Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE P
M SUCCESS STORY
Collaborative Efforts at a Watershed Scale Reduce Atrazine in Drinking Water
A/ h H I H Intensive corn production in the watershed around Missouri's Vandalia
VatGrDOuy I nprOVGQ |_ake contributed high levels of the herbicide atrazine to the lake water.
In the late 1990s, water quality data showed atrazine levels at approximately 89 parts per billion (ppb),
far exceeding the 3 ppb water quality criterion required for finished drinking water. As a result, Missouri
added Vandalia Lake to the state's 1998 and 2002 Clean Water Act section 303(d) lists of impaired
waters. To address the contamination, federal, state and local watershed stakeholders worked with
farmers to implement best management practices (BMPs) to improve the quality of their drinking water
source. Atrazine levels dropped, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) removed
Vandalia Lake from the state's 2006 303(d) list for atrazine.
Problem
Vandalia Lake is in portions of Pike, Audrain,
and Lincoln counties and drains a 3,660-acre
subwatershed. The 38-acre impoundment is a public
drinking water source serving more than 2,500 peo-
ple in northeast Missouri (Figure 1). In 1997 Vandalia's
city water treatment plant operator became con-
cerned about the amount of atrazine flowing into the
city's raw water supply. The city was spending a sig-
nificant portion of its available funding to remove the
herbicide from the drinking water. Atrazine is typically
applied to crops such as corn and sorghum—both of
which are grown in the watershed and serve as a vital
component of the area's economy.
Atrazine levels in Vandalia Lake were as high as
89 ppb in 1998 and 2000. Missouri's water quality
standard for atrazine is 3 ppb in finished water. As a
result, Missouri added Vandalia Lake to the state's
1998 and 2002 section 303(d) lists of impaired
waters for atrazine.
Project Highlights
To address the contamination problem, a group
of stakeholders quickly came together in 1997
to form a Watershed Management Committee.
Members included grain producers, city officials,
local residents, members of the Soil and Water
Conservation District and representatives from
the University of Missouri Outreach and Extension
and state and federal agencies. MDNR helped the
committee formulate plans and find solutions for
reducing pesticide and nutrient loadings in the lake.
The committee developed an atrazine reduction
plan, which was published in 1999 as the Vandalia
City Reservoir Water Resources Plan.
The committee launched significant education and
outreach efforts to increase farmers' knowledge
Figure 1. Northeast Missouri's Vandalia Lake
about the water quality contamination problems and
how they could implement new management prac-
tices to help. The committee held several meetings
with rural landowners, city residents, and business
leaders to look at the concerns, costs and outcomes
of various options for atrazine reduction.
Initially, local farmers were asked to pay for and
implement practices that would reduce atrazine
levels in the reservoir. However, in 1999 federal and
state programs began providing more assistance
in the watershed and began providing compensa-
tion to the farmers for the additional financial and
managerial burden of implementing some practices.
Farmers implemented several types of management
BMPs, including reducing atrazine application rates,
using alternative herbicides, incorporating herbicide
into the soil rather than applying it on the surface,
splitting application of atrazine (applying some
before and some after the crop begins growing),
installing or expanding buffer strips, staggering crop
rotation with neighbors and enrolling property in the
Conservation Reserve Program.
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Additionally, between 2002 and 2007 the MDNR
Soil and Water Conservation Program worked with
landowners to implement additional BMPs, includ-
ing terraces, waterways, retention structures and
diversions (Table 1).
Table 1. Additional BMPs implemented and
the acreage treated
1—
Acres treated
NRCS land treatments
Riparian forest buffer
Forestland reestablished/improved
Field border
Filter strip
Grassed waterway
Terraces
Conservation crop rotation
Wetlands restored
236
29,078
54
62
100,867
21,003
1
Results
Atrazine levels have dropped, thanks to the effec-
tive outreach, a receptive audience and adoption of
BMPs. Data show that atrazine concentrations in
the raw water have fallen from a high of 85 ppb in
1997 to only 1.01 ppb in 2005. These data indicate
that Vandalia Lake meets the water quality crite-
rion for atrazine to support its designated use as
a public drinking water source. Therefore, MDNR
removed Vandalia Lake from Missouri's 2006 303(d)
list for atrazine.
Area farmers played a key role in the project's suc-
cess. They were willing to absorb slight increases
in production costs to show how committed they
were to reducing pesticide levels in the reservoir
and supporting the community. No single practice
works for every farmer, but by combining several
low-cost practices, the farmers have significantly
improved water quality.
Partners and Funding
This project brought together new partnerships
and a greater awareness of how to jointly resolve
water quality problems. Many groups collaborated
to organize the Vandalia Watershed Management
Committee, including University of Missouri
Outreach and Extension, the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) and the city of
Vandalia. Committee members included municipal
employees, elected officials, residents, landown-
ers, operators and Soil and Water Conservation
Districts. Other collaborators joined including
MDNR, the Missouri Department of Conservation,
the Mark Twain Water Quality Initiative, the Missouri
Department of Health and other agencies. State and
federal incentive programs provided funds through
local organizations to support organizing, planning
and implementing the project.
Clean Water Act section 319 funds supported two
projects that helped reduce atrazine levels in the
lake. The North Fork project ran from September
2002 through August 2005. The total amount for the
three-year project included federal contributions
of $187,720, plus a $123,252 match by the project
sponsor, the Clarence Cannon Wholesale Water
Commission, for a total of $310,972. Funding support-
ed efforts to disseminate information to community
leaders about water quality issues and to help build
partnerships. The project team provided resources
and training to help communities to prepare to
address water quality issues and regulatory require-
ments such as total maximum daily loads (TMDLs).
The Grassroots project (also section 319-funded)
provided $383,853 in federal funds and $257,181
in match funds to help the University of Missouri
Outreach and Extension conduct watershed
outreach and provide assistance in this and other
watersheds from April 2000 to April 2005. Program
staff helped to educate and inform watershed com-
munities aboutTMDLs, assisted with watershed
planning, and helped organize and facilitate water-
shed groups. The project benefited the University of
Missouri Outreach and Extension by building new
alliances, providing new avenues to train watershed
stakeholders and opening up new lines of commu-
nication with watershed landowners.
Additional funding sources supported implement-
ing BMPs. Between 2002 and 2007, MDNR Soil
and Water Conservation Program provided about
$70,000 in cost share for various BMPs including
terraces, waterways, retention structures, and diver-
sions. Missouri Conservation Reserve Enhancement
Program (NRCS and MDNR drinking water protec-
tion partnership) provided $8,038 in August 2001 to
support enrolling 1,678 acres in the program.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-08-001X
September 2008
For additional information contact:
Greg Anderson
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Nonpoint Source Coordinator
573-751-7428 • greg.anderson@dnr.mo.gov
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