Creating a Strategic Management Plan to Address Water Quality Concerns in Our Community

In 2014, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) awarded funds to the Clinton County Soil and Water Conservation District and project partners to complete a Watershed Management Plan in the Browns-Wonder-Sugar Creek Watershed.  Funds were made available through Section 205j of the Clean Water Act.  The Browns-Wonder-Sugar Creek watershed encompasses areas within Clinton and Boone counties.

Deliverables included establishing a partnership with Purdue University to conduct water quality analysis at eight sampling sites to establish a holistic concept of water quality trends & to identify potential resource concerns.  Through a partnership with the U.S Geological Service, a gage station was installed in Thorntown to help showcase flow patterns and to calculate nutrient loads.   In addition, education and outreach efforts were conducted to engage the local community to assist with identifying and prioritizing water quality concerns.

Through the water quality analysis and social surveys conducted the following pollutants were identified as resource concerns in the watershed: nitrogen, phosphorus, turbidity, E.coli (pathogens) & fish communities.  The completed BWSC Watershed Management Plan was submitted to IDEM and is currently undergoing review.  Once final edits have been made the document will be posted on IDEM’s website.  The Watershed Management Plan will serve as a long-term planning document that will guide future conservation assistance in the area as well as establish a strategic action plan that will improve water quality.

Watershed Initiatives

Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) is an Indiana Department of Natural Resources; Division of Fish & Wildlife program. The goal of the Division of Fish & Wildlife's Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) Program is to protect and enhance aquatic habitat for fish and wildlife, and to ensure the continued viability of Indiana's publicly accessible lakes and streams for multiple uses, including recreational opportunities. This is accomplished by landowners voluntarily implementing conservation practices that reduce surface water run-off.

In 2016, the Clinton County SWCD secured $45,000 in cost-share funds through the IDNR, Lake & River Enhancement Program to increase the amount of financial  assistance available to agricultural producers in the Browns Wonder-Sugar Creek Watershed for the implementation of best management practices.  In 2016, the LARE program provided cost-share to local producers to voluntarily implement 697 ac. of cover crop, 218 acres of nutrient management planning, 197 ac. of no-till crop production. Region 5 Model load reductions for these projects are estimated to be 1,169 lbs/yr. of Nitrogen, 585 lbs/yr. of Phosphorus, and 470 tons/yr. of Sediment.   

Region 5 Model load reductions based on the 2013-2016 completed and planned work within the Brown’s Wonder-Sugar Creek watershed  through the IDNR-LARE program have resulted in the following Region 5 Model load reductions:   12,320 lb/yr. of Nitrogen, 8,207 lb/yr. of Phosphorus, and 6,592 ton/yr. of Sediment.  Practices implemented include 2,975 ac. of cover crop, 491 acres of nutrient management planning, 818 ac. of no-till crop production, and 1 waste closure facility with waste utilization.

 

The Clean Water Indiana (CWI) Program was established to provide financial assistance to landowners and conservation groups.  The financial assistance supports the implementation of conservation practices which will reduce non-point sources of water pollution through education, technical assistance, training and cost-sharing programs.  The CWI fund is administered by the ISDA, Division of Soil Conservation under the direction of the State Soil Conservation Board.

The Clinton County SWCD currently has two active CWI grants in partnership with Montgomery, Boone, Tippecanoe, Carroll and Howard county Soil and Water Conservation Districts.  Project areas include the Sugar Creek Watershed and the Wildcat Creek Watershed.  The focus of each of the grants is on building soil health by incorporating a system of practices such cover crops, no-till and integrated crop management (i.e. nutrient and pest management plans).

In 2016, CWI program funds cooperating producers have voluntarily implemented 723 acres of cover crops. Region 5 Model load reductions for these projects are estimated to be 154 lbs/yr. of Nitrogen, 77 lbs/yr. of Phosphorus, and 47 tons/yr. of Sediment. 

 

INfield Advantage

In 2016 Clinton County was able to expand their grower group.  The group was formed by local growers that wanted to improve their nitrogen use efficiency in corn.  This year, 14 local growers enrolled 34 fields in the Guided Stalk Sampling program. The Clinton County group is part of the state-wide program coordinated by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). INfield Advantage continues to be one of the largest adaptive nutrient management farmer networks in the country after Iowa.    More information about the program and previous years’ results can be found at: www.INfieldAdvantage.org .

INFA uses aerial imagery and the Corn Stalk Nitrate Test (CSNT) to determine nitrogen use efficiency in each field enrolled. Producers are not restricted on tillage, rotation, nitrogen form, timing or rate and may enroll multiple fields. The basic level of the program is called Guided Stalk Sampling (GSS). Growers may also use INFA to conduct on-farm research using Replicated Strip Trials (RST). At the end of the year, INFA supplies each grower with the imagery and CSNT results from each field. Any fields with a Replicated Strip Trial will also have an RST report. Each grower also receives a regional report, with each field assigned an anonymous ID number.