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This project will establish best management practices (BMPs) that will reduce NPS pollutants in the watershed during stormwater runoff events. Techniques of managing water, land resources, fertility programs, cropping sequences, and dairy wastes will be introduced to area landowners. BMPs will be selected based on local needs and their potential to reduce nutrient loading of the watershed from agricultural activities.
Beneficiaries of this project will include rural and metropolitan areas that depend on Leon River water resources for domestic uses. The coordinated educational phase of the project will inform land users and area residents of BMPs that will improve and protect the quality of water resources. The educational program will be extended to other regions of the state providing positive effects on improvement in Texas water quality.
The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) in cooperation with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES), the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER), the Texas Agricultural Extension Service (Extension), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) will implement this project in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding or interagency contracts. The purpose of the project is to conduct a water quality demonstration program to document the reduction of NPS impact to the Leon River Watershed resulting from implementation of appropriate BMPs.
Data Quality Objectives for Measurement Data
Nonpoint source pollution which may be generated from the agricultural practices has the potential for contaminating surface water resources in the Leon River Watershed including Lakes Leon, Proctor and Belton, which supply drinking water to residents in Central Texas. The project quality objective is to demonstrate BMPs designed to reduce nutrient loading of the Leon River Watershed with an emphasis on stormwater runoff. BMPs will be evaluated in their effectiveness to a confidence level of 90 percent. The project hosts a number of participants including: 1) US Environmental Protection Agency, Region VI (EPA) 2) Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) 3) Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) 4) Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) 5) Texas Agricultural Extension Service (Extension) 6) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 7) Local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) 8) Local landowners
The Leon River flows through portions of Bell, Comanche, Coryell, Eastland, and Hamilton counties forming three reservoirs (Leon, Proctor, and Belton) along its 250 mile course within the Leon River Watershed. The TSSWCB has designated the Leon River Watershed an impacted area under the section 319 process, with five segments being identified in the 1988-1990 assessment of NPS as having potential for and concerns related to pollutants attributed to agricultural activities. Specifically, the concerns are animal waste and animal confinement facilities in the upper portion of the watershed, and ranching and row crop agricultural runoff in the lower portion. The data required for the evaluation of this demonstration will include: 1) Previous water quality data from the watershed 2) GIS modeling and mapping of the watershed 3) Nutrient/pollutant levels (Table A7-1) pre and post BMP implementation The prevalent agricultural practices differ between the upper and lower portions of the Leon River Watershed. Due to concerns about dairy waste, the analysis of water samples collected from demonstration sites in the upper portion will include, but not be limited to, total suspended solids, nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, orthophosphate phosphorous, total phosphorous, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and fecal coliform bacteria. In contrast, agricultural activities in the lower portion of the watershed below Hamilton include ranching and row cropping operations. Therefore, water samples collected in the lower half of the watershed will be analyzed for nitrate nitrogen, orthophosphate phosphorous, pH, temperature, dissolve oxygen and total suspended solids. EPA approved laboratory procedures will be used for all sample analysis.
July 14, 1998
Dennis Hoffman, Project Leader;
Steve Dagitz, Webmaster