Upload
franklin-soil-and-water-conservation-district-brouillette
View
71
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Dr. Julie Weatherington-Rice gave an update on the Ohio Lake Erie Phosphorous Task Force at the Franklin Soil and Water quarterly brown bag, August 24, 2010.
Citation preview
The Ohio Lake Erie Phosphorus Task Force
August 24, 2010 Update
Julie Weatherington-Rice, PhD, Adj. Asst. Prof. OSU Dept. Food,
Agricultural, & Biological EngineeringSr. Scientist Bennett & WilliamsCo-coordinator OFFWG (OAS)
Presented on behalf of the Ohio Fracture Flow Working Group
NASA 4/2/08
After Decades of Work to Reduce Sediment Loading to the Great Lakes, Changing Agricultural Practices
are Still Delivering High Sediment Loads
NASA 4-2-08Western Basin
What Triggered This Crisis Now?
Blue-Green Algae Invasion of Western Lake Erie Fueled Blue-Green Algae Invasion of Western Lake Erie Fueled by Soluble (Dissolved) Reactive Phosphorus (S/DRP) and by Soluble (Dissolved) Reactive Phosphorus (S/DRP) and Nitrogen Arrived Autumn 2006 & has Continued to Grow Nitrogen Arrived Autumn 2006 & has Continued to Grow
Needs Nutrients, Warm & Stagnant Water to ThriveNeeds Nutrients, Warm & Stagnant Water to Thrive
Photo 4-3-07, Sandy Bihn, Western Lake Erie Waterkeeper
Maumee Bay State Park shoreline
By June 2007, the beaches on Maumee Bay were matted with a new Blue-Green Algae - Lyngbya
Wollei
Photos: Susan Rice, 6-22-07
To get to open water, have to walk over dried and blooming toxic algal mats
and then wade through toxic algae in the water – in flat settings a 10 to 30
yard trek or more
Near-shore and beach conditions just west of Maumee Bay State Park June 2007
To Respond to the Crisis, Ohio EPA Phosphorus Task Force
formed Spring 2007 to determine causes and possible solutions, Agricultural Practices in the Watershed appear to be the major source of nutrients
Lyngbya WolleiBenthic mats become buoyant and float to surface
(Maumee Bay State Park)
Lyngbya WolleiBenthic mats become buoyant and float to surface
(Maumee Bay State Park)
T. Fisher
That Fall we learned…
~30 Task Force Members from: Columbus Dispatch 9-07
Federal Agencies – US EPA, USGS, USDA ARS & NRCS
State Agencies – Ohio EPA, ODNR-DSW & Wildlife, ODA, OSU Sea Grant & Ext, Ohio Lake Erie Comm.
Local Agencies – Henry SWCD, NE Ohio Regional Sewer Dist
Academia –Heidelberg, Ohio State, U Toledo, Case Western
Scientific Organizations – Ohio Academy of Science OFFWG
Producer Organizations – Farm Bureau
Also Guests - Many backgrounds
A Comparison…
60 - 70’s Cladaphora Blue-green algae
Anabaena Aphanizomenon
Microcystis not dominant
90’s – Today Cladaphora Blue-green
algae Microcystis -
dominant Lyngbya wollei
first appeared in 2006
A Comparison…
Why it Matters
Microcystis produces taste and odor problems
Microcystis may produce a toxin: microcystin
Animal poisonings Skin contact may cause allergic rash If ingested, toxin damages the liver Lyngbya Wollei forms mounds & floating
mats: recreation & navigation hazards
P Task Force Approach
Identify all possible sources of SRP Quantify what we can with existing data
sources Consult with topical experts Consult peer-reviewed publications Identify relative contributions from
possible sources Develop recommendations
Identified Sources: Agriculture ~90?%
Animal Feeding Operations – all forms manures land applied
Uncontrolled Pasture-based animal operations
Commercial ag fertilizer – surface & over-applied – soil buildup
Municipal WWTP Biosolids & Biosludges applications
Rural stormwater runoff
Delivery – surface runoff & tile drainage to streams/ditches
Recent Changes in Agriculture
Larger farms, larger fields and larger equipment Larger equipment has multiple functions,
potential changes in the timing of fertilizer applications, more broadcast applications
Larger, heavier equipment may be leading to soil compaction
Changes in crop rotation resulting in changes to fertilizer application
Changes in fertilizer formulations
Timing, amount & incorporation are key
Identified Sources: Urban/Residential ? %
Residential fertilizer applications Golf course fertilizer applications Urban NPS stormwater runoff Delivery – overland & storm sewers to
streams & rivers / retain in rain gardens Established lawns need NO
phosphorus
Lawn Care Fertilizers
Products designed for turf management have low P levels
“All Purpose” products can have high P levels, but not a primary market product
Homeowner practices greatly influence potential for runoff
Localized problems can occur, but not a widespread problem
Identified Sources: Internal Loading ?%
Zebra & quagga mussels Mayflies burrowing Sediment resuspension Regeneration under anoxic conditions Dredging & shipping impacts Delivery – Internal to the Lake
PermanentSedimentation
Pre-mussels Post - mussels
Buildup andRecycle ofPhosphorus in Biomass,Mussels,Gobies,Cladophora(green algae)
Export ofPhosphorus andSediment todeep water andpermanent burial
Much of the input to lakes comes from tributaries.
In deeper water the probability a particle will remain in sedimentpermanently is highest. ( L. Ontario traps >80% of P input.)
Thus, offshore concentrations tend to be lower than those near shore.
algaebacteria
Identified Sources: Point Source ?%
Wastewater treatment plants Combined sewer overflows Industrial dischargers Household septic systems Orthophosphate in drinking water Delivery – Out of pipe into stream/river
Public Water SuppliesOrthophosphate Many Public Water Supplies began to add
anti-corrosives to the distribution systems in the mid-1990s
Compared PWS phosphate data with WWTP effluent
No discernable increases of phosphorus discharges detected at WWTPs
Concluded that any contribution from municipal wastewater treatment plants is nominal during non-storm conditions
Identified Sources: Other ?%
Streambank erosion Changing weather/storm patterns Natural release from soils/bedrock/glacial
materials Precipitation Birds/insects/wild animals Delivery – watershed & direct
Warm & Stagnant Water – How Much of the Problem?
Power plant cooling waters Industrial cooling waters Global warming Delivery – straight to lake Cooling towers would help Not included in study
Economic Costs to the Region (State)?
Summer 2009 Toledo Water Treatment $3-4,000 more/day x 90 days for activated carbon filtration ($270,000 to $360,000)
Anecdotal information about boats & cottages up for sale
No other studies available to determine economic impacts to recreation in & around the lake
No other plans, by anyone to date, to study this aspect of the damage – this may change after this last summer
Ohio Lake Erie P Task ForceSummary Conclusions
•SRP loadings are driven by runoff events & NPS•Loads are from the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers to Lake Erie• Dreissinids are a factor•Multiple contributors; agriculture is key•Need to look at how we manage our P inputs
Ohio Lake Erie P Task ForceRecommendations Management options include:
Increase use of soil tests Update screening tools that account for
agronomic need and environmental risk Align with application recommendations
Manage P inputs Timing, amount and incorporation
Next Steps
Task Force Report is Final: http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/lakeerie/ptaskforce/index.aspx
Research projects currently funded by the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, USEPA-GLNPO, Great Lakes Protection Fund, Ohio Sea Grant & other projects Millennium Network
NRCS work group evaluating the P Index NRCS: “bundled practices” for nutrient
management Work with others around the basin to pool ideas,
develop basin-specific approaches
Summer 2009 - While we were working Conditions worsened in Lake Erie Mycrocystin outbreaks were found in other Ohio
Lakes (Grand Lake St. Marys & Buckeye Lake) Grand Lake St. Marys was closed to contact
water activities for whole season
8-30-09 at the Islands9-19-08
10-18-09 Overflight, the loading continues
Ohio Academy of Science, April 2010
Annual meeting, Ohio Northern University, Ada Ohio, April 10, 2010
2nd Special Symposium – “Water Quality of Ohio’s Lakes: Inland & Erie”
Many of the research groups involved in current Lake Erie projects presented
Session was open to the public www.ohiosci.org for abstracts, still on web site Presentations on www.westernlakeerie.org Hold again in 2012 for current updates
What we learned last April
Cyanobacteria STARTS in April high in the watersheds, masked by sediment in the rivers
Species found in ditches & rivers may not be exactly the same species as in Lake Erie but conditions that drive growth are the same
Problems are watershed wide, just more obvious in the lake(s) on quiet, hot, still days
Loading has to be reduced field by field & farm by farm
Many of the most active researchers were NOT on the Task Force
2010 “Summer of Bloom”*
Not just western Lake Erie & Grand Lake St. Marys any more
17 State Parks on list 8/20/10
Does not include private lakes (Camp Willson YMCA Camp) or local parks (Three Creeks Metropark, Groveport)
* Phrase coined by Tom Henry, Toledo Blade
2010 “Summer of Bloom”*
Stone Lab Pier, 8/11/10
Photo Jeff Reutter
2010 “Summer of Bloom”*
Highest levels of SRP ever measured in rivers by Heidelberg Lab since testing began in 1975 during the spring floods
Maumee Bay NOT as hard hit as usual, but Toledo shipping channel also scoured out 1 foot instead of refilled with sediment
Were high SRP waters & sediment pushed further out into the lake by high storm flows?
2010 A Perfect Storm of Events
Very wet spring & very hot summer, Global Warming drove system
Combined sewer overflows up Liquid manures flushed off/out of fields by rains Stratified phosphorus washed off the tops of
fields & out field tiles Cyanobacteria, from the dawn of time, ready &
waiting Great Lakes region now like SE United States
with same sets of conditions, now same problems
What Can You Do To Help? - Farmers
Check fields for stratified P, if significant, consider 1 time fall moldboard plow & disk w/ a good cover crop to flip stratification
Only apply P if you really need it Liquid manure system? Consider package
WWTP or composting (OARDC, Wooster) Installing new system? Consider
dry/composted system to begin with Follow BMPs to the letter for applications Tile drains? Consider permanent tile blocks,
wetlands or bioreactors at outlets
What is a Bioreactor?
Promoted by Iowa Soybean Assoc. for nitrate removal (http://www.iasoybeans.com/environment/bioreactorbasics.html) Should also work for SRP, NRCS offering cost share funding for installations, OSU FABE looking for cooperating farmers
What Can You Do To Help? - Urban
Remove Combined Sewer Overflows, upgrade WWTPs
Install Rain Gardens Choose lawn fertilizers w/out P for
established lawns DO NOT use general garden fertilizers on
lawns Check all household cleaning products,
make sure they are “phosphate free”
Help Us Restore ALL
the Lakes
Contacts for this Presentation
Ohio Academy of Science – www.ohiosci.org Ohio Fracture Flow Working Group –
[email protected] Western Lake Erie Association/Waterkeeper –
www.westernlakeerie.org, Sandy Bihn, 419-691-3788, [email protected]
Ohio Phosphorus Task Force - [email protected],
Keeping Ohio’s Water Clean
Ohio Fracture Flow Working Group/OAS
http://www.epa.ohio.gov/dsw/lakeerie/ptaskforce/index.aspx