structures
- Upland Conservation Treatment
Streambank and Slide Stabilization
Roadside Treatment
Soil Survey (Nemadji Basin)
- Sediment Retention Structure
OVERVIEW
Lacustrine clay soils or "red clays" dominate the three study areas.
Significant portions of each area also contain glacial outwash sands. It
is the red clay areas that are generally associated with nonpoint source
pollution problems.
The study area sizes are within watershed boundaries and are as
follows:
Pine Creek - Bayfield County - 15.7 sq. miles
(10,048 acres)
Skunk Creek - Carlton County - 10.7 sq. miles
(6,848 acres)
Little Balsam Creek - Douglas County - 5.4 sq. miles
(3,450 acres)
Table 1. Land Use Percentages
Land
Use
Woodland
Hayland
Pasture
Wildlife
Idle Land
Cropland
Other Uses
Pine Creek
(Percent)
59
21
12
2
3
3
Study Area 3
Skunk Creek
(Percent)
73
7
16
4
Little Balsam Creek
(Percent)
81
7
3
3
6
Soil loss evaluations in the study areas were conducted using the
Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). It was applied to all privately
owned lands in the study areas. Landowners were encouraged to partici-
pate in field investigations and were provided copies of the evaluations.
The Universal Soil Loss Equation was only used as an indicator of
soil loss and as an indication of the effectiveness of land treatment.
It cannot address the problem of sediment transport.
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The majority of the soil loss from the three study areas is from
critical areas. These areas are steep (10-45%) slopes that are adjacent
to streams or drainageways. They are in either grass or woodland and
are either pastured or found in natural condition.
In the Pine Creek study area the annual allowable estimated soil
loss ranges from 3-5 tons per acre. The USLE was applied to 6,576 acres.
Approximately 10%, or 654 acres, had an annual estimated soil loss of
18.6 tons per acre. The remaining 90% averaged .15 tons. The critical
areas were steep pastured woodlands and steep, over-grazed pasture areas.
In both cases vegetative cover conditions were poor.
The most intensive land use is in the Skunk Creek study area. Most
of the area was found to be within the allowable soil loss (4 tons per
acre) except for steep, over-grazed slopes adjacent to streams. The
average annual estimated soil loss for this study area is slightly less
than 1.0 ton per acre.
In the Little Balsam study area the USLE was applied to 1,620 acres
of private land, 80 acres of Douglas County-owned woodland, and 258 acres
of the Village of Patzau.
The average annual estimated soil loss for the Little Balsam study
area is .55 tons per acre. Hayland averages .3 tons, idle land .1 ton,
pasture .8 tons, and woodlands .6 tons per acre.
The Little Balsam study area is as close to a natural state as can
be found in the Red Clay project area. Land use intensity is low, and
the area is in good vegetative cover. The major sediment sources are
critical areas such as raw streambanks, landslides adjacent to streams
and steep woodland areas adjacent to streams.
Land ownership in the Pine Creek study area is 65% private and 35%
county and Federal (all managed as woodland). There are 76 private land-
owners. Twenty-seven are absentee and 49 are resident. Five landowners
classify themselves as full-time farmers, and 13 more as part-time.
Thirty-five landowners (71%) were over 55 years of age.
Fifty private landowners in the Skunk Creek study control 80% of the
land. There are five absentee owners. Ten part-time beef and 10 dairy
operations are located here. The remaining land units provide primarily
woodland recreation with six units renting hayland to neighboring farmers.
The average landowner age in the watershed is 50.
Land ownership in the Little Balsam study area is 53% local govern-
ment and 47% private. There are 13 absentee and 16 resident landowners.
Beef and hay production are the principle farm enterprises. In January
1978 there were approximately 40 beef cattle or other livestock in the
study area. The majority of landowners are at least 50 years old.
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PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS
Roadside Erosion
Roadside erosion is common on roads that are not properly designed
or vegetated and on roadsides where "maintenance" activities destroy
existing vegetative cover.
The installation and maintenance of properly designed road ditches
and waterways with the establishment of vegetative cover' on all road
ditches and right-of-ways would reduce soil loss and subsequent sediment
pollution from these sites.
Sliding Streambanks
Landslides are a natural occurring phenomenon in the Red Clay areas.
They can produce high volumes of sediment. Several structural measures
were planned and installed in an effort to control this problem.
Streambank stabilization utilizing rock rip rap and drainage was
installed at one site on Little Balsam Creek at a construction cost of
$160 per lineal foot.
Another site used rock filled concrete log cribs to stabilize the
slope and counterweight the slide. The area was also drained. The
construction cost was $825 per lineal foot.
Evaluation of these structural methods is not yet complete and effec-
tiveness is not yet known. In a 2,000-foot section of Little Balsam Creek
eight slide and streambank sites were identified. This indicates the ex-
tent of the problem and cost of total protection.
A streambank and slide stabilization measure planned in Bayfield
County was not installed by the local unit of government because of high
cost ($90,000).
In Carlton County construction to stabilize a streambank and road-
side erosion site was completed in June of 1977. This work is currently
being evaluated for effectiveness. The construction cost is $232,849.
Sediment & Flood Storage Measures
Sediment storage measures were initially planned in the Little
Balsam study area and Iron County but were dropped when further investi-
gation indicated that there were no feasible sites.
Sediment storage and floodwater retarding structures are currently
under construction in Carlton County, Minnesota. The resulting reduced
floodwater flows will help protect Streambanks. Storing sediment and
allowing it to settle out in storage basins will reduce the sediment load
carried into the stream. One of the structures has an estimated cost of
$218,000 and the other $191,000.
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Upland Conservation Treatment Systems
Treatment of upland areas was based on working with private land-
owners on a voluntary basis through the local soil and water conservation
district. Landowners became district cooperators and were assisted in
developing conservation plans of operation.
The conservation plans served as the basis for the Red Clay long-
term agreements, which are contracts between the landowners and the
district, to provide cost sharing for the installation of upland con-
servation practices.
Each district administered its own program. Cost-shared practices
and the rates were determined by each district. (See appendix A.)
Priority practices treating critical sediment producing areas were
assigned higher rates of cost sharing. This provided extra installation
incentive.
Cost-sharing (80-100%) was authorized for conservation plan elements
which controlled livestock by providing fencing, alternative watering
facilities, livestock stream crossings, and stock trails.
Cost sharing was also authorized for a wide range of complementing
conservation plan elements that are needed on the uplands. These prac-
tices include such as pasture and hayland planting and management,
diversions, grassed waterways, drainage ditches, and tree planting.
These plan elements maintained non-critical portions of the land unit at
low levels of soil loss.
The Red Clay project long-term agreement was used by nine landowners
in Pine Creek, 26 in Skunk Creek, and four in Little Balsam Creek. It is
estimated that 90% of the contracted practices in the Pine and Skunk Creek
study areas will be installed by July of 1978.
The average estimated cost per long-term agreement was $12,447 in
Pine Creek, $9,000 in Skunk Creek, and $6,280 in Little Balsam Creek.
Estimated per acre treatment costs average $70 per acre in Pine Creek,
$55 per acre in Skunk Creek, and $98.50 per acre in Little Balsam Creek.
In the Pine Creek sutdy area approximately 50% of the total esti-
mated cost per long-term agreement was allocated to provide treatment on
high sediment-producing critical areas. The remaining 50% went to install
complimenting conservation plan elements on the remaining acreage in the
unit.
The continued effectiveness of the practices installed will depend
on landowner maintenance.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Practices found to be most effective in the Red Clay project area
were compiled from best management practices (BMP's) as determined in
each study area. The following is a list of those practices:
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Practice Study Area
1. Maintenance of vegetative cover. Pine, Skunk, Little Balsam
2. Livestock exclusion from critical Pine, Skunk, Little Balsam
areas (with fencing or management).
3. Alternate watering facilities. Pine, Skunk, Little Balsam
4. Stock trails and walkways. Pine, Skunk, Little Balsam
5. Livestock stream crossings. Pine, Skunk, Little Balsam
6. Critical area seeding. Pine, Skunk, Little Balsam
7. Grassed waterways. Pine
8. Animal waste management systems. Pine
9. Sediment traps. Skunk
Maintenance or rapid reestablishment of vegetative cover is the key
to low levels of nonpoint sediment pollution in the Red Clay areas.
Policies and activities which provide for this vegetative protection will
be best management practices.
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APPENDIX A
DEFINITIONS OF LAND TREATMENT PRACTICES
1. Access Road is constructed as part of a conservation plan to provide
needed access to farms, fields, conservation systems, structures, and
recreation areas. The estimated cost includes clearing, earthwork,
gravel surfacing, and seeding.
2. Agricultural Waste Management Systems is a planned system to contain
and manage liquid and solid livestock wastes with disposal in a manner
which does not degrade air, soil, or water resources. The cost is an
average typical cost of those recently constructed.
3. Brush Management is management of brush stands to restore plant com-
munities and specific needs of the landusers. The cost includes both
chemical and mechanical brush control.
4. Conservation Cropping System is growing crops is combination with
needed cultural and management measures. Cropping systems include
rotations that contain grasses and legumes as well as rotations in
which the desired benefits are achieved without the use of such
crops. The cost includes the landuser's cost of establishing and
maintaining contour strips, rotations, etc.
5. Critical Area Planting is stabilizing sediment-producing and severely
eroded areas by establishing vegetative cover. This includes woody
plants such as trees, shrubs or vines, and adapted grasses or legumes
established by seeding or sodding to provide long-term ground cover,
(does not include tree planting mainly for the production of wood
products). The acreage of this item does not include roadside seed-
ing needed and seeding as part of other conservation measures.
6. Crop Residue Management is using plant residues to protect cultivated
fields during critical erosion periods. The cost is indicative of the
added expense in converting to mulch tillage practices.
7. Diversion is a channel with a supporting ridge on the lower side con-
structued across the slope for the purpose of diverting water to areas
where it can be disposed of safely. The cost includes earthwork and
seeding.
8. Drainage Field Ditch is a graded ditch for collecting excess water
within a field. It does not include grassed waterway or outlet.
The quantity of this item is intended for application on the cropland.
9. Farmstead and Feedlot Windbreak is a belt of trees or shrubs estab-
lished next to a farmstead or feedlot. The cost is for tree planting
and materials.
10. Fencing is enclosing or dividing an area of land with a permanent
structure that acts as a barrier to livestock or people. The quan-
tity shown in the table is that needed for livestock exclusion from
gullies and steep slopes. The cost is for material and labor.
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11. Field Windbreak is a belt of trees or shurbs established next to a
farmstead or feedlot. The cost is for tree planting and materials.
12. Floodwater Retarding Structure is a single-purpose structure providing
for temporary storage of floodwater and for its controlled release.
This structure is designed to trap sediment also, though not considered
a purpose. The cost is the estimated construction cost for sites indi-
cated on the work map.
13. Grade Stabilization Structure is built to stabilize the grade or to
control head cutting in natural or artificial channels. (Does not
include stream channel improvement, streambank protection, diversions,
or structures for water control.) The higher cost is representative
for construction of a low head, crib-type structures located in the
stream channel to control gradient. The lower cost is representative
for construction of high head, pipe drop-type structures for small
watersheds.
14. Grassed Waterway is a natural or constructed waterway or outlet,
shaped and graded, with vegetation established to safely dispose
of runoff from a field, diversion, terrace, or other structure. The
cost includes earth work and seeding.
15. Land Adequately Treated is using land within its capability on which
the conservation practices that are essential to its protection and
planned improvement have been applied.
16. Land Smoothing is removing irregularities on cropland surfaces by
use of special equipment.
17. Livestock Exclusion refers to areas where grazing is prevented by
fencing out livestock. The cost for doing such is the amount shown
for fencing.
18. Pasture and Hayland Management is proper treatment and use of
pastureland or hayland. The cost includes mowing and fertilization.
19. Pasture and Hayland Planting is establishing long-term stands of
adapted species of perennial, biennial, or reseeding forage plants.
(Includes pasture and hayland renovation, does not include grassed
waterway or outlet on cropland.)
20. Recreation Area Improvement is establishing grasses, legumes, shrubs,
trees, or other plants or selectively reducing stand density to im-
prove an area for recreation. The construction cost is included in
other practices.
21. Stock Trails, Walkway, or Watering Facility is a trail, walkway, or
watering facility provided to improve access to water for livestock
when fencing is used to exclude livestock from prior watering areas.
22. Stream Channel Protection and Slope Stabilization includes all those
structural measures designed to control or reduce the amount of stream-
bank erosion and stream sideslope failure (clay sides).
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23. Stripcropping is the growing of crops in a systematic arrangement
of strips or bands on the contour to reduce erosion. The cost in-
cludes the landuser's cost of establishing and maintaining strips.
24. Subsurface Drainage is a conduit installed beneath the ground sur-
face which collects and/or conveys drainage water. The cost includes
installation and material.
25. Tree Planting is the planting of tree seedlings or cuttings. Costs
include materials and planting.
26. Woodland Improvement is removing unmerchantable or undesirable tree
species, shrubs, or vines.
27. Woodland Site Preparation is treating areas to encourage natural
seeding of desirable trees or to permit reforestation by planting
or direct seeding.
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MULTIPLE AGENCY MANAGEMENT
FOR
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL
by
Stephen C. Andrews*
The Red Clay Project is a joint effort of the SWCD's of five counties
in two states. The Executive Committee of the Project is made up of a
representative from each SWCD, with the Chairman from the Douglas County
SWCD, the fiscal agent for the grant. The Executive Committee is responsi-
ble for Project affairs. Early in the Project the fiscal agent delegated
authority to the individual SWCD's for program maintenance, local budgetary
decisions, and other matters. This allowed the SWCD's to manage the
Project in their areas consistent with their ongoing programs and policies.
The only real management problem encountered in respect to this arrange-
ment is that not all of the SWCD's held meetings on a consistent schedule,
which, in several cases, prevented the Executive Committee from making
timely decisions at its monthly meetings.
From a management standpoint, the consortium appears to be a workable
system, at least as far as a research and demonstration project is con-
cerned. It should be noted that this Project was conducted on a voluntary
basis, with priorities and budgets based on a local government or land-
owners ability to provide necessary services; in-kind contributions; and
matching dollars. Thus, we did not have SWCD's competing for priorities
established because of limited funds. In addition, because of the amount
of funding available, it was possible for the SWCD's to offer high rates
of cost sharing, which in turn accounts, to some degree, for the high
percentage of completion for contracted items in the LTA's.
It should also be remembered that this Project was sponsored and
governed by local government. I am not certain how these units of govern-
ment would have reacted to a program imposed on them.
The delegation of certain authorities manifested itself most certainly
in the area of performance. The system allowed us to compare the effects
of differences in conservation attitudes, economics, and political
structures upon attainment of Project goals and objectives. John Streich
has already given you a basic idea of the types of agriculture and atti-
tudes of the landowners in the study areas. Now I will try to character-
ize the conditions in the counties which affected the activities of the
five SWCD's:
1. How elected
Carlton At large
Douglas Appointed from County Board of Supervisors
*Stephen C. Andrews, Project Director, Red Clay Project,
Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District,
Superior, Wisconsin 54880
130
-------
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Bayfield
Ashland
Iron
Place of
Carlton
Douglas
Bayfield
Ashland
Iron
Appointed from County Board of Supervisors
II U II I' " "
II II II II II "
residence of District Supervisors
Urban 0 Rural 0 Farm 5
Urban 3 Rural 2 Farm 0
Urban 0 Rural 2 Farm 3
Urban 3 Rural 2 Farm 1
Urban 0 Rural 5 Farm 0
Past history of participation with RC&D
Carlton
Douglas
Bayfield
Ashland
Iron
District
Carlton
Douglas
Bayfield
Ashland
Iron
General
Carlton
Douglas
Bayfield
Ashland
Iron
Economic
Carlton
Douglas
Bayfield
Ashland
Iron
Attitude
Carlton
Douglas
Bayfield
Ashland
Iron
Excellent
Poor
Excellent
Good
Poor
staff
3
0
0
0
0
attitude toward nonpoint source control programs
Excellent
Poor
Poor
Poor
condition (per capita income)
4,380
3,957
3,162
3,408
2,935
toward appropriation of local pollution abatement funds
Excellent
Fair
Poor
Excellent
Poor
131
-------
8. Performance
Carlton Excellent
Douglas Fair
Bayfield Good
Ashland Excellent
Iron Poor
Although somewhat subjective, I believe that the preceeding gives
you a general picture of conditions in the five counties. Of the pre-
ceeding, the most important factor in my mind is the political composi-
tion of the SWCD. In the case of the Red Clay Project, the best attitudes
and performance were found in the one SWCD where the district supervisors
were elected at large, rather than being appointed from the county board
of supervisors. This is not to say that an appointed district is incom-
petent or doesn't care. That depends upon the people involved. Obviously,
we did a good job with the appointed districts. But, I do think that
people who work to be elected to the SWCD are more likely to have the
attitudes necessary for successful programs.
Now that I'm this far out on a limb in characterizing the districts,
I might as well go one step further and tell you that my opinion is that
a voluntary 208 program would work in two of our study areas, but the
rest would probably need a regulatory system for a totally effective
abatement program. However, I propose that we start with a voluntary
program, with enough money to insure that the program has a chance of
succeeding, and using a regulatory approach only if the voluntary program
fails.
FINDINGS AND SUGGESTED APPROACHES
1. A multiagency voluntary research and demonstration program was
successfully implemented in the Red Clay area.
2. Multiagency systems would probably work for some rural 208 non-
point source control programs where problems are similar.
3. Rural multiagency systems should not be extended across state
boundaries due to implementation, funding and standards problems.
4. Multiagency systems should have one set of policies, goals,
and objectives for ease of administration and uniformity of goal attain-
ment.
5. Sufficient evaluation and water quality management should be
conducted prior to implementation to clearly identify critical areas and
parameters thus ensuring cost effective abatement.
•»
6. BMP's should be applied on a site-specific basis.
7. BMP's should be applied only to areas of mans intrusion.
132
-------
in Wisconsin - Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, and Iron, and one county in
Minnesota - Carlton, to initiate an erosion and sediment control demon-
stration project in the "red clay" area of Lake Superior.
The purposes of the original E.P.A.-sponsored study were: (1) the
identification and analysis of several demonstration sites for shoreline
erosion control in Ashland County, and (2) the establishment of cost
estimates for the development of suitable means for effective shoreline
protection, particularly in areas which are highly vulnerable to the
processes of erosion.
Subsequently, Madigan Beach in Ashland County, Wisconsin (Fig. 1)
was selected as the major demonstration site at which Longard tubes were
to be installed to determine their usefulness in controlling erosion.
The Red Clay Bluffs, which rise up some 60 to 80 feet (approx. 18 to 24
meters) above Lake Superior at this site (Figs. 2 and 3) have been
severely eroded and therefore offer an excellent site for a demonstra-
tion of the effectiveness of the Longard tubes. The surface of the
upland region which extends inland from the crest of the bluffs is a
grassy and wooded plain overgrown by a young stand of trees. Extending
downward to the lake, in sharp contrast, is the scarred face of the
Red Clay Bluffs. Figs. 2 and 3 clearly show that the bluffs are charac-
terized by numerous slides which carry many trees and other vegetation,
as well as the red clay itself, down to the beach and eventually into
Lake Superior.
The shoreline near the Indian Cemetery on Madeline Island, Ashland
County, Wisconsin was selected for the second demonstration. In this
case a more conventional structure - a rubble mound revetment - was to
be constructed, using locally available materials to prevent the further
erosion of this historical site (Fig. 1). For a more detailed descrip-
tion of the background of the project, and also of some of the prelimi-
nary field studies of the on-shore characteristics of the sites the
reader is referred to Edil, Pezzetta, and Wolf (1975) and Edil (1975).
The present phase of the study is concerned primarily with the off-
shore and beach characteristics of the sites, as well as the field
studies that were undertaken to determine some of these characteristics.
The present phase also describes how these characteristics were used to
determine the wave climate and how the performance of the structures is
to be monitored. A review of the contents of this report follows:
In the following section those characteristics of the demonstration
sites which were readily identifiable are described. And in the subse-
quent sections the results of field studies which were designed to
identify the hydrography and the sediment properties of the sites are
presented. Finally a brief description of the installation of the
Longard tubes and the construction of the rubble mound revetment is
offered. Since the structures were only completed in September, 1977
there has not been sufficient time to prepare even a preliminary assess-
ment of their potential. It is expected that such a report will be made
available in the future.
135
-------
DEVIL'S ISLAND
Lir.HT STATION
Fig. 1. Location Hap of the Demonstration Site on Lake Superior
-------
Pig. 2. Aerial View of the Red Clay Bluffs and Madigan Beach
Fig. 3, Profile View of the Red Clay Bluffs and Madigan Beacfr
on Lake Superior, near Ashland, Wisconsin
137
-------
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MADIGAN BEACH SITE
In this section, those characteristics of the Madigan Beach demon-
stration site which were initially evident are described. These include
site location, shoreline orientation and fetch exposure, and wind
climate. In as much as the hydrographic and soils information initially
available were inadequate to properly monitor the erosion and littoral
drift, a hydrographic survey supplemented by sediment sampling, and a soil
boring program on shore, were undertaken as part of the project. The
survey and the boring program are described in subsequent sections.
Site Location
Madigan Beach, a segment of the Lake Superior shoreline in Ashland
County, Wisconsin, was selected as the major demonstration site (Fig. 1).
The beach is located about 1-1/4 miles (approx. 2 km.) west of the
Iron County line in the Bad River Indian Reservation and is accessible
from U.S. Highway 2 by Madigan Road, a 2-1/2 mile (approx. 4 km.)
secondary road. The study site extends along some 2100 feet (approx.
630 meters) of shoreline from 700 feet (approx. 210 meters) east of the
northern end of Madigan Road to 1400 feet (approx. 420 meters) west.
Shoreline Orientation and Fetch Exposure
The Lake Superior shoreline in the vicinity of Madigan Beach extends
in an almost unbroken straight line for some 5 or 6 miles (approx. 8 or
9 km.) (Fig. 1). The geodetic bearing of this segment of the coast is
approximately N55°W.
The site is exposed to wind and wave action on Lake Superior from
the Northwest to the Southeast (moving clockwise). However, it only
has a long (greater than a hundred statute miles) fetch exposure from
the North-Northeast to the Northeast. The Apostle Islands limit the
fetch distances to approximately 20 statute miles from the Northwest
to the North, and there is virtually no effective fetch exposure from
the Northeast to the Southeast due to the presence of the Keweenaw
Peninsula.
Wind Climate
In as much as the demonstration site is in a relatively isolated
location, no local wind information was available. However, a search
for sources of such information in the vicinity revealed that the
Devil's Island Light Station (Fig. 1) had obtained a fairly extensive
collection of wind data over the years. This light station is located
on one of the northernmost of the Apostle Islands and is manned by the
U.S. Coast Guard.
Data for the months of October, November, and December were analyzed
for the 9 year period spanning 1968 to 1976. The results of this anal-
ysis are presented in Fig. 4 in the form of a wind rose. The frequency
of occurrence of five wind speed classes is shown for sixteen compass
directions. Also indicated in Fig. 4 are the inclination of the shore-
line and the region of effective fetch exposure at Madigan Beach. In
138
-------
65°/c
Region of Significant Fetch
Exposure at H;iclij;nn Beach
3%
Shoreline
Or iont.-it ion nL
Madigan Beach
Spc.i'd i II Kim L s
0.0 - 10.0
11.0 - 16.0
17.0 - 21.0
22.0 - 27.0
over 27.0
t
\ 8.6%
Fig. 4. Wind Rose - Based on Data Obtained at Devil's Island Li^ht
•Station, Bayficld County, Wisconsin, During October, November
and December, from 1968 to 1976
139
-------
the absence of more detailed wind information in the fetch area, it was
assumed that the Devil's Island Light Station data could be applied
throughout the entire fetch, when hindcasting wind-generated waves.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDIAN CEMETERY SITE
Site Location
The Indian Cemetery shoreline on Madeline Island is'located about one-
half mile south of the Village of La Pointe. This site occupies a very
low terrace, some 1 to 2 feet above the present level of the lake. A
dog-leg shaped break-water (a rock-filled timber crib) was constructed
to protect the entrance to the Madeline Island Marina located just north
of the cemetery site. A line of shrubs and low woody vegetation paral-
lels the property at the water's edge. The effect of erosion was partic-
ularly evident at the southern end of this 275-foot (approx. 84 meters)
long shoreline.
Site Orientation and Fetch Exposure
The site is oriented in a north-south direction and faces the main-
land across Chequamegon Bay. The mainland limits the fetch exposure to
several miles. However, short, wind-generated waves, probably augmented
by diffracted waves originating out in Lake Superior have combined to
cause severe erosion and shoreline recession here.
HYDROGRAPHY
Hydrography at Madlgan Beach
To determine the hydrography at Madigan Beach, a field survey was
conducted on June 7 and 8, 1976. In this section the field activities
at the site are described first. Then the analyses of the field data
leading up to the preparation of a hydrographic map are outlined.
At the time of the survey, it was planned to have the Longard tubes
installed shortly afterward. However, unforeseen construction delays
made it necessary to conduct a second survey in 1977, prior to the
installation of the tubes in September 1977.
The first step in the initial hydrographic survey was to establish
a baseline for horizontal control. This was accomplished with a transit-
tape survey. A traverse was run by deflection angles. The baseline was
tied into an earlier survey conducted by Wilhelm Engineering Company.
Several of the same stations were used in both surveys. For details of
this and subsequent facets of the hydrographic field survey the reader
is referred to Shands (1977).
The hydrographic survey was first conducted in a region extending
from 100 feet (approx. 30 meters) offshore to approximately one-half
mile (approx. 800 meters) offshore. Depth measurements were made from
a Zodiac inflatable boat, which was assembled and launched with relative
140
-------
ease from a nearby beach. The boat was powered by an outboard motor and
offered a fairly steady platform for the Raytheon Model DE 719 recording
fathometer. Leadline readings were also taken to provide a calibration
check for the fathometer.
The location of the boat was determined through triangulation by
transit intersection from three stations on shore. Twelve transects
were run perpendicular to the shoreline at approximately 200 foot
(approx. 60 meters) intervals. To coordinate the depth measurements
with the boat's location, four sets of transit readings were taken per
transect.
The second phase of the hydrographic survey was conducted in a
region extending from the shoreline to 100 feet (approx. 30 meters)
offshore. Here, lake bottom elevations were shot with a transit and
Philadelphia rod. Starting from the easterly side of the site, profiles
were run every 100 feet (approx. 30 meters) along the baseline for the
first 1100 feet (approx. 330 meters) and then every 200 feet (approx.
60 meters) to station Q. For each profile, elevations were shot at the
shoreline and at distances of 25, 50, 75, and 100 feet (approx. 7.5,
15, 22.5, and 30 meters) from the baseline.
Copies of the raw data obtained in this hydrographic survey are
given by Shands (1977) .
A hydrographic map was constructed using the data from this survey.
The first step in this process was to determine the horizontal loca-
tions of the boat. The baseline was plotted and, for each triangula-
tion fix, lines were constructed from each transit station along the
recorded angles. The boat's location should have occurred at the inter-
section of these three transit lines. However, due to small inaccur-
acies in some of the transit readings, these lines did not always inter-
sect at a single point. Therefore, the location of the boat was assumed
to be at the intersection of the two transit lines which produced the
least deviation in the intersection point location, for a small fixed
change of each transit angle. For details the reader is referred to
Shands (1977).
Once the boat had been located, the depths were plotted and con-
toured in 3-foot (approx. 0.9 meter) intervals. The resulting hydro-
graphic map is presented in Fig. 5. The water depths on the map are
referenced to the lake level at the site on June 7 and 8, 1976.
Hydrography at the Indian Cemetery
A field survey was conducted on Madeline Island at the Indian
Cemetery on June 9, 1976. In this section the field activities at the
site are reviewed.
The hydrographic survey was conducted in a manner paralleling the
second phase of the Madigan Beach survey. Bottom elevations were shot
with a transit and a Philadelphia rod in a region extending from the
shoreline to about 100 feet (approx. 30 meters) offshore. Starting at
the northern end of the site, several profiles were run from a baseline
established along the shore. For each profile, elevations were shot at
141
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Lake Superior
Contour Interval -
3 feet (or 0.9 meters
100 0
•=]
50 100 300 500
feet
Madigan Beach
Fig. 5. Hydrographic Map of Madigan Beach, June 7 and 8, 1976
-------
25 foot (7.5 meters) intervals.
SOILS AND SEDIMENT SURVEY
Soils Survey of the Madigan Beach Bluffs
Profile measurements and sediment samples were taken principally
at the 60-foot (approx. 18 meter) high bluffs located at the lakeward
terminus of Madigan Beach Road. The bluff face at this site has been
terraced en echelon by rotational slumping. The average bluff and beach
slopes were measured to be 38° and 9° respectively. Both toe and face
erosion of the bluffs and the deep rotational slips were evident along
the shoreline in the vicinity of this site.
Three bore-holes were drilled on the top of the bluff at the
Madigan Beach site and samples were obtained for textural and geo-
technical analyses. The borings and observations of the materials
exposed on the bluff face indicated the presence of a 15 to 20 foot
(approx. 4.5 to 6 meter) thick, reddish-brown, stiff, silty clay layer
of low plasticity on the top, underlain by a thick (more than 40 ft or
12 m), very dense brown sandy silt. This highly erodible (cohesion-
less) sandy silt makes up most of the bluff material and is underlain
by a reddish-brown, rather stiff, clay layer of high plasticity, mostly
below the lake level. Detailed grain-size analyses of the "red clay"
bluff sediments clearly indicate that these deposits are highly vari-
able in their textural characteristics. The bulk composition of the
thick glacial deposit sampled consists largely of very fine sand and
coarse silt (mean grain size 0.043 to 0.077 mm); no clay-sized compo-
nents were present in any of the samples taken from this deposit.
Hence, the silt and fine sand fractions impart a distinctly "gritty"
texture to these sediments and render them cohesionless and highly
erodible. The samples taken from the cohesive layers above and below
the sandy silt layer also exhibited differences. For example the top
layer had 64% silt (0.002 to 0.074 mm grain size) and 26% clay size
meterial (<2y) whereas the bottom layer had only 26% silt but 63% clay
size material resulting in distinct differences in their plasticities.
Slope Stability
Slope stability analyses of a number of bluff profiles of Madigan
Beach indicated varying safety factors against landslides (Edil and Haas,
1976). Some of the bluffs were extremely steep with low safety factors
indicating an imminent state of failure; others had already slipped and
reached relatively safe inclinations.
There are a number of factors which seem to contribute jointly to
the recession of these bluffs. It is quite difficult to quantify each
of these factors. Nevertheless, it appears that the wave action and the
resultant erosion and removal of bluff toe material are the most signif-
icant factors responsible for the triggering of landslides and bluff
recession. However, removel of materials from bluff faces as a result
of freezing and thawing (solifluction), precipitation, surface runoff
and ground water seepage also contribute significantly to bluff
recession.
143
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Borings at the Indian Cemetery
Three borings performed at the Indian Cemetery site in 1976 indi-
cated primarily coarse-grained materials down to a depth of 15 ft
(4.6 m) from the ground surface (Stoll, 1976). The boring data indi-
cated the presence of light brown, fine to medium size, medium dense
(standard penetration resistance, N according to the ASTM Designation:
D 1586-67 of 10 to 15) sand with traces of silt and gravel down to a
depth of 7 ft (2.1 m). This layer was underlain by a light brown, fine
to coarse size, dense (N - 30) sand with traces of silt down to 11 ft
(3.4 m). There was a brown, fine, dense (N - 25) sand layer with traces
of silt and gravel below 11 ft (3.4 m). This type of subsurface soil
information is particularly useful in assessing the stability of shore
protection structures such as the rubble revetment constructed at this
site.
Sediment Sampling at Madigan Beach
The beach and nearshore deposits sampled within a zone extending
roughly from the water line out to 100 ft (approx. 30 m) consisted
mostly of fine to coarse-grained sands, with grain size ranging from
0.16 to 0.97 mm in diameter (Table 1). Since the major bluff deposit
contained a very high proportion (84%) of silt, only a small fraction
of the bluff materials was retained in the nearshore environment to form
the beach deposits; the bulk of the bluff sediments is apparently carried
away by the longshore currents.
Table 1. Lake Superior Samples Taken at Madigan Beach, Sedimentological
Data June 6-11 1976
Sample
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Mean
phi
0.93
1.70
1.81
0.05
-1.70
Pebble
-0.20
0.42
2.52
2.43
1.96
2.62
Grain
size*
525.17
307.98
285.73
968.12
Std
dev
2.39
0.33
0.53
0.59
0.26
Skew-
ness
1.57
-1.09
-1.11
-0.04
10.81
diameters range from
749.20
174.86
185.94
256.18
162.71
1.06
1.42
0.71
0.62
0.88
0.68
0.48
-0.57
-0.19
0.14
0.35
-0.98
Kurt-
osis
5
13
7
3
158
28
2
2
4
3
4
7
.61
.57
.67
.58
.45
mm.
.51
.07
.57
.90
.92
.94
%
Sand
89
100
100
100
100
to
100
99
97
99
96
97
.10
.00
.00
.00
.00
59 mm
.00
.57
.65
.18
.25
.21
%
Silt
9.40
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
. .
0.00
0.43
2.35
0.82
3.75
2.79
%
Clay
1.50
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
%Heavy
min.
11.970
11.756
5.199
8.108
23.076
3.791
5.578
2.334
6.560
3.086
3.401
12 1.95 258.99 0.60 -0.44 5.75 100.00 0.00 0.00 6.503
13 0.53 694.02 1.03 -0.14 1.94 100.00 0.00 0.00 3.381
*Grain size is given in microns
Sediment Sampling at the Indian Cemetery
The Indian Cemetery nearshore sediments were primarily coarse-
grained, moderately to well sorted sands (Table 2). Medium to coarse
sand was observed along the northern half of the beach, while
144
-------
medium-sized pebbles (14 mm in diameter) were noted at the southern
extremity of the property.
Table 2. Lake Superior Samples Taken at the Indian Cemetery-Madeline
Island, Sedimentological Data June 6-11 1976
Sample
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Mean
phi
-0.35
Pebble
0.98
1.20
0.89
0.82
0.91
Pebble
-0.56
Pebble
0.09
0.55
Pebble
-0.12
Pebble
Grain Std Skew-
size* dev ness
1271.25 1
diameters
507.76 0
434.11 0
537.83 0
565.97 0
532.31 0
diameters
1478.63 1
diameters
939.74 1
683.31 1
diameters
1084.27 1
diameters
.27 0
range
.54 0
.52 1
.68 0
.67 -0
.78 -0
range
.19 0
range
.00 -0
.12 -0
range
.05 -0
range
.17
from
.46
.12
.46
.69
.84
from
.45
from
.53
.90
from
.43
from
Kurt-
osis
1.52
12 mm.
6.16
4.72
4.68
6.70
6.37
26 mm.
1.85
22 mm.
2.53
3.23
15 mm.
1.95
22 mm.
7 7
fo /o
Sand Silt
100
to
100
100
100
100
100
to
100
to
100
100
to
100
to
.00 0.
29 mm.
.00 0.
.00 0.
.00 0.
.00 0.
.00 0.
39 mm.
.00 0.
30 mm.
.00 0.
.00 0.
25 mm.
.00 0.
26 mm.
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
%
Clay
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
%Heavy
min.
9
11
4
57
12
13
37
15
15
9
.913
.021
.632
.860
.625
.310
.634
.765
.343
.848
*Grain size is given in microns
Shoreline Recession
The shoreline was mapped for about 1400 ft (approx. 420 m) north-
west, and 1900 ft (approx. 570 m) southeast of the access road to
Madigan Beach using 1951 and 1974 photography. Shoreline recession
varies from a negligible amount to a maximum of about 50 ft (15 m) in
this area. The average amount of recession is about 25 ft (7.5 m)
giving a rate of 1.0 ft (0.3 m) per year (Edil, Pezzetta and Wolf,
1975). Photogrammetric mapping of this site was rendered particularly
difficult due to the lack of good quality ground survey points, and the
obscuring effect of overhanging trees and brush.
Taking the shoreline geometry (bluff profiles) into account and
using methods described in the Shore Protection Manual (1973), the
volumetric rate of sediment loss was computed to be 5.85 cu.m/m/yr. The
average annual loss (total volumetric displacement) was computed as the
product of the volumetric rate of loss and the effective length of the
shoreline segment. The total volumetric displacement for the 12-mile
(approx. 19 km) shoreline along Madigan Beach is approximately 150,000
cu.yd/yr (approx. 115,000 cu.m/yr). In addition to the effective shore
length, the height of the bluffs and the nature of the bluff materials
are important factors in making this segment of Lake Superior shoreline
a critical sediment source.
Approximately 4,000 feet (1219 m) of shoreline was mapped in the
vicinity of the Indian Cemetery site on Madeline Island for the years
1939, 1951, and 1973. There has been a considerable change in geometry
in the area of the inlet to the Marina, much of which may be attributed
145
-------
to construction. There is, however, a significant amount of natural
recession in the area - as much as 65 feet (19.8 m) during the period
from 1939 to 1973. The average rate of recession is about 1.6 feet
(0.48 m) per year (Edil, Pezzetta and Wolf, 1975). Taking the shoreline
geometry (terrace profile) into account, the volumetric rate of sediment
loss was computed to be about 0.29 cu. m/m/yr. The average annual loss
would be 354 cu. m/yr. for a 1219 m segment of the shoreline west of
Madeline Island if the discrete protection works are to be disregarded.
WAVE ANALYSIS
Wave Hindcasting
In order to study the wave climate at Madigan Beach, a numerical
hindcasting procedure based on the French spectroangular wave model
(Gelci, Cazale, and Vassal, 1957) was developed. In the spectroangular
model, the wave energy density spectrum is separated into discrete com-
ponents, each with a distinct period and direction of propagation. The
average energy density in each component is then hindcast separately.
Finally, these average energy densities are recombined to produce the
wave energy density spectrum at a deep water hindcasting site. Wave
heights, representative of the average energy density in each component,
may then be calculated from this spectrum.
In this procedure, radial propagation lines which converge at the
site of interest are constructed. Grid points are located on each pro-
pagation line at intervals of C -At, where CQ is the wave group velocity
and At is the time step used in the numerical procedure. The wave group
velocity is assumed to equal gT/411, where g is the gravitational accele-
ration and T is the wave period of the spectral component being analyzed.
This expression for the wave group velocity is only valid for deep water
waves and hence is limited to hindcasting of deep water waves. Since
the wave energy travels at a speed equal to the group velocity, the
length of each propagation line must be at least equal to C -t, where t
is the storm duration, in order to include all the wave energy produced
by the storm.
Starting at the outer end of a propagation line, the energy density,
defined as the total average wave energy per unit surface area and also
referred to as the spectroangular density of the component wave being
considered, is computed. This energy density is then "jumped" to the
next grid point on that propagation line where the increase (or decrease)
in the spectroangular density is determined. The spectral increase (or
decrease) term is then added to the energy density which was advected
into the grid point and the combined energy density is "jumped" to the
next grid point. Thereafter the process is continued until the hind-
casting point is reached.
This process is repeated for all spectral components. The computed
energy densities are then linearly summed to provide the total energy
density, e, at the site of interest. The significant wave height may be
calculated using the formula H^/T = k/e" where k is a constant depending
on the units chosen. Finally, if desired, the component wave heights
may be obtained by taking the product of total significant wave height
and the ratio of the energy density in each component wave to the total
146
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energy density at the site. These component wave heights do not repre-
sent actual waves, but the wave energy density distribution in the wave
spectrum.
Nearshore Analysis
A wave entering the nearshore zone will be slowed, shortened, and
steepened as it moves into progressively shallower water. This process
is known as shoaling. Furthermore, a wave arriving at an angle to the
shoreline will bend toward alignment with the underwater depth contours,
since that portion of the wave in shallower water will be moving with
less speed. This process of wave front bending is called refraction.
A numerical program developed by R. S. Dobson (1967) was used to
evaluate the effects of refraction and shoaling. This program is based
on linear wave theory and utilizes the optical laws of refraction.
Together with the deep water wave heights and directions of propa-
gation, hydrographic information from the field survey of June 7 and 8,
1976 was used for the refraction analysis. A square mesh grid was
superimposed on the hydrographic map prepared from the survey data, and
the water depths associated with each grid or mesh point were deter-
mined. The resultant depth grid was then loaded into the refraction
program.
In the nearshore analysis each deep water spectral component was
refracted across the grid until the wave either broke, i.e. the wave
height reached a value of 0.78d, where d is the depth, or reached a
grid boundary. For each spectral component which reached the shoreline
at the site, the average breaking wave height and direction of propaga-
tion were computed.
Madigan Beach has significant fetch exposure only from the North-
Northeast to the East-Northeast due to the presence of the Keewenaw
Peninsula and the Apostle Islands (see Fig. 6). Storms which produce the
largest waves and hence have the most destructive power come from the
Northeast. Storms of comparable magnitude from the North-Northeast,
North, North-Northwest, and Northwest will produce wave heights of
lesser magnitude, in that order, due to increasing fetch limitations.
The computer program was operated over the-above mentioned fetch lengths
in order to confirm these conclusions.
SHORE PROTECTION STRUCTURES
Installation of Longard Tubes
Longard tubes - large, impermeable plastic tubes, filled with sand -
were initially developed in Europe to provide low cost shore protection.
More recently the tubes have also been installed in a few locations in
the United States. In general they have been placed as groins or sea-
walls and seem to provide effective and relatively inexpensive shore
protection when located in an appropriate environment. The price range,
ease of construction, and versatility make Longard tubes a logical
candidate for shore protection demonstrations on Lake Superior.
147
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Direction- Fetch
(decrees) (miles) (kin)
^counterclockwise from
the shoreline
Lake Superior
00
Fig. 6. Fetch Exposure of Madigan Beach
-------
Furthermore, they blend well with the beach environment and can easily
be removed if necessary.
While Longard tubes come in various sizes, those used at Madigan
Beach are 69 inches (approx. 1.75 m) in diameter and weigh about 3000
Ibs/ft (approx. 4500 kg/m) when filled with sand (see Figs. 7 and 8).
These are the largest tubes made and the Madigan Beach project includes
the largest grouping of these particular tubes in the world. A filter
cloth is usually laid beneath the tube and anchored with a secondary
tube 10 inches in diameter to minimize scour and tube settlement.
Longard tubes have been placed at five different sites in the
Michigan demonstration project (Armstrong, 1976), with a certain amount
of success. In developing a field demonstration of these tubes, varia-
tions of certain parameters were considered, such as seawall versus
groin versus combined seawall and groin; spacing of groins; bluff
stabilization; and single tubes versus two tubes on top of each other
in the case of seawalls.
The layout of the tubes at Madigan Beach is shown in Fig. 9. Con-
straints on the length of the public shoreline available for protection
made it impossible to develop an ideal layout, in which the groins and
seawall sections could be tested independently and free of any inter-
ference. One prominent feature of the design was the stabilization of
one segment of the bluffs immediately behind and in support of one
section of Longard tubes. Bluff stabilization was achieved by regrading
the bluff back to a stable inclination of 22° and providing vegetation.
Such a procedure has been largely neglected but is expected to be a
significant aspect of a successful shore protection project.
The cost per foot of shore protected by the Longard tubes is some-
what variable depending on a number of factors. The total cost of this
project was $130,000 for construction and there was an additional
$13,500 for engineering services. The total cost of construction
included the installation of 1485 feet (approx. 453 m) of Longard tubes
plus the modification and stabilization of a segment of the bluffs. In
terms of unit cost, this comes to approximately $100 per foot ($300 per
meter) of tube installation and $93 per foot ($279 per meter) of shore
front. The unit cost goes down to as little as $40 per foot ($120 per
meter) of shore front protection in the case of single groins and it is
as high as $200 per foot ($600 per meter) of shore front protection in
the case of double seawall configuration. The unit cost is $100 per
foot ($300 per meter) of shore front protection using a single seawall
and $170 per foot ($510 per meter) of shore front using a groin-seawall
combination.
Rock Mound Revetment
Due to the immediate nature of the problem, a positive shore pro-
tection demonstration was required at the Indian Cemetery site and
therefore a rubble mound revetment type of protection was recommended.
The site plan and the cross-section of the rubble mound revetment are
given in Figs. 10 and 11 (Stoll, 1976). The construction was carried
out using locally available materials and was completed in September,
1977 (as shown in Fig. 12)„ The total cost of construction for this
149
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Fig. 7. Longard Tubes Placed as Groins on Madigan Beach
Fig. 8. Longard Tube Placed as a Seawall on Madigan Beach0
Note Use of Log Crib to Anchor the End of a Tube
150
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Scale
100 50 0 100 200 300 feet
=•••
60 90 meters (approx.)
V
Lake Superior
L Bluff J Madigan Beach
Q f- n K T 1 i -7 -i t- T ,~> n •
Stabilization
Shoreline (601' ICLD)
Fig. 9. Layout of the Longard Tubes
-------
NATURAL
BRUSH
INDIAN
BURIAL
GROUNDS
APPROXIMATE
LIMITS OF
COVER LAYER
CREST OF
PROPOSED
STRUCTURE
LAKE
SUPERIOR
FRONT TOE
OF STRUCTURE
feet
20meters
(approxo
Fig. 10. Site Plan of the Rubble Mound Revetment at the Indian
Cemetery Site ••x
-------
Ol
OJ
DESIGN WAVE HEIGHT = 4.0'
TOP OF CREST
ELEV. 608.3
DESIGN STILL
WATER LEVEL
ELEV. 605.3
NATIVE
GRASS
LOW WATER DATUM
ELEV 602.3
Vertical arid Horizontal Scale
3 1.5 0 3 6 9 feet
1 0.5 01 2
"f meters (approx.)
Fig. 11„ Cross-Section of the Rubble Mound Revetment at the Indian Cemetery Site
O
-------
Fig. 12. Rubble Mound Revetment at the Indian Cemetery Site
154
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project was $44,990 and the engineering services cost an additional
$11 5000 In terms of unit cost, this averages to $205 per foot ($673
per meter) of shore front protected.
SUMMARY
Shoreline demonstration projects are under way at Madigan Beach
and Madeline Island, Ashland County, Wisconsin in the red-clay region of
Lake Superior. Although the projects are still in progress, the follow-
ing steps based largely on the field surveys on June 7, 8 and 9, 1976
have been completed:
1. Hydrographic surveys have been completed and hydrographic maps have
been prepared.
2. Computer programs that consist of a hindcasting procedure, based on
the French spectroangular wave model, and a refraction procedure
based on the work of Dobson have been completed to describe the wave
climate at the site.
3. Soil borings have been taken at the sites.
4. Sediment samples have been taken in the near-shore region.
5. Soil and sediment data has been analyzed and preliminary estimates
of the consequences of bluff-recession have been made.
Brief descriptions of the recently installed Longard tubes and rubble
mound revetment complete this preliminary report.
FUTURE PLANS
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Longard tubes at
Madigan Beach, a continuing program of monitoring will be required over
the next several years. At this time plans have been made to repeat the
hydrographic surveys made in 1976 and 1977 and to continue the soil sur-
veys at least once during the summer of 1978. .Based on the data, estimates
will be made of the short-term impact of the Longard tubes on the shore-
line. In particular comparisons of the bathymetry, before and after
installation, will offer information on the buildup of sand in the area
around the tubes. Visual assessments of the ability of the tubes to
withstand wave attack will also be made.
Further study of such important phenomena as recession of the
bluffs, slumping of the bluffs, wave energy and littoral drift will be
continued in 1978.
No plans have been made to monitor the tubes in 1979 since funding
does not extend beyond 1978. If new funds are not forthcoming the
monitoring program will have to be aborted before a meaningful assess-
ment of the tubes can be made. There is little doubt that the tubes,
the bluffs and the area will have to be observed over several years
before the demonstration project can be evaluated completely.
155
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This investigation was accomplished with the financial assistance of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Red Clay Project under
Environmental Protection Agency Grant Number G-005140 01. The writers
wish to thank Mr. Stephen G. Andrews, Director of the Red Clay Project
for his support and encouragement. Furthermore the writers wish to
acknowledge with thanks the contributions made in support of the field
survey by Messrs. J. Shands, T. Sear, J. Schettle and H. Moshagen, the
Marine Studies Center and the Geophysical and Polar Research Center of
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Wilhelm Engineering Company of
Ahsland, Wisconsin. Finally the writers wish to express their gratitude
to Professor T. Green for assisting in the implementation of the spectro-
angular hindcasting procedure.
REFERENCES
1. Armstrong, J. M., 1976. "Low-Cost Shore Protection of the
Great Lakes: A Demonstration/Research Program", Proceedings of the
Fifteenth Coastal Engineering Conference, Vol. Ill, Honolulu,
Hawaii, pp. 2858-2887.
2. Dobson, R. S. 1967. Some Applications of a Digital Computer to
Hydraulic Engineering Problems, Technical Report No. 80, Dept. of
Civil Engr., Stanford Univ.
3. Edil, T. B. 1976. Sediment and Erosion Control in the Red Clay Area
of the Western Lake Superior Basin, A Technical Report submitted to
the Red Clay Project, Phase I, Part 2, Douglas County, Wisconsin.
4. Edil, T. B., J. M. Pezzetta and P. R. Wolf. 1975. Sediment and
Erosion Control in the Red Clay Area of the Western Lake Superior
Basin, A Technical Report submitted to the Red Clay Project, Phase I,
Part 1, Douglas County, Wisconsin.
5. Edil, T. B. and B. J. Haas. 1976. Geotechnical Properties and Slope
Stability of Madigan Beach Bluffs, University of Wisconsin, Soil
Mechanics Laboratory, Technical Report No. 5, Madison, Wisconsin.
6. Gelci, R., H. Cazale and J. Vassal. 1957. The Spectroangular Method
Forecasting Ocean Waves, Ministere des Travaux Publics et des
Transports, Secre. Gen. a 1'Aviat. Civ., Meteorologie Nationale
(Paris). Sect. XXII, piece no. 3, Notice d'Informations Techniques,
1957, translation obtained from the Numerical Weather Facility U.S.
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.
7. Munk, W. H. and R. S. Arthur. 1952. Wave Intensity along a Refracted
Ray, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards
Circular 521, pp. 95-108.
8. Plerson, W. J., Jr., G. Neumann and R. W. James. 1955 (reprinted
1971). Practical Methods for Observing and Forecasting Ocean Waves
by Means of Wave Spectra and Statistics, U.S. Navel Hydrographic
Office Pub. No. 603.
156
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9. Stoll, C. A. 1976. Personal Communication with Warzyn Engineering.
10. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research Center.
1973. Shore Protection Manual, Ft. Belvoir, Va.
-1'
157
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ANSWERS Model, A Financial Savings Procedure
by
L. F. Muggins and D. B. Beasley*
Three general, obvious questions come to mind when exa-
mining the role of mathematical models in non-point pollu-
tion control: 1) are models necessary, 2) why is that so and
3) if the use of a modelCs) is warranted, which one(s)
should be used? The following material can be subdivided
into two broad sections: a philosophical look at the ques-
tion of modeling needs relative to non-point pollution con-
trol planning followed by a brief example application of a
particular model developed for use during implementation
phases of 208 planning.
In order to provide a basis for the subsequent discus-
sion concerning the first two questions enumerated above a
definition of the terminology to be used is in order. One
dictionary defines the word model to mean "a miniature
representation of a thing; something held up before one for
imitation or guidance." This definition can he expanded and
restricted to one which describes an environmental quality
model as:
An explicit set of rules (usually mathematical rela-
tionships) which attempts to quantitatively describe
the behavior of and interaction between groups of en-
vironmental variables.
A general dictionary definition of planning is "to form
a scheme or method for achieving stated goals." However,
some additional requirements must be added when one is con-
cerned with planning for public projects. First, the pro-
cedures followed must be rational, i.e. logically consistent
with the subject area, and they must be explicitly document-
ed for public scrutiny. Secondly, there should be adequate
public participation in formulating desired goals. Third,
there should be thorough documentation of evaluation cri-
teria used to rank alternative plans. Finally, there must
be documented consideration of and selection between alter-
native courses of action. Of these four requirements of
public planning, the third is the one most often avoided by
public officials. This is generally because it involves
consideration of factors which are difficult to quantify
(e.g., aesthetic factors) and is usually controversial.
*Respect?vel y Professor and Assistant Professor of Agricul-
tural Engineering, Purdue University, \]. Lafayette, IN
47907.
158
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Some Philosoohv About Hon-Point Source Modeli p.R
It is the authors' belief that the use of environmental
quality models is not only the best method to accomplish_208
planning/ but that it is the only viable way to proceed in^a
rational manner with this important and complex task. This
conviction is based upon several advantages provided by a
modeling approach to planning. First, a mathematical model
requires an explicit, logically consistent, and thorough de-
finition of the problem in order to achieve reasonable accu-
racy. Second, model implementation, usually a computer pro-
gram, necessitates complete documentation of the analysis
procedure employed. Albeit the documentation produced hy
this process is not always suitable for understanding by the
general public, but at least it is subject to scrutiny by
professional peers (which is usually better than no evalua-
tion). Third, at present, mathematical models represent the
best methodology available for evaluating complex systems.
Few persons would disagree with the premise that non-point
source pollution control demands an analysis of many complex
systems. While currently available environmental quality
modeling techniques may still be in a relatively crude state
of development, they represent the most powerful analytic
planning tool available; furthermore, they can be refined
and improved in an evolutionary manner as our understanding
of physical processes involved increases. Finally, modeling
provides a quantitative and documentable evaluation of the
merit of alternative plans of action. Thus, it can be seen
that the use of models as a planning tool satisfies three of
the four requirements outlined above as being essential to
pub!ic planni ng.
While it is necessary that specific benefits provided
by models be delineated, it is equally important to point
out some planning functions to which models .do not make a
significant contribution. It is of utmost importance to
recognize that models do not set goals, objectives or _en-
vironmental quality standards that we desire. That vital
step is a public responsibility and is accomplished in this
country through the political processes of elections and, in
some instances, public meetings. Likewise, computer models
do not devise a "best" plan for achieving public goals, ob-
jectives or standards.
Any planner that claims the "fault" for an unpopular
goal or recommended plan of action is that of the computer
should be criticized for one of two reasons. Either that
planner doesn't understand what the model being used does
or, more likely, isn't willing to stand the political heat
of defending public policies that do not command overwhelm-
ing support. They try to hide behind a "mystical, all-
knowing" computer. Actually, inadequate recommendations are
the result of either an inadequate model and/or a failure on
the part of the planner to request a model's evaluation of
159
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suitable alternatives. In either case, the entire blame (as
well as the credit for those cases handled well) rests ex-
actly where it should, wi th the responsible model user. The
computer is nothing more than a sophisticated tool to assist
in an objective evaluation of proposed alternatives. It can
provide a quantitative ranking of the merit of only those
alternatives devised by the planner.
While a decision to utilize a model as an integral part
of a 208 planning program may be relatively straightforward,
the task of selecting which model to utilize of the many
currently being developed is neither simple nor non-
critical. While Figure 1 attempts to convey the overall
difficulty, the acronyms depicted therein by no means con-
stitute a comprehensive list of available models. In fact,
the situation is probably best summed up by the philosophi-
cal poster which says, "There are as Many Ways as Desires".
CHNSED
? ANSWERS ^Vl ?
? ^ ? NPS
Figure I. Which model to chose?
How should one sort through this vast number of models
to select a "best" one? While almost all model builders
have special biases for any model they helped develop, most
would concede there is no single "best" 208 model. Specific
models are better than others for certain purposes, but no
single model currently comes close 'to quantifying all
processes encompassed under the umbrella of non-point source
pollution. Furthermore, no single such model is likely to
be forthcoming in the near future.
Despite the wide range of models available, it is pos-
160
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sible to develop some general considerations which should
assist in the task of selecting from among them. ^However,
all considerations to be developed must be viewed in ^terrns
of the intended use of the model. Because it is not
currently feasible to develop a single model which accurate-
ly characterizes all kinds of non-point pollution, models
have been developed which concentrate only on certain types
of problems. It is necessary that one choose from among a
group of models that has been specifically designed for the
subclass of problems of primary concern in a given area. In
some cases this will necessitate the selection of more than
one model Fn order to analyze the range of pollution prob-
lems encountered in a planning region.
At least five general criteria can he identified for
model evaluation and selection: 1) the accuracy and detail
required of the model output, 2) the effectiveness with
which the spatial distribution of pollution sources and
parameters are accounted for, 3) the ability of the model to
characterize storm (event) related phenomenon, U) the cost
of operating the model and 5) the amount and type of data
required. Each of these five criteria merit further ela-
boration.
The first criteria, required accuracy/detail, is, to a
considerable degree, a restatement of the overriding con-
sideration of intended use of the model. However, it^ is
essential to remember that any model is only an approxima-
tion of the real thing. Each model is strongly influenced
by the preconceived notions of its designer concerning the
relative importance of processes the model purports to
characterize. Therefore, a model will often quantify some
processes of non-point pollution very well while simultane-
ously doing others poorly. Likewise, the detail of output
information varies widely, but is often constrained by the
fundamental nature of the model's structure.
Secondly, because we are, by definition, dealing with
problems of pollution which originate from diffuse sources
it is essential that the model(s) selected be able to assess
the influence of the aerial distribution of controlling
parameters and of proposed remedial measures. Furthermore,
it is important to remember that very few physio-chemical
processes important to non-point pollution behave as linear
systems. Therefore, the use of arithmetic averages to
represent an "effective" value for non-uniform conditions is
often only a crude approximation of the influence of the
spatial distribution of interacting factors such as soil
type, topography, and land use.
Third, the majority of non-point pollution problems,
both from agricultural as well as urban areas, are storm in-
duced. Thus, any model designed to evaluate the severity of
such problems or the effectiveness of methods for curing
161
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them should he capable of simulating a watershed's response
to Individual real or hypothetical storms (technically re-
ferred to as event-oriented models). This is not to infer
that a continuous simulation and long-term averages are not
germane. Instead, it is a recognition that a comparatively
large percentage of the pollution, especially that associat-
ed with soil erosion from agricultural areas, results from a
small percentage of the annual precipitation associated with
infrequent, hut intense storms. An accurate assessment of
the impact of proposed treatment practices on these storms
is essential for determining long-term benefits.
A fourth factor to be considered in choosing a ^208
model, and one which requires little additional elaboration,
is operational costs. To a considerable degree one must ex-
pect that operational cost will increase somewhat as the de-
tail of the output provided by a model increases. It is
then the user's responsibility to decide if the additional
information justifies its cost.
The fifth and final criterion listed was the data re-
quirements of any model being considered. Everyone should
certainly be aware that valid information must be supplied
to any model if meaningful results are to be expected. How-
ever, while the statement "garbage in-garba^e out" is a
modeling axiom, it must be pointed out that its converse is
not true. The following statement is a more complete
description of the attitude that should prevail when select-
i ng a model :
The accuracy of any model's prediction is limited by
both the validity of its input data and the adequacy
of the relationships (mathematical) of which it is
composed.
In short: the best of input data cannot compensate for an
inadequately structured or incomplete model. The governing
processes and the relationships incorporated into a model to
simulate those processes have a profound influence upon the
ultimate accuracy with which it can characterize the pur-
ported system.
One additional point needs to be made concerning the
assessment of data requirements of a model. It is easy to
develop a false sense of complacency about a model which re-
quires little parametric data. However, just because a
specific model does not require input data about a variety
of catchment characteristics does not automatically make
those characteristics unimportant to the real system nor
does it relieve the model user of any responsibility. The
philosophy which says "Not to Decide is to Decide" is cer-
tainly relevant to this situation.
Most individuals tend to shy away from models which re-
quire some input values for which they have no published or
measured values. Such an attitude may be very unwise. It
162
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is valid and generally preferable to assume values for miss-
ing data needed by a detailed model than to select a model
which does not "require" such data. Models which do not re-
quire data concerning parameters which influence simulated
processes require acceptance of the model bui Ider 's^pr iorj
assumption that either 1) those parameters are negligible_or
2) they can be accounted for in some simple manner using
internal fixed constants to characterize the process. In
contrast, if hard data for a detailed model is not avail-
able, it is a simple task to utilize the model itself to
evaluate the sensitivity of the output to a feasible range
of values for missing data.
Based on the above statements, our recommendation is to
choose a model on the basis of its inherent relevance to
your needs, put as much effort into assembling a data base
as the application warrants, then assume a range of reason-
able values for any remaining parameters and test how criti-
cal those values are to your results. If the output doesn't
change significantly, any reasonable values assumed are sa-
tisfactory. If the results are very sensitive to the values
some additional effort may be warranted to obtain a firmer
basis for assigning numerical values. Furthermore, if the
latter situation occurs it infers something about alterna-
tive models. Either the detailed model is very inaccurate
about the manner in which it simulates the influence of this
parameter or the simpler model which didn't require such
data is grossly in error by neglecting to require it (or
both).
Of course, because of the complexity of nature, all
models represent only approximations, with widely varying
degrees of fidelity, of the real situation. Each model has
been tailored by the author(s) to be consistent with pre-
conceived notions concerning the relative importance of each
aspect of the overall problem. Thus, any given model may
represent one phase of non-point pollution very well while
simultaneously handling another very poorly. For this rea-
son, as stated earlier, it is essential that the intended
application be kept paramount when choosing a model. In
light of the present state-of-the-art of non-point source
models it is desirable to view the 208 planning process as
at least a two-stage effort. The first stage could be
called an assessment phase and the second stage an implemen-
tation phase.
The assessment phase of 208 planning is the one
currently underway. It is primarily an inventory phase
wherein we are trying to identify the problems and assess
their relative importance. The primary factor which compli-
cates non-point pollution identification and control is the
dispersed nature of its sources. Because of the vast spa-
tial extent of these problems it is essential that we estab-
lish priorities concerning how to attack them. For this
163
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phase of the 208 planning process/ relatively crude models
are the most appropriate. They should be aimed at ranking
the severity of problems associated with regions, e.g. coun-
ty sized units, of a state.
As the assessment phase of 208 planning is completed we
will move into an implementation stage in which site-
specffic plans must he formulated, evaluated and selected.
This is the point at which public monies must he committed
to implement control measures. The modeling demands for
this phase are more stringent and require a more detailed
data base than a suitable assessment model.
An Exarnpl e of 1 mpl ementa t i on Model i n.g
The material which follows is intended to give a brief
introduction to potential payoffs available from a specific,
detailed watershed model designed for use during implementa-
tion phases of 208 planning for an agricultural area. In
its current stage of development, eroded soil is the only
pollutant which is directly predicted. Concentrations of
other pollutants which are closely associated with soil
loss, e.g. phosphorus and cadmium, must be predicted by
correlation relations subsequent to obtaining soil loss
predictions. The intention of this discussion is to concen-
trate on the type of results available and their relevance
as a planning tool. A detailed discussion of model concepts
and the functional relations it incorporates is available
elsewhere, Morrison (1977).
In order to provide a background to discuss model pred-
ictions it is necessary to give a brief overview of the
model structure. The model acronym, ANSWERS, comes from
Area! Non-point Source Watershed Environment Response Simu-
lation. The model was developed as a part of the Black
Creek Project sponsored by Region V, U. S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Section 108.
ANSWERS is a distributed parameter model in contrast to
the much more common lumped parameter models. The distinc-
tion between these two fundamental model types concerns the
computational manner in which they attempt to account for
the spatial distribution of controlling watershed parame-
ters. Lumped parameter models use a weighted averaging pro-
cedure to obtain effective coefficient values for an entire
watershed whereas distributed models utilize an expanded
data base which describes the actual distribution of these
parameters and then simulates conditions throughout the in-
terior of the catchment. At the risk of oyer-
simplification, the distributed approach attempts to achieve
greater simulation accuracy at the expense of increased com-
putational effort.
For computational purposes, a watershed to be simulated
164
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by the ANSWERS model must first be subdivided into a grid of
small/ square elements as shown in Figure 2. The size of an
element should be chosen so that all significant variables
within its boundaries are approximately uniform (a range of
1 to k ha is currently recommended). General mathematical
relations are incorporated into the model to describe all
relevant physical processes such as infiltration, surface
flow/ soil detachment/ etc. When combined with the data
base describing a watershed's physical attributes such as
soil type/ topography and vegetal cover/ these relations
simulate the behavior of all significant physical processes
occurring within each element's boundaries. Individual ele-
ments interact with one another to generate a response for
the entire watershed.
Figure 2. Watershed gridded for ANSWERS simulation.
The actual characterization of an element's behavior
begins with antecedent condition data and a rainfall input.
Some incoming rainfall is first used to satisfy interception
demands of the vegetal canopy. Rainfall in excess of the
interception rate becomes available for infiltration and
surface retention. Water in excess of surface retention be-
comes available for overland flow and surface detention.
Overland flow from one element serves as an addition source
165
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of supply for adjacent elements and flows both over the sur-
face and into any defined channel system. Soil erosion is
treated as a process caused hy two agents: rainfall and
flowing water. Once soil is detached it becomes available
for transport by flowing watetr. Soil which moves into an
adjacent element is either transported by water flow in that
element or is deposited depending upon prevailing flow velo-
cities (which are based on surface and channel slopes of the
element). The equatfon of continuity is used as the funda-
mental governing relationship which makes the collection of
individual elements act as a composite catchment.
An understanding of the applicability of a model such
as ANSWERS to 208 implementation planning can best be illus-
trated with, an example. The example is based on simulating
the response of a 7Ik ha subcatchment of the Black Creek
Watershed when subjected to a gaged natural storm in 1975.
Figure 3a corresponds to ANSWERS' prediction of sediment de-
tached throughout the catchment during that storrn. The
"contour" Ifnes were created by connecting points with equal
soil detachment. Thus, areas with closely spaced lines
correspond to regions of intense erosion activity. Measure-
ments are not available to directly determine the accuracy
of these predictions; however, the overall transport
predicted by the model at the watershed outlet can be com-
pared with measured results. The detachment patterns shown
in Figure 3a resulted from a simulation which predicted the
total storm discharge from a 64 mm event to within 9 percent
of the gaged amount CIS mm) and predicted the total sediment
yield within 13 percent of the observed amount (32000 kg).
Figures 3b and 3c represent simulation results which
analyze the relative benefits of two widely differing poten-
tial methods of reducing sediment yield and its associated
pollution. Figure 3b corresponds to the ANSWERS evaluation
of the effect of changing the prevailing tillage practice in
this watershed (fall moldboard plowing) to chisel plowing.
The predicted sediment yield is less than 1/3 of the gaged
amount.
While the erosion control effectiveness of a specific
change in tillage management for the entire catchment was
indicated Fn Figure 3b/ its cost effectiveness and unfore-
seen long-term consequences (such as weed and pest problems)
often make such measures of questionable wisdom. However, a
closer examination of the detailed information on sources of
erosion presented in Figure 3a resulted in an evaluation of
a different control strategy. That map indicated (by the
density of adjacent lines) high detachment rates in two
small regfons of the catchment. Figure 3c is the result of
a simulation which evaluated the effect of changing to
chisel plowing on only the 32 ha of the watershed which were
experiencing very high erosion (shown as the two small rec-
tangular areas set off by dashed lines in Figure 3c). [ri-
166
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Contours indicate kq/ha.
Management Practice - ?
Contours indicate kij/ha.
Practice -• 1
Q . nJ"1 !?1 ^e?1ment L05S- ^torm of
w • Upper Black Creek Watershed
i. Local Net Sedinent Loss. Storrc of 6/23/75
Upper Black Creek kutershed
c.
Figure 3. Simulated soil erosion for alternative land
treatment strategies.
-------
tegration of the outflow hydrographs indicated that changing
the tillage on only these two small areas would achieve kQ
percent of the sediment yield reduction that would result
from changing the tillage management of the entire
watershed.
Of course, many other possible methods of control which
might be even more effective than a change in tillage
management could be evaluated. These alternative strategies
can often be developed on basis of detailed results from an
initial simulation by a comprehensive model. It is this
ability to be very site-specific concerning implementation
plans and to quantitatively demonstrate overall effects of
hypothetical control measures on water quality conditions
throughout a watershed that makes a distributed parameter
model such an effective non-point pollution planning tool.
Summary and Cone!us i ons
The relative merits of and a recommended role for
comprehensive watershed models in planning non-point pollu-
tion control programs have been delineated. A philosophic
overview of non-point modeling was given. Criteria were
developed to guide planners in the difficult process of
selecting between alternative models.
[t was concluded that the intended application of a
model was a paramount factor to keep in mind when choosing a
model to be used for non-point pollution control planning.
It was recommended that 208 planning be viewed as a two-
phase process and that different models were appropriate for
each phase.
A brief example of how to utilize a particular distri-
buted parameter model during the implementation phases of
208 planning was presented. This example clearly demon-
strated the importance of pursuing implementation planning
with a highly site-specific approach. The relative pollu-
tion control benefits of a given treatment often vary great-
ly depending upon the exact location on which they are ap-
plied. Because of the widespread distribution of sources of
non-point pollution, any attempts to apply control measures
on an "all-inclusive" basis will likely result in prohibi-
tive costs. While a highly selective approach requires a
more comprehensive modeling analysis, the potential finan-
cial benefits of such an approach are well worth the re-
quired effort. indeed, it is likely that a site-specific
program with carefully ranked priorities is to only viable
manner to achieve a successful national 208 program.
REFERENCES
Morrison, J., ed. 1977. Environmental Impact of Land Use
168
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on Water QualFty--Final Report on the Black Creek
Project-Technical Report. EPA-905/y-77-007-R. Region V,
USEPA, Chicago, IL. pp. 177-203.
169
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SEDIMENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MAUMEE RIVER.
WHAT LEVEL OF SEDIMENT CONTROL IS FEASIBLE?
by
E. J. Monke and R. Z. Wheaton
The Maumee River delivers about 500 kg/ha (approximately 1/4 ton/acre)
of suspended sediments annually into Lake Erie (1,2). This sediment, by
also transporting attached chemicals, may be contributing to the eutrophica-
tion process in Lake Erie. Most of the sediment is produced as soil erosion
on the farms of the largely agricultural Maumee Basin. While sediment rates
such as this would seem to indicate that the overall agricultural productivity
of the basin is not materially affected, there is some evidence that it has
not kept pace with surrounding areas (3).
The Black Creek Watershed was chosen as a representative watershed to
help us predict the magnitude and sources of sediment and to demonstrate
erosion control for the entire Maumee Basin. It is important then to note
differences between the Black Creek Watershed and other parts of the basin.
The soils in the Maumee Basin can in general be classified as glacial
till soils, beach ridge associated soils and lake plain associated soils.
In the Black Creek Watershed, the area occupied by these soils are 36, 30,
and 34 pe
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subjected to coverage by intense, con vective- type storms which occur in the
spring and early summer while the response of the basin is highest from
basin-wide, frontal storms which occur in the winter and early spring.
However, even with predictive limitations, the Black Creek Project has
been particularly successful in evaluating the amounts of sediment loss
likely to occur from agricultural lands in the Maumee Basin, in determining
the chemical transport capacity by sediments, in identifying best management
practices for water quality control, and in developing a modeling tool for
equating the relationship between soil erosion and sedimentation and for
selecting cost-effective best management practices. These items will be
expanded further in this paper.
SEDIMENT LOSS
Two major drainage areas in the Black Creek Watershed were studied
intensively. One drainage area, that for the Dreisbach, is located along
the western boundary of the watershed and the other drainage area, that for
the Smith-Fry Drain is located along the eastern boundary of the watershed.
Some characteristics of these drainage areas and for the Black Creek Water-
shed are given in Table 1. These two drainage areas, of comparable size,
have the greatest differences in soils, topography and land use of the
major drainage areas in the watershed. Also note that the characteristics
of the drainage area for the Smith-Fry Drain are very similar to the charac-
teristics for the Black Creek Watershed.
Characteristic
Dreisbach
Drain
Smith-Fry
Drain
Black Creek
Watershed
Drainage area 714 ha
Soil groups:
Lake plain & beach
ridge 26%
Glacial till 74%
Land use:
Row crops 35%
Small grain & pasture 48%
Woods 5%
Urban, roads, etc. 12%
Number of homes 143
942 ha
71%
29%
63%
26%
8%
3%
28
4950 ha
64%
36%
58%
31%
6%
5%
Sediment and also nutrient yields from the drainage areas were deter-
mined by integrating concentrations with flow rates. The results of these
measurements are shown in Table 2 for the years 1975 and 1976. (Data for
1977 are not fully analyzed but data for the first six months of 1977
indicate results between those for 1975 and 1976.) Precipitation for 1975
was about 20 percent above normal and for 1976 it was about 20percent below
normal. Fortunately, these two years represent about as wide a variation
in precipitation amounts and patterns as will likely occur over a more
lengthy period of record. In 1975, treatment practices were just beginning
to be installed and in 1976, the effectiveness of the installed practices
was not fully realized because of the low amount of precipitation.
171
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Parameter
Rainfall
Runoff
Sediment
Total N
Total P
Year
1975
1976
1975
1976
1975
1976
1975
1976
1975
1976
Dr eisbach
Drain
112 cm
70 cm
26.0 cm
10.1 cm
3470 kg/ha
380 kg/ha
44.1 kg/ha
6.6 kg/ha
5.0 kg/ha
1.0 kg/ha
Smith-Fry
Drain
112 cm
70 cm
29.1 cm
12.4 cm
2130 kg/ha
640 kg/ha
53.2 kg/ha
10.3 kg/ha
5.4 kg/ha
1.1 kg/ha
Black Creek
Watershed
112 cm
70 cm
27.5 cm
11.2 cm
2370 kg /ha
530 kg/ha
48.7 kg/ha
8.6 kg/ha
5.2 kg/ha
1.1 kg/ha
Nutrient yields are given because of the great effect of rainfall,
runoff and subsequent sediment loss on nutrient yields. For example, the
40 percent reduction in rainfall from 1975 to 1976 resulted in a 60 per-
cent reduction in runoff, around a 400 percent reduction in sediment loss,
and around a 500 percent reduction in total nitrogen and phosphorus yields.
Clearly the effects of excess rainfall are magnified in turn by increasing
losses of water, sediments and nutrients from a drainage area.
Runoff and sediment yields from the drainage areas of the two drains
also present an interesting comparison. Discharge from the Smith-Fry
Drain was greater than that for the Dreisbach Drain in both years. Al-
though the drainage area for the Smith-Fry Drain is more level than the
drainage area for the Dreisbach Drain, it also has better subsurface
drainage and greater interflow through the ditch banks. As shown by hydro-
graphs, base flow in the Smith-Fry Drain always was sustained for longer
periods of time than in the Dreisbach Drain.
In 1975, the year with the above normal rainfall, the sediment yield
from the Dreisbach Drain was about twice that from the Smith-Fry Drain.
However, in 1976, the reverse was true although the yields were greatly
reduced. The better land use including the installation of more conser-
vation practices was apparently sufficient to retard runoff and subsequent
erosion more in the drainage area of the. Dreisbach Drain during a relatively
dry year than in the more intensively cultivated drainage area of the
Smith-Fry Drain. This reflects the natural sequence of rainfall-runoff
events because rainfall must first satisfy the storage capacities of the
soil and land surface before runoff begins. A land area with good land
use will normally provide more storage capacity than a similar land area
with poor land use. However, the storage capabilities of soil and land
surfaces are definitely limited, and so with excess rainfall, runoff is
soon affected more by land slope. As would be expected then, in years
with above normal precipitation, the more sloping drainage area of the
Dreisbach Drain will be more erosive and yield more sediment than the
more level drainage area of the Smith-Fry Drain.
Our results which are given in detail in the Final Report on the
Black Creek Project (6) also show that between 73 and 86 percent of the
total sediment yield from both drainage areas was caused by large storm
events. A large storm event was arbitrarily defined as any storm which
172
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caused more than 2.5 cm (1 inch) runoff from an entire drainage area. In
1975, there were three such events and in 1976, the relatively dry year,
two such events.
Our results also show that in normal rainfall years over 97 percent
of the sediment loss is likely to originate from land surfaces. Since
only about five percent of this at most is estimated to have occurred
from ditch bank sluffing and channel scouring, erosion mostly from cul-
tivated fields causes the large bulk of sediment loss from the Black Creek
Watershed.
Tile systems only contribute between one and two percent of the total
sediment yield from the Black Creek Watershed. This was also true for a
43-acre tile drainage system on Hoytville silty clay located a few miles
south of the Black Creek Watershed (7). On the other hand, Schwab et al.
(4) measured average annual sediment losses of 2360 kg/ha from tile drained
plots where the only drainage provided was through tile drains as compared
to 3690 kg/ha for surface drainage only. The plots were in a predominately
Toledo silty clay lakebed soil. However, in another lakebed soil, Paulding
clay while sediment concentrations in seepage into tile drains were high,
yields were nevertheless low because soil permeabilities were also low
(5). Research is obviously still needed to determine the extent of the
problem and also to determine the causative factors for high sediment
losses from some tile drains in the Maumee Basin.
NUTRIENT YIELD
The constituent forms of nitrogen and phosphorus available in runoff
from the Dreisbach and Smith-Fry drains are given in Tables 3 and 4.
Normally over 90 percent of the total phosphorus transported from the Black
Creek Watershed is attached and moved by sediment particles. However,
in 1976, a fairly high percentage of the phosphorus was transported as
soluble inorganic phosphorus. This was especially true for the Dreisbach
Drain because of the large number of outfalls which delivered septic tank
effluent into the drain. Septic tank effluent is also relatively constant
from year to year and so its influence is greatest in dry years. With
nitrogen, only about 40 to 60 percent of the total nitrogen is attached
and moved by sediment particles.
iaD-Le j. rtiLct:
Drain
Dreisbach
Smith-Fry
Year
1975
1976
1975
1976
NH+ -N
4.1
12.9
2.8
5.8
N03 -N
27.2
36.5
35.7
53.4
Sol Org N
5.2
8.1
3.2
3.0
Sed N '
63.5
42.5
58.3
37.8
-*===========
173
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Table_4_.___Percent_of_Phosghorus_Forms_TransDort§d
Drain Year Sol Inorg P Sol Org P Sed P
Dreisbach
Smith-Fry
1975
1976
1975
1976
6.9
19.0
2.6
5.9
2.4
4.2
1.8
3.2
90.7
76.8
95.6
90.9
In the Maumee Basin, chemical transport by sediments is likely because
of the large amount of colloidal-clay particles in the runoff which offer
large relative surfaces for attachment of chemicals. We have concluded
that we can reasonably predict the phosphorus yield from an agricultural
watershed from the sediment yield. With nitrogen, there are more complex-
ities. We have noted a poorer correlation between total phosphorus and
amounts of sediments in the Maumee River as compared to Black Creek. Part
of the reason may be the higher input into the Maumee River of soluble
inorganic phosphorus by industries and municipalities. The constitutive
forms of phosphorus could well give us additional information regarding the
source of phosphorus in rivers or other bodies of water.
During the erosion-sedimentation process, separation and segregation
of primary soil particles takes place continually from the interrill areas
which are mostly impacted by raindrops to streams where the major force
involved is due to flow. Materials which are most easily transported are
the colloidal clays or organic fractions with relatively low densities.
These soils materials characteristically have large amounts of attached
nutrients per unit weight of the soil. This increased amount of nutrients
over the same weight of original soil before the soil is eroded is known
as enrichment. The enrichment factor is likely also to be higher with
erosion from a well fertilized soil with good tilth but the total amount of
nutrients lost will usually be less than from a poorer soil because of
its resistance to the erosion process (8). Average yearly concentrations
of total nitrogen and phosphorus which were attached to suspended sediments
are shown in Table 5. Also shown are the average concentrations of these
nutrients on in situ soils in the Black Creek Watershed and an enrichment
ratio giving the relationship between the nutrient concentrations on the
sediments and in the relatively undisturbed soil mass.
Table 5. Average Yearly Concentrations of Total Nitrogen and Phosphorus
__________Attached_to_Soils_and_Sedimentsi_j;975=76i
Soil or Total N Enrichment Total P Enrichment
Sediment (yg/g) ratio (yg/g) ratio
Watershed soils 1760 680
Sediment:
Stream 8900 5.1 1800 2.6
Tile drains 3600 2.0 950 1.4
Septic tank 24000 19000
Surface runoff 8800 5.0 1600 2.4
174
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BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
In the Black Creek Watershed, the obvious sources of sediment—ditch
bank sluffing, channel scouring, and gullies at the upper ends of most of
the drains—were treated first. These problem areas were highly visible
and acted more like "point" sources within the generally classified
nonpoint source watershed. Treatment consisted of shaping, seeding and
sometimes armoring the ditch banks, installing grade stabilization struc-
tures in the channels, and establishing grassed waterways at the upper
ends of the drains.
While the professional opinion was that these practices would not
by themselves do much to correct the erosion-sedimentation problem in
the watershed, this was not the opinion of the landowners. We have
concluded that a certain amount of this type of work will be required
in most 208 watersheds. And properly so because aesthetic considerations
are part of the solution to any pollution problem.
Field and ditch border strips were a practice which was accepted
fairly well by the farmers in the Black Creek Watershed. The primary
benefit of the border strips is to protect critical areas often near
ditches and roads from eroding. However, their function as filter
media has been grossly exaggerated. For the most part they are not parts
of channels and, if they are, flow is often so concentrated across them
that they become ineffective as filters. To be effective, overland flow
should be more-or-less evenly distributed across them such as with the
grass or small grain strips in a contour strip-cropping scheme.
A type of parallel, tile-outlet terrace was accepted much more
readily by farmers in the watershed than previously expected. However,
terraces allow a farmer to intensively farm his sloping fields which is
something he would like to do anyway. Although the effectiveness of PTO
terrace systems in the watershed have not been evaluated, trap efficiencies
as high as 95 percent have been reported elsewhere (9).
Although the border strips, PTO terrace systems, and grassed water-
ways do cover part of the land area which is contributing to more than 92
percent of the sediment from the watershed, they protect only a small
fraction of this land area. Most of this land area, if cultivated, could
be protected by altering tillage methods. However, minimum tillage has
been accepted slowly because of the cool climate and the rather tight,
poorly drained soils with which most of the farmers have to contend.
Fall turn-plowing is also practiced for mostly the same reasons, although
chisel-plowing which leaves some residue on the surface is gaining some
acceptance.
SEDIMENT REDUCTION
The objective of the Black Creek Project was to demonstrate methods
for reducing the amount of sediment and associated chemicals from agricul-
tural lands into the Maumee River and eventually into Lake Erie. An
oft-stated goal was a reduction of 50 percent. We believe this to be
possible but not without more minimum tillage and residue management on
some of the more sloping cultivated fields in the Maumee Basin.
175
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Two years of record for the Black Creek Watershed, during which
practices were being installed, are obviously insufficient to reliably
predict the effect of these practices on sediment reduction. However,
we estimated that about a 20 percent reduction has been accomplished by
channel improvements, grassed waterways, border strips, PTO terraces,
and the modest amount of minimum tillage introduced into the watershed.
We arrived at the 50 percent reduction figure by taking advantage of
a watershed simmulation model by the acronym, ANSWERS (10). This model
takes into account the areal differences in soils and topography and is
based on soil erosion data gathered previously on the watershed and else-
where. With ANSWERS we can play "what if" games and from this form
strategies for reducing erosion in a cost-effective manner.
Results from this model described in more detail in this publication
(11) show for a late spring storm that sediment losses from the 714 ha
(1780 acres) drainage area of the Dreisbach Drain could have been reduced
by one-third by just chisel plowing 32 ha (80 acres) which were actually
fall turn-plowed.
This is only the result for one storm but it clearly demonstrates
that sediment loss can be significantly reduced by controlling erosion
on critical land areas. Some form of minimum tillage operation will be
required in the Maumee Basin along with the practices which found accept-
ance in the Black Creek Watershed to reduce sediment loss to the 50 per-
cent level, but minimum tillage need not be spread over large areas if
the critical areas are treated. ANSWERS provides a planning tool for
identifying these areas.
DISCUSSION
The Black Creek Project was initiated to demonstrate the effect of
land use on water quality. Improved water quality is a desirable goal
but equally important to the nation is the conservation of our soil
resource.
Unfortunately, there is every indication that erosion of cropland has
become more serious in the past several years. In the 1975 National
Water Assessment, Soil Conservation Service officials have estimated
that water erosion is washing away soils on the nation's cropland at
an average annual rate of 20 t/ha (9 tons/ac) nearly twice the rate
considered acceptable by soil conservationists (12). Luther Carter also
stated in Science that despite the $15 billion spent on soil conserva-
tion since the mid-1930's, soil erosion remains one of the biggest, most
pervasive environmental problems facing the nation (13). In a CAST
report which was submitted to Congress conclusions reached were that
one-third of all cropland in the United States was suffering soil losses
too great to be sustained without a gradual, but ultimately disastrous
decline in productivity and that we are also less effective today in
controlling erosion than 15 years ago (14).
Most best management practices for reducing sediment loads into
our water resources are also effective practices for controlling erosion
on our soil resources as well. This is a fortunate circumstance and should
be utilized to its fullest potential.
176
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SUMMARY
Sediment and sediment-borne chemicals have been measured in a con-
tinuous fashion from the Black Creek Watershed. Sediments loads are highly
variable reflecting the variability of storm events causing sediment-
producing erosion. About 90 percent of the phosphorus which was discharged
from the watershed was transported by sediments. Between 40 and 60 percent
of the nitrogen was transported by sediments. A significant reduction of
sediment into the Maumee River depends on the application of minimum tillage
practices to critical land areas. A simulation model called ANSWERS could
become a valuable planning tool for finding cost-effective measures for
reducing sediment production in the Maumee Basin.
REFERENCES
1. Geological Survey. 1971. Water Resources Data for Ohio. Part 1.
Surface Water Records. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Washington, B.C.
223 p.
2. Monke, E.J., D.B. Beasley and A.B. Bottcher. 1975. Sediment contri-
butions to the Maumee River. EPA-905/9-75-007, Proc. Non-Point Source
Pollution Seminar, Region V, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Chicago, IL. pp. 71-85.
3. Division of Water. 1960. Water Inventory of the Maumee River Basin.
Report No. 11, Dept. of Natural Resources, The State of Ohio,
Columbus, OH. 112 p.
4. Schwab, G.O., B.H. Nolte and R.D. Brehm. 1977. Sediments from drain-
age systems for clay soils. Trans. Am. Soc. Agr. Engrs. 20(5):
866-868,872.
5. Logan, T.J. 1976. Semi-Annual Report: Maumee River Watershed Study.
Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State Univ.,
Wooster, OH. 51 p.
6. Lake, J. (Project Director) and J. Morrison (Project Editor). 1977.
Environmental Impact of Land Use on Water Quality. Final Report on
the Black Creek Project - Technical Report. EPA-905/9-77-007-B,
Region V, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago, IL. pp.
252-271.
7. Bottcher, A.B. 1978. Simulation of a Tile Drainage System with
Associated Sediment Transport. Ph.D. Thesis, Purdue Univ. Library,
W. Lafayette, IN. 137 p.
8. Monke, E.J., H.J. Marelli, L.D. Meyer, and J.F. DeJong. 1977. Runoff,
erosion and nutrient movement from interrill areas. Trans. Am. Soc.
Agr. Engrs. 20(1): 58-61.
9. Laflen, J.M., H.P. Johnson and R.C. Reeve. 1972. Soil losses from
tile outlet terraces. Jour. Soil and Water Cons. 27(2): 74-77.
10. Beasley, D.B. 1977. ANSWERS: A Mathematical Model for Simulating
the Effects of Land Use and Management on Water Quality. Ph.D.
Thesis, Purdue Univ. Library, W. Lafayette, IN. 266 p.
177
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11. Huggins, L.F. and D.B. Beasley. 1978. ANSWERS Model, A Financial
Savings Procedure. In this publication, Proc. Voluntary and Regula^-
tory Approaches for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Region "V, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago, IL.
12. 1975 National Water Assessment. U.S. Water Resources Council,
Washington, DC.
13. Carter, L.J. 1977. Soil erosion: The problem persists despite
the billions spent on it. April 1977 issue, Science, pp. 409-411.
14. Task Force on Land Use and Protection. 1975. Land Resource, Use
and Protection. Report No. 38, Council for Agricultural Science
and Technology, Dept. of Agronomy, Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA.
178
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ALGAL AVAILABILITY OF SOLUBLE AND SEDIMENT
PHOSPHORUS IN DRAINAGE WATER OF THE
BLACK CREEK WATERSHED
by
R. A. Dorich and D. W. Nelson*
Phosphorus (P) has been shown to be the nutrient most limiting
algal growth in surface waters of the Great Lakes Region of the United
States. Furthermore, addition of P to many bodies of water in this
region induces accelerated growth of aquatic organisms and ultimately
results in an algal bloom and nuisance weed accumulation. Following
the death of these photosynthetic organisms, degradation of the cells
by aerobic bacteria leads to rapid depletion of dissolved oxygen in a
portion or all of the water column in the lake and numerous water
quality problems result. Development of anaerobic conditions in a
lake system is a key characteristic of an advanced state of eutrophica-
tion.
The death of photosynthetic organisms and subsequent aerobic
breakdown of dead biomass was the major cause of oxygen depletion in
over 6600 square kilometers of the hypolimnion of the central basin of
Lake Erie in 1970. The excessive algal growth in Lake Erie was assumed
to result from high P loadings to the lake from municipalities, indus-
tries, and nonpoint sources. Therefore, P input into Lake Erie has
received considerable attention in recent years. Although point source dis-
*Research Assistant and Professor of Agronomy, respectively,
Purdue University, LaFayette, Indiana, Black Creek Project
Investigators
179
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charges were identified as major contributors of pollutants to Lake
Erie, agricultural activities in the Maumee River Basin were suggested
as a major contributor of sediment and related pollutants to Lake Erie.
In response, a cooperative project involving the Allen County (Indiana)
Soil and Water Conservation District, the Soil Conservation Service
and Purdue University was initiated (funded by a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Demonstration Grant) to assess the role of agricul-
ture in pollution of the Maumee River and to evaluate management
alternatives in crop production to minimize impacts on water quality.
The Black Creek Drainage Basin, Allen County, Indiana was used as
a test watershed for the project because it is typical of small
subwatersheds along the Maumee River. Chemical measurements of
P loading can be used to indicate the quantities of P transported
from soil to water systems. However, the majority of P deposited
in waters is sediment bound. In order to effectively quantitate
the impact of P input on the water quality of the Maumee River (and
ultimately to Lake Erie), the proportion of total P transported
which is available to algae must be determined. Therefore, the ob-
jectives of this study were:(i) to determine the quantities and pro-
portions of soluble and sediment-bound P which were available to algae
and (ii) to determine the availability of sediment-bound P fractions
to algae.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
PAAP Bottle Test for the Algal Availability of Soluble Phosphorus
Four-liter water samples were obtained following rainfall events
on March 28 and June 30, 1977 from seven sites (Figure 1) within the
Black Creek Watershed, Allen County, Indiana. Following centrifugation
180
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•LMK CNCtK STUDY AMCA
ALLCN COUNTY. MOUNA
MAUMCC HIVE* BASIN
WORK LOCATION MAP
•UIH COUNTY SOIL I WATCR CONSERVATION OOTRICT
IN COOPERATION WITH
CNVMONHCNTAL PROTECTION AOCNCY
PUROUe UMVCRSITY
USOA SOIL CONSf RVATION SCRVICC
APPRO«IMAT£
SCALE IN MILES
75-r
Figure 1. Water sampling sites within the Black Creek Watershed,
Allen County, Indiana.
181
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to separate the sediment from the water, water samples were filtered
through a 0.45 urn mean-pore diameter Millipore filter. Tne method
used in determining the quantity of soluble inorganic phosphorus (SIP)
available to algae was a modification of the Provisional Algal Assay
Procedure Bottle Test (PAAP) (US EPA, 1971) . The PAAP method is based
on Liebig's Law of the Minimum, i.e., "growth is limited by the sub-
stance that is in minimal quantity in respect to the needs of the
organism". When all the growth requirements of an organism are
met with the exception of one nutrient, the organisms potential for
growth is controlled by the limiting nutrient. Therefore, the effect
of a nutrient's concentration can be assessed by supplying a nutrient
in varying concentrations to an organism given all other growth
requirements and evaluating the growth response of the organism. The
quantity of available P in the Black Creek Water sample was calculated
by comparing the population of a selected alga(Selanastruro capri-
cornutum), grown for 4 days in a water sample to a standard curve
(algal population plotted against the concentration of soluble P)
generated by growth of S_._ capricornutum in PAAP nutrient medium
containing known levels of P (ranging from 0.0 to 0.20 yg P/l).
Furthermore, by adding a specific nutrient directly to water samples
(a nutrient spike) under study and quantifying the growth response of
S. capricornutum , a comparison to the assay organism's growth in
unamended samples can be made. A response in the organising's growth
in water samples spiked with a nutrient over that of the organism
grown in the unamended water sample indicates that the specific
nutrient was deficient in the sample in respect to the needs of the
organism. To determine the nutrient limiting algal growth in water
182
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samples, phosphorus (0.1 mg P/l) and micronutrients (complete range
used in PAAP medium) were added to separate aliquots of all samples
and the effect of the added nutrients on the growth of S. capricornutum
determined.
Algal Availability of Sediment-bound Phosphorus
Sediment collected by centrifugation of each water sample was re-
suspended in deionized water, diluted to 50 ml to create a sediment
suspension concentrate, and sterilized by exposure to 4 megarads of
gamma radiation. Aliquots of the sterilized sediment suspension
concentrates were used to prepare the sediment-algal cell mixtures
for incubation. An attempt was made to add a constant quantity
(37.2 yg of total P per flask) of sediment-bound P to 250 ml flasks
containing 60 ml of PAAP minus P medium. After a two week incubation at
26-1 C and 4300 lux (fluorescent light), the entire contents of each flask
were analyzed for P components.
The method used to determine the quantity and fractions (NH.F, NaOH or
HCl-extractable) of sediment-bound P available to algae was a modification
of a method developed by Sagher and Harris (1975). The Sagher and
Harris method consists basically of a two-part test system: (i) a
sediment-algal incubation (in PAAP minus P medium) to assess the quantity
of available sediment P by following changes over a 4 week period in
the amounts sediment P sequentially extracted with NH.F (0.5 N, pH 7),
H
NaOH (Ijfl ) and (ii) a sediment-free algal incubation in PAAP medium
(containing 0.2 mg P/l which corresponds to partial availability of
sediment P in sediment-algal incubations) to assess the extractability
of algal P by the same sequential NH.F, NaOH and HC1 procedure. Because
part of the phosphorus extracted from the sediment-algal mixture originated
183
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from algal cells, the results of extractions of the sediment-free
incubation were used to correct values obtained from the extraction
of the sediment-algal incubations.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Algal Availability of Soluble Phosphorus
(Selanastrum capricornutum exhibited a typical sigmoid growth rate
at medium and high levels of P (0,05, 0.075, 0.1 and 0.2 mg P/l) in the
growth medium. Figure 2 illustrates the growth rate of S. capricornutum
in medium containing 0.1 mg P/l. At the 0.015 mg/1 concentration of P,
the algal growth rate curve overall was flatter and the portion normally
labelled as "logrithmic" was much less steep than those of higher P levels.
The stationary phase of growth was initiated after 96 hrs of incubation for
all treatments, but occurred at lower cell densities for each decrease in
P concentration.
Figure 3 shows the relationship between cell density after 96 hours
and initial P concentration of the PAAP medium. The cell density
remained relatively constant at P concentrations greater than 0.1 mg/1.
A similar growth response has been observed by other investigators who
have shown maximum algal growth at a P concentration of 0,075 mg/1
(Fitzgerald and Uttormark, 1974). This level (0.1 mg/1) represents the
P concentration at which cells were apparently fulfilled in their need for
P for the rate at which they were growing in these incubations. This
leveling of algal growth at P concentration above 0.1 mg/1 may be looked
upon in this experimental system as the critical level of P or that level of
available P at which nearly maximum cell production takes place. Further-
more, data observed throughout this study indicates that S. capricornutum
184
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6.5
O)
CK
Z)
Q
X
«
o
UJ
u.
o
CD
O
6. 1 .
5.7,
5.3,
4.9.
4.5
0
35 70 105 140
INCUBRTION TIME [HOURS)
Figure 2. Growth curve of S. caprlcornutum in PAAP medium
(0.1 mg P/l).
185
-------
CO
LU
CJ
•
O
UJ
O
u.
O
CD
O
_J
5.1
4.8
.05 .1 .15 .2
MG P/L IN REFERENCE MEDIUM
Figure 3 . The effect of initial phosphorous concentration on cell
numbers of S_. capricornutum after a four day incubation
1n PAAP medium- Bars represent the standard deviation
of the mean.
186
-------
did not respond when incubated for four days in PAAP medium containing
0.005 mg P/l. The lack of response at the P level of 0.005 mg/1 and positive
response at 0.015 mg/1 suggests that the lower threshold of sensitivity of
of the alga for P lies between 0.005 and 0.015 P/l.
Table 1 provides data on the amounts of available P in water samples
determined by the algal bioassay procedure (Figure 3) in unamended and
spiked water samples. The available P levels in the March and June samples
averaged 0.096 (range was 0.076 to 0.128 mg/1) and 0.031 mg/1 (range was
0.012 to 0.052 mg/1), respectively. The available P as quantitated by
bioassay never exceeded the soluble inorganic P (SIP) or total soluble P
levels in unamended water samples obtained in March and June. Fitzgerald
and Uttormark (1974) found that creek water often contains P compounds which
are included in chemical determinations as soluble phosphorus, but which
are not biologically available.
On the average, P addition did not affect the amounts of algal available
P present in the March or June samples. One sample (Site 3) taken in March
exhibited a decrease in available P as a result of P addition. Hutchinson
(1957) previously has shown inhibition in algal growth upon amendment of
water samples with P. In contrast, two P-amended June samples (Sites 3 and
6) contained higher amounts of available P as compared to the unamended
samples indicating that growth of S. capricornutum in these samples was limited
to an extent by low available P concentrations. In one sample (Site 6),
the amount of available P found after P addition was nearly equal to the 0.1
mg/1 critical level suggesting that P was the major factor limiting growth.
The addition of P to June samples from Site 3 resulted in slightly increased P
availability; however, the response was much less than that expected if growth
was only limited by low P concentration.
187
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Table 1. Availability to algae of soluble phosphorous 1n stream water as affected
by Initial phosphorous concentration, and phosphorous and miicronutrient
amendments.
00
OO
Site n0.
March
2
3
4
5
6
12
14
Ave.
June
2
3
4
5
6
12
14
Ave.
Initial P
in
SIP
0.106
0.121
0.121
0.171
0.259
0.135
0.131
0.149
0.069
0.038
0.045
0.053
0.072
0.047
0.161
0.069
concentration
water
TSP
0.123
0.150
0.139
0.173
0.443
0.153
0.148
• 0.190
0.100
0.063
0.075
0.072
0.091
0.171
0.190
0.109
Available P in water as determined
from cell count of bioassay of:*
u**
0.000 a
0.076 a
0.109 a
0.128 a
0.110 a
0.086 a
0.083 a
0.096 a
0.030 a
0.015 a
0.027 a
0.035 a
0.045 a
0.012 a
0.052 a
0.031 a
P
0.084 a
0.032 b
0.108 a
0.105 a
0.068 a
0.063 a
0.095 a
0.079 a
0.016 a
0.031 b
0.038 a
0.120 a
0.094 b
0.015 a
0.042 a
0.051 a
m
0.097 a
0.100 a
0.107 a
0.105 a
0.105 a
0.110 a
0.128 b
0.107 a
0.036 a
0.016 a
0.039 a
0.043 a
0.039 a
0.015 a
0.265 b
0.064 a
mg P/l;
spiked with micronutrients
4N, water sample
**
:
Numbers in a row followed by the same letter are not statistically different (at the
0.1 level of significance) .
-------
On the average, addition of micronutrients to the growth medium did
not affect the ability of algae to utilize P in water samples. However, in
two of the fourteen samples a significant increase in apparent available P
was observed as a result of micronutrient addition. These results were ob-
tained in both the March and June samples of Site 14 (Maumee River) which
suggests that micronutrient deficiencies were limiting the growth of S. capri-
cornutum in these samples and addition of the micronutrients enabled the
algal cells to better utilize the P which was present. The finding that
micronutrient (B, Mn, Zn, Co, Cu, Mo, or Fe) deficiencies may limit the
growth of algae in stream waters is supported by Scherfig et al., (1973) who
observed limitation of algal growth by low concentrations of iron in similar
incubation systems, and by Fitzgerald and Uttormark (1974) who reported that
low iron concentrations commonly limit algal growth in surface waters. In
addition, other investigators have not been able to detect soluble iron in
Black Creek water samples taken during the period from 1975 through 1977
(unpublished data, D. W. Nelson).
Samples taken in March and June from the rural portion of the watershed
(the area only affected by agricultural activities) contained lower quantities
of available soluble P than did samples from the rural-urban portion (the
area affected by agricultural activities as well as septic tanks). Furthermore,
for the June period a higher proportion of SIP present in samples from the
rural-urban area was available to algae as compared to that present in samples
from strictly agricultural areas. However, the proportion of SIP present
in Maumee River samples was higher than that in any samples collected within
the Black Creek Watershed.
189
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Availability of Sediment-Bound Phosphorus to Algae
Table 2 summarizes the concentrations of suspended solids and P com-
ponents initially present in the sediment used for bioassay. Although the
amount of soluble (desorbed) inorganic P was significant initially (2-4 yg
P/flask). Variations in total sediment P recovered initially for each treatment
(Table 2) may result from the method used to add the sediment slurry to the
incubation flask. The type of suspended material and the difficulty in main-
taining homogeneity during the removal of aliquots from the sediment solution
concentrate may be additional sources of error. Table 3 provides data on the
final cell densities and the proportions of total sediment P immobilized by
algal cells from each sample during a two-week incubation in PAAP minus P
medium. On the average, the proportion of sediment P which was available
for algal assimilation was similar in March and June samples. In March
samples, the proportion of total sediment P which was algal available ranged
from 9.8 to 29.0% (average 20%), whereas the range in June samples was 15.9
to 30.8% (average 21.4%). These proportions are slightly higher than results
reported by Wildung and Schmidt (1973) using lake sediments in a dialysis
assay system. There were no apparent relationships between algal cell densities
and the proportion of total sediment P assimilated by algae.
The proportion of sediment inorganic P immobilized by algae cells and
cell numbers observed after a two week incubation period are presented ±n
Table 4. A higher percentage of sediment inorganic P was available to algae
in June samples than in March samples (33.0 as compared to 27,0%, respectively).
However, for three of the five sampling sites studied, no difference in avail-
190
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Table 2. Forms and amounts Of phosphorous present initially in sediment bioassay samples.
Site no.
2
3
4
5
6
12
14
Ave.
2
3
4
5
6
12
14
Ave.
Sampling
date
March
March
March
March
March
March
March
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
Suspended
solids Total
mgs /
flask
98
119
339
29
25
28
20
94
26
42
36
37
60
50
27
40
yg P/
flask
27.31
27.78
29.20
• 31.33
27.33
28.50
30.81
28.89
30.65
29.00
23.36
26.25
29.11
34.41
27.97
28.53
Sediment
p inorganic P
yg P/
flask
PAAP-P Medium
12.96
13.57
17.47
19.66
15.74
15.26
16.11
15.82
PAAP-P Medium
15.07
15.62
13.59
12.00
21.73
19.85
15.61
16.21
% of
total*
47.4
48.8
59.8
62.7
57.6
53.5
52.3
54.7
49.2
53.9
58.2
45.7
74.6
57.7
57.9
56.8
Sediment
organic P
yg P/
flask
11.86
11.77
9.20
7.98
7.01
10.10
11.06
9.77
11.45
9.44
7.95
11.38
4.92
12.05
7.05
9.19
% of
total
41.2
42.4
31.5
25.5
25.6
35.4
35.9
33.8
37.3
32.9
34.0
43.4
16.9
35.0
26.1
32.2
Soluble P
yg P/
flask
2.49
2.44
2.44
2.04
4.58
3.15
3.64
2.97
4.13
3.83
1.82
2.87
2.45
2.51
5.31
3.27
% of
total
9.1
8.8
8.3
6.5
16.7
11.0
11.8
10.3
13.5
13.2
7.8
10.9
8.4
7.3
19.7
11.5
-------
ability of sediment inorganic P were observed when comparing March samples
to June samples. Two June samples (Site 4 and 6) show increases (19 and 7%,
respectively) in the percentage of sediment inorganic P which was immobilized
into algal cells as compared to results from the March samples. The large
increases in inorganic P available in samples from these sites resulted in
the average increase when all sites were considered. The average proportions
of sediment inorganic P which were available are lower than the 53 to 83%
values reported by Sagher and Harris (1975) for lake sediments.
The highest proportion (averaging 37.7 and 46.2% for March and June
samples, respectively) of available sediment inorganic P was phosphate sorbed
on amorphous Al and Fe oxide complexes (extractable with 0.5 N NH^F, pH 7).
In addition, a significant percentage (averaging 56.2 and 62.3% for March
and June samples, respectively) of the NH^F-extractable fraction of sediment
inorganic P was assimilated by algal cells. Significant proportions (averaging
33.1 and 40.8% for March and June samples, respectively) of the available
sediment inorganic P were present as iron complexed phosphate extractable
with 1 N NaOH. Furthermore, during the two week incubation a substantial
percentage (averaging 23.6 and 30.0% for March and June samples, respectively)
of the NaOH-extractable P was immobilized into algal cells. A higher proportion
of sediment inorganic P was available to algae in samples taken in March and
June from the rural-urban portion of the watershed (32.7 and 34.4%, respective
than in samples from the rural portion (23.2 and 29.9%, respectively) . The
highest proportion of sediment inorganic P which was assimilated by algae was
observed in the Maumee River sample collected in June.
192
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Table 3 Population of S. capricornirbum and Proportion of Total
Sediment Phosphorous Mobilized by Cells Growing for
Two Weeks in Sediment:PAAP Systems.
Sampling tfffȤ
March
SHe no.
2
3
4
5
6
12
Ave.
Cell
density
X 10-6/ml
8.529
9.599
4.242
5.225
6.500
M ••
6.819
Algal
available P
% of total
sediment P
29.0
15.0
9.8
24.7
21.3
__
——
20.0
June
Cell
density
X 10-6/ml
5.175
8.551
5.954
5.000
6.591
5.900
8.408
6.511
Algal
available P
% of total
sediment P
15.2
18.0
21.5
15.9
30.8
20.4
28.2
21.4
Table 4. Population of S_. capricornutum and proportions of
sediment inorganic Phosphorous" immobilized by cells
growing for two weeks in sediment:PAAP systems.
Sampling time
Site no.
2
3
4
5
6
12
14
Ave.
Cell
density
X 10'6/ml
8.529
9.599
4.242
5.225
6.500
--
--
6.819
March
Available P
% of Pi
26.7
27.9
15.0
34.8
30.7
--
--
27.0
June
Cell
density
X 10-6/ml
5.175
8.551
5.954
5.000
6.591
5.900
8.408
6.511
Available P
% of Pi
26.7
29.0
34.1
31.1
37.7
32.7
40.9
33.1
193
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IMPLICATIONS
The Black Creek project was in part initiated to evaluate the impacts
of agricultural drainage on water quality in the Maumee River and Lake Erie.
Therefore, an assessment is required as to the relative impact of soluble
and sediment-bound P in drainage water upon the potential for water entering
Lake Erie to support algal growth. Numerous assumptions are required to
calculate the input of algal available P into the western basin of Lake Erie
from the Maumee River watershed. These assumptions are listed in Table 5.
Table 5. Information used in calculating algal available P
discharge into Lake Erie from the Maumee River.
Parameter
Value
Citation
Sediment loads
of Maumee River
Water discharge
from Maumee River water-
shed to Lake Erie
Maumee River
Watershed area
SIP Concentration in
Maumee River water
Total P concentration
suspended sediment
Volume of water i n
western basin of Lake Erie
495 kg/ha
23 cm/yr
1,711,500 ha
0.076 mg P/l
1990 mg/kg
70km3
Monke et aj_. (1975)
Monke ejt aj.. (1975)
Monke .et a].. (1975)
Sommers e£ aj_. (1975)
Sommers e_t al. (1975)
Blanton and Winklhofer-
(1572)
194
-------
As indicated by the information in Table 5, the total amounts of sediment
and sediment-bound P discharged to Lake Erie by the Maumee River average
847,000 and 1,685 metric tons per year, respectively. Assuming 20% of
the total sediment P is ultimately available to algae (as found in this
study), approximately 337 metric tons of available P will be discharged
with sediment loads each year into Lake Erie,
12
Approximately 3.94 x 10 1 of water containing 299 metric tons of SIP
are discharged into Lake Erie each year from the Mauiaee River. The SIP
discharge value is based upon a SIP concentration of 0.076 mg/1, the average
level measured in numerous water samples collected at Site 14 (Figure 1),
It is possible that the SIP concentration in the Maumee River watershed enter-
ing Lake Erie is lower than that measured at Fort Wayne, Indiana, however,
no information was available to adjust the SIP concentrations used in the
calculations. Assuming that 50% of the SIP is available to algae (as was
found in this study), about 150 metric tons of available SIP are discharged
to Lake Erie annually.
Considering both soluble and sediment-bound P forms, approximately 487
metric tons of algal available P are discharged into Lake Erie each year.
These calculations suggest that sediment-bound and soluble P provide 69.2
and 30.8% of the P available to algae in Maumee River discharge, respectively.
It is unlikely that the concentration of SIP in agricultural drainage water
can be reduced below 0.06 mg/1, therefore control of soil erosion (sediment
input into streams) is essential to lower amounts of algal available P dis-
charged into surface waters of midwestern United States.
195
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The above approximations of P inputs into Lake Erie from the Maumee
River can be used to estimate the impact of the Maumee River on the con-
centrations of soluble, sediment-bound, and available P in the western basin
of Lake Erie. The estimate made herein also uses the following assumptions:
(i) The phosphorus inputs (both soluble and sediment) from the Maumee River
becomes uniformly distributed throughout the volume of the western basin of
Lake Erie, (ii) The volume of the western basin of Lake Erie is 70 km3
(Blanton and Winklhofer, 1972) and (iii) All P entering Lake Erie is retained
during the year. Under these conditions, the estimated increases in con-
centrations of SIP, available SIP, sediment P, and available sediment P in
the western basin of Lake Erie after 1 year would be 3.9, 2.0, 26.2, and 5.2
yg/1, respectively. These increases in available P concentrations may result
in significant increases in algal growth when initial available P levels in
water are 25 yg/1 or less. At high initial P concentrations, algal growth
would be influenced to a limited extent by these increases in available P.
Furthermore, not all of the added available P will be utilized by aquatic
plants because the water in Lake Erie has a short residence time with the
annual flow through the Lake being equal to 1/3 of the Lake volume.
CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions may be drawn from data obtained during this
study:
(1) Not all of the soluble P in water samples was available to algae.
The level of soluble P available to algae never equalled the SIP or total
soluble P concentration in any of the 14 samples collected from the Black
Creek Watershed or the Maumee River. In samples containing less than 0.1
mg SIP/1, only about 50% of the soluble P in water samples was available for
algal uptake.
196
-------
(2) A deficiency of one or more micronutrients limited algal growth
in water samples collected from the Maumee River. If this deficiency
persists throughout the length of the Maumee River, algal growth rates in the
western portion of Lake Erie may be lower than predicted by P loading data.
(3) Sediment in agricultural drainage water contained substantial
concentrations of algal available P. Excellent algal growth was observed
in media with sediment as the only source of P. However, maximal algal growth
rates (as compared to PAAP) were not achieved in PAAP minus P media containing
sediment. On the average, 20% of the total sediment P and 30% of sediment
inorganic P were available for algal uptake.
(4) Phosphate loosely sorbed on amorphous Al and Fe oxide complexes
supplied the highest proportion of P assimilated by algae. A higher pro-
portion of the quantity of the P originally present in the amorphous Al and
Fe oxide complex was taken up by algae than in the other fractions investigated.
The quantity of P loosely sorbed on amorphous Al and Fe oxide complexes
is most important in determining the overall availability of sediment P to algae.
(5) Intensive crop production systems did not lead to increased availability
of soluble and sediment-bound P in drainage water when compared to Maumee River
water. Higher availability of P to algae was'measured in water samples
collected from the Maumee River and portions of the watershed influenced by
septic tanks as compared to samples collected from agricultural portions of
the watershed.
(6) A greater quantity of algal available P is discharged annually to
Lake Erie as sediment-bound P than is discharged as soluble P. This finding
suggests that erosion control measures in the watershed which would lead to
reduced sediment discharge into Lake Erie may result in decreased algal growth
in the western basin.
197
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LITERATURE CITED
Blanton, J. 0. and Winklhofer. 1972. Physical Processes Affecting the
Hypolimnion of the Central Basin of Lake Erie, 1929-1970. .In Project
HYPO: An Intensive Study of the Lake Erie Central Basin Hyp~o~limnion
and Related Surface Water Phenomena. Canada Centre for Inland Waters
(also Paper No. 6) and United States Environmental Protection Agency
(Also Technical Report TS-05-71-208-24, p. 141.
Fitzgerald, G. P. and P. D. Uttormark. 1974. Applications of Growth and
Sorption Algal Assays. Office of Research and Development,
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (Also E.P.A.- 660/3-73-023).
Hutchinson, G. E. 1957. A Treatise on Limnology, Vol. I. Geography,
Physics and Chemistry. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. N.Y., p. 1015.
Monke, E. J., D. B. Beasley, and A. B. Bottcher. 1975. Sediment Contribu-
tions to the Maumee River. In Non-Point Source Population Seminar (Progress
Report). United States Environmental Protection Agency. (Also EPA-90.
5/9-75-007). Office of Great Lakes Coordinator, p. 72.
Sagher, A. and R. Harris. 1975. Availability of Sediment Phosphorus to
Microorganisms. Water Resource Center (Also Technical Report WIS WRC 75-01)
Madison, Wis.
Scherfig, J., P. S. Dixon, R. Appleman, C. A. Justice. 1973. Effects of
Phosphorus Removal Processes on Algal Growth. Office of Research and
Monitoring. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (Also EPA-
660/3-73-015). ,
Sommers, L. E. and D. W. Nelson. 1972. Determination of Total Phosphorus
in Soils: A Rapid Perchloric Acid Digestion Procedure. Soil.
Scl. Soc. Amer. Proc. 36:902-904.
United States Environmental Agency. 1971. In A. F. Bartsch Algal Assay
Procedure Bottle Test. Washington, D. C. Eutrophication Research Program.
198
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Tile Drainage: Will Best Management
Practices Increase or Decrease Loadings
to the Maumee River?
By A. B. Bottcher
The increasing interest in the water quality of our lakes and streams has
prompted a number of groups to propose the use of Best Management Practices
(BMP's) to correct the water quality problems. The majority of the BMP's
being suggested are geared at reducing the sediment loadings from surface
runoff. This is a reasonable approach since data indicates a large percen-
tage of the total nutrient load (50 and 80 percent for N and P, respectively)
is associated with the suspended solids in the water (Lake and Morrison, 1977).
A large number of the suggested BMP's such as: contour cropping and tillage,
minimum tillage, terracing, grassing drainage ways, etc., are the same as
those already recommended for soil conservation. Therefore, by careful planning,
both water quality and soil conservation may be addressed at the same time
thereby eliminating a duplication of effort. However, the question still re-
mains - to what extent the soil conservation BMP's will affect water quality.
Many are confident that these BMP's will reduce sediment yields and there-
fore the sediment-associated nutrients, but the degree of improvement we can
expect and the extent the non-sediment-associated nutrients will be affected
are not well understood. To address these questions, one must first understand
the hydraulic and hydro!ogic influences of the BMP's and then try to quantify
the water quantity and quality impact of such a system.
The soil conservation BMP's use a simple principle, namely, reduce the
water flow rate and the erosion rate will be reduced accordingly. However,
the decreased water flow rate will provide additional time for infiltration
which increases total infiltration volume. This increased infiltration
could result in some potential problems, (1) reduced productivity due to
199
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wetter soil conditions in poorly drained areas, (2) increased water yield
from subsurface drainage systems which are typically high in nitrate and (3)
increased nitrate leaching in well-drained areas.
This paper will look at both the problems and benefits associated with the
increased infiltration resulting from the reduction of surface runoff. A com-
parison between a surface runoff site (Smith-Fry) and a no surface runoff site
(tile drained) will be used to quantify the effect of an "ideal" soil conserva-
tion BMP on nutrient and sediment losses. It should be noted that the "ideal"
BMP refers to the elimination of surface runoff and not to the tile drainage
system. The drainage system is used simply to maintain crop productivity.
Site Descriptions
The surface runoff site is the Smith-Fry subwatershed (942 hectares) in
the Black Creek study area. The watershed is approximately fifty percent
tile drained. However, tile drains only yield about fifteen percent of the
total runoff. The soils are predominantly flat lake bed and beach ridge
formations with the major soil type being Hoytville silty clay. There are
only a few houses in the Smith-Fry drainage area, so domestic influences are
minimal. The majority of the area is in row crops or small grains and
pasture (63 and 26 percent, respectively). The flow and concentration data
was taken at the outflow point of the watershed on the Smith-Fry drain.
The no surface runoff site is a seventeen hectare field which is under-
layed with subsurface tile lines. The field borders are raised to prevent
surface runoff from this nearly flat lake bed soil. The predominant soil
type is a Hoytville silty clay with the remainder soil type being Nappanee.
The flow and concentration data was collected at a single thirty centimeter
tile outlet which represented the total runoff from this site.
200
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Data Collection
Water quality and flow were determined at both sites by using automatic
samplers and weir-stage recorders, respectively. The samplers were capable
of collecting seventy two 500 ml water samples before servicing was required.
The sampling rates were 1 sample per 1/2 hour (Smith-Fry) and varied propor-
tional to flow between 1 sample per 40 minutes to 1 sample per 12 hours for
the tile site. Weekly grab samples were collected on the Smith-Fry drain to
provide water quality data during periods of low flow. The Smith-Fry sampler
was event activated. Collected samples were frozen within twenty-four hours
to limit chemical transformations prior to laboratory analysis.
Bubble-tube stage recorders were used to measure water depth just upstream
of flow calibrated weirs. A stage-flow relationship for each weir was then
used to determine flow from the stage records. The tile drain required a
pump-sump arrangement to assure a free fall over the weir. Rainfall was also
recorded at both sites.
Results and Discussion
Water Yield
The water yield (reported as equivalent depth to eliminate area differ-
ences between sites) was significantly lower (61%) for the tile drained field
(no surface runoff) than the Smith-Fry drain (surface runoff) as can be seen
in Table 1. This indicates that a large portion of the "would be" surface
runoff for the tiled site was stored in the soil profile for later evapotrans-
piration. The benefits of this water storage was evident by the very good
crop stand observed on the tile site during the dry year of 1976. In 1976
almost ten centimeters of water or eighty nine percent of the total runoff
from the Smith-Fry drain could have been prevented if surface drainage had
been reduced. The wet condition during the first seven months of 1977 re-
sulted in a smaller water yield difference (31%) between the two sites. This
201
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Table 1. Water Yield and Rainfall for the Smith-Dry (Stream)
and Tile Sites.
1976 1977*
Component Stream Tile Stream Tile
cm
Water Yield ll 1.2 10 6.9
Rainfall 70 66 46 46
*Through 7/7/77
follows since available water storage decreases with increased soil moisture
content. The water yield difference for the entire year of 1977 is expected
to be much higher since the tiles flow mainly during the spring.
The reduction of total runoff will have a direct impact on the sediment
and nutrient loadings, since loads are determined by the multiplication of
flow rate and concentration. This means that even if the concentration of
a constituent remains the same or even increases slightly, a loading reduc-
tion of that constituent may still be realized. This emphasizes the poten-
tial hazard of using loading data for instream water quality impact. In
general, loadings should be used when addressing the impact of a water
source on a receiving water body and concentrations used for instream water
quality impact.
Sediment and Nutrients
Table 2 gives a summary of the sediment and nutrient loading data col-
lected for one year and seven months. The stream data refers to the Smith-
Fry drain. A comparison of the stream and tile sites will give an idea of
the extent water quality may be affected by an "ideal" soil conservation
BMP. As can be seen in Table 2, the only time loadings were not significantly
202
-------
Table 2. Sediment and Nutrient Transported
1976 1977*
Component Stream Tile Stream Tile
Sediment
Sol Inorg P
Sol Org P
Sediment P
Ammonium N
Nitrate N
Sol Org N
Sediment N
640
.06
.03
.98
.6
5.5
.31
3.9
Kg/na
21
.002
.005
.02
.01
.68
.05
.11
i
180
.07
.03
.75
.42
8.5
.16
1.8
54
.05
.02
.14
.27
11
3.1
.65
*Through 7/7/77
lower for the tile drainage system was in the wet spring of 1977 and then it
was just nitrate and soluble organic nitrogen which increases. The high
nitrate level would be expected because of the higher comparative water
yield coming from the tile system. However, the soluble organic nitrogen
was unusually high as the result of a seven centimeter rainfall just after
a surface application of nitrogen in the form of urea. Nitrogen in this form
would normally be mineralized and de-nitrigied within five to six days. This
is evident in Figure 1 where the soluble organic nitrogen concentration
quickly decreases after the April 19th surface application or urea. Also
the urea usage on the Smith-Fry watershed was much lower on a per hectare
basis.
The sediment and nutrient concentrations as reported in Table 3 were
not consistently lower for the tile drainage water as were the loading results,
Sediment and sediment associated nutrients were lower as would be expected
since surface erosion was eliminated. Ammonium N was also slightly lower
203
-------
Tile
Flow
(cm/h)
.020 -
.015 -
N5
o
.010 -
.005 -
Soluble Organic H
Nitrate N
f 50 100 150
April 19, 1977 (Fertilizer'Applied)
200 250
Time (hrs)
300
400
Figure 1. Soluble Organic N and Nitrate N Concentrations vs Time Shortly After Surface
Application of Urea.
-------
Table 3. Concentration of Transported Sediment and Nutrients
1976 1977*
Component Stream Tile Stream Tile
Sediment
Sol Inorg P
Sol Org P
Sediment P
Ammonium N
Nitrate N
Sol Org N
Sediment N
520
.05
.03
.79
.48
4.5
.25
3.2
my/ i-
170
.02
.04
.22
.09
5.6
.44
.92
180
.07
.03
.74
.41
8.3
.15
1.8
78
.07
.03
.20
.38
15
4.5
.93
*Through 7/7/77
because this monovalent cation is easily absorbed in the cation exchange com-
plex (CEC) before reaching the tile drain. The concentration of the soluble
forms of phosphorus did not vary significantly between the two sites and
nitrate and soluble organic nitrogen concentrations actually increased for
the tile system.
Table 4. Percent difference in loadings and concentrations of
sediment and nutrients between the stream and tile drain
data compared to the stream data.
Component
1976
Loading Cone.
% Change
• 1977*
Loading Cone.
Weighted Average
Loading Cone.
Water
Sediment
Sol Inorg P
Sol Org P
Sediment P
Ammonium N
Nitrate
Sol Org N
Sediment N
-89
-97
-97
-83
-98
-98
-88
-84
-97
-
-67
-60
+33
-72
-81
+24
+76
-71
-31
-70
-28
-33
-81
-35
+29
+1800
-64
_
-56
0
0
-73
-7
+80
+2900
-48
-61
-91
-60
-58
-91
-42
-17
+680
-87
_
-74
+5
0
-74
-25
+115
+1800
-63
205
-------
Table 4 gives a clearer picutre of the actual water quality differences
which may be incurred if surface drainage is reduced to near zero. It is
easy to see that a high percentage of the reduction in sediment and nutrient
loadings can be associated with the reduced water yield.
Summary and Conclusions
A comparative study was done to estimate the potential impact of imple-
menting an "ideal" soil conservation BMP. The comparison was made between a
"typical" watershed condition for the Maumee River Basin and tile drained
field which had essentially no surface runoff. The land use and soil types
were similar between the two selected sites. Based on the results of the
study, the following conclusions were made:
1. BMP's which will reduce surface erosion may significantly reduce water,
sediment and nutrients loadings to a receiving stream.
2. Sediment and sediment associated nutrient concentrations will be signifi-
cantly reduced by the reduction of surface erosion.
3. The concentration of soluble forms of phosphorus will not be significantly
different if surface erosion is reduced.
4. Nitrate concentrations in runoff are significantly increased by forcing
drainage water through a soil profile. Concentrations of soluble organic
nitrogen may also be higher, but it is highly dependent on fertilizer
application (type and timing).
5. Timing of a fertilizer application can have a significant impact on the
annual loading rates of nitrogen. Phosphorus has less of a response to
fertilizer application.
6. Water storage in the soil profile, which is later lost through evapo-
transpiration, is the mechanism that accounts for the water yield
reduction gained by a low surface runoff system.
206
-------
7. The additional water storage provided by the zero surface runoff - tile
drained system may increase crop productivity during dry periods.
8. The need for tile drainage may increase as more soil conservation BMP's
are implemented.
References
Bottcher, A. B. 1978. Simulation of a Tile Drainage System with
Associated Sediment Transport. Ph.D. Thesis. Purdue University,
W. Lafayette, Ind.
Lake, J. and J. Morrison. 1977. Environmental Impact of Land Use on
Water Quality. Final Report on the Black Creek Project (Technical).
Report No. EPA-905/9-77-007-B.
207
-------
RESULTS OF A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM
OF LAND MANAGEMENT TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY
by
James B. Morrison
For the past four years, investigators from the Black
Creek project have been making reports of scientific find-
ings resulting frori the study of a 12,000-acre watershed in
Northeastern Indiana. Reports have been previously present-
ed today summarizing some of this information. This report
is concerned primarily with the voluntary participation of
landowners in the Black Creek watershed and does not concen-
trate on vast quantities of technical data. Data is avail-
able in the Black Creek technical volume covering all
pects of the project.
as-
Much of the information presented in this report is ad-
mittedly subjective. However, it has been the experience of
many persons involved with the Black Creek project that this
type of subjective information is useful when planning pro-
grams to improve water quality.
The subjective nature of this report
the three questions it addresses:
is indicated by
1) Were the voluntary aspects of the project a success
and why or why not?
2) Was the information gained from the project useful
from an administrative standpoint?
3) What do the Black Creek cost figures mean?
WAS THE PROJECT A SUCCESS?
I suppose there is a tendency to point to areas in
which a success is claimed with a certain amount of pride
and to simultaneously cite areas which were not so success-
ful as instances in which "we learned something."
There is an opportunity to make both of these comments
about the Black Creek project.
There are many ways in which
could be measured:
success of the project
208
-------
Was there adequate participation by the landowners?
Did participation involve actions that would meet the
goals of the project?
Did the project result in an improvement in water qual-
ity in the Black Creek?
Table 1 gives some indication about participation. As
can be readily seen from this table/ most landowners in the
Black Creek watershed participated in the project. In all/
Ikl out 148 potential cooperators decided to take part.
That is 95 percent and can be fairly counted an indication
of good participation. Notice/ however/ as we move on down
the table/ that 95 percent participation did not automati-
cally mean that 95 percent of the other goals of the project
would be reached. In some instances/, more than 100 percent
of the goal was reached; in other instances/ none of the
goal was accomplished.
There are several reasons for this disparity. A major
one may have been an unrealistic establishment of goals.
This comment is not intended as a criticism of the original
Planning. However/ it is obvious that there were items in
the original plan for which there was just no place in the
Black Creek watershed.
Another reason was the changing focus of the project as
it was carried out. This resulted in emphasis being given
to some practices at the expense of others as it became more
clear in the minds of project administrators and the Soil
and Water Conservation District Board of supervisors which
practices were most likely to have a beneficial impact on
water quality.
Finally/ however/ and probably equally important to the
other two reasons/ was the way in which landowners viewed
the project. Subjectively/ it can be stated that very few
landowners were hostile to the idea of water quality im-
provement. Probably those landowners who did not partici-
pate in the project represent an accurate measure of the
number who were hostile to the idea of utilizing land
management techniques for environmental improvement. On the
other hand/ most landowners did not initially elect to par-
ti?'aS»fliS thf Pfoject with a Primary goal of improving wa-
thl ^ nf'i t 'S n? SeCret that the major limitation on
the use of land in the Black Creek project for agricultural
seeP°so1VS 'ralnas*: Landowners in this si tuatton tend to
y t ef^-po-Ld^he^ro!:^ wTth™de1
-
^^
209
-------
Table 1. Goals and Accomplishments
PRACTICE
District Cooperators
Conservation Plans
Landowner-District Contracts
Group Contracts
Land Adequately Treated
Land Adequately Protected
Conservation Cropping System
Contour Farming
Critical Area Planting
Crop Residue Management
Di versions
Farmstead Windbreaks
Field Border
Field Windbreak
Grade Stabilization Structure
(including tile outlet CMP)
Grassed Waterway
Holding Ponds & Tanks
Land Smoothing
Livestock Exclusion
Livestock Watering Facility
Mi nimum Till age
Pasture Management
Pasture Planting
Pond
Protection During Development
Recreation Area Improvement
Sediment Control Basins
Stream Channel Stabilization
Streambank Protection
Stri pcroppi ng
Surface Drains
Terraces
Tile Drai ns
Tree Planting
Wildlife Habitat Management
Woodland Improved Harvesting
Woodland Improvement
Woodland Pruning
TOTAL (WATERSHED)
UNIT
No
No
No
No
Ac
Ac
Ac
Ac
Ac
Ac
Ft
Ac
Ft
Ft
No
Ac
No
Ac
Rd
No
Ac
Ac
Ac
No
Ac
Ac
No
Ft
Ft
Ac
Ft
Ft
Ft
Ac
Ac
Ac
Ac
Ac
GOAL
148
170
148
10,573
7,1*18
769
10
7,491
39,200
75
288,320
12,000
368
68
11
300
2,050
28
7,656
1*02
501
39
118
12
6
6,000
122,000
300
90,500
22,000
200,300
10
222
200
610
50
ACCOMP-
LISHMENT
141
133
119
19
7,975
10,025
6,548
10
15
2,952
1,860
4
132,688
0
516
61*
10
o
15,869
7
688
97
112
10
4
10
3
16,093
99,304
0
9,396
51,553
134,316
0
148
0
0
0
% OF
GOAL
ACCOMP
95
78
80
75
88
1
150
39
5
5
46
o
140
94
91
n
\j
78
25
9
24
22
26
3
^
83
50
268
81
0
10
234
67
n
V
67
0
n
V
0
Ac
12,038
fact, there has been
210
-------
drainage. As is discussed in more detail later, project ad-
ministrators now believe that an equal degree of land treat-
ment could have been achieved for less money if many ^prac-
tices in which cost sharing was offered had been eliminated
from the original plan.
This analysis however/ overlooks the simple fact that
it is unlikely that 95 percent or even 50 percent of the
landowners in the watershed would have participated in a
voluntary program if practices that related to their desires
— such as the desire for improved drainage -- had not been
recognized by project administrators.
Let me make it clear at this point that I am not saying
that cost sharing was offered on the Black Creek project for
tile drainage/ per se. Tile drainage was included/ however/
in connection with practices such as grassed waterways/ and
drainage improvement was a result of channel reconstruction
and stabilization work.
The following conclusion is suggested: The Black Creek
project was successful in gaining cooperation/ was less suc-
cessful in accomplishing land treatment that would have as a
primarily result the improvement of water quality/ and
achieved the success that was obtained by harmonizing the
desires of landowners to simplify or improve their farming
operations with the desire of project personnel for measures
that would result in improved water quality.
WAS THE INFORMATION USEFUL?
One of the primary conclusions reached by the Black
Creek project was that rather substantial improvements in
water quality could be achieved by concentrating efforts on
selected "critical" areas rather than aiming at broad treat-
ment of vast areas of land.
It has been suggested that this conclusion is so obvi-
ous that it was not necessary to conduct a project to learn
it. The conclusion does seem obvious and is a point ex-
pressed by Indiana's Governor Otis Bowen in his charge to
the state's new water resources planning commission this
way:
"If it ain't broke/ don't fix it."
The idea of concentrating land treatment efforts only
on critical areas/ however/ has not been a part of the phi-
losophy of soil and water conservation programs in the Unit-
ed States. Rather/ the thrust has been to attempt to treat
every acre of land on cooperating farms so as to fulfill all
211
-------
of the conservation needs.
Simultaneously, there has been a desire to assure broad
participation in Soil and Water Conservation programs by es-
tablishing rigid cost sharing rates and by putting a limita-
tion on the amount that one landowner could receive in any
one year from federal conservation programs.
The Black Creek finding that efforts should be concen-
trated on critical areas when the primary purpose is water
quality runs counter to these policies. If you carry the
recommendation for concentration on critical areas to its
logical extreme, we are saying that if the goal is to im-
prove water quality/ and funds have been made available for
this purpose, and if we discover that the maximum benefit in
water quality could be achieved by spending all of the money
appropriated for an area on only one or two farms in that
area, then the water quality funds should be spent only on
those farms.
Soil and Water Conservation programs in the past have
not concentrated on water quality to the exclusion of other
desirable goals. The Black Creek project has identified
four distinct positive aspects to soil and water conserva-
tion programs:
1) Those which have as a primary result the improve-
ment of water quali ty.
2) Those which have as a primary result the protection
of the soil resource.
3) Those that have as a primary result the enhancement
of agricultural production.
k) Those that have as a primary result some other con-
servation purpose. (Including better woodland
management, improved wildlife habitat, enhanced re-
creational opportunities, etc.)
Nothing in the findings of the Black Creek project inr
dicates that any one of these purposes is not a worthwhile
purpose. Certainly, the soil resource must be protected,
certainly enhanced agricultural production is important to
society, wildlife habitat improvement is worthwhile as are
better recreational opportunities.
Ideally, water quality improvement would be obtained as
a result of treating every acre of land so as to maximize
all four of these potential benefits. However, it is highly
unlikely that this type of broad program can be applied with
the manpower and financial resources available within a time
schedule that would satisfy the accelerated goals of Section
208 pianni ng.
212
-------
The finding that water quality improvement can be ob-
tained in the most cost effective manner by concentrating on
critical areas is therefore not trivial/ because it implies
a rather significant change in traditional soil and water
conservation and cost sharing policy. It does not suggest
that the old policy is wrong in the long run/ but does say
that it is not appropriate if accelerated efforts are to be
aimed at fulfilling only one of the four benefits of soil
conservation. That is a useful result.
In the Black Creek technical report some attention is
paid to the way that money was spent in the Black Creek pro-
ject. Keeping in rnind that the Black Creek project was con-
ceived as a program to improve water quality/ we now find
that more money was spent on programs to fulfill other con-
servation purposes than was spent on practices that had as a
primary result the improvement of water quality -- we would
say that only $5^/000 was spent for water quality alone/
while $U30/000 was spent on other practices. This may have
been one of those instances in which we learned something.
In fact, in the Black Creek area/ it was discovered that a
very effective way to deal with the problem of sediment was
through the encouragement of tillage systems which would
leave surface cover and promote surface roughness. Where
tillage is adapted/ a decision to use a reduced tillage sys-
tem will usually not result in a yield penalty for corn and
may not result in a yield penalty for soybeans. More com-
plete discussion of these points is included in the techni-
cal volume of the Black Creek report. The following obser-
vation is/ however/ pertinent. Some 208 planners have ap-
parently been reluctant to consider tillage as a Best
Management Practice because of the real or imagined diffi-
culty inherent in determining whether landowners are "in
compliance." If it is granted that the monitoring of non-
structural practices/ such as changes in tillage/ may be
harder to readily observe than structural methods such as
grassed waterways or terraces/ or field borders, this is
still not a good reason to eliminate management practices
from Section 208 plans. To do so would be to eliminate some
or the most effective erosion control measures in the name
of administrative convenience.
WHAT DO THE COST FIGURES MEAN?
Black Creek cost data/ which has been coming out for
the past three years/ has been controversial. Some have
used it to attempt to prove that nonpoint source pollution
control is not a realistic possibility. Others have used it
to suggest that the Best Management Practices approach is
too costly to be seriously considered.
213
-------
The project, and the project's writer and editor must
take a large share of the responsibility for this "misin-
terpretation" of the cost data. Now, having seen the
results of some of our earlier presentations, we quickly say
that it is misleading to take the cost of land treatment,
divide that by the number of acres in the Black Creek
watershed, and obtain a per acre figure that can be used in
projecting costs. Unfortunately, that is the kind of ap-
proach that was used in some of our earliest reports. The
project reported cost figures that way for the same reason
that others have analyzed cost figures in that way, it is
conveni.ent and it is easy to do. We now think the following
approach is much more reasonable because of the following
points:
1) The project was experimental, some practices were
applied in ways that later proved not to be the
most cost effective.
2) Practices were applied and received cost sharing
that it was later determined did not have major im-
pact on water quality.
At the close of the project, we looked backward, and
estimated how much of each of the practices which had been
identified as best management practices should have been ap-
plied to obtain best treatment from the standpoint of water
quality. These amounts are included in Table 2.
Table 2. Estimated Treatment Needs At Be-
gi nni ng of Project
Practice Amount Needed
Field Borders kQ miles
Holding Tanks 10
Sediment Basins 6
Critical Area Planting 10 acres
Grassed Waterways 68 acres
Livestock Exclusion
(fencing) 15,000 feet
Pasture Renovation
and Planting kQO acres
Terraces kk,OQO feet
Table 2 does not include alterations in tillage, be-
cause we at this point do not assign a cost to this prac-
tice.
Project records were consulted to determine what the
actual cost of installation of the listed practice were in
214
-------
the Black Creek project. These results are included in
Table 3.
Table 3. Project Installation Costs
Practice Unit Cost
Field Border Mi le l
Holding Tanks Each 5/600
Sediment Basins Each 5/000
Contour Farming (1) (1)
Critical Area Planting Acre kOO
Crop Residue Management (2) (2)
Grassed Waterways Acre 1/200
Livestock Exclusion Foot 0.50
(f enci ng)
Reduced Ti 1 lage (3) (3)
Pasture Renovation
and Planting Acre 100
Terraces Foot of terrace 1.75
(with tile)
(1) very little application in Slack Creek Area
or Maumee Basin.
(2) can be applied by management techniques
without additional cost.
(3) considered only on soils where reduced til-
lage should not result in significant yield
penal t i es.
Now/ it simply remains to multiply the amount needed by the
cost to get an estimate of what it would have cost to apply
the needed practices in the watershed. This is done in
Table k.
Notice that this is less than half of the $719/000 ac-
tually spent in Black Creek and note that a much higher per-
centage of the funds spent would have gone for water quality
improvement. However/ a word of caution. It is highly un-
likely that using a voluntary program/ anything approaching
these amounts could have been spent in the Black Creek pro-
ject/ because concentration on this list of practices would
have eliminated several of the items that most interested
landowners at the beginning of the project.
Now/ to go really out on a limb. Let's make the same
kind of estimates for the Maumee Basin. These estimates are
included in Table 5. This is a significant amount of money/
certainly/ but it is less than one-third of some of the
treatment estimates based on Black Creek project results.
215
-------
Table k. Estimated Cost of Black
Creek Treatment
Practice Cost
Field Border 63,360
Holding Tanks 56,000
Sediment Basins 30,000
Critical Area Planting 4,000
Grassed Waterways 81,600
Livestock Exclusion
(fencing) 7,500
Pasture Renovation 4,000
Terraces 77,000
Total 323,460
Table 5. Estimated Cost of Treating Maumee
Basin
Practice Cost
Field Borders 43,700,000
Holding Tanks 4,480,000-5,600,000
Sediment Basins 7,000,000-10,500,000
Critical Area Planting 1,000,000-1,400,000
Grassed Waterway 19,200,000-28,000,000
Livestock Exclusion 1,300,000
Pasture Planting 10,000,000
Terraces 21,000,000-26,250,000
Total 107,480,000-126,250,000
216
-------
Funding Support Needed for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control
By
CARL D. WILSON
The impact of agriculture on the nation's water is highly significant
as over 950 million acres of land are used for agricultural and closely
related purposes. About 387 million acres are used for crop production.
The present trends in agriculture involve employing modern techniques
at ever increasing levels of complexity for the use of fertilizers,
pesticides, irrigation systems and confined animal feeding facilities.
A natural result of these trends will be an increased potential for non-
point, source water pollution of both ground and surface waters. Pre-
venting water quality degradation must become a major concern of the 208
water quality planning and the agricultural community.
About 2 billion tons of livestock wastes are produced annually. As much
as 50% of these wastes may be produced in feedlots. While most of these
waste materials are confined and eventually spread on farm acreage, run-
off and seepage from these sources pose a significant pollution hazard.
Commercial fertilizers consumed during 1972 amount to about 41 million
tons. Some of these nutrients are transported, together with naturally
occurring nutrient elements, to surface and ground waters.
Pesticides are designed to be lethal to target organisms, but many are
toxic to nontarget organisms. Four major categories of importance to
agriculture are insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and rodenticides.
Of nearly one billion pounds of pesticides applied in the United States
during 1970, about 70% was for farm use. It is anticipated that the use
of pesticides will increase tenfold within the next twenty years.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has spent 13.3 billion dollars
on conventional sewage treatment plants to date. The President is ask-
ing Congress for 45 billion more dollars for the next ten years to
address the same problem, point source pollution. Yet the fact remains
of the total point, and nonpoint source loadings of 158 million pounds
per day of suspended solids, nonpoint source loads will account for
145 million pounds or 92% of the problem.
The logic to continue to increase the funding for point source and neglect
the nonpoint source contribution is not justified.
To further justify increased funding for nonpoint source pollution, one
can use the total daily nitrogen loading of 35.7 million pounds, nonpoint
sources will contribute 28.3 million pounds or 79 % of the problem. Using
this ratio, Congress could justify dividing funds using 80% for nonpoint
and 20% for point.
Additional facts indicate that nonpoint sources will provide 1.93 million
pounds of phosphorus from a total of 3.63 million pounds or 53% of the
problem.
For fecal and total coliform counts, nonpoint sources will account for
over 98% of the remaining national loadings.
217
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Zinc accounts for a total of 119,000 pounds per day and nonpoint sources
contributes 51,000 pounds or 43% of the problem.
In 1967, the World Health Organization estimated that more than one
hundred fifty diseases were transferable between animal and man. Without
a doubt, the potential exists for pathogen contamination of swimming and
drinking waters when animal or their wastes can reach them.
The significance of these data indicate that nonpoint source problems will
prevent the attainment of 1983 goals for water quality.
218
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SEMINAR ATTENDEES
Dan Akin
Lawson-Fisher Associates
South Bend, Indiana
Stephen Andrews
Red Clay Project
Superior, Wisconsin
Jim Arts
Washington County Project
Madison, Wisconsin
Jim Baumann
Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources
Madison, Wisconsin
Ed Beardsley
Iowa Department of Soil
Conservation
Des Moines, Iowa
Steven Berkowitz
Washington County Project
Madison, Wisconsin
Joe Berta
Illinois Department of
Agriculture
Springfield, Illinois
Kenneth Bowden
Department of Geography
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois
Bernita Bowers
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Ray Brand
Biology Department
Wheaton College
Wheaton, Illinois
Jack Braun
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Patrick Brunett
Southeast Michigan Council of
Governments
Novi, Michigan
Phillip S. Bus
Kane County Development Department
Geneva, Illinois
Nathan Chandler
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Washington, D.C.
Ralph G. Christensen
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Sandra L. Corona
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Urbana, Illinois
David Cowgill
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
North Central Division
Chicago, Illinois
Victor Crivello
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Sterling, Illinois
James A. Dakey
Ohio Fair Bureau Federation
Columbus, Ohio
Lillian Dean
The Research Group, Inc.
Atlanta, Georgia
Charles Delos
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Philip DeVore
University of Wisconsin
C.L.S«E.S«
Superior, Wisconsin
219
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Glenn R. Dirks
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Springfield, Illinois
Rod Dorich
Agronomy Department
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
Daniel R. Dudley
Black Creek Project
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Tuncer Ed11
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Ordean Finkelson
Soil Conservation Service
St. Paul, Minnesota
Ronald C. Flemel
Illinois Water Information
System Group
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois
Ian Forrest
Baltimore County Department of
Health
Towson, Maryland
Jim Frank
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Springfield, Illinois
William W. Frerichs
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Champaign, Illinois
Adrian P. Freund
Dane County Regional Planning
Commission
Middleton, Wisconsin
Dr. W. Randolph Frykberg
Northeast Michigan Council of
Governments
Gaylord, Michigan
Mathew A. Gibbons
Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency
Columbus, Ohio
Robert L. Goettemoeller
Ohio Department of Natural
Resources
Columbus, Ohio
Elaine Greening
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Richard H. Greenwood
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Rock Island, Illinois
David W. Hallett
Wisconsin Board of Soil and
Water Conservation District
Madison, Wisconsin
Ernest L. Hardin, Jr.
Illinois Institute for
Environmental Quality
Chicago, Illinois
Peggy J. Harris
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Susan Hebel
University of Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Lawrence L. Heffner
Science and Education Administration
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C.
Harold Hendrickson
Wisconsin Board of Soil and Water
Conservation Districts
West Bend, Wisconsin
220
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Harlan Hirt
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
William Horvath
National Association of
Conservation Districts
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Donald S. Houtman
Red Clay Project
Superior, Wisconsin
James E. Huff
Maumee Watershed Conservation
District
Napoleon, Ohio
L. F. Muggins
Agriculture Engineering
Department
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
Daniel Injerd
Illinois Division of Water
Resources
Chicago, Illinois
Larry Kapustka
Red Clay Project
University of Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin
Elizabeth Keebes
Northwestern Indiana Regional
Planning Commission
Highland, Indiana
Richard C. Kiefer
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Addison, Illinois
John A. Killam
Illinois Livestock Association
Jacksonville, Illinois
Charles Kincaid
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Springfield, Illinois
Homer M. Kuder
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
St. Joseph, Illinois
Jim Lake
National Association of
Conservation Districts
Washington, D.C.
Richard E. Land
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
Susan K. Laue
Water Division
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Springfield, Illinois
John B. Leedy
Department of Geology
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois
Margo Lindahl
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional
Council of Governments
Cincinnati, Ohio
Dr. Terry J. Logan
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Mike MacMullen
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Fred Madison
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Gerald C. McDonald
Rochester Pure Waters District
Rochester, New York
Madonna F. McGrath
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
Chicago, Illinois
221
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David S. McLeod
North Carolina Department of
Agriculture
Raleigh, North Carolina
Joseph T. Mengel, Jr.
Red Clay Project
University of Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin
Joe Meyer
Maumee Valley Resource
Conservation Development and
Planning Organization
Defiance, Ohio
Shirley Mitchell
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
E. J. Monke
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
Peter L. Monkmeyer
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
James B. Morrison
Purdue University
West LaFayette, Indiana
Cornelius Murphy
Rochester Project
Syracuse, New York
John S. Nagy
McHenry County Planning
Woodstock, Illinois
Darrell Nelson
Agronomy Department
Purdue University
West LaFayette, Indiana
Ralph V. Nordstrom
Water Division
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Annette Nussbaum
Water Division
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Vicki Park
Will County Regional Planning
Commission
Joliet, Illinois
Duane Pearce
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Kansas City, Missouri
Eugene Pinkstaff
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Harold Poeschl
Soil Conservation Service
Urbana, Illinois
Charles J. Pycha
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Jan Rasgus
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Chicago, Illinois
Dick Reilly
Northeastern Illinois Planning
Commission
Chicago, Illinois
Clifford Risley
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Carroll F. Sauer
Baltimore Regional Planning
Commission
Baltimore, Maryland
Eugene Savage
Board of Soil and Water
Conservation Districts
Madison, Wisconsin
222
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Terry Sedik
Lake County Department of
Planning
Waukegan, Illinois
John B. Stall
Consulting Research Hydrologist
Urbana, Illinois
Jon-Eric T. Stenson
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
John Streich
Soil Conservation Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Superior, Wisconsin
Bill Sullivan
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Mount Vernon, Illinois
A. G. Taylor
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Springfield, Illinois
Dr. Edith J. Tebo
Great Lakes National Program
Office
U.S. EPA
Chicago, Illinois
Karen A. Theisen
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Lawrence J. Vendl
Geology Department
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois
Vicki K. Vine
Washington County Environmental
Protection Agency
West Bend, Wisconsin
Robert D. Walker
University of Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Harry R. Walton
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Decatur, Illinois
Reginald S. Warner
Allen County Soil and Water
Conservation District
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Ron Wheaton
Agronomy Engineering Department
Purdue University
West LaFayette, Indiana
Carl D. Wilson
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Chicago, Illinois
Dan Wilson
Washington County Project
University of Wisconsin-Extension
West Bend, Wisconsin
Dawn Wrobel
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Macomb, Illinois
223
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TECHNICAL REPORT DATA
(Please read Instructions on the reverse before completing)
REPORT NO.
KPA-qns/Q-7K-nm
3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION NO.
TITLE AND SUBTITLE
Voluntary and Regulatory Approaches for Nonpoint Source
Pollution Control
5. REPORT DATE
August 1978
6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
. AUTHOR(S)
Compiled by:
Ralph G. Christensen and Carl D. Wilson
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPOR
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
2BA645
11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
EPA-G005334, EPA-G005140
EPA-G005335, EPA-G005139
2. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED
Conference-May 22 and 23, 1978
14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE
5. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
Ralph G. Christensen- Section 108 (a) Program Coordinator (PL 92-500)
Carl D. Wilson- Region 5, Chicago,Nonpoint Source Coordinator
6. ABSTRACT
This report is a compilation of papers presented at the "Voluntary and Regulatory
Approaches for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control" conference held at the Sheraton
O'Hare Motor Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois May 22 and 23. 1978. Principal investigators
of four section 108 (a) demonstration projects presented water quality data, sediment
and erosion data, land management practices used on projects to evaluate impact on
water quality, educational programs to inform the public of nonpoint source problems,
and institutional arrangements that can be used to implement nonpoint source pollution
controls.
Federal, State and County officials discussed NPS problems.
KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
DESCRIPTORS
b.lDENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS
c. COS AT I Field/Group
Water quality
Sedimant
Erosion
Land use
Land treatment.
Nutrients
Best Management Practices
Institutional
18. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT
Document is available U.S. EPA, Chicago and
National Technical Information Service
Springfield, Va. 22151
19. SECURITY CLASS (ThisReport)
21. NO. OF
20. SECURITY CLASS (Thispage)
22. PRICE
EPA Form 2220-1 (Rev. 4-77)
PREVIOUS EDITION IS OBSOLETE
224
.5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1978 650-3&:
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