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Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan

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Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan • • • Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan November 2011 A tool to inform and guide watershed residents and stakeholders as they seek to cooperatively improve water quality in Iowa’s Raccoon River Watershed. 1 | Page Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan • • • Thank you to the many stakeholders, experts, and diverse interests who contributed to development of the recommendations and ideas expressed in this document. Without your time, your assistance, and your honest opinions, development of the Master Plan would not have been possible. Special thanks to Drs. Phil Gassman and Manoj Jha, Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, for your leadership and work on water quality modeling. Prepared on behalf of the M&M Divide Resource Conservation & Development By Agren, Inc. Carroll, IA This report is designed for general information only. Although the information contained herein is believed to be correct and reflective of stakeholder interests, M&M Divide and Agren assume no liability whatsoever in connection with the use of the contents of the report by any person. Copyright 2011 Agren, Inc. All rights reserved. Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan • • • Raccoon River Watershed Water What is a watershed? Quality Master • • • Plan The term watershed refers to an area of November 2011 land that all drains to a common Preface waterway. The watershed area includes both the The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) streams and rivers awarded a grant to the Missouri & Mississippi (M&M) that convey water, Divide RC&D, with a subcontract to Agren, Inc. to as well as the land develop a Water Quality Master Plan for the Raccoon surfaces from which River Watershed in January 2010. Funding for the grant the water drains. agreement was provided through Section 319 of the Other terms that Environmental Protection Agency, as well as Section mean the same 604(b) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act thing as watershed of 2009. are drainage basin, The initiative to create a comprehensive plan for the 3,625 river basin, or square mile Raccoon River Watershed grew from catchment. concerns of the river’s impairments for both nitrate and bacteria. Additional information on water quality in the river can be found later in this report, as well as the Water Quality Improvement Plan developed by the Iowa DNR (Schilling and Wolter 2008). This Master Plan is, by design, broad in scope and intended audience. It is not meant to direct the activities of one specific agency or organization. Rather, it has been developed as a tool to inform and guide watershed 3 | Page Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan • • • residents and stakeholders as they seek to improve the environmental conditions of the watershed while maintaining the economic vigor of the region rooted in production agriculture. The Plan does not define specific outcome targets for water quality, nor does it prescribe a specific vision of what constitutes an environmentally and economically prosperous Raccoon River basin. Rather, the Plan focuses on common needs that have been identified by, and are broadly supported by, multi-disciplinary experts and watershed stakeholders. Priorities identified within the Master Plan are organized into nine recommendations that have been identified by stakeholder and expert contributors as being important steps to restoring water quality. Many of these recommendations are immediately actionable. In addition to the recommendations set forth in the Master Plan, this document also provides an overview of existing water quality, land use, and demographic data and forecasts possible water quality outcomes based on varying implementation levels of agricultural best management practices (BMPs). 4 | Page Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan • • • Executive Summary The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) awarded a grant to the Missouri & Mississippi (M&M) Divide RC&D, with a subcontract to Agren, Inc., to develop a Water Quality Master Plan for the Raccoon River Watershed. The 3,625 square mile Raccoon River Watershed in central Iowa is identified as having water quality impairments for nitrate and bacteria. The resulting Master Plan is broad in scope and intended audience and focuses on common needs that have been identified by multi-disciplinary experts and watershed stakeholders. The Master Plan document provides an overview of existing water quality, land use, and demographic data. Supplementary water quality modeling efforts by the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development identify high priority subwatersheds within the Raccoon River Watershed and forecast possible water quality outcomes based on varying implementation levels of agricultural best management practices. Priorities identified within the Master Plan are organized into nine recommendations: 1) Develop a regional planning organization to guide implementation of the Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan. 2) Conduct public education to improve awareness of water quality and instill a personal commitment to water quality improvement among all watershed residents 3) Focus outreach and education efforts to farm operators and agricultural landowners on nutrient and drainage management strategies. 4) Aggressively pursue opportunities to facilitate private-sector conservation planning services. 5) Take full advantage of emerging technologies and LiDAR elevation data to identify areas of concern and target practices based on landscape characteristics at the field level. 6) Target implementation of agricultural best management practices to priority subwatersheds and priority impairments. 7) Enhance effectiveness of nutrient control and removal practices by encouraging a “stacked” approach to nutrient management such as reduce, trap, and treat. 8) Monitor water quality at the subwatershed scale to characterize existing conditions and evaluate effectiveness of watershed projects and conservation practices. 9) Continue to assess long-term water quality status and trends in the Raccoon River and enhance these efforts as resources allow. 5 | Page Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan • • • Due to the altered hydrology and land use of the watershed, there is no simple or single solution to markedly improving water quality in the Raccoon River. Water quality modeling results indicate that even with 100 percent acceptance and use of any single best management practice, attaining the water quality reductions identified by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for nitrate and pathogen loading is unlikely. Clearly, new strategies and technologies for drainage and nutrient management are needed. Significant progress toward water quality improvement will come only from strong private sector leadership, cooperation among all partners, and a genuine commitment to a new conservation delivery system. 6 | Page • • • Contents Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 13 Current Watershed Conditions ................................................................................................ 14 Water uses ............................................................................................................................... 15 Water quality ........................................................................................................................... 15 Land uses ................................................................................................................................. 17 Geology and soils ................................................................................................................... 19 Hydrology ............................................................................................................................... 20 Demographics ......................................................................................................................... 21 Climate ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 23 Recommendation #1: Develop a regional planning organization to guide implementation of the Raccoon River Watershed Water Quality Master Plan. ............ 24 Current efforts ..................................................................................................................... 24 Potential opportunities ...................................................................................................... 25 Challenges and barriers ..................................................................................................... 27 Recommendation #2: Conduct public education to improve awareness of water quality and instill a personal commitment to water quality improvement among all watershed residents. .............................................................................................................. 29 Current efforts ..................................................................................................................... 30 Potential opportunities ...................................................................................................... 30 Challenges and barriers ..................................................................................................... 31
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