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Full Participation in Conservation Practice Implementation Restores
Water Quality in Lake Providence
Watprhflflv ImnrnvpH Run°ff pollution from nearby agricultural land led to an
impairment offish and wildlife propagation (FWP) in Lake
Providence, an oxbow lake in northeast Louisiana. During 2013-2014, Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality (LDEQ) ambient monitoring data showed high total dissolved solids (TDS) and
an impairment of FWP in the lake. Working with producers in the watershed, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and partners garnered 100
percent participation in conservation practice implementation, which restored water quality.
Problem
Lake Providence, a 1,400-acre recreational lake in
East Carroll Parish, lies in the Ouachita River Basin.
An abandoned meander of the Mississippi River, the
lake is surrounded by flat cropland and borders the
town of Lake Providence (Figure 1). Data collected in
2013-2014 at the LDEQ ambient monitoring site at the
Tensas Bayou bridge indicated that TDS concentrations
exceeded the state's water quality standard for FWP
at Lake Providence. As a result, in 2016 LDEQ added
the Lake Providence TDS impairment to its Integrated
Report. The assessment identified agriculture as the
primary suspected source. Additionally, the Lake
Providence Watershed Council stakeholder group
identified soil erosion from cultivated areas as a
concern to water quality in the lake in a 2016 report,
Managing Lake Providence Watershed Resources, An
Interim Report to the Louisiana Legislature. Soybeans,
corn and cotton are prevalent in the watershed, and
agriculture comprises 68 percent of land use in the
subsegment. Runoff flows into drainage canals and
tributaries that meander through farmland and drain
into the lake.
Story Highlights
In 2015, the Louisiana State Legislature created
the Lake Providence Watershed Council to address
degraded water quality and other local concerns
related to sedimentation. The Council named USDA
NRCS as a federal partner for agricultural best manage-
ment practice (BMP) implementation. Lake Providence
Figure 1. Lake Providence drains an agricultural
watershed in northeast Louisiana.
is one of NRCS' Mississippi River Basin Healthy
Watershed Initiative (MRBI) watersheds. LDEQ also was
named as a partner and, through its Nonpoint Source
Pollution Program and Water Surveys, monitored and
Lake Providence Landuse And Sampling Sites
(•) Sampling Site
Soybeans
Com
| Cotton
| Developed
Grass/Pasture
Wetland Forest
| Water
Shrubland
Other
Lake
Providence

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analyzed water quality at 11 sites around the lake to
help target conservation practices.
MRBI goals Include reducing soii loss and improving
nutrient management through methods such as reduc-
ing faii tillage, using cover crops and/or residue, and
employing better nutrient management techniques.
NRCS worked with soii and water conservation districts
(SWCDs) in the area to develop outreach plans and
implement BMPs to reduce runoff. LDEQ monitored
water quality at several sites throughout the lake and
presented results periodically to inform stakeholders
about water quality trends and to inform partners
where pollutant concentrations were highest.
From October 2016 through 2020, NRCS cooper-
ated with the East Carroll SWCD and the Louisiana
Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) to
garner 100 percent producer participation in BMP
implementation on cropland draining to the lake.
Because of this work, LDEQ monitoring data shows
that levels of TDS have declined, which indicates the
lake once again can support its FWP designated use.
Results
NRCS, along with SWCDs and other partners, devel-
oped targeted outreach plans to reach producers.
After conservation practice implementation in the
Lake Providence watershed, monitoring results show
water quality improvement (Figure 2). Project data and
ambient data show restoration, and LDEQ removed
the Lake Providence TDS water quality impairment
from its 2020 draft water quality assessment.
Partners and Funding
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, LDEQ,
USDA NRCS, the East Carroll Parish SWCD, LDAF, the
Lake Providence Watershed Council, stakeholders
and producers are responsible for improving the
water quality in Lake Providence. NRCS has expended
$2,157,876 for contracts for conservation practices
on 12,393 acres; LDEQ has allocated approximately
$224,876 ($134,926 federal and $89,950 matching
funds) for nonpoint source staff activities, water qual-
ity monitoring and analysis.
Lake Providence TDS Ambient Monitoring Data
300
250
200
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100
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12017-18
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Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Month of Year

Figure 2. Ambient monitoring data show that total dissolved solids levels have
declined in Lake Providence.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-20-001Q
September 2020
For additional information contact:
John Sheehan
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
225-219-0879 • john.sheehan@la.gov

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