Envirothon 2014
Regional Practice:
Aquatics
Nick Agins
Resource Technician
Lake County SWCD
February 22, 2014
History of Water Quality
Conservation
45 years later
Pollution Types
Point Source
Non-Point source
Clean Water Act of 1972
• The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948.
• What CWA 1972 Did:
– Structure for regulating pollutants discharges into the
waters of the USA.
– Set water quality standards for all contaminants in
surface waters.
– Unlawful…to discharge any pollutant from a point
source into navigable waters, unless a permit was
obtained. (Agriculture Exempted)
– Address the critical problems posed by nonpoint
source pollution.
• Water Quality Act 1987
2014 Envirothon
Sustainable Agriculture and Locally
Grown Products
• Understanding how aquatic ecosystems function
and the services they provide.
• How sustainable farming practices enhance and
protect…water quality and water quantity.
• The importance of local and regional foods
systems to sustainable agriculture. Fisheries
Management
Watersheds
• Land that drains to a common outlet.
• Everyone lives in a watershed.
• Everything effects it
Stream (Lotic) Systems
• Arteries of a watershed
– Lotic water system v. Lentic (ponds)
• High biodiversity
– Hundreds of species
• Very sensitive and complex
– Biological indicator of impact
• Important to Commerce
– Recreation and civil function
River Continuum Concept
Vannote et. al 1980
• Land use environment &
stream community
harmony.
• 1o Producers: Vegetation
– Riparian Habitat
• Consumers:
Macroinvertebrates
– Shredders, Collectors, Grazers,
Predators
Fish
– Fish spp. based on temp., food &
spawning habitat.
Lentic Systems
o
• 1 Producers
– Phytoplankton ……..
• Tiny Plants
• Consumers
– Zooplankton & Fish
Wetland Ecosystems
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Act as filters in the natural world.
Sanctuary for endangered spp.
Essential for nursery habitat for animals.
Can be lotic or lentic systems.
Pollution in Aquatic systems
• Leading pollutant is….
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Clogs or fills streambed
Raises temperature
Smothers eggs and gills
Reduces oxygen
Changes hydrology
Hard to remove
Lead
Mercury
Arsenic
Excess Nutrients
Bieber
Sedimentation
How Could Agriculture Impact Streams, Wetlands
and Lakes?
Excess Nutrient Runoff
• Fertilizer/waste entering into streams and ponds.
– Lawn care, croplands, industrial effluent (phosphates)
• Results…..
Algal Blooms or Eutrophication
N-P-K
• All plants require to produce O2
– Nitrogen – N2 – Limiting in SOIL
– Phosphorous – P – Limiting in WATER
– Potassium – K
– Nitrogen continues to assimilate in plants in the
presence of available P.
– Lakes act as P sinks. Algae dies off, sinks into
bottom sediments and redistributed.
– What Happens to D.O. as Eutrophication Progresses.
Biological O2 Demand Increases (BOD)
Legumes
(Rhizobium )
BLG Algae
Lightning
Nitrogen Cycle
Phosphorous Cycle
Anaerobic
Bacteria
Dissolved P
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
• Blue Green Algal Taxa – Cyanobacteria
Anabaena,
Annie
Aphanizomenon,
Microcystis
Fannie
• Photosynthetic Bacteria
• Cyanobacteria microcystis
– Microcystins are hepatotoxin
• Liver, skin, hepatic portal system..
• Pose a threat to human/aquatic
safety
Mike
Sustainable Agriculture and Locally
Grown Products
• Understanding how aquatic ecosystems
function and the services they provide.
• How sustainable farming practices
enhance and protect…water quality and
water quantity.
• The importance of local and regional foods
systems to sustainable agriculture.
Agriculture Best Management
Practices (BMPs)
• Manage to Reduce and Retain
– Animal Wastes
– Nutrients/Soil
– Salinity
– Water use
Animal Waste
• Waste storage and lagoons
• Compost facilities
• Waste Utilization
Nutrient Management
• Regular soil tests
• Nutrient Application Plan
– Reduce over-application
• Conservation tillage
– Conservation, strip and no-till
– Cover crops
– Crop rotation (Rhizobium)
• Grassed strips, wind breaks,
contour farming
Stream/Field Stewardship
• Riparian Buffers
– Non-point source protection
• Bank stabilization
• Temperature
• Runoff velocity control
• Hydrology
– Slowed sufficiently
– Nitrogen fixation
– Trap sediment (P)
• Wider the better
Sustainable Agriculture and Locally
Grown Products
• Understanding how aquatic ecosystems function
and the services they provide.
• How sustainable farming practices enhance and
protect…water quality and water quantity.
• The importance of local and regional foods
systems to sustainable agriculture. Fisheries
Management
Maumee R. Watershed
• 50% of TP in L.Erie is from 1 watershed
– Maumee R.
• 8,316 sq.mi; 24 counties over 3 states
– 70%+ of watershed is Ag.
Lake Erie Fisheries
• Commercial and recreational economy
– Consumable, popular commodity
• 11 million people
– Locally vital industry
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117,000 jobs
$3,100,000,000 in wages
$11,000,000,000 Revenue travel/sport fishing
61% of commercial fishing harvest
– $13,000,000+ Revenue
Quiz