Town Brook/Cannonsville Reservoir Watersheds – A CEAP-WAS contribution

1. Town Brook/Cannonsville Reservoir Watersheds – A CEAP-WAS contribution Bil Gburek and friends Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit USDA-ARS University Park, PA CEAP-WAS Workshop Irving, TX; March 2005

2. New York City water supply watersheds • 1,969 mi2 • 8 million people • 1.3 billion gal daily • 2 main reservoir systems • east of Hudson – minimal ag problems • west of Hudson – • forest and dairy agriculture • P-related problems • manure use/”disposal”

3. Cannonsville Reservoir problems • Phosphorus loss from dairy agriculture negatively impacts eutrophic status of reservoir • Erosion from corn land use and related P transport, previously unaddressed in whole-farm planning process, becoming of concern • Sustainability and economic viability of farm community affected by P management measures West-of-Hudson watersheds

4. while management is at whole-farm scale... but water quantity and quality impacts are typically at watershed/basin scale BMP implementation and evaluation typically at field scale... CEAP-WAS

5. Research objectives – pre-CEAP origins • Client-driven • WAC • Del Cty SWCD • NRCS • NYC-DEP • NYS-DEC • EPA Contributing research groups • ARS (lead) • Cornell University • USGS • NYC-DEP • NYS-DEC

6. Research objectives – pre-CEAP origins • Quantify P loss from dairy agriculture at field, farm, and watershed scales • Evaluate efficacy of BMPs, individually and in combination • Evaluate effectiveness of current BMP strategy in reducing P loss • Develop new and/or improved strategies for BMP selection and siting • Maintain sustainability and economic viability of farms

7. Town Brook outlet – 14.3 mi2 USGS since 1997 flow; lowflow and event-scale sediment and P species forested sub-watershed Cannonsville Watershed – 354 mi2 NYS-DEP since 1991 flow; lowflow and event-scale sediment and P species R-farm – first-order “watershed” with phased BMP implementation NYS-DEP since 1991 flow; lowflow and event-scale sediment and P species Monitoring data available

8. Research approach • Field  landscape  farm  small watershed – Town Brook Watershed focus • representative of Cannonsville conditions • evaluation of BMPs singly or in combination • farmers’ management decisions and BMPs can be tied directly to P loss to the stream • Modeling to extrapolate to Cannonsville scale • farm-scale modeling – IFSM (enterprise costs) • watershed-scale modeling – SWAT • current levels of P loss • incorporate and evaluate effects of BMPs • optimization for BMP selection & placement

9. Anticipated products • Documented effectiveness of individual BMPs in reducing P loss – Catskill appropriate • Watershed modeling incorporating impacts of BMPs considering source, transport, and BMP intervention processes – national applicability • Methodology for effective and economic selection and siting of BMPs – national applicability

10. Progress • BMP effectiveness quantified (w/ pubs) • streambank fencing • cover crops • grass filter strips/riparian buffers • P-sorbing materials • P source investigations (w/ pubs) • soil P-runoff P relationships • P transport investigations (w/ pubs) • VSA characterization and impact • potential for subsurface transport

11. Progress (cont’d) • BMP tool developed (JSWC) • Optimized BMPs at farm scale (ASAE) • Optimized BMPs at watershed scale (AWRA accepted) • Farm-scale BMPs – e.g., precision feeding and improved forage utilization to reduce P imbalance; environmental and economic impacts • Improved manure P model subroutines • Role of channel processes in watershed-scale P transport dynamics