Section 319
              NONPOINT SOURCE PRMRAM SUCCESS STORY
 Agricultural BMPs Reduce Herbicide Concentrations in Five Drinking Water Lakes

 Cameron Lakes, Mark Twain Lake, and Smithville Lake, Missouri

 A/o+o>rK^H\/ Irv^r^w^H   Herbicide application to row crop agriculture and subsequent storm
Waiyiuuuy irriuruvyu
                              runoff impaired the water quality of five lakes in northern Missouri
 that were used as sources of drinking water.  In 1998 the three Cameron Lakes, Mark Twain Lake,
 and Smithville Lake were placed on the 303(d) list of impaired waters for periodic high-atrazine
 concentrations. The project partners used a science-based approach to identify priority watersheds
 with the highest pollutant loading contributions. Through an outreach program, farmers were
 encouraged to measure and time atrazine applications more carefully, which allowed all five lakes to
 successfully meet water quality standards and to be removed from the 303(d) list in 2003.


 Problem

 In 1998 the Missouri Department of Natural
 Resources placed five lakes in northern
 Missouri (three Cameron Lakes, Mark Twain
 Lake and Smithville Lake) on the 303(d) list
 because they exceeded state water qual-
 ity standards for atrazine. All had periodic
 atrazine concentrations above the Maximum
 Contaminant Level (MCL) of 3 parts per billion
 (ppb) established for public drinking water
 supplies.

 Atrazine is a low-cost herbicide used for
 combating grass and broadleaf weeds in corn
 and is widely used. Farmers were concerned
 that they would have to greatly restrict use of
 the herbicide in their corn and soybean opera-
 tions. The Environmental Resources Coalition
 (ERC), a nonprofit organization, used 319 fund-
 ing and, with partners, formed the Watershed
 Research, Assessment and Stewardship
 Project (WRASP) to put together a strategy
 to improve water quality without negatively
 affecting farmers' business profits.
 Project Highlights
 Monitoring was conducted from 1999 through
 2004 to evaluate the origin and quality of
 the water running into the affected lakes.
Lake monitoring was conducted before and
throughout the growing season.


Approximately 50 automatic monitoring
samplers were placed at field edges and in
large and small streams that flowed into the
lakes. Strategically sited monitoring stations
measured the relative contribution of smaller
subwatersheds into the lakes. Stream flow was
taken into account at each sampling location.
Each station had instrumentation that allowed
simultaneous sampling and flow measure-
ments during peak rainstorm flow events.  The
lakes themselves were sampled in late March
(before seasonal atrazine applications) and
continued every 3 weeks until September. The

-------
                                               Results
Edge-of-field runoff monitoring equipment


resulting data identified subbasins that contrib-
uted disproportionately to pollutant loads into
the lakes.

Farmers were encouraged to voluntarily install
best management practices (BMPs) to cost-
effectively reduce pollutant runoff. Two tillage
practices—no-till and minimum-till—were
combined with selected atrazine application
methods. Atrazine was applied at one of two
rates—0.75 Ib/acre or 1.5-2 Ib/acre—using
one of three methods: incorporation into
the soil before planting, surface application
before planting, or surface application after
crop emergence. Grass buffer strips were
also planted to retard and capture field runoff
before it entered waterways. To promote these
voluntary farmer practices, WRASP conducted
field demonstrations, informational meetings,
and one-on-one consultations with farmers
from 2002 to 2004.
                                                Levels of atrazine (and other contaminants
                                                in the lakes) began to decrease after the first
                                                year of the project. The lakes' average levels of
                                                atrazine dropped below the MCL of 3 ppb for
                                                drinking water, and the Missouri Department
                                                of Natural Resources removed the lakes from
                                                the303(d)listin late 2003.
                                                        Concentrations of Atrazine
                                                            in Smithville Lake


                                                                    WRASP Began 1998
                                                                           3 parts per billion
                                                                           ^^^^^^^^^^H
                                                                        ACCEPTABLE STANDARD
                                              1996
                                                         1998
                                                                   2000
                                                                             2002
                                                                                        2004
                                           Collaboration under the WRASP project led to reduced
                                           concentrations of herbicide in Smithville Lake.
                                           Partners and Funding
The Missouri House Interim Committee on Water
Quality visit a WRASP site.
                                           ERC managed the WRASP project and
                                           administered the 319 funding. They formed a
                                           partnership with the Missouri Corn Growers
                                           Association who put together an alliance of
                                           business and governmental organizations
                                           including the Missouri Department of Natural
                                           Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture—
                                           Agricultural Research Service, Environmental
                                           Protection  Agency, Syngenta Crop Protection,
                                           Inc., and Bayer Crop Sciences. Funding for
                                           the 319 portion of the project was $1,000,000,
                                           while the total project cost was $5,000,000
                                           over 5 years.  To ensure future longevity of
                                           protective water quality practices, an ongoing
                                           Stewardship  Implementation Project has been
                                           put in place. It continues the water-monitor-
                                           ing component of WRASP and extensively
                                           expands the one-on-one work with farmers to
                                           implement BMPs on larger, field-scale sites in
                                           the watersheds.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Off ice of Water
Washington, DC

EPA841-F-07-001J
June 2007
                                                For additional information contact:
                                                Linda Paule
                                                Environmental Resources Coalition
                                                3118 Emerald Lane, Suite 110
                                                Jefferson City, MO 65109
                                                573-634-7078
                                                www.erc-env.org

-------