Information technology and innovative drainage management practices for selenium load reduction from irrigated agriculture to provide stakeholder assurances and meet contaminant mass loading policy objectives

Many perceive the implementation of environmental regulatory policy, especially concerning non-point source pollution from irrigated agriculture, as being less efficient in the United States than in many other countries. This is partly a result of the stakeholder involvement process but is also a reflection of the inability to make effective use of Environmental Decision Support Systems (EDSS) to facilitate technical information exchange with stakeholders and to provide a forum for innovative ideas for controlling non-point source pollutant loading. This paper describes one of the success stories where a standardized Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methodology was modified to better suit regulation of a trace element in agricultural subsurface drainage and information technology was developed to help guide stakeholders, provide assurances to the public and encourage innovation while improving compliance with State water quality objectives. The geographic focus of the paper is the western San Joaquin Valley where, in 1985, evapo-concentration of selenium in agricultural subsurface drainage water, diverted into large ponds within a federal wildlife refuge, caused teratogenecity in waterfowl embryos and in other sensitive wildlife species. The fallout from this environmental disaster was a concerted attempt by State and Federal water agencies to regulate non-point source loads of the trace element selenium. The complexity of selenium hydrogeochemistry, the difficulty and expense of selenium concentration monitoring and political discord between agricultural and environmental interests created challenges to the regulation process. Innovative policy and institutional constructs, supported by environmental monitoring and the web-based data management and dissemination systems, provided essential decision support, created opportunities for adaptive management and ultimately contributed to project success. The paper provides a retrospective on the contentious planning process and offers suggestions as to how the technical and institutional issues could have been resolved faster through early adoption of some of the core principles of sound EDSS design.     

Combined effects of best management practices on water quality in oxbow lakes from agricultural watersheds

Water quality conditions in three oxbow lakes were examined before and after best management practices (BMPs) implementation within the Mississippi Delta. Experimental design called for the development of structural and cultural treatments to reduce sediment and associated pollutants entering watershed oxbow lakes. Three watersheds were selected and developed with different levels of BMPs. Changes in lake water quality were used as measures of management success. Analyses of water quality data prior to the implementation of BMPs suggested the lakes were stressed and ecologically damaged due to excessive sediment inflow. Significant improvements in water quality were observed with the use of cultural and structural BMPs. Sediments decreased 34–59%, while Secchi visibility and chlorophyll generally increased. The most dramatic improvements in water quality occurred in the two watersheds that featured cultural practices and combinations of cultural and structural practices. Reducing suspended sediment concentrations in these oxbow lakes favored phytoplankton production resulting in increased chlorophyll concentrations and higher concentrations of dissolved oxygen. Cultural BMPs, more so than structural BMPs, play a vital role in improving lake water quality, and are needed in addition to structural measures to ensure improved water quality in oxbow lakes receiving agricultural runoff.     

A new optimal foraging model predicts habitat use by drift-feeding stream minnows

Abstract – There is substantial need for models that accurately predict habitat selection by fishes for purposes ranging from the elaboration of ecological theory to the preservation of biodiversity. We have developed a new and highly tractable optimal foraging model for drift‐feeding fishes that is based on the profitability of occupying varying focal‐point velocities in a stream. The basic model can be written as: I_x = (E_x * P_x) = {(D * A * V) * [1/(1 + e^{(b + cV)})]} ? S_x, where: (1) I_x is the net energy intake at velocity x; (2) E is prey encounter rate; (3) P is prey capture success rate which can be modelled as 1/(1 + e^{(b + cV)}) where b and c are fitting constants from the prey capture success curve; (4) D is the energy content of prey (J/m³) in the drift; (5) A is the visual reactive area of the fish; (6) V is velocity (cm/s); and (7) S is the cost of maintaining position (J/s). Given that D, A and S can be considered constant over the range of velocities occupied by these fishes, the model reduces to e^{(b + cV)} = 1/(cV ? 1) which we solved iteratively to yield an optimal focal‐point velocity for species in each sample. We tested the model by comparing its predictions to the mean focal‐point velocities (i.e. microhabitats) occupied by four species of drift‐feeding minnows in two sites in a stream in North Carolina, USA. The model successfully predicted focal‐point velocities occupied by these species (11 out of 14 cases) in three seasonal samples collected over 2 years at two sites. The unsuccessful predictions still were within 2 cm/s of the 95% confidence intervals of mean velocities occupied by fishes, whereas the overall mean deviation between optimal velocities and mean fish velocities was small (range = 0.9 and 3.3 cm/s for the warpaint shiner and the Tennessee shiner, respectively). Available focal‐point velocities ranged from 0–76 to 0–128 cm/s depending on site and season. Our findings represent one of the more rigorous field tests of an optimal foraging/habitat selection model for aquatic organisms because they encompass multiple species and years, and for one species, multiple sites. Because of the ease of parameterization of our model, it should be readily testable in a range of lotic habitats. If validated in other systems, the model should provide critical habitat information that will aid in the management of riverine systems and improve the performance of a variety of currently used management models (e.g. instream flow incremental methodology (IFIM) and total maximum daily load calculations (TMDL)).     

Comparison of wetland and agriculture drainage as sources of biochemical oxygen demand to the San Joaquin River, California

For many years, the San Joaquin River (SJR) has had low dissolved oxygen conditions intermittently during the late summer and early fall. The low dissolved oxygen conditions are impacting critical fish habitat and the SJR is being regulated under a state of California remediation plan that includes the development of a total maximum daily load (TMDL) allocation for oxygen demanding substances. In support of the development of a scientific TMDL allocation, studies are being conducted to characterize water quality in the many tributaries of the SJR. This study identified the sources of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in two western tributaries of the SJR, Mud Slough and Salt Slough, and measured the loads of BOD, algae, and ammonia entering the SJR from wetland and agricultural sources.

Mud and Salt Sloughs drain the Grassland Watershed. The watershed contains seasonal wetlands, irrigated farmland, and other agricultural lands. This drainage is under close regulatory scrutiny, because it produces a majority of the selenium and boron entering the SJR. In this study, wetland and irrigated agricultural drainage were sampled separately and a comparison was made to determine differences in water quality. In addition, water entering the study area was compared to water exiting the study area to determine the effect of water use in the region on water quality.

This study demonstrated that BOD loads from the Grassland Watershed to the SJR were proportional to flow during June–October, the most critical time for dissolved oxygen deficits in the lower SJR. This indicates that Mud and Salt Sloughs are not producing more BOD than other tributaries in the region that are not under close regulatory scrutiny. The BOD concentration of wetland drainage is higher than that of agricultural drainage, but the higher agricultural drainage flows result in a higher mass loading of BOD. Wetland flooding and irrigation of crops both had a negative impact on water quality. Algal growth was identified as the major source of BOD in agricultural drainage and locations where BOD control could potentially be implemented were identified.     

蘑菇湖水库水环境容量总量控制研究

为逐渐恢复蘑菇湖水库的农业灌溉及养殖功能,介绍了按灌溉期划分的夏秋、非灌、春灌3个不同时段及不同的水质目标,定量计算蘑菇湖水库主要污染物水环境容量总量,得到水库不同时段的最大日负荷(TMDL)。根据TMDL对蘑菇湖水库的污染来源实施总量控制研究,得出了以下结论:同一水质目标下,在夏秋、非灌、春灌不同时段的水环境容量成递增趋势;扣除水库污染物本底值的环境容量多数为负值;扣除水库污染物本底值的环境容量春灌时段大于夏秋时段,夏秋时段大于非灌时段。最后阐述了对蘑菇湖水库水环境容量实施总量控制的效果。     

TMDL计划在流域水污染物总量控制中的应用

概述了美国环保局提出的最大日负荷量(TMDL)计划的概念、目标及具体实施步骤,其实践表明:TMDL计划对改善水质是行之有效的。讨论分析了与美国TMDL计划实施过程相比,我国污染物总量控制实施TMDL计划可能存在的问题。最后提出了以流域水生态健康为出发点,结合我国流域实际情况,重视非点源污染,开发简单、经济、实用的污染负荷估算模型,制订了适宜我国流域水污染物总量控制的TMDL计划,并结合其他污染控制措施,以最终实现流域水生态健康。