SECTION II: TASK FORCE REPORT ON FERTILIZER NUTRIENTS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY OPERATIONS
F.R. Hore A.J. MacLean Engineering Research Service Soil Research Institute Agriculture Canada Agriculture Canada
TASK FORCE SUPPORT STAFF:
Dick Coote Elsie MacDonald Jim Cooke Randy Wahab Rados Trisic
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to acknowledge the support, assistance, contributions and co-operation given to the Task Force by Dr. J. S. Clark, Director, Soil Research Institute; Mr. C. G. E. Downing, Director, Engineering Research Service; Cartography Section and Library, Soil Research Institute; other federal and provincial government departments as well as several universities contacted. PART 1. Agricultural Contributions To Nutrient Enrichment Of Waters In
Watersheds Of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario And The International Section Of
The St. Lawrence River
Problems and Research on the Lower Great Lakes
Although our primary concern in agriculture is with the use and management of land for crop and animal production, it is appropriate that we appreciate the urgency of restoring and maintaining the quality of the Great Lakes waters as outlined in the Report of the International Joint
Commission (1970). Lake Erie has a surface area of 9900 square miles and a volume of 110 cubic miles. Lake Ontario is smaller in area, 7500 square miles, but it is deeper and has a volume of 393 cubic miles. The mean depth of water is only 23 feet in the Western Basin of Lake Erie as compared with 60 feet in the Central Basin, 80 feet in the Eastern Basin, and 280 feet in Lake Ontario. Aside from the presence of toxic chemicals and pathogenic organisms in the waters, the main problem is the growth of algae arising from nutrient enrichment. The decomposition of the algae and of organic wastes depletes the supply of oxygen in the water.
Upon arrival of warmer weather in the spring, the warmer upper layer of water (epilimnion) is separated from the colder and heavier zone of deep water (hypolimnion) by a thermocline which may serve as a barrier against mixing of the warm and cold water. Thus, until the thermocline disappears in late autumn, nutrients and pollutants may be concentrated in the epilimnion and atmospheric oxygen may not reach the hypolimnion. An over-enriched lake is eutrophic whereas one with a relatively small supply of nutrients is oligotrophic and one with a medium supply is mesotrophic. The shallow Western Basin of Lake Erie is eutrophic, the Central Basin is primarily mesotrophic-eutrophic, the Eastern Basin is primarily oligotrophic-mesotrophic and Lake Ontario is primarily oligotrophic.
II-1 Although any nutrient or growth factor may limit algal production, nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon are most important. Of these nitrogen and phosphorus are the main concern and emphasis has been placed on limiting phosphorus in waters since it is more controllable than nitrogen. Water surfaces receive considerable nitrogen but little phosphorus from precipitation. Some species of blue-green algae can use or fix molecular nitrogen. Furthermore, the well known capacity of soils and sediments to fix phosphorus is an assist in limiting the concentration of soluble phosphorus in waters. The phosphorus in sediment and in solution are in equilibrium, however, and when the concentration in solution is low, phosphorus may be released from the sediments particularly when oxygen is depleted.
The low amount of phosphorus in water considered limiting for algal growth (about 0.01 ppm) makes control difficult and indicates the need to restrict phosphorus loads from any source including land. The corresponding limiting level of nitrogen for algal growth is about 0.3 ppm. Data on nitrogen and phosphorus in relation to eutrophication of lakes and flowing waters of many countries have been discussed by Vollenweider (1968).
Nutrient control policies have been discussed recently by Prince and Bruce (1972). Goals in the management of water quality of the Great Lakes from the standpoint of social instead of just economic implications have been discussed by Lee (1971). In carrying out its responsibilities in research and in devising means to restore the quality of the Great Lakes, in conjunction with United
States agencies, the Canada Centre for Inland Waters has invited considerable university participation as outlined by Bruce and Lee (1971). Within the framework of the International
Hydrological Decade, the International Field Year for the Great Lakes, a joint U.S. - Canadian comprehensive study of Lake Ontario is underway (Bolsenga and MacDowall, 1970). The Canadian research effort involves several Canadian Government agencies, the Ontario Water Resources
Commission and many Canadian universities. In addition, the biological community as a part of the
International Biological Program were invited to conduct their investigations in Lake Ontario.
II-2 1.1.1 Chemistry of Lakes Erie and Ontario
The major sources of chemical data for the Great Lakes have been summarized by Beeton
(1971). Changes in the water chemistry of Lakes Erie and Ontario have been reviewed by Chawla
(1971). He cited values of the Pollution Board for soluble phosphates in surface waters of Lake Eric as 51 - 120 µg PO4/L in the Western Basin, 15 - 60 µg PO4/L in the Central Basin and 9 - 30 µg
PO4/L in the Eastern Basin, Tabulated data showed a 50 per cent increase in soluble phosphate between 1963-64 and 1967-68. Studies of Shiomi and Chawla (1970) showed an average concentration of soluble phosphate of 24 µg PO4/L in the surface and 33 µg PO4/L in the bottom waters of Lake Ontario.
The values for total phosphorus were 73 and 76 µ g PO4/L in the surface and bottom waters, respectively. The authors reported that there did not appear to be any marked build-up of total phosphorus over the year although there was considerable variation in the amounts of soluble phosphate during the same period. In an intensive survey in western Lake Erie, Brydges (1971) found that total phosphorus and total iron concentrations were directly related and he postulated that they were coprecipitated and removed the high load of phosphorus from solution.
Since limitation of phosphorus in the Lakes has been adopted as the approach to restricting algal growth and since there has been some debate on the relative role of carbon as a limiting factor, some comment may be in order. Following a comprehensive review of the relationship of carbon to eutrophication, Goldman et al.. (1972) concluded that carbon will rarely if ever be limiting in natural environments. Schindler (1971) found that nitrogen and phosphorus, added to an oligotrophic lake very low in CO2 resulted in production of phytoplankton in a short time and he concluded that carbon is unlikely to be limiting for such production in almost any situation. Brydges
(1971) found that chlorophyll a and total phosphorus concentrations in Lake Erie were directly proportional and he suggested that phosphorus was an algal limiting factor in this lake. Participants
II-3 in a symposium of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography agreed that efforts to remove phosphorus from influents to lakes was not a waste of time or money (Likens et al., 1971).
Dobson and Gilbertson (1971) reported a marked increase (0.075 mg/L/mo/yr) in the rate of deoxygenation in the bottom waters as a result of phytoplankton production in the epilimnion of the Central Basin of Lake Erie. In intensive surveys of this basin, Burns and Ross (1971) found that a massive algal bloom during the last week of July, 1970, reduced the phosphate concentrations to almost undetectable levels in most of the surface waters.
This bloom resulted in a layer of sedimented algae about 2.0 cm thick being laid on the basin floor and was followed by marked oxygen depletion (88 per cent). The phosphorus regeneration rate under oxygenated conditions was 22 µmoles P/m2/day as compared with 245
µmoles/m2/day under anoxic conditions. They concluded that immediate reduction in phosphorus input to Lake Erie was vital.
In his review, Chawla (1971) reports major increases in the concentrations of nitrogen compounds in Lake Erie during this century, the most marked being a thirteen fold increase in the concentration of ammonia-nitrogen in the Western Basin from 13 µg/L in 1930 to 170 µg/L at present. There was no such dramatic change in the open water of the Central Basin. The data of
Shiomi and Chawla gave annual mean values of 27 and 32 µg NH3-N/L in the surface and bottom waters of Lake Ontario, respectively. The reported amounts of nitrate-nitrogen in Lake Ontario varied widely.
Although the results will not be discussed here, the concentrations of several microelements in the waters of these lakes have been measured and are covered in Chawla's review.
II-4 1.1.2 Sediments of Lakes Erie and Ontario
The nearshore sediments westward from Wellington, Prince Edward county along Lake
Ontario and then Lake Erie to Mohawk Point have been surveyed (Rukavina and St. Jacques, 1971).
Lee and Beaulieu (1971) have provided a map of water use of the Great Lakes Basin. They attribute to agriculture 51.7 per cent of the shoreline land use along Lake Ontario on the Canadian side. The corresponding estimate for Lake Erie was 23.6 per cent. Coakley (1970) used textural and mineralogical characteristics and other techniques to study sands in the nearshore zone of Lake
Ontario between Burlington and Toronto.
The mineralogical data support the suggestion that most of the material was derived locally from bank erosion or stream discharge. Thomas et al. (1972) studied the distribution and composition of the surficial sediments of Lake Ontario and estimated that 55 per cent of the detrital material was derived from the drainage basin with the remaining 45 per cent being the result of shoreline and lake bottom erosional processes.
The northern portion of Lake Ontario contains a large deposit of ferromanganese concretions containing relatively high amounts of Ni, Co, and Cu (Cronan and Thomas, 1970). In a study of surface sediments of Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron, Kemp (1971) found the distribution of organic matter to be related to the, morphological features of each lake, and the amount of organic matter to be directly proportional to the clay-size fraction of the sediment The clay muds contained 2 - 5 per cent organic carbon. Preliminary results showed that more than 90 per cent of the native or external organic matter was mineralized before burial in the sediment of Lake Erie. The organic C:N ratio in the sediments averaged 8.2. Organic C and total N decreased sharply from the surface to a depth of 10 cm in representative cores.
The role of sediments in adsorption or release of soluble phosphorus is of particular
II-5 importance. Gumerman (1970) studied the interaction of aqueous phosphate and sediments from
Lakes Erie and Superior. In laboratory experiments he found the sediments to remove more phosphorus at increased aqueous phosphorous concentrations, oxidation-reduction potentials and acid pH values„ The sediment removed less phosphorus at lower temperatures and at greater depths below the sediment-water interface. The latter is in accord with observations that release of phosphorus from sediment is greater under anoxic conditions.
Kemp and Murdrochova (1971) found that total P ranged from 636 ppm in sands to 1193 ppm dry weight of sediment in Lake Ontario muds, About 10 per cent of the total. sediment P was in organic form. They proposed electrodialysis as a method for extracting available nutrients in sediments. There are few if any data on forms of P in Great Lake sediments. A number of papers have appeared on P in Wisconsin. sediments, for example, Williams et al, (1971), the senior author being located at Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Burlington, Ontario.
1.1.3 Biological Life in the Lakes
Michalski (1968) found that the standing crops of phytoplankton throughout Lake Ontario were low to moderate. They were lower in the eastern end and the St. Lawrence River than in the western end of the Lake. The phytoplankton populations in Lake Erie decreased from the Western to the Central to the Eastern Basin, This was in accord with the eutrophic state of the Western
Basin. Munawar and Nauwerck (1971) reported on the composition and distribution of phytoplankton throughout Lake Ontario throughout 1970.
The distribution of species changed with the seasons. In a study of the bottom fauna of
Lake Erie, Veal and Osmond (1968) found that the benthic communities of Lake Erie varied from those indicative of moderately oligotrophic to mesotrophic conditions in the Eastern and Central
Basins to communities indicative of the eutrophic state of the Western Basin. The pollution-tolerant
II-6 tubificids Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri and L. cervix dominated in the latter Basin. Following examination of diatoms in Lake Ontario sediments, Duthie and Sreenivasa (1971) proposed a trophic classification of the diatoms.
These few highlights along with those on the chemistry of the water and sediments illustrate how the problems and investigations of the quality of the lakes have much in common with those associated with the use of land in agriculture.
1.2 General Description of Watersheds of Lakes Erie and Ontario on Canadian Side
The Environmental story of the Great Lakes has been reviewed in a series of lectures given at the University of Toronto and subsequently published (Great Lakes Institute, 1969). The shoreline of Lake Erie as a single resource was the subject of a recent study at the University of
Western Ontario (1971). This attractive publication provides a useful overall picture of a valuable resource area of this country. A recent discussion by Gentilcore (1972) of the settlement of Ontario is of historical interest in the light of our increasing concern about land use in southern Ontario.
A map of the counties of Lakes Erie and Ontario drainage basins in Canada is shown as
Figure 1, and a map from a publication of the Water Survey of Canada (1968) giving some details of the watersheds is included as Figure 1A in the appendix of this report. The principal streams and their mean flow are illustrated in Figure 2 using an adaptation of a map by Coulson (1967). The physiography of southern Ontario has been described at length by Chapman and Putman (1966) and a map of the main physical features is listed as Figure 2A in the appendix. Soil associations of southern Ontario have been described by Hoffman et al. (1964) and a map accompanying their report is included as Figure 3A in the appendix herein. Since parent material including texture and mode of deposition is a criterion in differentiating soils, it is not surprising that the physiographic
II-7 Figure 1. Map of counties of Lakes Erie and Ontario drainage basins on Canadian side,
II-8 Figure 2. Mean flow of principal streams (Coulson, 1967),
II-9 and soil maps may show similar separations, for example, the sandy materials in Norfolk and Kent counties.
From the descriptions of Chapman and Putman (1966) and the cited maps it will be noted that the St. Clair River - Lake St. Clair - Detroit River system constitutes the western boundary of
Lambton, Kent and Essex counties, and that two major drainage systems, the Sydenham and the
Thames, find their outlet in Lake St. Clair. The Sydenham River, with its north branch (Bear Creek) drains most of Lambton and an adjacent area of Middlesex county, an area of about 1,000 square miles.
This is mostly a clay plain of little relief although the river crosses areas of sandy soils in
Middlesex and the southwestern corner of Lambton county. The Thames drains an area of about
2200 square miles and is one of the largest drainage systems in southern Ontario. A north branch flows from Perth county and another flows westward from Oxford county, and then the Thames continues southwesterly through Middlesex and Kent counties to a southeastern corner of Lake St. Clair. The Thames crosses a clay plain except for areas of silty loams in Oxford and Middlesex counties and of sandy soils in Middlesex and Kent. The surface relief is usually gently undulating.
The long north shore of Lake Erie receives only one large river, the Grand which drains an area of 2600 square miles. It begins near Dundalk in Dufferin county, flows southward to
Wellington and Waterloo counties, is joined by several tributaries including the Speed River which crosses Wellington county, and then the Grand proceeds through Brant and Haldimand counties to empty into Lake Erie near Dunnville.
The Grand crosses a diversity of soils including clays, loams, silts, and fine and coarse sands. The more important smaller streams emptying into Lake Erie include Big Creek, Big Otter
Creek, Catfish Creek and Kettle Creek. All of these are important locally and in their lower reaches
II-10 cross the sandy soils used intensively for tobacco production. Big Creek enters Lake Erie through
Norfolk county, and the others through Elgin.
Lake Erie flows into Lake Ontario through the Niagara River. The Welland River flows through a clay plain of the Niagara Peninsula eastward towards the Niagara River. A few small stream, such as Four Mile Creek, Twelve Mile Creek and Twenty Mile Creek enter Lake Ontario from
Lincoln county. Numerous short streams enter the north shore of Lake Ontario between Hamilton and the Bay of Quinte. These include Oakville Creek, Credit River, Etobicoke Creek, Humber River,
Don River, Highland Creek, Rouge River, Oshawa Creek, Bowmanville Creek, Ganaraska River, and
Coburg Creek. But by far the most important river entering the north shore of Lake Ontario is the
Trent, the largest in southern Ontario. Its drainage area is 4790 square miles. The headwaters arise in the Precambrian rocks and the Trent system includes many lakes in Victoria, Peterborough and
Northumberland counties and make the region extremely valuable for recreational purposes.
The Trent empties into the Bay of Quinte. East of the Trent are the Moira, Salmon and
Napanee Rivers which also enter the Bay of Quinte. The Moira drainage basin has an area of 1000 square miles. The headwaters of the Moira are in the rocky highlands of Hastings and Lennox and
Addington counties. The Salmon River has its source in the Shield. Its system includes many lakes in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington counties. The Napanee River is east of the Salmon River and flows somewhat parallel to it and enters the northeastern portion of the Bay of Quinte. Many of the soils of these watersheds (Trent, Moira, Salmon and Napanee) are loams, stony, and rolling or hilly in relief.
The length of shoreline of Lakes Erie and Ontario is considerable. The clay plain of Essex county drains almost entirely towards Lake Sty Clair or the Detroit River. The cited study of the Erie shoreline (1971) presents data from I.G.L. L.B. indicating that 18.2 per cent of the land used on
II-11 Figure 3. Climatic regions (Brown, McKay and Chapman).
II-12 Figure 4. Length of growing season (Brown, McKay and Chapman).
the Kent county - Lake St. Clair shoreland was agricultural. The corresponding percentages for agriculture on the Erie shoreline were 5 in Essex, 31 in Kent, 73 in Elgin, 18 in Norfolk, 15 in
Haldimand, and 1.5 in Welland. As stated elsewhere, the estimates of Lee and Beaulieu (1971) were 23.6 per cent for the Erie and 51.7 per cent for the Lake Ontario shoreline.
The climate of southern Ontario has been described by Brown et al. (1968). Climatic regions are shown in Figure 3. The moderating effect of the Lakes on temperature is reflected in the longer growing season of the adjacent land areas (Figure 4). The mean annual precipitation of the watersheds varies from about 28 to 38 inches (Figure 5). The potential evapotranspiration or the rate of return of water to the atmosphere by transpiration of a green crop and by evaporation from the soil when the water supply is unlimited varies from 24 to 26 inches along the Lakes and
II-13 Figure 5. Precipitation (Brown, McKay and Chapman).
II-14 decreases to low of about 21 inches in Haliburton county. But at times the water supply is limited, and an approximate estimate of actual evapotranspiration was found to be about 21 inches with little regional variation, No attempt will be made here to discuss the complex picture of other aspects of the hydrologic cycle such as surface runoff, infiltration, and ground water storage and discharge in southern Ontario. But obviously, an understanding of the whole cycle is a prerequisite to ascertaining the contribution of agriculture to nutrient enrichment of waters.
1.3 Nutrients in Precipitation
Before proceeding to discussions relating to land contribution to nutrient enrichment of water, it is appropriate to designate possible contributions from precipitation. Although the amounts will be small from the standpoint of crop requirements, nevertheless, their direct addition to water may be significant in the light of the low nutrient requirements for algal growth.
Some of the earliest data in Canada are those of Shutt (1925) for a 17-year period at
Ottawa. The average amount of total nitrogen contributed by precipitation per year was 6.92 lb/acre. Of the total amount, 56 per cent was NH3-N, 13 per cent was albuminoid ammonia, and
31 per cent was NO3-N and NO2-N, Rutherford (1967) measured NO3-N among other constituents in precipitation in southeastern Ontario in 1965-66.
He reported 0.37 ppm NO3-N for 13 samples of rainfall and 0.54 ppm NO3-N for 10 samples of snow. Matheson (1951) reported a mean total nitrogen value of 5.8 lb Nacre per year for an
18-month period at Hamilton, Ontario, beginning July 1, 1949. NH3-N comprised 56 per cent of the total. Of the total N, 61 per cent was derived from precipitation whereas the remainder was from atmospheric sediments.
II-15 The Department of Soil Science, University of Guelph (1966) reported a mean concentration of 1 ppm of NO3-N in the rainfall of 8 storms at Guelph during the months of August and September, 1966. This amounted to 5-6 lb N/ac/yr.
Currently, the Canada Centre for Inland Waters is carrying out extensive studios of precipitation chemistry in the Great Lakes Basin, Unpublished data of Shiomi 1 for total phosphorus, reactive orthophosphate, nitrate + nitrite, and ammonia at 7 stations in the Lake Ontario basin during the April - November period, 1970-1971 are presented in Table 1. The concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus were considered as high or higher than those of other investigations in the region, NO3 concentrations were correlated with urban and industrial development near the sampling stations.
Table 1. Mean concentrations of precipitation at stations in Lake Ontario basin, April-November, 1970-71, (Unpublished, data, Shiomi), mg/L.
Toronto Wood- Kingston Main Duck Parameter Hamilton Ancaster Trenton Island bridge Airport Island Total P 0.059 0.037 0.035 0.159 0.046 0.038 0.103
Ortho-P 0.018 0.012 0.019 0.082 0.013 0.012 0.055
NO3 + NO2 1.67 1.45 1.24 1.06 0.99 1.31 0.91
Ammonia 0.47 0.61 0.60 0.96 0.46 0.35 0.67
Schindler and Nighswander (1970) attributed most of the enrichment of Clear Lake in Haliburton county, Ontario, to nutrients in precipitation. They reported nutrient concentrations for representative samples of rainfall in June-July and of snow in January-February. These were 0.555 ppm NH3-N, 0.198 ppm NO3-N, 0.022 ppm total P, 0,018 ppm total dissolved P, and 0.004 ppm
PO4-P in the rainfall; and 0.625 ppm NH3-N 0.320 ppm NO3-N, 0.060 ppm total P, 0.011 ppm total
______
1 Private communication, M.T. Shiomi, Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Burlington, Ontario.
II-16 dissolved P, and 0.005 ppm PO4-P in the snow. Barica and Armstrong (1971) measured the amounts of nutrients in the snow on the ice of two northwest Ontario lakes from December, 1969
2 to April, 1970. The concentrations (mg/m ) were 3.9 NH3-N, 0.3 NO2-N, 8.5 NO3-N, 33 total soluble
N, 0.9 PO4-P, 1.8 total soluble P, 13.2 particulate N, and 1.1 particulate P.
Data on nitrogen in precipitation at three rural stations in upper New York State have been extracted from a recent publication of Pearson and Fisher (1971) and are presented in Table 2. The amounts of nitrogen increased in a westward direction and showed considerable variation between stations.
Table 2. Annual amounts of nitrogen in precipitation in upper New York State (Pearson and Fisher).
Station Precipitation Ammonium Nitrate Total N inches ------lb/ac ------Canton 30.8 2.30 2.51 2.35
Mays Point30.83.242.112.97
Salamanca40.17.317.997.47
1.4 Agricultural Land Use
Use of land is not static and it is timely that the Centre for Resources Development, University of Guelph recently prepared a report for ARDA on planning for agriculture in southern Ontario (1972), It is stated that more than two million acres of land in farms in southern Ontario were retired during the 15 years between the 1951 and 1966 censuses at a rate of 4 per cent-plus. The retrenchment has continued since 1966 at a rate of 10 per cent.
II-17 On the other hand, an average 1966 Ontario farm acre increased its physical productivity by nearly 75 per cent over 15 years. Although there is scope for further intensity of land use, it is pointed out that the limit of reduction in land is fast being approached for many farm enterprises if environmental standards and Ontario's food requirements are to be met. A favorable statistic from the standpoint of encouraging environmental concern at the farm level is that nearly 90 per cent of the acreage in 1966 census farms was owned by farm operators.
The soils and climate of southern Ontario are favorable for intensive production of a great variety of crops including corn for grain and ensilage, soybeans, white beans, fruit, tobacco, cereals, hay and pasture. The above cited report discusses four agricultural regions (Figure 6): (A) the Shield Area extending to the shoreline from Hastings to Leeds counties and, with its poor land base for agriculture, undergoing a transition to non-agricultural use; (B) Eastern Ontario below its agricultural potential; (C) South Central and Southwestern Ontario with fairly high agricultural output and viable farms; and (D) the "Urban Arc", a 30-mile wide band extending from Port Hope and encircling the western portion of Lake Ontario, and including the Niagara fruit belt, greenhouses, nurseries, sod farms, equine farms, examples of corporate farm holdings, and generally with rapid conversion of land to urban use.
Although cash crops are important in southern Ontario, data from the 1966 census show that over two-thirds of the agricultural sales were livestock or its products. A map of 9 different types of agriculture, based on their comprising at least 50 per cent of agricultural sales, and reflecting the dominanoe of livestock enterprises and the conversion of a large portion of field crops through livestock, is reproduced and shown in Figure 7. Other spatial features include the concentration of horticulture in the Niagara belt, in southeastern Essex and the outskirts of Toronto; of tobacco in Norfolk; and of cash field crops in Kent and extending into Essex county. A map
II-18 Figure 6. (ARDA Report No 7).
II-19 Figure 7. (ARDA Report No 7).
II-20 II-21 prepared by a committee (coordinator, T.H. Lane, University of Guelph) for the Canadian Working Group-Great Lakes Pollution shows the concentration of livestock in terms of animal units per county or district-in the Great Lakes Basin (Figure 8). One animal unit represented the amount of nitrogen contained in the wastes of one dairy cow/yr.
Two volumes of a recent publication of the Ministry of Treasury, Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs of Ontario (1970 provide an environmental appraisal of the land-based resources of Haldimand, Norfolk and areas of the adjoining counties of Brant, Elgin and Oxford. This study, under the direction of Prof. Victor Chanasyk, University of Guelph, gives a comprehensive background analysis of the area. A number of maps of land use, soil erosion, drainage and water quality of the area are included in the 2nd volume.
1.5 Nutrients in Streams from Drainage of Some Southern Ontario Watersheds
Using computerized methods and long-term records of a large number of hydrometric stations, Pentland (1968) prepared maps of the distribution of runoff for the Great Lakes Basin on a monthly and annual basis. Of the mean precipitation (32.79 inches) at 7 stations in the Lake Ontario watershed (Napanee, Moira, Trent, Duffin, Humber, Credit and Don) and two in the Erie (Grand and Big Otter) over one-third was represented as runoff. The amount of snow was greater in the Lake Ontario than in the Lake Erie Basin and for this reason the spring peak runoff was higher in the Ontario basin. Furthermore, it was two weeks later.
Results from a few studies of drainage basins or portions of them in southern Ontario provide some data on the possible contribution of land drainage to nutrient enrichment of water.
II-22 1.5.1 Big Otter Creek
Sibul of the Ontario Water Resources Commission (1969) has reported on the water resources of Big Otter Creek drainage basin located mainly in Oxford, the northwest corner of Norfolk, and Elgin county where the stream empties at Port Burwell into Lake Erie. The location of the basin including the configuration of the water table is shown in Figure 9. The population of the basin is over 23,000, half of which is rural. The land area is 174,918 acres or 275 square miles. Intensive tobacco production is prominent on the sandy soils particularly in Bayham, Middleton and S. Norwich townships in Elgin, Norfolk and Oxford counties, respectively, whereas corn, cereals, hay and pasture are grown in livestock enterprises on the heavier textured soils in the basin.
Data for the 1964-65 water year show that of the total precipitation (30.81 inches) about one-half entered the stream flow and the remainder was discharged through evapotranspiration or other changes. About 42 per cent of the stream flow was derived from groundwater runoff or base flow and the remainder from surface runoff. The percentage of base flow was high in summer and fall and low in the spring. Surface runoff would be expected to be lower in the sandy soils used for tobacco production than in the heavier soils used for livestock.
The concentration of NO3-N in 7 stream samples did not exceed 0.60 ppm whereas that in 37 samples of overburden wells was well below 10 ppm, the recommended limit for drinking purposes, except for two samples containing 10 and 20 ppm NO3-N at a depth of about 17 feet.
Seventeen of the well samples did not contain measurable amounts of NO3 whereas the average value for the remaining 20 samples was 1.7 ppm.
Although the above data on nutrients are sparse, the cited work provides excellent background information on this watershed, which from the standpoint of livestock and tobacco production, offers a possible choice of representative sites for investigating agriculture's possible contribution to nutrient enrichment of streams.
II-23 Figure 9. Big Otter Creek Basin (Sibul).
II-24 1.5.2 Big Creek
The water resources of the Big Creek Basin located east of Otter Creek were assessed by Yakutchik and Lammers (1970). The headwaters rise in Oxford and cross through Brant to Norfolk County where most of the basin resides and the stream empties into Lake Erie (Figure 10). The basin comprises 280 square miles, Tobacco (about 30,000 acres) and its rotation crops, wheat and rye, are grown on the sandy soils whereas livestock production is carried out on the soils of heavier texture. The stream flow components (surface runoff and base flow) of Big Creek near Delhi are illustrated for 1964-65 in Figure 11. Of 37.9 inches of precipitation during the year, total runoff was estimated at 15.2 inches of which slightly more than half was surface runoff.
Of 101 well samples, 47 contained no measureable amount of NO3-N; 3 ranged from 10 -
12 ppm; and the remaining samples averaged 2.8 ppm. The concentration of NO3-N in 18 stream samples averaged 0.6 ppm.
The study as a whole provides useful background data for further study of nutrients in this agricultural watershed.
The report of Chanasyk (1970) cited earlier, draws attention to the indiscriminate use of surface water for irrigation in Norfolk county leaving many creeks with variable flow and abnormally high summer temperatures.
Headwaters of Big Creek (e.g,, North Creek) are judged to have favorable features. A water quality map depicts Norfolk county as having dependable water of generally acceptable quality. Big Creek is described as moderately enriched except for a highly enriched segment below Delhi. It is pointed out that the abundant discharge of groundwater (i.e., springs) into a number of water courses of the county as well as in the Otter Creek watershed provides a water quality superior to that in the surrounding part of southwestern Ontario.
II-25 Figure 10. Big Creek Basin (Yakutchik and Lammers),
II-26 Figure 11. Streamflow hydrographs, Big Creek near Delhi, and precipitation histogram for annual period July, 1964, to June, 1965 (Yakutchik and Lammers).
II-27 The Big Creek basin is of particular interest from the standpoint of tobacco production since the Research Station, Canada Department of Agriculture, Delhi, has considerable expertise on the nutrient status of the soils and fertilizer practices.
1.5.3 Catfish and Duff in Creeks
Terry and Salbach, (1969) compared land use - nutrient relationships for the year 1967-68 on the basis of 9 stream stations in the Catfish basin and 10 in the Duff in and interpreted their data using statistical techniques. The Catfish basin, west of Big Otter in Elgin county, drains into Lake Erie, and has about 85 per cent cropland and a small urban population including the town of Aylmer. The Duffin northeast of Toronto in York and Ontario counties and draining into Lake Ontario, has about 60 per cent cropland, about 33 per cent in woodland and pasture, and about 5 per cent in urban areas, the latter exceeding that in the Catfish basin. The summarized data showed mean values of 2.41 ppm total N, 1.45 ppm nitrite + nitrate -N, 0.41 total PO4 and 0.13 ppm soluble PO4 in the Catfish rural stream stations as compared with only 0.97 ppm total N, 0.27 ppm nitrite + nitrate - N, 0.19 ppm total PO4, and 0.06 ppm soluble PO4 in rural stations of the Duffin. The study included an additional station in each basin receiving nutrients from an urban area, and the authors suggested that 95 per cent of the total N and 75 per cent of the total P in the Catfish, and 89 per cent of the total N and 50 per-cent of the total P in the Duff in appeared to have rural origin. The higher N and P load of the Catfish than of the Duff in was attributed to the greater use of fertilizer in the former basin. The amounts attributed to rural land drainage were 5.9 lb N and 0.8 lb P in the Catfish and 3.7 lb N and 0,17 lb P in the Duffin per acre per year. These amounts are not large. The differences between the watersheds are small and could arise from native soil sources regardless of fertilizer practices followed.
1.5.4 Grand River
Missingham (1967) reported on phosphorus in the Grand River watershed (Figure 12) with particular reference to municipal sources of the element.
II-28 Figure 12. Grand River watershed (Missingham). Mileage points indicate sampling points.
He estimated the per capita contribution of phosphorus to surface waters by sewage treatment effluent plants to be about 2.5 lb per year. Stations in an agricultural drainage area above Galt gave a value of about only 0.2 ppm of orthophosphate or from 0.25 to 0.44 lb/square mile/day for December, 1963 and January-February, 1964. The author gives a value of 36 lb of orthophosphate/ square mile/year from agricultural land drainage. This low yearly amount is 0.02 lb P per acre.
II-29 Using grab samples German (1967) carried out a preliminary biological and chemical survey of the Grand River and some of its tributaries, mainly the Nith and Conestogo Rivers as well as Canagagigue Creek to the north all entering the Grand from the west side (see Figure 12).
The samples were taken in June, 1966, except for a few stations below Elmira sampled in September of that year. Data for free ammonia, Kjeldahl nitrogen and total phosphorus in the water are summarized in Table 3.
Table 3. Some data on grab samples of Grand River and its tributaries (German) ppm.
Free Total Total Location Samples ammonia Kjeldahl P Canagagigue Creek above Elmira 5 0.05 0.40 0.08 Canagagigue Creek below Elmira 3 3.55 6.13 2.10 Conestogo River to above St. Jacobs 5 0.006 0.56 0.12 Conestogo River below St. Jacobs 1 0.20 0.78 0.28 Tributary of Nith River below New 1 0.53 1.04 1.22 Dundee Nith River 10 0.08 1.15 0.31 Upper Grand River below Dundalk 1 0.05 1.00 0.88 Upper Grand, River below 1 0.60 3.60 0.34 Canagagigue tributary Upper Grand River, remaining stations 10 0.06 0.84 0.11 Middle Grand River, Bridgeport to 7 0.17 1.01 0.80 Brantford Lower Grand River (Fairchild, Big and 3 0.14 0.84 0.19 McKenzie tributary) Lower Grand River from Brantford 7 0.30 1.12 1.19
II-30 Canagagigue Creek below Elmira carried appreciable amounts of nutrients to the Grand River. The concentrations of nutrients in the Conestogo, Nith and upper Grand rivers were usually much lower than those found in the middle and lower portions of the Grand. The chemical data substantiated biological observation showing enrichment of the Grand River below Kitchener - Waterloo, Galt and
Paris. The author refers to an earlier report of the OWRC showing considerable enrichment of the
Speed River (tributary of Grand) below the city of Guelph. In the lower portion of the Grand River there was evidence of nutrient enrichment from Brandford, Caledonia, Cayuga and Dunville.
Patel and Johnson (1969) carried out chemical and microbiological studies on the Speed
River using 9 stations above Guelph (4 on Speed and 5 on Eramosa) and 5 stations below Guelph, the last one above Hespeler. Samples were collected about 24 times between March, 1968 and
February, 1969. The average flow for the period recorded at a flow gauge just below Guelph was
239 cfs. The Speed River system drains about 200 square miles.
The concentration of NO3-N in the river draining rural areas was about 1.75 ppm in the winter but only 0.56 ppm in the summer probably because of biological activity. The concentrations of NH3-N and orthophosphate (PO4) in streams draining rural areas were 0.075 and 0.085 ppm, respectively. The authors report that the urban area of slightly over 53,000 seemed to contribute more pollution than the rural drainage area of 200 square miles comprised of forest, 106 square miles of agricultural land and including an animal population of 50,000 capable of producing animal wastes equivalent to that of a human population of 507,300. This was reflected in higher values for BOD, orthophosphate, total N and NH3-N in the urban than in the rural contribution. The 200 square miles of rural area were estimated to contribute 2180 lb NO3-N, 10.2 lb NO2-N, 197.5 lb
NH3-N, 494 lb organic N, 2882 lb total N, and 244 lb orthophosphate per square mile per year.
II-31 More recently, MacCrimmon and Kelso (1970) reported on the properties of water samples collected biweekly, August 1967 to September 1, 1968, from 5 stations on the Grand River system encompassing about 3300 km2 or one-half of the drainage basin. Station I on Blue Springs Creek, headwater of the Speed River above Guelph is bordered by non-agricultural bottom land and muck and is surrounded by cedar swamp and a few small pastures. Station II, 6.5 km below Guelph on the Speed River, receives domestic and industrial effluents. Station III in Waterloo county was immediately below the confluence of the Speed and Grand rivers whereas Stations IV and V in the lower Grand were 84 and 45 km respectively from Lake Erie, Station IV was in Brant county and
Station V was in Haldimand and was surrounded by Oneida clay loam, The lower portion of the watershed is used for intensive mixed agriculture.
Data for some of the properties are summarized in Table 4, The data for Blue Springs Creek show considerably higher quality of water in an area removed from municipal and agricultural pursuits whereas the data (particularly NH3 and PO4) for Station II below Guelph show the detrimental effect of municipal effluents on water quality. There was evidence of some improvement downstream in the agricultural areas although the concentration of nitrate-N remained as high as that found below Guelph.
Table 4. Mean values for water properties (MacCrimmon and Kelso)
Dissolved Ortho- Discharge NH -N NO -N NO -N Station oxygen 3 2 3 phosphate m3/sec mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L I 0.48 10.3 0.014 0.08 0.09 0.16 II 4.8 8.7 1.47 0.046 0.99 1.56 III 40.4 9.6 0.70 0.051 1.05 0.84 IV 57.1 9.9 0.71 0.039 1.04 0.68 V 61.7 10.9 0.65 0.035 1.02 0.61
II-32 The lower Grand watershed between Brantford and Lake Erie has been studied in some detail by graduate students at the University of Guelph under the direction of MacCrimmon and
Johnson(1971). Water samples were collected bi-weekly from March, 1970 to April, 1971 from 9 stations along the river and estuary (Figure 13). Four of the stations were above and below
Brantford and Caledonia; the next one downstream was on a wide and shallow reach flowing though pastured flood plain, and the next two were above and within the slow impounded waters approaching the estuary whereas the remaining two were within the estuary.
Table 5. Mean nutrient concentrations in lower Grand watershed, March 1970 - April 1971 (MacCrimmon and Johnson)
Station Nitrogen as N Phosphorus as PO4 (miles from (mg/L) (mg/L) 1 Lake Erie) NO3-N NH3-N Total Orthophosphate G 106 1.86 0.24 0.80 0.51 G 93 2.10 0.35 0.97 0.60 G 39 1.79 0.25 0.80 0.42 G 8 1.50 0.25 0.71 0.30 G 5 1.53 0.25 0.74 0.32 G 0 1.30 0.23 1.16 0.76 GT47 - - 0.65 0.26
1 Includes nitrite-N.
II-33 Figure 13. Stations on lower Grand watershed (MacCrimmon and Johnson).
There was one additional station on the MacKenzie tributary before its confluence with the
Grand.
The lower Grand basin in contrast to the central portion has remained in less intensive agriculture supporting livestock, hay, wheat and corn production.
The mean discharge into Lake Erie by the Grand River at Dunnville for the year April 1, 1970 to March 31, 1971 was 1757 feet3/sec and the total water input was 81,183 x 106 feet3. The flow was lowest from June to October, then increased about 3-fold in the period December to February and about 6-fold in March and April.
II-34 The mean annual N and P concentrations for a number of the stations in the lower Grand are given in Table 5. The data show a contribution of nutrients from effluents from Brantford and then some decrease in the agricultural portion, Near the Lake, phosphorus values increase quite sharply. The phosphorus plant at Port Maitland discharges wastes into the river estuary. The phosphorus concentrations in the MacKenzie tributary (GT 47) are the lowest. The total: orthophosphate ratio was higher in the agricultural section of the watershed. Nitrate concentrations were found to be lowest in summer and highest in fall, winter, and spring because of plant and microbe uptake in summer and greater loss of nitrates during peak flow periods in the other seasons. The amounts of phosphorus were found to vary considerably with season and in the impounded section (G 8) the ratio of total: orthophosphate depended on the biological activity.
In another aspect of the work, nutrient budgets were developed. About 34 per cent of the phosphorus entering the Dunnville reservoir was retained there. In the lower Grand River, concentration of phosphorus was independent of streamflow in contrast to that found when land drainage is the major source of the element. The annual total yield of phosphorus from the Grand was 490 lb P/mi2/yr but the amount was reduced to 300 lb or 0.47 lb P/acre/yr when the contribution of the Electric Reduction Company of Canada Ltd. was excluded. Of the total annual input of P from the Grand to Lake Erie, it was estimated that 263 tons were from municipal sources, and 250 tons were from the Electric Reduction Company, leaving 137 tons from other sources including land drainage.
The total annual yield of organic nitrogen from the watershed into the Grand River at the station 59 miles from Lake Erie was 1599 tons or 1592 lb/mi2/yr or 2.5 lb/acre/yr. The dissolved fraction was 81 per cent and the remaining particulate fraction was 19 per cent. The annual input of total nitrogen into the river at the 52 mile station was 6500 tons or 6476 lb/mi2/yr or 10.1 lb/acre/yr.
II-35 The organic fraction accounted for 25 per cent. The total nitrogen yield is viewed by the authors as an effect of urbanization.
Preliminary data provided to Chanasyk (1970) by the Ontario Water Resources Commission allow comparison of Grand River and Big Creek with some smaller creeks draining into Lake Erie
(Table 6), The Grand River was most highly enriched whereas Dedrick Creek, Big Creek and Clear
Creek contained the lowest concentrations. The water quality map in Chanasyk's report depicts the lower Grand watershed as having variable water typically turbid, warm and intermittent. The lower
Grand River was described as highly enriched except for segments above Dunnville and above and below Caledonia where the designation was moderately enriched.
Table 6. Mean water quality 1 of Haldimand - Norfolk, region watersheds, January-September 1970 (OWRC, from Chanasyk).
Water sample location Total N Total P Grand at 04 mile 1.29 0.29 Grand at 10.8 mile 1.28 0.24 Seneca Creek, tributary to Grand 0.89 0.13 at Caledonia Stoney Creek at 1.0 mile 1.06 0.22 Sandusk Creek at 0.6 mile 1.00 0.13 Nanticoke Creek at 1.0 mile 0.98 0.18 Lynn River at 5.6 mile 0.62 0.39 Dedrick Creek at 0.6 mile 0.45 0.06 Big Creek at 0.2 mile 0.52 0.05 Clear Creek at 0.5 mile 0.65 0.06
1 Assumed unit, mg/L
II-36 The report refers to the inadequate soil conditions (fine texture) for handling septic tanks even in small hamlets and in cottage areas of the shoreline of Haldimand county.
1.5.5 Canard River
Winner and Hartt (1969) measured water properties weekly, May-August 1967, at 4 locations on this relatively small river (1-8 ft deep) draining 136 mi2 of a clay plain in Essex county and flowing into the Detroit River. A single stream gage gave a discharge of 295 cfs.
Data for nitrogen and phosphorus are summarized in Table 7, There was considerable variation between samples at the same station. The authors gave many other data on chemical and biological aspects and suggested that the river was strongly influenced by organic pollution and was an important source of nitrates and phosphates for western Lake Erie. They attributed the nutrients to agricultural and land drainage as well as septic tanks since industry is not present nor are large municipalities, It is interesting to note that near the river mouth metaphosphate comprises most
Table 7. Mean nutrient concentrations (mg/L), May-August 1967 in Canard River (Winner and Hartt)
Stations (No.1 at mouth) Property 1234 Nitrogen Nitrate 0.71 3.04 1.63 3,08 Nitrite 0.25 0.163 0.069 0.120 Total 0.74 3.27 1.71 3.20 Phosphate Ortho 0.04 0.06 0.09 0.18 Meta (poly) 0.18 0.12 0.07 0.07 Total 0.22 0.11 0.16 0.25
II-37 of the total. The period of sampling coincided with the growing season of an intensive agricultural area and one might suspect septic tanks and small municipalities rather than agriculture as a more likely source of nitrates. In any event without discharge data for the period, it is not possible to assign any particular load of nutrients to the Detroit River.
1.5.6 Swan Creek
This creek crossing 2050 feet of the northerly portion of Elora Research Station was monitored for nutrients for a 2-year period beginning in March 1970, as reported by Webber (1971),
Volumes of flow in 1970 ranged from flood conditions, over 80 cfs, to about 2 cfs during the period
June to August, Samples were collected on 53 occasions from 5-9 stations.
Highest concentrations of nitrate-N tended to occur in the spring coincident with peak volume discharges and in the late fall. Phosphorus concentrations reached a maximum in the
January to March period, The highest. concentration of nitrate-N encountered was 7.3 ppm but it usually ranged from 1.1 to 3.8 ppm following the spring period. Except for one instance, the concentration of phosphorus did not exceed 0.1 ppm and it. usually ranged from 0.02 to 0.06 ppm.
It appeared doubtful that the level of nutrients in the water constituted any pollution hazard.
1.5.7 Streams in Metropolitan Toronto Area (.West Humber, German Mills, Highland, Little Rouge
Stouffville and Altona)
Owen and Johnson (1966) and Neil, Johnson and Owen (1967) reported on phosphorus and nitrogen, respectively in streams of urban and rural subwatersheds draining into Lake Ontario
(Figure 14). Samples were collected during August 1964, and March and April, 1965. Yields of nitrogen and phosphorus were derived from nutrient-stream flow rating curves and hydrographs and are given in Table 8.
II-38 Table 8. Estimated total yields of nitrogen and phosphorus from six subwatersheds in Toronto region, June 1964 to May 31, 1965 1.
Area Total P Total nitrogen lb Subwatershed 2 Land use 2 2 mi lb PO4/mi /yr N/mi /yr W. Humber River 50.3 Dairy farming 350 1,800 Little Rouge River 30.0 Mixed farming 600 4,800 Altona Creek 21.0 Mixed farming 290 2,300 Mixed farming and Stouffville Creek 17.0 1,100 3,800 some urban German Mills Creek 4.4 Urban 20,000 37,000 Highland Creek 34.0 Urban 24,000 31,000
1 Owen and Johnson; and Neil, Johnson and Owen.
The data show high yields of N and P arising from sewage effluents in the urban areas. In the mixed farming area of Little Rouge River, the discharge from land drainage was about 7.5 lb
N and 0.94 lb PO4/acre/yr, and in the West Humber and Altona farming areas the amounts were about one-half of these. Other data indicated that c of the large discharge of P from the Highland Creek subwatershed was derived from land drainage. Of particular interest are graphs of the authors showing rather uniform distribution of yields of total N and P from the urban subwatersheds throughout the year in contrast to the yields from the agricultural subwatersheds where there are peaks in the spring followed by a decline in late April and reaching lowest levels in the fall months.
II-39 Figure 14. Location of six subwatersheds in relation to Metropolitan Toronto and Lake
Ontario (Neil, Johnson and Owen).
II-40 1.5.8 Bay of Quinte (Trent, Moira, Salmon and Napanee Rivers)
Using a similar approach to that used in the Toronto region, Johnson and Owen (1971) measured the concentrations of total nitrogen and phosphorus in water samples collected in 26 days during 1968 and early 1969 from the Trent River draining 4870 square miles, the Moira River draining 1040 square miles, and the Salmon and Napanee Rivers together draining 640 square miles and all emptying into the Bay of Quinte (Figure 15). The concentrations of total N and P were not related to flow of rivers (Table 9). The inputs of nutrients were considered not to be high but to compare favorably with expected values for watersheds partly in agriculture and partly in forest with many lakes and bogs. The latter would be expected to entrap nutrients. The seasonal variation of inputs showed peaks for both nutrients in March and low values in August. The mean inputs for the watersheds amounted to 8.4 lb N and 0.37 lb P/acre/year.
Table 9. Mean flow, mean concentrations of total nitrogen and phosphorus, and annual inputs of these nutrients by tributary rivers to Bay of Quinte (Johnson and Owen).
Concentration Input River Flow cfs N P N P mg/L mg/L lb/sq mi/yr lb/sq mi/yr Trent 3,000 0.71 0.050 1220 64 Moira 888 0.64 0.037 1050 48 Salmon 357 0.68 0.027 1370 41 Napanee 330 0.83 0.043 1720 82
II-41 Figure 15. Bay of Quinte watershed showing the major river systems, the larger lakes, and major urban centers; 1, Trenton; 2, Department of National Defence (DND) at Trenton; 3, Belleville; 4, Napanee; 5, Picton; 6, DND Picton; 7, Lindsay; and 8, Peterborough. Small watersheds where streams were not sampled are indicated as Areas A to E. (Miles x 1.6 = km.) (Johnson and Owen).
For the purposes of comparison, reference will be made to the nutrients in Clear Lake a small lake in the Precambrian Shield in a forested area, little affected by human activity and regarded as oligotrophic (Schindler and Nighswander, 1970). The concentration of an inflow stream to the lake in April was 0.345 mg NH3-N/L, 0.200 mg NO3-N/L, 0.036 mg total P/L, and 0.004 mg
PO4 P/L. Atmospheric precipitation was suggested as the major source of nutrients in the lake.
II-42 1.5.9 Canal Lake
The lake, located 10 miles east of Lake Simcoe in Victoria county, is a part of the Trent
Canal system, has a drainage basin of 30,000 acres, with 90 per cent of the land area in low intensity pasture without chemical fertilization and interspersed with scrub tree growth and swamp land, and with no towns discharging wastes but with a cottage population of one person, per acre of lake, using septic tanks and weeping tiles (Campbell and Webber, 1970). The soils are shallow.
Grass Creek carries the nutrient load contributed largely by Mitchell Lake and the village of Victoria
Road whereas the major agricultural sources are from Rohallion Creek, the Talbot tributary and the upper Talbot River (Figure 16). The three continuous stage recorders (R1, R2 and. R3) measuring the quantity of water entering the lake are shown in the figure. The quantities and seasonal distribution of nutrients from agricultural sources are summarized in Table 10. The data show that losses of NO3 and P from land drainage were highest in the spring with no loss of P in the summer.
Figure 16. Canal Lake (Campbell and Webber).
II-43 Table 10. Quantities of nutrients and their seasonal distribution in stream flow to Canal Lake (Campbell and Webber)
Quantities, May 1968-May 1969 Seasonable distribution Nutrient Total Agricultural Feb.-May June-Sept. Oct,-Jan. ------lb ------% ------
NO3-N 18200 16950 66.5 15.7 11.3 Total P 2940 2010 58.4 0.0 11.1 Soluble P 770 630 57.2 0.0 25.1
The authors attribute most of the nonagricultural source of total P to insoluble organic form arising from the abundant plant growth in Mitchell Lake. The loss of 630 lb soluble P from 30,000 acres represents only 0.021 lb/acre/year, a negligible amount from agriculture. The corresponding loss of NO3-N (0.56 lb/acre/year) was not considered by the authors to be high in the light of a possible contribution of 12,350 lb of NO3-N and NH3-N to the lake from precipitation.
1.5.10 Holland Marsh
MacCrimmon1 and graduate students, University of Guelph, have carried out an interesting study on the limnology of the Schomberg River as influenced by land use practices (Figure 17).
Although this river flows northward to Lake Simcoe and not to the Great Lakes, the data are of particular interest since the watershed includes the Holland Marsh comprising 7000 acres of cultivated and highly fertilized organic soil used for intensive market gardening. Incidentally, a much smaller area of organic soils (Erieau Marsh) occurs in Kent county and the drainage water enters
Lake Erie.
______1 MacCrimmon, H.R. 1971. Limnology of the Schomberg River as influenced by land use practices. Internal Report, University of Guelph.
II-44 Figure 17. Schomberg River stations (MacCrimmon).
II-45 Recently, Nicholls and MacCrimmon1 have interpreted their data on nutrients in subsurface and drainage waters of Holland Marsh located within Holland River watershed in Simcoe county.
Piezometer-type wells were used for sampling subsurface water of an uncultivated marsh and a cultivated one fertilized annually. The wells extended to the clay about 1.5 m below. The cultivated marsh is dyked and drainage is carried out by pumping water from the ditches up into the main stream of the marsh. Flow was obtained from data on the capacity and time of operation of the pumps draining the uncultivated and cultivated areas. An application of 10-20-30 fertilizer at the rate of 670 kg/ha was applied recently for an onion crop.
The concentrations of NO3-N, NO2-N, NH3-N, and soluble reactive P in the groundwater of the uncultivated and cropped areas in 1971 are given in Table 11.
Table 11. Concentrations of nutrients (mg/L) in groundwater of Holland Marsh, 1971 (Nicholls and MacCrimmon)
Cultivated marsh (onions) Undeveloped marsh Date NO3-N NO2-N NH3-N Sol. P NO3-N NO2 -N NH3-N Sol. P May 19 3.58 0.206 - 0.024 0.038 0.005 - 0.022 June 2 1.03 0.044 0.55 0.059 0.026 0.002 0.07 0.062 June 160.2340.0171.730.051---- July 1 0.272 0.010 1.47 0.017 <0 .010 0.001 0.23 0.026 July 19 0.291 0.013 0.73 0.030 < 0.010 <0.001 0.01 < 0.001 Aug. 4 <0.010 0.001 0.31 0.003 < 0.010 0.001 0.14 0.007 Aug.18 <0.010 <0 .001 0.26 0.009 < 0.010 0.001 0.07 0.010 Sept.1 0.056 0.008 0.61 0.057 < 0.010 < 0.001 0.01 0.005 Mean 0.685 0.037 0.81 0.031 < 0.016 0.001 0.09 0.019
1 Nicholls, K.H. and MacCrimmon, H.R. 1973. Nutrients in subsurface and drainage waters of the Holland Marsh, Ontario. Internal report, University of Guelph.
II-46 The mean concentration of inorganic nitrogen (0.75 mg N/L) in the subsurface water of the fertilized cropped area was about 10 times higher than that of the undeveloped area, The mean value for soluble reactive phosphorus was about 1.6 times higher in the fertilized than in the undeveloped area.
The authors report that 90 per cent of the 1.56 kg P/ha lost in the drainage water from the fertilized area was in the soluble reactive form in contrast to the corresponding 45 per cent of the
0.34 kg P/ha lost from the undeveloped area. The 4.1 kg/ha loss of N from the fertilized marsh was
45 times the 0.09 kg/ha loss from the uncultivated one.
1.6 Leaching of Manure and Fertilizer Nutrients Through Soils
1.6.1 Measurements in Water
A barnyard on a loamy till in the vicinity of Guelph and used for seasonal storage of manure from about 65 cattle over a period of 50 years, was investigated by Gillham and Webber (1969).
Movement of surface water was not a factor. Using piezometers and observation wells, the amount of nitrogen contributed by the barnyard to groundwater was determined. The zone of contamination with nitrogen was associated with the direction of groundwater flow. The direction of flow was affected by the bedrock much more than by surface topography. Concentrations of forms of nitrogen in samples representative of the water before and after passing under the barnyard are given in Table 12. Although the water passing under the barnyard was contaminated with nitrogen, the amounts were small considering the large amounts in the manure. As the authors suggest, lack of aerobic conditions may have inhibited nitrification of ammonia and at the same time ammonium ions may have been held by the soil.
II-47 Table 12. Concentrations of nitrogen in groundwater in barnyard (Gillham and Webber)
Site no Description NO3 N-NH4-N NO2-N ------mg/L ------22 Before passing barnyard 0.3 1.3 0.04 23 Before passing barnyard 0.8 1.2 0.02 4 After passing barnyard 1.3 9.6 0.05 5 After passing barnyard 12.0 2.8 0.20 6 After passing barnyard 9.4 4.2 0.35 14 After passing barnyard 12.7 1.8 0.34
Sowden, Hore, and Matthews1 have done preliminary nutrient monitoring of Black Rapids
Creek (5 stations, A-E) and tile drains (No. 1 to 5) located on the Greenbelt farm, Animal Research
Institute, C.D.A., Ottawa. Mean data for seasonal samples taken up to May 20, 1969 and to June
1, 1970 show no difference in the concentrations of phosphorus (P) in the water from the tiles
(range, 0.020-0.037 ppm) and in the water from the stream (range 0.016-0.026 ppm). The mean concentration of NO3-N in the stream increased from 0.05 ppm at the point of entry to the farm (B)
to 3.6 ppm at station D, well within the farm. The mean concentrations of NO3-N in the tile drain samples (range, 4.9-17.4) were considerably higher than those of the stream (range, 0.05-3.6 ppm). The authors point out that the areas drained by tile drains 1 and 2 had been in fallow since
1968 but the NO3-N levels of their effluents (9.0 and 17.4 ppm, respectively) were much higher than those of drains 4 and 5 (6.0 and 4.9 ppm, respectively) in areas fertilized and cropped.
______
1 Internal report, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, Ontario.
II-48 Based on concentrations of NO3-N and flow data for drain 1, the authors estimated that from 0.2 to 1.0 lb of NO3-N per acre-day of flow was leached out of the soil.
In another aspect of the work, Sowden and Hore 1 (1973) measured the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in water samples from four piezometers at different depths, two unused wells and a tile drain in the vicinity of two long-term manure storage sites, one on concrete and the other on the ground, at the Central Experimental. Farm, Ottawa (Figure 18). Water samples were taken at weekly or biweekly intervals early in the spring and at longer intervals later in the season in the period 1969-1971.
The water table was usually above 275 cm depth at both sites. The concentrations of orthophosphate in the water samples were usually less than 0.1 ppm and were not higher in the samples from the 122 cm deep piezometers near the manure piles than in samples at some distance (piezometer 3). Water from piezometers installed 200-250 meters from the storage areas in the direction of groundwater flow contained little nitrate or ammonium. But samples of water from the tile drain located near one of the manure storage sites contained from 20-35 ppm NO3-N in the spring.
The amounts decreased to about 0.5-10 ppm towards the end of the flow period.
Furthermore, data for piezometers near the manure storage sites showed evidence of leaching of nitrate and ammonium nitrogen. Near the concrete pit, ammonium nitrogen was evident at both the 122 and 275 cm depths in amounts up to 40 ppm. It reached a peak in May or June and then decreased. At the other manure site, significant amounts of ammonium-N occurred only at the 122 cm depth. There was some leaching of NO3-N to the 275 cm depth near the concrete pit but not usually at the other pit although on one occasion the amount reached 19 ppm.
______1 Sowden, F.J. and F.R. Hore. 1973. Nitrogen movement near surface manure storages. Internal Report, Soil Research Institute and Engineering Research Service, Ottawa.
II-49 Figure 18. Location of manure storages, groundwater measurements and soil sampling points (Sowden and Hore).
II-50 The authors found no evidence of serious contamination of groundwater by the manure pits.
They suggested that much of the nitrate originating from the storage areas was denitrified at or near the water table.
Bolton, Aylesworth and Hore (1970) reported on nutrient losses through tile drains in a
Brookston clay in Essex county, Ontario. The cropping systems carried out for a 7-year period were continuous bluegrass, continuous corn, and a 4-year rotation of corn, oats, and two years alfalfa.
One replication received no fertilizer whereas the other received 5-20-10 fertilizer at the rate of 336 kg/ha/year to all crops except alfalfa. Fertilized corn plots were side-dressed with an additional 112 kg N/ha/year. The tile was located at a depth of about 71.1 cm.
Without addition of fertilizer, the mean concentration of total P in the tile effluent varied from only 0.17 to 0.20 ppm with the different cropping systems (Table 13). Addition of fertilizer had no definite effect on the P concentrations except for the 2nd-year alfalfa plots where the value increased to 0.27 ppm when phosphorus was added. Without fertilizer, the highest concentration of total N in the effluent was from the 2nd-year alfalfa plots (9.3 ppm). It was followed by
Table 13. Losses of N and P through tile drains in Brookston clay, Woodslee, Ontario, 1961-67 (Bolton et al.)
Nutrient concentration Nutrient losses, kg/ha/yr Crop NPNP No fert. Fert. No fert. Fert. No fert, Fert. No fert. Fert, Rotation: Corn 8.5 14.0 0.20 0.22 5.6 15.1 0.13 0.24 Oats 6.4 8.5 0.20 0.19 4.3 5.7 0.13 0.13 Alfalfa(1) 6.3 5.8 0.18 0.21 4.8 3.9 0.13 0.15 Alfalfa(2) 9.3 10.1 0.17 0.27 4.7 8.6 0.08 0.22 Continuous: Corn 4.4 8.9 0.17 0.19 6.6 14.0 0.26 0.29 Bluegrass 3.5 1.1 0.17 0.19 0.3 0.7 0.01 0.12
II-51 rotational corn (8.5 ppm) and the lowest was bluegrass sod (3.5 ppm). Addition of fertilizer increased the concentrations of N in the effluent from the corn plots in particular where the value increased to 14.0 ppm in the rotational plot. The highest losses of P from the use of fertilizer amounted to only 0.11 and 0.14 kg/ha/year for rotational corn and 2nd-year alfalfa, respectively.
These were small. The highest losses of total N. from the use of fertilizer were 9.5 and 7.4 kg/ha/year for. rotational and continuous corn, respectively. The authors point out that nutrient losses were influenced greatly by the amount of water flowing through the soil. For example, the annual average effluent flow in the fertilized continuous corn plot was 15.57 cm/year as compared with only 6.45 cm/year in the corresponding bluegrass sod.
Miller and Nap (1971) presented data from the work of Prof. L. Webber, University of
Guelph, on the leaching of NO3-N from rates of liquid poultry manure through 42 inches of Guelph loam soil in natural-core lysimeters.
Table 14. Nitrogen balance from manure-treated lysimeters (Miller and Nap)
ABCD N added (lb N/ac),1968-69 0 890 1780 2670 N leached (lb N/ac) May 1968-Oct.,1969 67 95 172 194 Oct.1969-Dec. 19691 80 287 450 589 Total leached 147 382 622 783 N removed by corn, 1968-69 289 377 388 394 Total N removed (lb N/ac) 436 759 1010 1177 Total N corrected for A 0 323 574 741 % of added N removed - 36.3 32.3 27.8
1 10.5 inches of water added in 1-inch increments.
II-52 Table 15. Phosphorus in additions of poultry manure, phosphorus in corn crops and phosphorus in percolates from Guelph loam in lysimeters, 1968-70 (Webber)
ABCD P added, lb/ac 44 1 363 1 1100 1410 P in crop, lb/ac 79 96 109 118 P in percolate, lb/ac 0.62 0.64 0.46 0.50 Ave. concentration P, ppm 0.065 0.066 0.048 0.052
1 44 lb P/ac added as chemical fertilizer
The data in Table 14 show that large amounts of NO3-N percolated through the soil. Of particular interest also was the large amount of N not accounted for, and which was either immobilized in the soil or lost by denitrification. In contrast to the loss of nitrates in the percolates, the data of Webber (1970) showed that the amounts of phosphorus leached through the soil in these experiments were very small (Table 15).
Wall and Webber (1970) discussed groundwater quality in relation to soil characteristics and subsurface sewage disposal. Open-end groundwater piezometers were installed in October, 1968 on cottage properties and 5 shallow wells were selected for water sampling. Their data for concentrations of NO3-N and P in the groundwater at 3 sites known to have ineffective septic systems and at 11 other sites are summarized in Table 16. The concentrations of NO3-N in samples 1a, 2a, and 3a were contained normally accepted limit prescribed for potable water whereas the concentrations in the other samples were generally below the limit. Several of the samples contained more P than the normally accepted groundwater level of 0.01 to 0.02 ppm. The authors suggested that outdoor privies may have been a source of phosphorus contamination in samples
9 and 10. They believed that the lower NO3-N levels in samples 1 to 11 may have resulted from denitrification favored by the imperfect and poorly drained soil conditions.
II-53 Table 16: Groundwater quality at cottage sites (Wall and Webber)
Water- No. Site descriptions NO -N P table 3 in. ppm ppm Sites with poor systems
1a - Weeping tile discharge on bedrock 11 0.011
2a 42 Groundwater near weeping tile; imperfectly drained; 22 0.109 fine sand 3a 30 Groundwater near over-flowing system; moderately to 28 0.026 poorly drained medium sand underlain by very fine sand lenses beyond 3 ft.
Other Sites 1 30 Medium sand, poorly drained, fine sand lenses below 4.4 0.073 3 ft. 2 30 Medium sand for 20" underlain by fine and very fine 0.23 0.124 sand; imperfect drainage 3 28 Fine sandy till underlain by clay; imperfect to poor trace 0.079 drainage 4 - Poorly drained sandy loam, 12" over bedrock; close to trace - lake 5 - Same as above but closer to lake 0.01 0.063
6 24 Poor drainage; two feet of clay over very fine sand 0.014 0.075 and silt 7 28 Imperfectly to poorly drained sandy till trace 2.0
8 24 Poorly drained; clay over very fine sands at 2 ft. 0.02 0.014
9 18 Poorly drained clay and clay loam, 24 feet from lake, -0.25 downslope from privies 10 36 Poorly drained clay loam till, 45 feet from lake, 0.36 1.0 downslope from privies 11 20 Moderate to poorly drained clay for 2 feet over clay 1.9 0.014 loam till
II-54 1.6.2 Measurements in Soil
In a field experiment on Guelph loam conducted by the Department of Soil Science, University of Guelph, (1966) urea was applied for continuous corn in early May 1965 and 1966 at the rate 200 lb N per acre. The results in Figure 19 show peaks of nitrates in the untreated and treated plots (0-12") in July, followed by a decline and then a rise according to the crop requirement. Of particular interest was the almost complete disappearance of NO3-N from the top foot of soil following heavy rains in October. Other data showed that 70-80 lb-NO3-N/acre accumulated in the 18-24 inch layer of the treated soil. The report points out that the yield of corn was not affected by the fertilizer so that the 200 lb of added N represented an excess over and above the crop requirement.
At the Research Station at Harrow 1, Ontario, different rates of nitrogen fertilizer were applied to a sandy loam soil before planting corn in 1972. By July, NO3-N was more or less evenly distributed throughout the profile to the depth of sampling, 9 feet, The amounts were 106, 191,
356, and 498 lb NO3-N per acre for rates of 0, 100, 200, and 300 lb of nitrogen as N. No nitrate-N was detected in wells with a free water level 13.5 feet below the surface of the plots. In one instance, water extracted from the soil in situ with suction equipment contained 222 ppm NO3-N at a depth of 8 feet in a plot receiving the 300 lb rate of nitrogen. It was thought that a varve of clay impeded movement below.
In an experiment conducted by the Department of Soil Science, University of Guelph (1966) 300 lb phosphorus (P) was added to a Burford loam for a rotation of corn, oats, clover and wheat during the 7-year period 1959 to 1965. The phosphate treatment increased the amount of easily soluble phosphorus (NH4F-HCl) in the top foot of soil markedly but below this depth the increase was slight (Figure 20), Other data reported by Miller and Nap (1971) for a sandy soil at Harrow, Ontario, show no serious tendency for phosphorus fertilizer to move in the soil (Table 17).
______1 Private communication from W.I. Findlay.
II-55 Figure 19. Seasonal fluctuation of nitrate-nitrogen in. top 12 inches of a Guelph loam soil under continuous corn with and without nitrogen added as urea before planting. (Dept. of Soil Science, Univ. of Guelph).
Figure 20. Distribution of fertilizer phosphorus in a Burford loam to which 300 lb P/ac were applied over a seven-year period (Dept. of Soil Science, Univ. of Guelph).
II-56 Table 17. Easily soluble phosphorus (lb/acre) in sandy soil at Harrow, Ontario after eleven years of fertilization (Miller and Nap)
Rate of P 0 lb/acre Depth inches 2 5 0 40 80 120 0-6 85 93 107 119 6-12 63 68 79 90 12-18 33 35 38 42 18-24 28 31 32 34 24-30 27 29 31 31 30-36 27 28 30 31
1 Data from Sowden and Hore (1973) on the amounts of NH4-N and NO3-N in soil samples taken to a depth of 213 cm in the vicinity of a manure storage pit (Figure 18) are summarized in Table 18,
The amounts of NH4-N in the samples were low except for accumulation of 78 ppm at a depth of 61-91 cm.
Table 18. Nitrogen content (ppm) of soil in vicinity of manure pit, September 1970 (Sowden and Hore)
Depth NH4-N NO3-N cm Sites, see Figure 18 * I II III IV V I II III IV V 0 - 31 0.3 2.5 1.0 2.3 3.7 1.7 50.1 49.4 17.6 47.9 31 - 61 - 3.1 0.3 0.6 1.6 0.7 13.9 11.7 12.3 11.7 61 - 91 0.2 78.0 0.3 0.2 0.9 2.1 12.0 4.8 3.2 2.3 91 - 152 0.4 0.9 4.3 4.5 152 - 213 0.5 1.1 7.3 0.6
* In I, II, III and IV stones prevented sampling below 91 cm
1 Sowden, F.J. and F.R. Hore. 1973. Nitrogen movement near surface manure storages. Internal Report, Soil Research Institute and Engineering Research Service, Ottawa.
II-57 The amounts of NO3-N were fairly high in the top 31 cm of soil from some of the sites but there was little difference between the amounts at site II and III near the pit and the amount at site V, farthest removed. The amounts below 61 cm were small.
Unpublished data of the Soil Research Institute, Ottawa, show the amounts of NH4 and
NO3-N and soluble phosphorus in two sandy soils used as disposal sites for animal liquid manure
(Table 19). The amounts of NH4-N were low.
The amounts of NO3-N were lower than anticipated, and it would appear that at time of sampling, some NO3 had moved from the surface layer to a depth of about 45 cm. The amounts of phosphorus declined considerably below 30 cm.
Table 19. Nitrogen and phosphorus (ppm) in sandy soils used as disposal area for animal liquid manure, Ottawa, Ontario, September 1970 (Soil Research Institute, Ottawa)
Uplands loamy sand Rubicon sandy loam Depth Nitrogen Phosphorus (P) Nitrogen Phosphorus (P) cm NH4-N NO3-N NaHCO3 H20NH4-N NO3-N NaHCO3 H20 0-15 0.9 6.2 24.9 2.39 1.0 4.3 60.0 3.18 15-30 0.9 18.4 19.1 2.32 0.7 20.5 28.8 0.53 30-45 0.8 12.0 4.7 0.34 0.7 23.8 12.3 0.37 45-60 0.6 3.3 3.0 0.24 0.5 6.5 6.2 0.15 60-75 0.6 10.9 3.2 0.13 0.6 3.7 13.1 0.32 75-90 0.5 10.4 3.8 0.15 0.5 1.0 10.4 0.36
Corresponding data are available for two other sites used for horticultural purposes and receiving liberal amounts of manure and fertilizer for a number of years (Table 20). The amounts of NH4 N were low whereas nitrates would appear to be moving down the soil profiles.
II-58 Table 20. Nitrogen and phosphorus (ppm) in two sandy loam soils used for horticultural crops, Ottawa, Ontario, September 1970 (Soil Research Institute, Ottawa)
Area I Area II Depth Nitrogen Phosphorus (P) Nitrogen Phosphorus (P) cm NH4-N NO3-N NaHCO3 H20NH4-N NO3-N NaHCO3 H20 0-15 3.5 32.1 141 50.1 3.3 31.3 245 65.4 15-30 1.6 39.1 128 37.0 2.3 38.4 204 18.9 30-45 0.7 25.0 25 4.0 0.8 31.6 57 20.3 45-60 0.6 20.0 4.0 0.34 0.8 16.0 8.3 0.7 60-75 0.6 13.0 1.6 0.26 0.9 17.3 2.8 0.7
The amounts of phosphorus were high in the top 30-cm soil layers and there was evidence of leaching of this nutrient to at least 45 cm.
1.7 Water Erosion of Soils
Sediment is detrimental to water quality by clogging reservoirs and watercourses and by carrying with it nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in particular, as well as pesticides, toxic metals and other. pollutants. In agricultural watersheds some of the sediment may arise from farm land and some from stream bank erosion.
Pentland (1968) as cited earlier in this report (page 22) prepared maps of the distribution of runoff for the Great Lakes basin. He reported that over one-third of the mean precipitation at 9 stations was represented as runoff. Dickinson and Whiteley (1970) analysed the response of streamflowing to input of precipitation on Blue Springs Creek in the light of the contributing area concept.
II-59 Figure 21. Fifty-two Canadian watersheds tributary to Lake Ontario and for which sediment data are available (Ongley).
They suggest that on comparison with actual basin segments, the minimum contributing areas appeared to give a good indication of the approximate areal extent of those portions of the Blue Springs Basin contributing to runoff.
Recently, Ongley (1973) described regional patterns of sediment yield from Canadian watersheds tributary to Lake Ontario using data of the Ontario Water Resources Commission for the period 1965-1970 (Figure 21). The mean annual sediment yield and erosion rate for 52 watersheds are given in Table 21. The yields of dissolved solids described as dissolved sediments
II-60 Table 21. Mean annual sediment yields for 52 basins tributary to Lake Ontario (Ongley).
Mean annual sediment yield Erosion Rates Basin Area Mean Annual Basin Suspended Dissolved Total ft/yr x 10-4 mi2 Flow (cfs) 1 Cataraqui R. 9.5 143.9 153.5 0.667 347.4 307.4 2 Little Cataraqui R. 12.5 289.5 302.0 1.313 27.4 24.9 3 Collins Ck. 7.9 229.0 237.0 1.031 63.9 57.5 4 Millhaven Ck. 7.1 201.7 208.8 0.908 56.7 51.1 5 Wilton Ck. 15.9 292.3 308.3 1.341 58.3 52.5 6 Napanee R. 12.2 169.3 181.5 0.789 323.0 286.0 7 Salmon R. 6.9 147.4 154.3 0.671 347.7 307.7 8 Moira R. 7.7 138.0 145.8 0.634 1096.5 960.2 9 Trent R. 8.5 138.1 146.6 0.638 4996.6 4322.5 10 Smithfield Ck. 14.5 266.6 281.1 1.222 10.4 9.5 11 Butler Ck. 29.9 295.9 325.9 1.417 9.6 8.8 12 Salem Ck. 12.8 239.3 252:2 1.097 3.3 3.0 13 Colborne Ck. 26.1 253.9 280.0 1.217 18.9 17.2 14 Shelter Valley Ck. 22.4 254.8 277.2 1.205 25.3 23.0 15 Brookside Ck. 32.3 371.5 403.8 1.756 2.5 2.3 16 Cobourg Ck. 42.8 323.8 366.6 1.594 41.7 37.7 17 Gage Ck. 35.0 252.8 287.9 1.252 19.9 18.1 18 Ganaraska R. 22.9 215.5 238.4 1.037 101.0 90.5 19 Graham Ck. 46.5 240.0 286.6 1.246 29.1 26.4 20 Wilmot Ck. 36.6 313.9 350.5 1.524 33.2 30.1 21 Bowmanville Ck. 55.8 256.4 312.3 1.358 67.0 60.3 22 Harmony Ck. 28.5 384.1 412.7 1.794 36.7 33.2 23 Oshawa Ck. 33.8 396.1 429.9 1.870 49.6 44.8 24 Pringle Ck. 29.0 476.5 505.5 2.198 9.8 9.0 25 Lynde Ck. 34.6 314.0 348.7 1.516 53.1 47.9 26 Carruthers Ck. 26.2 324.5 350.8 1.525 10.8 9.9 27 Duffin Ck. 31.7 281.5 313.2 1.362 110.0 98.5 28 Rouge R. 29.9 334.3 364.2 1.584 146.3 130.6 29 Highland Ck. 73.2 606.0 679.3 2.954 34.9 31.6 30 Don R. 58.9 615.6 673.7 2.929 151.5 135.2 31 Humber R. 68.8 381.8 450.7 1.960 368.0 325.5 32 Mimico Ck. 46.5 642.0 688.5 2.993 33.6 30.4 33 Etobicoke Ck. 46.9 566.5 613.4 2.667 82.4 74.0 34 Credit R. 24.4 283.5 307.9 1.339 340.0 300.9 35 Oakville Ck. 29.0 289.4 318.4 1.385 149.3 133.2 36 Bronte Ck. 36.9 297.7 334.7 1.455 130.6 116.7 37 Rambo Ck. 36.5 570.7 607.3 2.641 5.4 5.0 38 Grindstone Ck. 55.1 384.3 439.5 1.911 51.9 46.8 39 Spenser Ck. 41.6 351.2 392.9 1.709 68.3 61.4 40 Redhill Ck. 49.5 469.8 519.3 2.258 19.5 17.8 41 Stoney Ck. 58.9 574.4 633.4 2.754 3.3 3.0 42 40 Mile Ck. 42.9 584.8 627.8 2.730 29.3 26.6 43 30 Mile Ck. 19.8 425.0 444.9 1.935 13.1 12.0 44 20 Mile Ck. 22.8 436.7 459.6 1.998 137.2 122.5 45 16 Mile Ck. 28.8 356.5 385.4 1.676 15.4 14.1 46 15 Mile Ck. 23.5 368.9 392.4 1.706 13.3 12.2 47 12 Mile Ck. 23.3 205.8 229.1 0.996 22.0 20.0 48 8 Mile Ck. 17.6 367.7 385.3 1.676 2.1 1.9 49 6 Mile Ck. 29.1 762.5 791.7 3.442 7.3 6.7 50 4 Mile Ck. 29.8 533.2 563.1 2.449 12 11.0 51 2 Mile Ck. 18.2 609.1 627.3 2.728 6.1 5.6 52 1 Mile Ck. 29.0 415.6 444.6 1.933 1.0 0.9 Average 30.6 358.6 389.2 1.692 Standard 0.260 0.181 0.181 0.0788 x10-6 Deviation2 1 2 Predicted from area-discharge equation. Taken from log10 transformed values.
II-61 are included in the table. The mean annual sediment yield was estimated to be 30.6 tons/year/mi2 for the 52 watersheds. The corresponding estimated erosion rate was 1.69 x 10-4 feet/year. In view of the shallow gradients and abundance of dams and weirs on the rivers, export of bedload from the watersheds was not considered by the author to be particularly significant.
Sediment surveys carried out by the Canadian Government, beginning in the sixties and concerned mainly with measurements of transported sediment have been described by Stichling and Smith (1968). Currently there are about 9 stations in this program in Ontario. Published sediment data of the Water Survey of Canada (1968) and some data for subsequent years1 are summarized for 6 stations in Table 22. The amounts of sediment are considerable. The value for the Big Otter Creek station when converted to an annual basis is equivalent to the amount of surface soil (6-inch depth) of 115 acres.
Table 22. Mean monthly sediment load for some Ontario streams (Water Survey of Canada)
Stream Location Drainage area Years Sediment
mi2 tons/day
Thames River Ingersoll 200 1965-70 28.0 Big Creek Walsingham 228 1967-70 72.5 Big Otter Creek Vienna 269 1967-69 315 Canagagique Creek Elmira 45 1968-69 15.3 Humber River Elder Mills 117 1967-69 70.6 Humber River West 309 1966, 68, 69 178
______
1 Kindly supplied by W. Stichling, Head, Sediment Survey Section.
II-62 A recent paper by Rump (1971) on the history of water pollution of the Grand River watershed refers to newspaper accounts over 100 years ago of heavy sediment load in the river from thunder storms once the forest cover was largely depleted. Interesting enough, accounts show a concern over various kinds of pollution at that time.
Discussions of Richards (1954) and Ripley (1961) en soil erosion in eastern Canada reflect past concerns of agriculturalists over loss of soil from farm lands with resulting loss in productivity. Ripley et al. (1961) refer to the Etobicoke, Humber and Thames as examples of rivers, brown with soil from farm lands, which have overflowed with serious results on many occasions.
In 1950, the National Soil Survey of Canada prepared a map of soil erosion in Canada and the southern Ontario portion is reproduced in Figure 22. Most of the region was described as moderately eroded based on a 10-35 per cent loss in productivity (Ripley et al., 1961). The southwestern portion (Essex, Kent, Elgin, Lambton, Middlesex and Perth) and an eastern section (Haldimand and Welland) of the Lake Erie watershed were depicted as slightly eroded, i.e., with less than 10 per cent loss in productivity.
The area east of Prince Edward county along Lake Ontario and the international section of the St. Lawrence River also was depicted as slightly eroded. A narrow east-west band in Durham county was shown as severely eroded with a loss in productivity of over 35 per cent.
Soil erosion studies were begun on a Guelph loam with a 7 per cent slope in 1953 (Webber, 1964). The treatments consisted of sod; continuous corn planted with the slope; 4-year rotation of corn, oats, hay, hay planted with the slope; and the same rotation planted across the slope in a strip-cropping arrangement so that oats and corn adjoined hay plots. The losses of soil and water from the sod or hay crops were small or negligible.
II-63 Figure 22. Soil erosion in settled areas of Eastern Canada (Ripley et al.).
The mean data for oats and corn over a 10-year period are summarized in Table 23. The author states that 95 per cent of the average annual soil loss from the continuous corn plot occurred from April to September, and 78 per cent of the total losses occurred in 1955, 1956 and 1962, Furthermore, 78 per cent of the average annual soil loss from oats planted with the slope occurred during the April-June period. The data show the effectiveness of contour and strip cropping in reducing soil and water losses. The higher loss from the continuous than from rotation corn was attributed to the decreases in soil organic matter and aggregate stability of the soil growing continuous corn.
II-64 Table 23. Average annual soil and water losses, 1953-1962, from Guelph loam with 7 per cent slope (Webber)
Soil Water Corn lb/acre inches Oats, rotation, with slope 5500 0.55
Oats, rotation, across slope1 1200 0.14
Corn, continuous, with slope 16800 1.23
Corn, rotation, with slope 1100 0.23
Corn, rotation, across slope1 500 0.10
1 Listed crop in lower portion of strip cropped plots
The soil of the rotational corn plots contained 4.0 per cent organic matter and 57.8 per cent stable aggregates greater than 0.5 mm. The values for the continuous corn plot were 3.1 and 21.6 per cent for organic matter and aggregate stability, respectively. Enrichment ratios (runoff soil/plot soil) increased from 1.60 for the continuous corn plot to 2.04 for rotational corn as measured by easily extracted phosphorus. Data for one storm indicated an enrichment ratio of 1.6 for less than 2 micron clay.
The experiment on Guelph loam was revised in 1968 to accommodate studies on the effect of corn stover on runoff (Ketcheson, 1968) and results for that year are given in Table 24. Leaving the corn stover on the soil surface without plowing greatly reduced losses of soil and water. Subsequently, Ketcheson and Onderdonk (1973) studied the effect of corn stover on the loss of soil and 32P-tagged fertilizer phosphorus in the fine (less than 50 micron) and coarse (greater than 50 micron) soil fractions in the runoff from these plots under non-tilled management. The stover was effective in reducing losses of both fine and coarse fractions of the soil (Table 25). Of particular interest were the proportions of oil and fertilizer phosphorus in the water and soil fractions.
II-65 Table 24. Soil and water losses and corn yield, 1968 (Ketcheson)
Soil Treatment Water inches Grain bu/acre ton/acre Not plowed - stover left 2.37 0.45 105 - stover removed 34.94 1.57 102 - stover removed, manured 39.24 1.82 109 Plowed - stover left 14.74 1.51 114 - stover removed, manured 24.39 1.42 113
Table 25. Amounts of fine and coarse soil fraction in runoff, 1973 (Ketcheson and Onderdonk)
Runoff, kg/ha Maximum intensity of No stover Stover rainfall/hour Fine Coarse Fine Coarse Simulated, June 1,19 cm 2434 3785 426 381 Natural, June 14, 15 cm 9786 8020 1223 2104 Natural, June 25, 6 cm 2163 1588 45 26
The summarized data (Table 26) show that the stover mulch reduced the loss of phosphorus by water erosion markedly. Furthermore, most of the phosphorus loss was from the soil. The amounts of added phosphorus (29 kg P/ha) entering runoff were very small. The fertilizer phosphorus was added to the bare soil or placed under the mulch and would be more susceptible to loss by runoff than in normal practice where it is mixed with the soil. The amounts of phosphorus in the runoff water were very small compared with those in the soil particles. The loss of soil phosphorus was associated more with the fine than with the coarse particles in contrast to the greater loss of fertilizer phosphorus in coarse than in fine material. The effectiveness of corn stover in reducing phosphorus loss by erosion was achieved through reduced runoff and decreased concentrations of suspended soil in it.
II-66 Table 26. Effect of corn stover on phosphorus in runoff from Guelph loam, 197 (Ketcheson and Onderdonk)
Soil P, kg/ha Fertilizer P, kg/ha
Liquid Coarse Liquid Coarse June 1, no stover 0.19 3.73 2.20 0.08 0.21 1.08 stover 0.04 0.53 0.27 0.002 0.02 0.02 June 14, no stover 0.36 22.85 4.47 0.08 0.52 1.38 stover 0.08 7.90 0.94 0 0.07 0.02 June 25, no stover 0.04 6.14 1.32 0.03 0.06 0.41 stover 0.004 0.07 0.09 0.002 0.001 0.001
Table 27. Effect of intensity of rainfall on erosion of clay soil at Ottawa with corn up and down 10 per cent slope (Ripley et al.)
Runoff, (ton/ha) Date Rainfall (cm) Duration (hr) Soil Water June 16, 1946 7. 37 1.0 148.2 366.3 Oct. 12, 1946 5.33 13.0 0.0 0.0 July 17, 1950 5.33 3.0 51.6 389.4 Oct. 15, 1955 4.83 12.0 0.0 0.0 July 22, 1946 3.18 2.0 5.8 34.5 Aug.19, 1946 1.27 0.2 12.3 53.1 Aug.16, 1956 4.32 1.5 13.9 204.7 Sept.29, 1954 4.45 11.0 0.0 0.0 July 17, 1947 5.03 0.5 51.6 217.2
II-67 Results of experiments on Rideau clay at Ottawa, Ontario for a 12-year period beginning in 1945 (Ripley et al., 1961; and Cordukes et al., 1951) show the losses of runoff soil and water as influenced by intensity of rainfall, degree of slope, crop cover, crop rotation, manuring, and cropping on contour vs. up and down the slope. For the sake of convenience, data summarized by MacLean (1971) from the above reports are reproduced here (Tables 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31) to show both the high magnitude of soil and water losses from this clay when it was exposed to intense rainfall and the value of sod cover, contour cropping, and manuring in reducing losses. The magnitude of the loss of 148.2 ton of soil per hectare during the intense rainfall on June 16, 1946
Table 28. Runoff at Ottawa on 10 and 5 per cent slopes (Cordukes et al. )
Period Crop, up and Runoff, ton/ha/yr (May-October) downslope, manured 10% slope 5% slope Soil Water Soil Water 1946-49 Summerfallow 74 479 30 291 1945-49 Corn 61 602 29 542
Table 29. Effect of cover on runoff on 10 per cent slope cultivated up and down, Ottawa, May-October 1945-56 (Ripley et al. )
Losses, ton/ha/yr Crop (continuous) Soil Water Summerfallow 34 333 Corn 37 414 Oats 2.8 48 Alfalfa 0.04 11.5 Timothy 0.13 25.3
II-68 (Table 27) is apparent when compared with the mean annual loss of only 37 ton/ha (Table 29) from the same plot. The beneficial effect of manure in reducing erosion may arise from improved aggregate stability and water percolation into the soil as well as from improved crop cover. The results illustrate the value of sod crops such as occur in livestock farming in reducing erosion. On the other hand, cash crops such as corn without proper management leave some soils very susceptible to erosion. Unfortunately data are not available for the amounts of nutrients contained in the runoff water and soil in the foregoing experiments. Data for a few of the Ottawa plots (Cordukes et al, 1951) showed that the soil in the runoff was slightly enriched in colloids and nitrogen.
Table 30. Effect of manure (35.9 ton/ha/4 yr) on runoff on la per cent slope cultivated up and down, Ottawa, May-October, 1945-56 (Ripley et al)
Losses, ton/ha/yr Crop (continuous) Manure No manure Soil Water Soil Water Summerfallow 34 333 43 363 Corn 37 414 49 501
Table 31. Effect of growing corn and oats in contour vs, up and down 10 percent slope, Ottawa, 1945-56 Ripley et al. )
Crop in 4-year Losses, ton/ha/yr rotation, corn, oats Up and down slope Contour alfalfa, alfalfa Soil Water Soil Water Corn 10.5 104 7.8 90
Oats 4.5 78 3.9 67
II-69 Figure 23. Distribution of Class 1 and 2 soils in southern Ontario (ARDA Report No. 7).
II-70 In land capability classification of soils based on use limitation for crop production, class 1 soils have no significant limitations that restrict their use for crops (Webber and Hoffman). They have level or gently sloping topography, are deep, well to moderately drained, have good water-holding capacities, are naturally well supplied with plant nutrients, and have a low erosion hazard. Class 2 soils have moderate limitations and succeeding classes have increasing limitations, and require more conservation practices. A map (Figure 23) from ARDA Report No 7 (1972) shows that most townships of southwestern Ontario have over 75 per cent of their area made up of high quality land (Classes 1 and 2). Furthermore, soils of a lower class than 1 and 2 in the Niagara Peninsula and in Norfolk and Elgin counties have special value for fruit growing and tobacco production, respectively. It is encouraging to note that the Government of Ontario is currently taking initiatives towards better land use planning and the conservation of prime agricultural land.
Discussion of the management of these soils for crop production will be restricted mainly to nitrogen and phosphorus.
1.8.1 Nitrogen Reactions in Soils
A symposium on nitrogen in soil and water arranged in the Department of Soil Science, University of Guelph (1971) was concerned with the undesirable effects of too much nitrogen in the wrong form or place. The essentials of the nitrogen cycle is reproduced (Figure 24) from a symposium paper by Robinson (1971). In past considerations of supplying crops with adequate nitrogen, emphasis was placed on conditions favorable for nitrification and unfavorable for denitrification. But slowdown of nitrification and acceleration of denitrification is beneficial in restricting losses of NO3-N to groundwater.
Most of the soil nitrogen is immobilized in the organic matter of the plowed layer and only small amounts of NH4 or NO3 nitrogen are present at any one time. In contrast to nitrate, ammonium is held in exchangeable form or it may be fixed in the clay fraction of the soils in a manner similar to the way potassium is held. Thus, ammonium tends to be immobile whereas nitrates move readily in the soil profile. In alkaline soils, however, ammonium may be lost by
II-71 Figure 24. Nitrogen cycle (from Robinson).
II-72 volatilization. When the C:N ratio of the soil is raised by addition of organic matter, the microbial population uses soluble soil nitrogen for microbial protein. Thus, addition of organic material to soils reduces the immediate supply of nitrates present.
The most important soil processes regulating possible excesses of nitrates in soils are nitrification and denitrification. They are understood in principle but their operation under soil and climatic conditions in the field is much more difficult to define. In this connection, the more practical considerations of the nitrification process by Chase, Corke and Robinson (1968) are of interest. In their earlier studies using a perfusion apparatus, they showed that addition of lime, phosphorus, and garden soil to an infertile grass land soil markedly increased the amounts of nitrate in the perfusates as well as the proliferation of the nitrifying bacteria. Data on the relationship between soil pH and NO3-production in a Vineland sandy loam are illustrated in Figure 25.
The pH of the orchard soils decreased in the order of mulch, clean cultivation, and sod. Liming of the plots increased nitrification. The pH of the mulched soil was 5.7, and upon liming to pH 6.3 nitrification increased 10 per cent. An incidental but important effect of the mulch was to prolong the date of freezing of the soil so that the numbers of Nitrosomonas (converting NH3 to
NO2) and Nitrobacter (converting NO2 to NO3) were about double those found in the other plots in winter, spring and early summer. In subsequent studies with grassland in southern Ontario and at variance with some reports elsewhere, the authors did not find that grassland inhibited nitrification when compared with results for fallow. The authors suggest that the relative competitiveness of different grasses for ammonia as their source of nitrogen may influence results.
There is increasing evidence that nitrification continues to occur near freezing temperatures which mitigates against fall application of even NH3-N. Krause and Batsch (1968) treated the 15-cm surface layer of Tioga sand at Midhurst, Ontario, with NH4-NO3 at the rate of 112 kg N/ha in mid September, 1962, and collected leachates until December from tension-late lysimeters installed at a 30-cm depth. The loss of nitrogen from the treated plot exceeded that of the control by 99 kg/ha representing 88 per cent of the amount added. Of particular interest was an apparent loss of NH4-N following its conversion to NO3-N when soil temperatures were approaching zero. More recently, Carandang and Ketcheson (1971) measured the effects of soil temperature on nitrification and
II-73 Figure 25. Correlation of initial soil pH and the extent. of nitrate production by soil in
28 days of perfusion with (NH4)2SO4 solution.. The soil was Vineland sandy loam under a variety of field and laboratory treatments (Chase, Corke and Robinson). concluded that considerable nitrification of ammonia in ,fertilizer could take place in soils in the Guelph area even into December.
In the past decade, N-Serve-2 chloro-6 (trichloromethyl) pyridine has been used experimentally as an inhibitor of nitrification. Chase, Corke and Robinson (1968) showed that N-Serve (10 lb/acre) was effective in reducing nitrate loss of fall-applied urea in a field test. They also showed that the effectiveness of the material depended on the rate of application. Bates and
Corke (1967) found that N-Serve (20 lb/acre) reduced the loss of NH4-N from NH4SO4 (134 kg N/ha) applied to a Brookston clay loam, November 15, 1966. Nevertheless, there were marked decreases in the amounts of NH4-N retained in the soil until the end of January, and without N-Serve, throughout the winter when soil temperatures were near freezing. A recent 2-year field experiment
II-74 of Beauchamp (1971) indicated that N-Serve (up to 2 lb/acre) was not an effective conserver of fall applied anhydrous ammonia for corn at the Elora Research Station, Ontario.
Stevenson and Baldwin (1969) reported on fall plowdown, spring preplant and sidedress applications of nitrogen at rates up to 224 kg N/ha for grain corn on Brookston clay, Brookston clay loam, and Haldimand silt loam soils in southwestern Ontario during the period 1964-1967. Urea,
NH4 NO3 and anhydrous ammonia were used Fall applied nitrogen gave the poorest results and was less effective on the clay than on the loam soil (Table 32). Grain from plots receiving fall applied nitrogen was markedly lower in N content than grain from plots receiving the nitrogen in the spring. The authors did not believe that leaching could account for the low efficiency of fall applied nitrogen in the clay soils. The soil temperature (10EC) at the time of application in mid November would permit nitrification to proceed, and they suggested that the abundance of plowed down residues and waterlogging of the clay would be favorable for denitrification and loss of nitrogen to the atmosphere. The low recovery of nitrogen from manure-treated lysimeters (Table 14) also suggests that appreciable loss of excess nitrogen may occur by this process and not necessarily by leaching through the soil.
Table 32. Mean yield of grain corn (kg/ha) as influenced by time of nitrogen application (Stevenson and Baldwin)
Soil Fall Pre-plant Side-dress Clay 5680 6970 7169 Loam 7730 8400 8499
II-75 1.8.2 Nitrogen Fertilizer Most of the nitrogen fertilizer sold in Ontario is in the form of ammonium nitrate, urea, and anhydrous and liquid ammonia (Fertilizer Trade, 1971). But regardless of form, it is soon converted to nitrate by the nitrification process. Mention has been made of N-Serve as a nitrification inhibitor in attempts to diminish loss of fall applied nitrogen. Obviously, an alternative is to supply the proper amount of nitrogen when needed by the crop.
In the past few years, there has been some interest in the possible use of slow release nitrogen fertilizers, and pot test results of Sheard and Beauchamp (1970) are given in Table 33. Crotonyl diurea gave the most uniform release of nitrogen over the period of three harvests.
Table 33. Nitrogen uptake by orchard grass receiving different sources of nitrogen fertilizer (Sheard and Beauchamp)
Harvest Source of N (300 kg N/ha) 123
Urea 305.6 53.4 17.8
Sulfur coated urea 128 46 58.8
Crotonyl diurea 29.9 41.4 53.6
Urea formaldehyde 72.4 11.4 31.3
In order to avoid excess use of nitrogen for production it is necessary to know the crop requirement. Fulton and Findlay (1960) showed that shelled corn yields increased with increments of nitrogen fertilizer up to the highest rate used (120 lb/acre) on a Brady sandy loam and a Brookston clay (Table 34).
Furthermore, there was a linear relationship between yield and the nitrogen content of the leaf. One of the difficulties in applying the proper amount of fertilizer is the variation that occurs in the native nitrogen supply from year to year. For example, results of Bates (1971) showed that a similar high yield of grain corn (144 bu/acre) was obtained on a loam soil in 1971 regardless of
II-76 Table 34. Mean yields and nitrogen contents of leaf tissue of corn (1957-58) receiving different rates of nitrogen fertilizer (Fulton and Findlay)
Brady sandy loam Brookston clay Rate of N Yield N content Yield N content lb/acre bu/acre % bu/acre % 0 41.1 2.01 51.4 1.74 40 66.3 2.71 68.7 2.18 80 78.7 3.10 77.8 2.49 120 85.7 3.25 85.2 2.67
fertilizer rates varying from 0 to 300 lb N/acre. But in 1970, the yield on the control plats receiving no nitrogen fertilizer was only 80 bu/acre as compared with 121 bu/acre where nitrogen was added. Formerly, it was the recommended practice in Ontario to add additional nitrogen for corn when the stover of the previous crop was returned to the soil. But recent results of Ketcheson (1970) show that with 50 lb N/acre, corn yields were similar where stover was either returned or removed, and with higher rates of nitrogen there was evidence that the stover was an additional source of nitrogen for the crop.
Some recent results of Bates (1970) are illustrative of past and current field experiments on rates of fertilizer nutrients for different crops on different soils (Table 35). The results show increased yields for rates of up to 100 lb N/acre for corn and about 80 lb N/acre for barley and wheat. Data of Sheard (1968) show the high nitrogen requirement for grass and the importance of time of application (Figure 26). It would appear that an early fall application of nitrogen fertilizer was utilized by the crop to its benefit the following year.
II-77 Figure 26. Time of application of ammonium nitrate for timothy, 6 trials, 1968 (Sheard).
Table. 35. Annual rates of nitrogen (NH4NO3) for grain of corn, barley and wheat (Bates)
Rate of N Yield, bu/acre Rate of N Yield, bu/acre Grain corn, 1969-70 Barley,1970 Wheat,1970 (lb/acre) Fsl 1 Cl1 Ocl 1 (lb/acre) Bl1 Cl1 Bl 1 Cl 1 0 51 78 72 0 1600 1790 1260 1680 50 71 108 97 20 1820 2770 1350 2510 100 77 114 95 40 2420 2740 2180 2560 150 66 111 95 80 2870 3520 2330 2850 200 70 109 99 160 2470 3690 1660 2220 300 71 106 106
1 Fox sandy loam, Conestoga loam, Oneida clay loam, and Bennington loam
II-78 Based on these and other data the author advises a split application of 50 lb N/acre in late August or early September with the remaining requirement being added in early spring.
To assess the nitrogen fertilizer requirements of different crops in the region, an accurate soil test is highly desirable and would greatly assist in avoiding excessive amounts. Some years ago, Eagle and Matthews (1958) measured the nitrate-supplying power of Ontario soils and correlated the results with crop yield response. The method, involving aerobic incubation prior to measuring soil nitrates, was used for a period of time in the Soil Testing Laboratory, University of Guelph. It was withdrawn later, however, since its reliability was greatly reduced when used for samples collected for an extended period of time prior to planting dates.
1.8.3 Phosphorus Reactions in Soils
The plowed layer of mineral soils will contain amounts of total phosphorus of the order 0.075 to 0.15 per cent or 1500 to 3000 lb P/acre. The cultivated layer of 9 cultivated soils from eastern Ontario varied in total phosphorus from 0.06 to 0.14 per cent (Halstead et al., 1956). About one-half of the total P in the cultivated layer may be in organic form as a part of the soil organic matter and it mineralizes only slowly (Halstead et al, 1963). The concentrations of phosphorus in solution in mineral soils are small, usually less than 1 ppm. The amounts found by Halstead et al (1956) in 1:2.5 soil:water extracts varied from 0.012 to 0.212 ppm. Addition of superphosphate (75 ppm P) to incubated samples increased the values to 0.12-0.96 ppm; and an addition of 220 ppm P increased the values further to 0.40-3.68 ppm. In contrast to mineral soils, peats and mucks upon cultivation and fertilization may contain appreciable amounts of soluble phosphorus. MacLean et al. (1964) found mean concentrations of 13 and 23 ppm P in the water of 1:4 soil:water extracts of 9 muck and of 5 peat samples respectively.
II-79 Reviews of Larsen (1967) and Mattingly and Talibudeen (1967) wil1 serve to summarize some of more important properties of phosphorus in soils. H2PO4 ions will predominate in the soil solution in slightly acid soils. Part of the phosphorus in the soil solution will occur as soluble Ca-P complexes in calcareous soils and Fe-P and Al-P complexes in acid soils. Metals that react with phosphorus may occur in the soil solution as complexes with organic matter (Schnitzer, 1969). The upper limit of the concentration of phosphorus in solution will depend on the reactions with the solid phase of sparingly soluble salts of phosphorus with magnesium, calcium, aluminum and iron, and of phosphorus adsorbed on the surface of soil particles.
With respect to the solid phase, phosphorus is adsorbed by clay minerals, hydrated and anhydrous oxides of aluminum, iron, manganese, alkaline earth carbonates and sulfates, and metallic salts of humic acid. The main precipitation reactions of phosphorus are with aluminum and iron in acid soils and with calcium in slightly acid, neutral and alkaline soils. There is evidence that aluminum phosphates formed initially are transformed to the aluminum phosphate mineral variscite. A more basic aluminum hydroxyphosphate may form on the surface of variscite. Also, the phosphorus in variscite may be associated with iron in surface complexes. In slightly acid, neutral, and alkaline soils, dicalcium or other phosphates of calcium undergo chemical changes to form the mineral hydroxylapatite. Even at the higher pH levels, calcium phosphates may co-exist with phosphorus in the form of surface complexes on variscite.
When fertilizer phosphorus is introduced into the soil, only a small portion remains in solution. The remainder is adsorbed or precipitated as phosphates of calcium, aluminum or iron.
The particular reactions of phosphorus added to soil are complex and depend on the resulting composition of the soil solution, and the form of phosphorus and other salts in the fertilizer
(Huffman, 1968). In any event, in a general and relative sense, the greater portion of the added phosphorus is fixed against removal by the crop or by leaching. It is for this reason that it is common agricultural practice to band phosphorus fertilizer near the seed to lessen contact with the soil.
II-80 In a study of surface samples of 11 cultivated Canadian soils (pH, 5.0-7.6) Halstead (1967) found phosphorus retention values of 2.6 to 15.2 moles P/100 g soil and they were related to oxalate-soluble aluminum and iron. The values increased with decrease in particle-size of soil separates. One of the clays had a phosphorus retention capacity of 74 mmoles P/100 g.
The phosphorus retention values for the 11 soils represented from 0.8 to 7.9 times their total phosphorus contents prior to treatment. Phosphorus retention will be higher in acid soils usually and will tend to be reduced upon liming. Bowman, Thomas and Elrick (1967) in laboratory studies found phytic acid, a major organic phosphorus compound in soil, to be quickly bound near the top of a core of Fox sandy loam. They attributed this to chelation of soil metals by the phytic acid.
Phosphorus in the soil solution is in equilibrium with phosphorus in the solid phase. The equilibrium has been summarized by Larsen (1967) as solution P Wlabile P W nonlabile P, where labile refers to fraction which can enter the soil solution by isoionic exchange within an appropriate time period. As phosphorus in solution is depleted, it is replenished from the labile pool. Movement of phosphorus by mass flow or by diffusion is slow since the amount of phosphorus in solution is usually low.
1.8.4 Phosphorus Fertilizer
In a field test, Sheard (1968) found that up to 30 per cent of surface-applied phosphorus
32 (P -labelled) at the rate of 184 lb P2O5/acre was recovered by established pure stands of alfalfa and bromegrass on London silt loam. On plots pretreated with phosphorus worked into the soil at the rate of 458 lb P2O5/acre, the recovery of the additional labelled P was only 10 to 16 per cent.
He also found that increasing the time of reaction of fertilizer P with the soil prior to seeding,
II-81 decreased the yields of alfalfa and bromegrass and the decreases were associated with decreased uptake of fertilizer phosphorus by the plants. Other results of the Department of Soil Science, University of Guelph, (1961 and 1964) showed that wheat removed about 80 per cent as much fertilizer P when mixed as when banded below the seed in neutral soils, whereas the corresponding percentage dropped to 34 per cent for sandy loam with a pH of 4.9.
In an earlier field experiment carried out in 1959, by the same department, the main results showed that oats removed only a quarter as much of the fertilizer P when it was broadcast as when it was placed with the seed or banded, Subsequently, Sherrell et al. (1964) concluded that the effect of placement of phosphorus fertilizer for oats depended on the rate of application and supply of soil phosphorus. In 7 field trials carried out by the Department of Soil Science, University of Guelph (1966) the mean yield of grain corn without phosphorus fertilizer was 80 bu/acre as compared with 87 bu where phosphorus fertilizer was disced into the soils, 93 bu where it was plowed under, and 94 bu where it was banded. These results all reflect the fixing or retention capacity of soils for phosphorus.
In field studies on Brookston clay and Brady sandy loam, Findlay and Fulton (1964) found no critical phosphorus percentage in ear-shoot leaves of corn relative to the yield of grain produced. In the 4-year period, 1957-60, phosphorus fertilizer had no effect on the yield or phosphorus concentration in the corn leaf on the Brady soil where the mean yield was 84 bu/acre and the P content was 0.28 per cent. But on the Brookston clay, there was some increase in yield and per cent P in the leaf with rates of P up to 35 lb P/acre (Table 36).
Data of Bates (1970) show the yield response of grain corn, barley and wheat to rates of phosphorus fertilizer (Table 37). About 23 to 46 lb P205/acre might be recommended for these crops on the basis of these tests. The author interprets the data in relation to soil test values in an attempt to establish maintenance fertilizer requirements for the crops. Other data showed that the
II-82 Table 36. Mean yield of grain and per cent P in leaf of corn on Brookston clay, 1957-60 (Findlay and Fulton)
Rate, lb P/acre. Measurement 0 183652 Yield, bu/acre 71.6 82.8 85.4 86.8 P in leaf, % 0.168 0.185 0.205 0.200
Table 37. Annual rates of phosphorus fertilizer for grain corn, barley and wheat (Bates)
Rate Grain corn,1969-70 Barley,1970 Wheat, 1970
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (P2O5)Fs Cl Ocl Bl Cl Bl Cl lb/acre bu/acre ------lb/acre ------0 69 108 100 1890 2250 1480 2240 23 77 110 104 2250 2990 1870 2660 46 71 115 105 2360 3110 2160 2630 91 66 111 98 2420 2740 2180 2560 182 71 117 105 2970 3060 2080 2780
1 Fox sandy loam, Conestoga loam, Oneida clay loam, and Bennington loam.
II-83 additions of phosphorus depressed the concentrations of zinc in the leaf tissue in the corn plants.
Following 5 years of testing of rates of phosphorus fertilizer for carrots and onions on the muck soil of the Bradford Marsh, Willis (1969) reported no increase in the yield of these crops from addition of phosphorus fertilizer. He suggested that soil test values for the entire marsh are high and are increasing, presumably from continued application of phosphorus fertilizer. He also stated that losses of P to the drainage water appeared to be nil.
The foregoing results are not at all inclusive of experimental work which has provided a basis on which to evaluate and to make recommendations on the phosphorus requirements of the various crops in southern Ontario. But the few examples illustrate the fixing capacity of soils for phosphorus and the need for phosphorus fertilizer in supplying crop requirements for optimum production. The task of ascertaining the maintenance requirements of phosphorus fertilizer for various crops at a high level of production on different soils under varying climatic conditions, and of avoiding excessive fertilizer use, is tedious and complicated. From the standpoint of concern for nutrient enrichment of waters, the fixation of excess phosphorus fertilizer is fortunate. The fixed phosphorus represents reaction products of the fertilizer phosphorus with the soil and becomes a source of slowly released phosphorus for future crops. The value of phosphorus fertilizer and its residual effect on yield of oats and alfalfa on a soil not previously heavily fertilized is illustrated by the data in Table 38.
Table 38. Yield of oats and alfalfa hay on Grenville loam in Carleton county, Ontario (Soil Research Institute, Canada Agriculture, Ottawa)
Oats, bu/acre Alfalfa ton/acre Rate of P2O5 before seeding oats, lb/acre 1952 1953 1954 1955 Total 0 44 1.25 1.79 0.97 4.01 120 60 2.88 3.35 1.67 7.90
II-84 Figure 27. Average Bicarbonate Extractable Phosphorus in Southern Ontario Counties in 1970, ppm-P (Heeg).
II-85 The soils used in the intensive agriculture of southwestern Ontario have received much more phosphorus fertilizer than the soils in the eastern part of the province. This is reflected in the current soil test values as reported by Heeg (1970) and illustrated in Figure 27. The mean values of NaHCO3-soluble P are relatively high for 5070 samples from 890 farms in Norfolk, 1039 samples from 261 farms in Dufferin, 1867 samples from 522 farms in Essex, 1281 samples from 209 farms in Waterloo, and 3169 samples from 480 farms in York county.
1.8.5 Fertilizer Recommendations
The soil testing laboratory in the Department of Land Resource Science, University of Guelph carried out analyses of 48,386 soil samples from 11,018 Ontario growers during the period July 1,
1970 to June 30, 1971 (Smith, 1971). Phosphorus is extracted with 0.5 N NaHCO3 and the results have been calibrated against crop response to phosphorus fertilizer. The service has an important role in guiding the use of phosphorus fertilizer. Unfortunately, there is no soil test for nitrogen since reliable methodology is not available at present. A new service for chemical analyses of plants, and of organic wastes such as sludges and manures has been made available recently. The factors affecting critical nutrient concentrations in plants have been reviewed recently by Bates (1971).
Considerable research, services, and guidance on fertilizer use are contributed by the Departments of Land Resource Science, Horticultural Science and Crop Science of the University of Guelph; the Research Stations of the Canada Department of Agriculture at Delhi and Harrow; and the Horticultural Research Institute, Vineland, and the College of Agricultural Technology, Ridgetown, of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Furthermore, the Ontario Plant Food Council provides many services and guidance in supplying the fertilizer requirements of the farmers of Ontario.
The Advisory Fertilizer Board for Ontario comprises members from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, University of Guelph, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ontario Plant Food Council, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Marketing Board, and Flowers of Canada, Ontario Region. The Board through its committees reviews current recommendations on fertilizer use and brings them up to date. Approved recommendations are incorporated into publications of the Ontario
II-86 Ministry of Agriculture and Food for distribution. The recommendations of this Board have been reasonably conservative.
1.8.6 Animal and Other Wastes
A guide to animal waste management has been developed by a Canada animal waste management guide committee under the authority of the Canada Committee on Agricultural Engineering (1972). The publication contains much useful information based on current knowledge and may be referred to for details on the characteristics of animal manure from various classes of livestock of different ages. An annotated bibliography of farm animal wastes was prepared by McQuitty and Barber and published by Water Pollution Control Directorate, Environment Canada (1972). This recent technical appraisal report provides abstracts of technical papers from journals, conferences and other sources.
Table 39. Nitrogen and phosphorus excreted by livestock over a 365-day period 1 (Canada Animal Waste Management Guide)
Livestock Nitrogen (lb N) Phosphorus (lb P205) 1 dairy cow (1200 lb) 140 65 2 beef cows (400-1100 lb) 140 65 6 hogs (30-200 lb) 140 79 120 hens (5 lb) 140 112 180 broilers (0-4 lb) 140 63
1 Adapted from OMAF leaflet, Jones et al., June 1968
A summary of amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in manure voided by various classes of livestock is reproduced in Table 39. The concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the solid and liquid excreta of various kinds of animals are given in Table 40. In past conventional systems of farming the animal wastes contained bedding. In some current systems the animal wastes are
II-87 Table 40. Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in fresh manure (Atkinson et al, 1951)
Solid:liquid Nitrogen (N) Phosphorus (P2O5) Animal Portion ratio % % Cow 2.3 Solid 0.40 0.20 Liquid 1.00 trace Pig 1.5 Solid 0.55 0.50 Liquid 0.60 0.10 Sheep 2.0 Solid 0.75 0.50 Liquid 1.35 0.05 Poultry - Whole 1.00 0.80
handled in liquid form. Some analyses1 of liquid manures sampled in 1972 at the Animal Research Institute, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa are summarized as follows. The mean values for 24 samples of wastes from mature dairy cows were 0.22 per cent total N, 0.048 per cent total
P, 967 ppm NH3-N, and 7.3 per cent dry matter. The mean values for 4 samples of poultry excreta were 0.69 per cent total N, 0.261 per cent total P, 4130 ppm NH3-N, and 9.7 per cent dry matter. The mean values for 6 samples of sheep manure were 0.27 per cent total N, 0.07 per cent total P,
1215 ppm NH3-.N, and 7.8 per cent dry matter. The NH3 analyses: are expressed as parts of liquid following centrifugation of samples.
Whereas earlier experiments were designed to find the best means of conserving the nutrients in manure and utilizing them most effectively in crop production, the current problem is one of disposal of animal wastes so as to avoid nutrient enrichment or pollution of waters. This concern is reflected in a publication of the Ontario Water Resources Commission by Black (1967).
As apparent from the data presented herein, a major concern is the loss of nitrogen to groundwater.
______1 Private communication, F.J. Sowden, SRI, and L.J. Fisher, ARI, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa.
II-88 This aspect has been discussed in detail by Webber (1971). From his lysimeter data and interpretation of the literature, he concluded that a disposal rate of 250-300 kg/ha of nitrogen from manure appeared to be acceptable provided the waste was applied to well-drained, non-sandy soils during the actively growing period of cropping. It is apparent that animal enterprises must have access to sufficient crop land to accommodate effectual disposal of the wastes.
Although disposal of wastes from concentrated livestock operations becomes a problem, nevertheless manures have been shown to be an excellent source of nutrients. The committee coordinated by Professor Lane, University of Guelph, and reporting to the Canadian Working Group - Great Lakes Pollution, estimated that allowing for a 25 per cent loss of nitrogen in storage and handling and discounting the manure excreted on pastures, the manure produced in the Great Lakes basin of Ontario represented a source of 102,111 tons of N and 32,352 tons of P per year. Preliminary data of Elrick et al. (1972) show the beneficial effects of liquid cattle manure on the yield of alfalfa - bromegrass hay (Table 41). The total nitrogen content of the bromegrass component increased in the first two harvests with increasing rates of application, and at the highest rate, the NO3-N in the second harvest reached 0.179 per cent approaching the potential toxic level (0.20 per cent NO3-N) for livestock. The authors concluded from the preliminary results that application of liquid cattle manure at rates up to 200 lb N/acre could be made with benefit without increasing nitrate levels in the soil profile or reducing the legume component of the forage.
Table 41. Effect of spring application of liquid cattle manure on alfalfa - bromegrass at Elora, 1971 (Elrick et al).
Rate N P K Yield, D. M. gal/acre lb/acre lb/acre lb/acre lb/acre 0 0 0 0 7262 6620 100 20 85 8099 13240 200 40 170 8965 26480 400 80 340 9197
II-89 Table 42. Soil and site factors that determine the suitability of a soil as a disposal medium for septic tank effluents (Wall and Webber).
Suitability Class Soil and Site Factors 12345 Depth to bedrock 1 >5' >5' >5' >5' >5' Depth to Watertable 1 >5' >5' 3 to 5' <4' <3'
Site features
Slope 2 0 to 3% 3 to 6% >6% >6% >6% seepage none none slight slight moderate
3 stoniness <20%a <20% <20% >20% stones; gravel; gravel; cobbles; boulder or stone boulders; fragments slaty flagstones pavement flagstones trees, shrubs open land 10% cover 10-20% cover >20% cover >40% cover Soil factors natural drainage good moderate imperfect poor very poor texture loams, fine sands, coarse sands, very coarse sands, any texture with high silt loams clay loams, gravels, gravels clays silts, watertable clay loams clays clays, silts organics, very fine sands structure granular, porous, weak, unstable structureless porous, moderate, poorly formed swell & shrink water stable water stable structureless
Impermeable layers none none one or one or impermeable more layers; more layers: materials as in >3' deep 2 to 3' deep clays; clay pan under muck ------ý increasing inputs for proper operation decreasing the expectancy of the system. decreasing efficiency of waste renovation
1. depth from soil surface not from tile bed. 2. a rise of 3 feet in a horizontal distance of 100 feet is 3 percent. 3 gravel <3" diameter; slaty fragments <6"' in length; cobbles 3 to 10" diameter; flagstones 6 to 15" in length: stones > 10' diameter or >15- in length; boulders >24" diameter.
II-90 There are other wastes containing nutrients or potential toxic substances which require attention in the management of soils today. A comprehensive review of the literature on land disposal of sewage sludge was completed recently by Bates 1. In the disposal of wastes in soils, the characteristics of the soils are important and should be considered in site selection. This is illustrated in a proposed scheme for classifying the suitability of soils for disposal of septic tank effluents by Wall and Webber (1970) and shown herein as Table 42. The renovation of wastewater by its application to soil has been discussed by Presant, Acton and Webber (1972). Recently, a trial program in which wastewater from sewage lagoons at Listowel, Ontario, was applied to agricultural land by overhead irrigation was noted by Webber (1971). The systems operated by farmers cooperating with the Ontario Water Resources Commission, the Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food, and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture spread over 1,000,000 gallons/day when in full operation.
______1 Private communication from T.E. Bates, Department of Land Resources Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario.
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MacLean, A.J. 1971. Canadian contribution and reply to the questionnaire for OECD Working Group on Fertilizers and Agricultural Waste Products. Soil Res. Inst., Can. Dep. Agr., Ottawa, 617.316-2FW/Oct. 1971.
II-96 Matheson, D.H. 1951. Inorganic nitrogen in precipitation and atmospheric sediments, Can. J. Tech. 29: 406-412.
Mattingly, G.E.G., and O. Talibudeen. 1967. Progress in the chemistry of fertilizer and soil phosphorus. In Topics in Phosphorus Chemistry 4, Interscience Publishers, London. 157-290.
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Miller, M.H., and W. Nap. 1971, Fertilizer use and environmental quality. Dep. of Soil Sci., University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario.
Missingham, G.A. 1967. Occurrence of phosphates in surface waters and some related problems. J. Am. Water Works Assoc. 59: 183-211.
Munawar, M., and A. Nauwerck. 1971. The composition and horizontal distribution of phytoplankton in Lake Ontario during the year 1970. Proc. 14th Conf. Great Lakes Res., Internat. Assoc. Great Lakes Res. 69-78.
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Olsen, R.A. 1972. Effects of intensive fertilizer use on the human environment. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Ongley, E.D. 1973. Sediment discharge from Canadian basins into Lake Ontario. Can. J. Earth Sci. 10: 146-156.
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Pentland, R.L. 1968. Runoff characteristics in the Great Lakes Basin. Proc. 11th Conf. Great Lakes Res., Internat. Assoc. Great Lakes Res. 326-359.
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II-97 Prince, A.T., and J.P. Bruce. 1972. Development of nutrient control policies in Canada. Inland Waters Branch, Can. Dept. of Environ., Technical Bull. No. 51.
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II-98 Sibul, U. 1969. Water resources of the Big Otter Creek drainage basin. Div. of Water Resources, O.W.R.C., Report No 1.
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II-100 PART 2. HYDROLOGY OF THE BASIN
2.1. Introduction
Knowledge of the hydrology of the Lower Great Lakes Basin is of utmost importance to the water quality of the Boundary Waters because literally all water pollutants that are derived from the
Basin are transported by surface runoff and groundwater discharge. Water quantity values combined with water quality in terms of pollutant concentration can be used to express the contribution of that pollutant to the receiving waters. Hence, specific attention was given to hydrologic aspects.
Although the hydrology of surface water and groundwater is usually studied and reported on as separate hydrologic systems, there is in fact a very close relationship between them in humid regions. For example, watercourses that discharge into Lakes Erie and Ontario derive their flow from both land surface runoff and groundwater sources. Flows have their origin mainly from land surface runoff during snow melt in the spring and periodically during high total and high intensity rainfall events in the summer and fall. At other times of the year, the sustained flow that does occur is derived from groundwater sources that discharge to these watercourses under the influence of the force of gravity and appear as surface water.
This groundwater is that which occurs at relatively shallow depths and is part of "local groundwater flow systems" made up of "recharge areas" at topographic high points, "aquifers" through which the groundwater flows, and "discharge areas" at topographic lows. Deeper groundwater in the Basin however is part of "regional groundwater flow systems" which also have recharge areas, aquifers and discharge areas, but these systems are much larger. An example of a regional flow system within the Lower Great Lakes Basin and its analysis is given in a study of groundwater flow between Lake Simcoe and Lake Ontario (Haeffli, 1970). In either case, there are a number of hydro-geological factors which affect the occurrence and movement of groundwater
II-101 and in such heterogenous geological materials that occur in the Basin, it is difficult to generalize the hydrology of the Basin as a whole. Therefore, it is usually necessary to consider discrete groundwater flow systems on an individual basis to define their specific hydrology.
This surface water-groundwater relationship is well recognized by hydrologists; nevertheless, most hydrologic information that is available for the Basin is generally reported in terms of either surface runoff or groundwater flow. The following sections discuss the present knowledge of these aspects of the Basin hydrology that have logical application to the movement of pollutants to the
Lower Great Lakes System.
2.2. Surface Runoff
Surface runoff characteristics can be expressed in different ways, each of which find application for different purposes. For example, knowledge of the frequency and magnitude of peak flows in watercourses is of prime importance to the design of water impounding reservoirs to ensure that the spillway flow capacity is adequate to handle flood flows. In the pollution field, peak flows are also important because they are the main hydrologic factor contributing to the erosion of sediments, and quite possibly to the release, pick-up and transport of soluble nutrients and organics from land surfaces and watercourses. Relatively little study however, of the precise relationship between the peak flow parameter and the transport of pollutants in the Basin has been made.
The other major hydrologic characteristic is the total quantity of flow per unit of time and its temporal and areal variability. As stated above, water quantity when combined with water quality for a source provides useful information on the degree of pollution from that source. Earlier, a map was shown and brief reference was made to one of the earlier analyses to determine the mean annual surface runoff in Southern Ontario. (Coulson, 1967).
The map showed runoff in cubic feet per second. To show the areal variation in runoff, Coulson
II-102 also prepared a map of Southern Ontario showing calculated isopleths for mean annual runoff in inches. However, only part of the data on this map was supported by actual stream flow records.
A recent contact with the agency that prepared this map, the Engineering Hydrology Section, Dept. of the Environment, revealed that additional study of runoff in Ontario has been made by Mr. B.
Sangal (personal communication) who supplied a copy of the latest available, but not yet published nor approved map prepared by himself.
This map was modified by E. R. S. by transferring the isopleths onto an Ontario map showing township boundaries and is presented as Figure 2.1.A in the Appendix. This map should not be reproduced by others without consultation with Mr. Sangal. A check on the validity of this map in the Thames River basin was made and the results are given in Part 4. Other workers have made similar studies of mean runoff. Pentland (1968) used runoff records available for the whole Great
Lakes Basin and prepared maps showing runoff on a monthly and annual basis.
His data were expressed in cubic feet per second per square mile and show less detail in
Southern Ontario than the map prepared by Sangal. Sanderson (1971) used climatic data in a water balance model to estimate the point average runoff and its variability for the Lake Ontario Basin
(Canada and the U.S.A.). Maps of average runoff in inches as well as plus and minus two standard deviations of runoff are also presented. Sanderson's map of average runoff appears to be similar to the Sangal map but does not provide information for the Lake Erie Basin.
The time variability of average runoff has been presented by Coulson (1967). In general, the pattern of flow within the year tends to be uniform throughout Southern Ontario with 41 to 43 percent of the annual flow occurring during March and April. The high percentage of spring flow is important in water quality studies because it shows the need to place emphasis on the collection of pollutant concentration data at that time if accurate measures of total pollutant movement are to be made.
II-103 The water supply source to the Lower Great Lakes is either from land drainage runoff or inflow from the upstream lake. Witherspoon's (1971) hydrologic analysis of the. Great Lakes shows that on Lakes Erie and Ontario, the inflow from the upstream lakes contributes about 86% of the outflow from these lakes and the remainder is runoff from the local land basin. Knowledge of this fact is also important when considering the quantity of various sources of pollution.
2.3. Groundwater Flow
At this time, only one study has been completed to estimate the quantity of groundwater discharge directly into one of the Great Lakes, the Canadian side of Lake Ontario. Haeffli (1972)
Used three relatively common methods (a) the classical Darcy method, (b) a numerical method to construct a quantitative flow net, and (c) a method using baseflow data. His calculations estimated the total inflow to be in the order of 50 cubic feet per second, which compared to the surface runoff, makes the groundwater inflow almost a negligible factor.
From personal communication with Mr. D. N. Jeffs, Groundwater Hydrologist, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, it was learned that another groundwater study of inflow to Lake Ontario is presently being made by the Ministry, but this study will not be completed until next year.
II-104 2.4. References
Coulson, A. 1967. Estimating Runoff in Southern Ontario. Inland Waters Branch Tech. Bull. No. 7,
Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa.
Haeffli, C. J. 1970. Regional Groundwater Flow Between Lake Simcoe and Lake Ontario. Inland
Waters Branch Tech. Bull. No. 23, Dept. of the Environment, Ottawa.
Haeffli, C. J. 1972. Groundwater Inflow into Lake Ontario from the Canadian Side. Inland Waters
Branch Scientific Series No. 9, Dept. of the Environment, Ottawa.
Pentland, R. L. 1968. Runoff Characteristics in the Great Lakes Basin. Proc. 11th Conf. on Great
Lakes Res.: 326-359. Internat. Assoc. Great Lakes Res.
Sanderson, Marie. 1971. Variability of Annual Runoff in the Lake Ontario Basin. Water Resources
Research 7(3): 554-565.
Witherspoon, D.E. 1971. General Hydrology of the Great Lakes and Reliability of Component
Phases. Inland Waters Branch Tech. Bull. No. 50, Dept. of the Environment, Ottawa.
II-105 PART 3. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY OPERATIONS
The generalized diagram of the food. production system prepared for the January, 1973, C.D.A.
Work Planning Conference on Agriculture and Environmental Quality illustrates the functional links between components associated with the production of animals, their wastes, and the natural environment (Figure 3.1). This framework provides an overview of all three aspects of environmental quality (air, soil and water), but the discussion that follows is confined to water quality aspects of pollution from animal wastes.
3.1 Pollutants from Animal Wastes
The principal components of animal wastes which may be of concern to water quality are as follows:
(a) Nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. In waters these
may fertilize growth of aquatic plants and algae, and
high nitrate concentrations may be poisonous when
drunk by animals and humans.
(b) Oxygen demand - decomposition of organic wastes cause depletion of
dissolved oxygen in receiving waters.
(c) Pathogenic organisms - disease may be transmitted to man or animals by
water contaminated with pathogenic organisms from
farm manure.
3.1.1. Nutrients
When animal wastes are defecated, they contain both soluble organic and inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and insoluble organic forms of these elements. Nitrogen and phosphorus are usually considered to be responsible for the growth of algae and aquatic plants in
II-106 Figure 3.1. Introductory Framework For Environment Quality In Food Production System
(From Proceedings of Work Planning Conference on Agriculture and Environment Quality, 1973)
II-107 receiving waters. Potassium is seldom limiting, and is thus not given further attention.
3.1.1.1. Nitrogen
Some nitrogen is lost as volatilized ammonia almost as soon as wastes are produced. Hydrolysis of urea in manure and urine takes place rapidly, until all the urea is converted to ammonia or ammonium carbonate. Ammonia loss is difficult to control, but cannot be considered as non-pollutional since this ammonia may be absorbed by atmospheric moisture and returned to the soil or to water bodies in rainfall or by direct absorption from the air.
When temperatures are above freezing, ammonification by microorganisms will take place, converting some organic nitrogen to ammonia. This may occur under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. If the manure is kept aerobic, nitrification will occur converting the ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. Fresh, unmixed manures sometimes need seeding with nitrifying organisms
(nitrosomonas, nitrobacter) before nitrification will occur; however, in most situations there are small numbers of these organisms present in a barn, and a population will grow if conditions are favorable.
When temperatures are below freezing, there may be direct loss of ammonia to the atmosphere from the freezing of the manure.
It is usual for manure to be handled in one of three ways: It may be mixed with carbonaceous bedding material such as straw and remain in the barn; it may be removed from the barn as a solid mixed with bedding, or as an unaltered semi-solid, and spread on a field or stored in an open or covered enclosure; it may be stored in a tank as a liquid, by adding dilution water to put it in a pumpable form. Regardless of the way the manure is handled, it will continue to decompose at a rate dependent primarily on temperature. If the manure is aerobic, and if the pH is near neutral, nitrification may occur producing nitrites and nitrates from ammonia. If the pH is high, ammonia
II-108 will be lost by volatilization, and if the pH is low, ammonia will remain in the manure as ammonium ion. Nitrite, nitrate, and ammonium may be lost from the manure by seepage if seepage of liquids is allowed to occur.
If animals are kept outside in confinement pens, runoff from storms may carry manure and dissolved nitrates, nitrites and ammonia, into streams and lakes. Nitrates, nitrites and ammonium which are leached from manure piles and feedlots, or which might originate as seepage from a storage tank or pit, are potent pollutants capable of fertilizing algal and other aquatic plant growth if they enter surface waters. Also, if nitrates enter wells in the vicinity, they can cause nitrate poisoning. In connection with nitrate and nitrite as a poison in water supplies for animals, a 1972
Report of a Committee to the Alberta Agricultural Coordinating Committee entitled, "Water Quality for livestock in Alberta" was published by the Alberta Department of Agriculture.
From this Report, it appears that cattle, sheep and hogs can safely consume water with a nitrate-nitrogen concentration as high as 100 ppm. Similar concentrations were satisfactory for laying hens when used with a diet containing a good margin of vitamin A activity. These findings are of great interest because many people suggest that the upper safe limit of 10 ppm of NO3-N suggested for water for human consumption also applies to animals.
- - Nitrate (NO3 ) and nitrite (NO2 ) are anions, and thus they are not adsorbed to any degree by the negatively charged clay surfaces of temperate region soils. Ammonium is a cation and is both adsorbed by clays, and also fixed by some clays. The ammonium ion has the correct charge, size and configuration to enable it to fit between the layers of non-expanding clays of the Illite and
Chlorite groups, and it is. fixed in this way in soils containing these clays. This fixation, however, is reversible, and ammonium is released during wetting and drying, and freezing and thawing cycles in the soil.
II-109 Both ammonium ions and nitrate and nitrite anions are leached from the soil by percolating water, but by far the largest amount of nitrogen is lost in the nitrate form.
Nitrites are somewhat unstable in soils. If they are formed by oxidation of ammonium by nitrifying bacteria, then conversion will usually continue to the nitrate form. On the other hand, if they are formed by reduction of nitrate under anaerobic conditions, denitrification will likely take place resulting in nitrogen gas. Nitrites are sometimes a problem in ground water and wells where there are few bacteria for either oxidation or reduction.
When manure is spread, or disposed of by dumping onto waste land, further decomposition takes place. Earthworms and other soil micro-fauna help to mix the manure into the soil where the microbial population can decompose the more resistant celluloses and to some degree also the lignins. These latter compounds decompose very slowly, and become incorporated into the stable organic humus material which comprises the bulk of soil organic matter.
About 70-80% of the manure spread on the soil is completely decomposed during the first two years. Ammonia and then nitrite and nitrate are the nitrogenous compounds which result from this decomposition under aerobic conditions. If the soil is waterlogged or saturated beneath the surface, microbial reduction of nitrate to nitrogen gas by denitrification may take place.
This loss of nitrogen can be considered as non-pollutional, as the atmosphere is already 79%
N2 gas. If nitrogen removal is desirable, such as in manure disposal systems, denitrification can be encouraged as it reduces the amount of nitrate that can be leached from the soil profile. If manure nitrogen is required for crop production, denitrification can be considered as an undesirable loss.
II-110 Crop uptake can greatly reduce the nitrogen which is lost from the soil by leaching, as the same factors which affect crop growth also affect nitrification. Thus nitrates are produced at a similar rate to the uptake by the crop, and there is little excess for leaching.
3.1.1.2. Phosphorus
Phosphorus is contained in manures in both the organic and inorganic forms. There is little likelihood of volatilization losses of phosphorus occurring. Phosphorus is released by the decomposition of manure in both soluble organic and inorganic forms. The soluble organic forms
2- are complex in nature. Inorganic forms are usually as HP4 and H2PO4-, or as polyphosphates which hydrolyze to these same forms.
When these ions come into contact with a mineral soil, fixation occurs by the formation of insoluble compounds. If the pH is fairly high, insoluble Ca3(PO4)2 will precipitate. At low pH's, insoluble Al(OH)2H2PO4 is formed and to a lesser extent Fe(OH)2H2PO4. The soluble, available forms are never present in large quantities, and the maximum concentrations are found at pH's from 6.0 to 7.0.
There is evidence that soluble organic phosphorus may be produced by the partial decomposition of manure and organic soils. These forms do not appear to be readily fixed by the soil. Thus leaching of phosphorus, which is usually considered to be negligible in mineral soils, may be considerable from soils on which large quantities of manure has been spread.
It is usually assumed that most losses of phosphorus from the field occur in the fixed form in sediment carried in runoff from soil erosion. There may also be large quantities of soluble organic phosphorus lost in the runoff water from areas where heavy applications of manure have been made.
II-111 3.1.2. Oxygen Demand
When organic material is being decomposed in an aerobic environment, aerobic organisms
(mainly bacteria) will utilize oxygen in the oxidation of organic carbon to CO2. When ammonia is oxidized to NO2-N or NO3-N by nitrification, there is a further consumption of oxygen.
If organic wastes, such as manure, enter surface waters the oxygen dissolved in these waters may be rapidly depleted by the "Biochemical Oxygen Demand" (BOD) of this material. At summer temperatures the dissolved oxygen content of the water is low, and the bacterial decomposition rate is high. Under these conditions the consumption of oxygen in the decomposition process may be great enough that dissolved oxygen levels in the water reach low levels and fish are killed.
If oxygen levels in water become so low that they approach zero, then anaerobic conditions may exist and organic material may then be decomposed anaerobically, releasing methane and odorous gases. Nitrogen gas may also be released by denitrification.
If manure is allowed to enter a stream or lake, it may be impossible for dissolved oxygen levels in the water to be maintained naturally at levels high enough to supply oxygen for bacteria as well as for fish life. The decomposing manure also supplies nutrients to the water which fertilize algal and other aquatic plant growth.
3.1.3. Pathogenic Organisms
Diseases of bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic origin may be transmitted to other animals or to man from manures.
The most common bacterial infection spread by manure is salmonella. These organisms can
II-112 survive for up to a year. in liquid manure, and contamination of water supplies can result from spreading fresh or stored manures in such a way as to allow runoff to carry the manure into a stream. A less common but more serious bacterial infection is leptospirosis. The life of the organism outside its host is shorter than with salmonellae, but infection can occur simply by skin contact with contaminated water. Streams passing through pastures in which infected animals were grazing have been implicated as sources of this infection.
Other bacterial infections that may be spread by manure include anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, erysipelas, tuberculosis, tetanus and colibacillosis. Some of the bacteria responsible for these diseases will survive for long periods. For example, the brucella bacteria is known to persist for two years or more, and anthrax is viable for notoriously long periods of several decades or more.
Little is known about viral infections in manure, but enteroviruses, respiratory-enteric viruses, herpes viruses and others are known to be excreted in manure. The foot-and-mouth disease virus is an example of a serious viral infection known to survive almost a year in the soil. Fungal and parasitic diseases such as Histoplasmosis, ringworm, and "swimmers itch" are suspected of being carried in animal manures.
Most of the diseases mentioned above share the characteristic that animals shed their infection organisms before they, themselves, show the symptoms of the disease. Therefore it is not sufficient to control the disposal of manure from infected herds of animals alone. Rather, the entire approach to handling and disposal of manures should be such as to minimize the risk of contamination of water, regardless of whether animals are infected or not.
II-113 3.2. Pathways of Animal Waste Pollution
3.2.1. At the Barn
The principal losses of nutrients and pathogens from barns come from surface runoff and downward percolation from holding pens, seepage from manure storage and airborne dusts and volatilized materials. There may also be a problem with the washing and other waste waters from the milking centre. Liquid manure systems with sealed tanks eliminate the latter problem by utilizing this waste water for dilution of the manure. Nitrogen may readily leach into shallow ground water supplies from manure piles on permeable soils. If the farm water supply is a shallow well in a lower region to the barn, animal pens or manure piles, seepage may enter and contaminate this water.
Uncontrolled runoff from paved areas around the barns will likely enter a ditch or stream and this may be a significant contribution to pollution. However, there is a real dearth of information on the size and other requirements for runoff control structures under humid and cold Canadian climate.
Ammonia gas is likely to be released from all manures at some stage. If manure is moved into aerobic liquid storages soon after production, this loss is minimized. However, most liquid storages are anaerobic and significant nitrogen loss, as ammonia and as nitrogen gas, may occur from these facilities.
Dust, flies, rodents, etc. carry infections away from the barn, and should always be controlled.
Lagoons for the aerobic or anaerobic storage of manures and dairy wastes are usually constructed so that seepage is minimized. However, if seepage does take place, it is difficult to identify or measure. Overflow may occur at times of high rainfall. Unless there is some provision for utilization of the liquid in a lagoon for crop production, for example by irrigation, then there is no way for accumulated nitrogen and phosphorus in the lagoon to be recycled. Discharge to a
II-114 stream is usually unacceptable because the organic content (BOD) and nutrient concentrations of the liquid are too high.
Some animal wastes, primarily hog and poultry, are treated by some oxidation process. The oxidation ditch is an example of a system which helps lower the BOD and odor of the waste rapidly.
The effluent usually flows to a storage, and in humid regions such as Ontario, regular removal of liquids from these storages is required.
Other treatment processes for animal waste are continually being developed and tested.
However, at the present time, there are very few in operation and all require the application of some type of end product onto the land.
3.2.2. In the Field
Losses from the field to receiving waters are by five distinguishable pathways: surface runoff, water erosion, wind erosion, volatilization and percolation.
Runoff occurs whenever rainfall or snow melt exceeds the infiltration capacity of the soil. This runoff water may carry with it dissolved compounds and suspended soil and organic matter particles which will include nutrients and possibly pathogens. The slope of the land, soil type and vegetative cover exert a great influence on runoff quantities and quality. If manure has been spread on sloping, unvegetated soil of low infiltration capacity, the probability of manure contamination of receiving waters is high.
II-115 Associated with runoff is soil erosion by water. When rainfall energy is dissipated on a soil which is not adequately protected by vegetation, considerable damage is done to the structure of the soil surface. Infiltration rates decrease as a result of this destruction of soil structure, and runoff increases carrying with it soil particles. The role of manure in this process appears to be a positive one, as manure on the soil surface acts as a mulch and absorbs the rainfall impact energy.
If well incorporated into the soil, the manure increases the stability of soil aggregates so that they can better resist the destruction by raindrops. Thus runoff and soil erosion is often lower on soils treated with manure, but since the nutrients from the manure enrich the surface soil, the dissolved nutrients in runoff may be higher.
Wind erosion is worth mentioning principally because quantities of soil may be blown into ditches and streams. On organic soils, the problem is more noticeable than on most mineral soils in this part of the country. Pathogens are readily transported in wind blown material, especially if wastes are spread by spray irrigation, in which case wind blown aerosol particles may carry diseases.
The remaining pollution pathways from field to water are difficult to measure or estimate.
Volatilization of ammonia nitrogen occurs when manures are spread, particularly if the weather is warm and dry. Although no research has yet been done to estimate the quantity of this ammonia which is absorbed by surface water, this could be the fate of much of this nitrogen. Rainfall and irrigation water which falls on the soil is either lost as runoff, as evapotranspiration or as percolation.
Whenever the latter occurs, soluble nutrients from manure may be carried into the groundwater, or into subsurface drains. Pathogenic organisms are unlikely to move far into the soil profile, but may enter subsurface drains through cracks, worm holes, etc. and pose a threat to receiving waters. Percolation losses of nitrate to groundwater may be high when manure is spread
II-116 in large concentrations on soil where no crops are grown.
3.3 Manure Management Practices in the Basin
Functionally, all manure handling systems are essentially common regardless of the animal species or the form of manure (liquid, semi-solid or solid); the manure is collected, transferred to a storage, removed from storage and transported for application on the land. Facility and equipment details vary however between systems depending on the animal species produced, the type of animal management used, and the form of manure. More complete details on recommended manure management are given in the Canada Animal Waste Management Guide published in
December, 1972, under the authority of the Canada Committee on Agricultural Engineering.
Casual observations of farms in the Basin show that there is a wide range of practices used.
It is known that some systems are not satisfactory because some pollution of streams by animal operations has been identified by the Ontario Water Resources Commission (OWRC) during the conduct of stream water quality surveys over the past several years. However, documentation of current practices is rather scarce being limited to two reports on small sample surveys of feed lot operations.
In 1969, Townshend et al (1970) concluded from an OWRC study that feedlot runoff is a potential source of pollution, and that although most feedlots in Ontario have been so situated that drainage does not cause pollution, some serious cases of runoff contamination were documented.
Jensen (1972) in an Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) Internal Report, presented the results of his visit to approximately 80 feedlots that either have a runoff problem or have installed control facilities. He found that:
II-117 1. Many existing feedlots located near watercourses will require runoff control systems to
eliminate water pollution.
2. Most runoff storages constructed to date have insufficient capacity.
3. Practical research and testing is needed to evaluate various systems of runoff control.
4. Design and location of future feedlots must include consideration of the pollution potential
of livestock wastes.
3.4. Pollution Legislation Affecting Animal Husbandry Operations
This discussion is confined to legislation in the Lower Great Lakes Basin and is based on a summary report of federal and provincial legislation prepared by Hore (1971). Updating of that legislation and a limited investigation of municipal legislation have been made.
3.4.1. Federal Legislation
3.4.1.1. Fisheries Act
Unless authorized in prescribed manners and applicable waters by regulations under this or any other Act, no person shall deposit a deleterious substance of any type in water frequented by fish or in any place under any condition where such deleterious substance, or any other deleterious substance that may result from the deposit of such deleterious substance, may enter such water.
A violator convicted of an offence is liable to a fine of up to $5000 for each day of a recurring or a continuing offence.
The Act further requires that any person proposing to construct any works, the operation of which will or is likely to result in the deposition of such deleterious substance, may be required by the Minister of the Environment to provide plans and specifications of such works. The Minister
II-118 may require modifications considered necessary or he may prohibit the construction. Existing operations are also covered to the extent that when the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that an operation may be resulting in the deposition of such deleterious substance, the operator shall, at the request of the Minister, provide him with such information including material samples that will enable an analysis of the effluent. Failure to comply with any of these requirements of the
Act, constitute an offense subject to the same punishment as above.
Since nearly all lakes and rivers in Canada are frequented by fish and the regulation of fisheries is a federal prerogative, this Act has wide implication to all of Canada. By agreement made a number of years ago, this Act is enforced in Ontario by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
3.4.2. Provincial Legislation
3.4.2.1. The Environmental Protection Act, 1971
This Act covers a broad range of man-made contaminants present in the natural environment which includes solid, liquid, gas, odor, heat, sound, vibration and radiation. The general provisions of this Act and exemptions applicable to animal waste disposed of in accordance with normal farming practices are:
1. No person shall put any contaminant into the natural environment in an amount,
concentration or level in excess of that prescribed by the Regulations. Animal wastes are
exempted.
2. A control order may be issued to the person responsible for a contaminant in excess of that
prescribed by the Regulations, or a contaminant that: (a) impairs the quality of the natural
environment for any use that can be made of it, (b) injures or damages property or plant
or animal life, (c) causes harm or material discomfort to any person, (d) adversely affects
the health of any person, (e) impairs the safety of any person, (f) renders property or plant
or animal life unfit for use by man. Animal wastes are exempted in the case of (a) only.
II-119 3. A stop order may be issued if there are reasonable grounds that contamination is an
immediate danger to the life or health of humans or property.
4. Nothing shall be constructed or altered that will or is likely to cause contamination of the
natural environment except water without a certificate of approval. Agricultural facilities are
exempted.
5. The Ministry of the Environment shall be notified of excessive (beyond that prescribed by
regulations) and unusual (out of the normal course of events) contamination. Animal wastes
are exempted.
6. Where contamination causes injury to land, water, property, or plant life, the Minister of the
Ministry of the Environment may order the repair of such injury when he is of the opinion
that it is in the public interest to do so.
7. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, persons convicted of an offence are liable to a fine
of up to $5000 for the first conviction, and on each subsequent conviction, to a fine of up
to $10,000 per day for a continuing or recurring offence.
An interesting new development connected with this Act was recently announced (M.O.E.
Newsletter, March 21, 1973). Four Ontario farmers have been appointed to a Farm Pollution
Advisory Committee whose purpose is to determine whether or not animal waste disposal methods used are in accordance with "normal farming practices". If the Committee judges an operation abnormal, charges could be laid under the Environmental Protection Act, 1971, or Orders issued requiring operational changes. This program has the endorsement of O.M.A.F. and the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture.
II-120 3.4.2.2. Ontario Water Resources Act
Under this Act, the discharge of polluting material that may impair the quality of any water is prohibited. Persons convicted of any offence are liable to a fine of up to $5000 on the first conviction, and on each subsequent conviction, to a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment up to one year, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
3.4.2.3. The Public Health Act
The Medical Officer of Health under this Act may order the cleansing or removal of any nuisance found on any premise that, in his opinion, endangers the public health. Nuisance is defined as any building in which animals are kept in such a manner and in such numbers as to be injurious or dangerous to health.
3.4.2.4. Suggested Code of Practice
Although "A Suggested Code of Practice for the Establishment of New Livestock Buildings,
Renovation or Expansion of Existing Buildings, and Disposal of Animal Wastes" is not a piece of legislation, it does contain guidelines of interest and importance to Ontario animal producers.
The Suggested Code contains recommendations regarding (a) the minimum area of land required for manure disposal, (b) the minimum separation between livestock buildings and (i) land zoned for residential use (2000 ft.), (ii) dwellings on adjacent property (1000 ft.), (iii) public roads
(300 ft.), (iv) lot lines (200 ft.), and (c) storage and land spreading procedures to minimize odor problems and prevent water pollution. The Suggested Code was revised a few months ago, but is not yet available from the printer.
II-121 3.4.3. Municipal Legislation
A review was made of a variety of approved, draft, and proposed township and municipal bylaws and official plans that affect the livestock industry.
There are few approved bylaws and official plans that seriously affect the livestock industry but there are some bylaws and official plans in the draft and proposal stage that are quite restrictive to certain agricultural livestock enterprises. Those in the draft or proposed stage range in requirements from a certificate of approval from the M.O.E. before a building permit is issued (Brant
& Carrick twp. in Bruce County), to restriction of livestock enterprises in areas zoned or to be zoned restrictive agriculture (Niagara-On-The-Lake, Regional Municipality of Niagara, Proposed Bylaw
140-71, 1972). For example, part of the Proposed Bylaw 140-71 reads as follows:
1. DEFINITION:
"Specialized Farm Use" for the purpose of this By-law, shall mean the use of buildings for
keeping or raising of chickens, turkeys, or other fowl where more than 500 birds are kept or
raised, fur bearing animals, hogs or cattle where more than ten are kept or raised, the growing
of mushrooms, or the intensive feeding of cattle in a confined area.
2. No person shall, within the part of the Town of Niagara-On-The-Lake, formerly comprising
the Township of Niagara, being the land zoned by By-law No. 1977-64 of the former township
of Niagara, use any lands for a specialized farm use as herein defined, nor shall any building
or buildings within the said area which are now being used for specialized farm use, be further
enlarged or extended except for the purpose of installing improved or additional manure
storage facilities which will assist in improving and controlling an existing undesirable condition,
but in no event shall the size of the structure or facilities be increased, if the increase results
in increased production by the keeping or raising of additional fowl or animals, or increases the
II-122 size of an area used for the growing of mushrooms.
Most official plans and zoning bylaws, in all three stages of development (draft, proposal and approved) have agricultural land divided into two zones, for example a general agricultural zone,
A2, and a restricted agricultural zone, A1. A2 land is rural land away from the urban communities and villages and there are usually no agricultural restrictions except possibly to follow the
Suggested Code of Practice. A1 zone, or, restricted agricultural zones have a variety of restrictions varying from use of the Suggested Code of Practice (ie, East Nissouri twp. draft bylaw and town of Lincoln, proposed bylaw), to restriction of certain livestock enterprises (ie, Town of
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Proposed Bylaw, as already noted).
These official plans must have zoning bylaws from each individual municipality and township in the region, covered by the official plan. In turn, the zoning bylaws must be approved by the
Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Acceptance by the OMB of a zoning bylaw does not mean it is legal, but only that the township or municipality has OMB sanction to use the bylaw. It can still be challenged in court.
As of January 1972, out of the 921 municipalities in Ontario, 220 have approved official plans covering 264 municipalities. As of March, 1973, there are 64 municipalities that have official plans and zoning bylaws in the draft stage and 29 in the proposed stage. Here is a case where, if it were available, a draft of Model Legislation covering animal husbandry operations would serve a very useful purpose to achieve some degree of uniformity in their agricultural restrictions.
II-123 3.5. References
Hore, F.R. 1971. Pollution Legislation in Canada Affecting the Livestock Industry. ASAE Paper
No. 71-920, Chicago, December 1971.
Jensen, N.E. 1972. Feedlot Runoff Study. Ont. Min. of Agr. and Food Internal Report, Feb.
Townshend, A.R., S. A. Black and J. F. Janse. 1970. Beef Feedlot Operations in Ontario. J.
Water Pollution Control Fed. 42: 195-208.
II-124 PART 4. INVENTORIES AND SOME PRELIMINARY ANALYSES OF DATA
Commonly cited potential sources of nutrients from agriculture are (a) those naturally occurring nutrients that are leached or eroded from the soil due to agricultural activities, (b) those that result from land applied commercial fertilizers, animal wastes and crop residue, and, (c) rightly or wrongly, those naturally occurring nutrients from natural watercourses passing through agricultural areas. However, as amply illustrated by one of the questions before the I.J.C. Land Drainage
Reference Group established under the Canada-US Water Quality Agreement, "Are the boundary waters of the Great Lakes System being polluted from agriculture---", there is obviously a dearth of hard facts concerning agricultural pollution sources.
Full-scale, intensive watershed studies of agricultural contributions are obviously the most satisfactory method to answer this question but it is not possibly to study all watersheds in the
Basin. Therefore, background information on agricultural activities in the Basin is needed for judicious selection of study sites. Water quality data have been collected by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment since 1964 at approximately 350 monitoring stations on Ontario watercourses, but in the main, these data have not been interpreted in relation to agricultural activities. Hence, within the time available to the Task Force, some recent agricultural inventory data on soils, land use and nutrient input, and some tabulated stream water quality data were presented on maps, to a common scale, to facilitate their use. Preliminary attempts were made to determine indicative relationships between several agricultural inventory parameters and stream water quality.
At the time the Task Force commenced operation, it was learned that a comprehensive model study of the Thames River Basin was in progress by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Since they were seeking nutrient input data particularly from animal husbandry operations and the E.R.S.
Task Force staff had already commenced compilation of this information, three separate inventory maps for the Thames River Basin were prepared as a cooperative measure.
II-125 4.1. Inventory Studies
CAUTION: Several inventory maps have been prepared showing calculated estimates of the nutrient (N and P2O5) input density on a county and township basis resulting from the application of manure and commercial fertilizer on cropland. It is not correct to infer, from these maps, the degree of water pollution that will take place at different locations in the Basin. No account was taken of the crops grown and their uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus in each area, nor of farm management practices and land and hydrologic factors that affect the degree of pollution.
These maps, particularly these with data on a township basis, do however indicate more precisely than data on a regional or even a large watershed basis, the potential location of "hot spots" i.e. places that hold a high potential to pollute as indicated by high concentrations of agricultural sources of nutrients. Similarly, places where low concentrations exist indicate low potential to pollute, and these kinds of information should only be used to assist in the selection of research watersheds for intensive comparative studies of agricultural nutrient contributions to
Tributary and Boundary Waters of the Lower Great Lakes System.
4.1.1. Southern Ontario
4.1.1.1. Distribution of Soils by Townships
The soil association map data prepared in 1964 by Hoffman et al, 1964, was transferred onto a base map of Southern Ontario showing township boundaries. This map is shown as Figure 4.1
A in the Appendix and can be useful in correlation studies with other data presented on a township basis in this Report or generated later.
II-126 4.1.1.2. Distribution of Farmland by Counties
The 1971 data on land use was obtained from Statistics Canada. The total acreage of land, the percent of improved and unimproved farmland, and the percent of non-farmland are shown diagramatically by counties in Figure 4.2 A in the Appendix. These data are useful to indicate the intensity of agricultural activities in the Lower Great Lakes Basin. However, care should be exercised in interpretation of these data particularly regarding the relative amount of non-farmland. For instance, in heavily populated regions around the western end of Lakes Ontario, it is suspected that the high percentage of non-farmland could be due to urban development, whereas in Eastern
Ontario, it is likely due to forest, lakes and barren land. These observations were not verified however.
4.1.1.3. Distribution of Crops by Counties
The 1971 Statistics Canada, cat. 96-718(AA-1), data on total and .percent acreage of eight different types of crops are shown diagramatically by counties in Figure 4.3 A in the Appendix. This map can be used to identify the intensity of any crop or combination thereof grown in a county or a region.
4.1.1.4. Background Levels of Extractable Soil Phosphorus by Counties
The 1970 and 1971 soil test data for phosphorus obtained from the University of Guelph Soil
Testing Laboratory1 were averaged for each county and plotted on the common-scale map of
Southern Ontario (Figure 4.4 A, Appendix). The phosphorus values, expressed in ppm of P, are bicarbonate extractable phosphorus in soil samples submitted to the Laboratory for testing.
______
1 Data kindly supplied by T. J. Heeg, Department of Land Resource Science.
II-127 These data not only show the range in background levels of phosphorus (natural and those added by man) and their location in the Basin, but they are also worthy of consideration for correlation studies to determine the effect of soil phosphorus levels on stream or groundwater phosphorus content.
4.1.1.5. Density of Manure Nutrients by Townships
The 1971 Census of Agriculture data2 on kind and number of animals held in each township were obtained from Statistics Canada. Annual N and P2O5 values in fresh manure from each kind of animal were calculated using basic data obtained from two main sources, Lanes et al, 1971, and the Canada Animal Waste Management Guide Committee, 1972. It was then assumed that 25% of the nitrogen is lost during handling which resulted in the following annual production values per animal for N and P2O5:
Kind of Animal N (lb/anim-yr) P2O5 (lb/anim-yr) Milk Cows 105.0 65.0 Beef Cows 52.5 32.5 Heifers 43.5 36.5 Steers 43.5 36.5 Bulls 105.0 65.0 Calves 22.5 11.0 Cattle on Feed 43.5 36.5 Pig (30-200 lb) 17.48 13.2 Sows 16.95 15.3 Hens 0.41 0.29 Broilers 0.90 0.07 Pullets 0.41 0.29 Other Poultry 0.41 0.29 Ewes 13.73 11.0 Lambs 8.25 7.3 Horses 71.18 32.90 Mink 0.59 2.36 Turkeys 1.26 0.15
2 Suppressed data to ensure confidentiality of information, was kindly supplied by Mr. E. Eaton, Statistics Canada.
II-128 Integration of the numbers of each kind of animal in each township with their respective annual
N and P2O5 production per animal yielded the total annual N and P2O5 produced per township. It was then assumed that manure would be applied to improved cropland but not likely to that land which received commercial fertilizer.
Therefore the total annual N and P2O5 production values for each township were divided by that township acreage of improved, unfertilized land to obtain a measure of the density of N and P2O5 produced by animals on a township basis. The improved unfertilized acreage was obtained by difference between the total improved acreage and the fertilized improved acreage; the latter two values on a township basis were taken from the 1971 Census of Agriculture2.
The large amount of data and numbers of calculations required to generate these "Animal
Nutrient Density" values for both N and P2O5 warranted the use of the digital computer, and a special program was written to perform this task. Annual nitrogen produced by animals in pounds per improved unfertilized acre is shown on a township basis in Figure 4.5 A in the Appendix. Similar values for P2O5 are shown in Figure 4.6 A in the Appendix.
The nitrogen density map (Figure 4.5 A) shows that the highest. production of animal nitrogen exists in Pilkington township, Wellington County. High production also exists in the adjourning township, Woolwich, as well as Elma township in Perth county, East Zorra and East Oxford townships in Oxford county, and North and South Grimsby townships in Lincoln county.
The phosphorus density map (Figure 4.6 A) shows similar high production of phosphorus in
Pilkington, Woolwich, and East Zorra townships as well as several townships adjoining them, but considerably lower production exists in North and South Grimsby townships in Lincoln county.
II-129 4.1.1.6. Density of Fertilizer Nutrients by Townships and Counties
Difficulties were encountered in establishing density values for commercial fertilizer N and P2O5 applied to crop land. The 1971 Census of Agriculture2 supplies data on the number of acres of each
crop fertilized by township, but no information is given on the rate of application, nor the nutrient
content of the fertilizers. The two alternative approaches that can be used to estimate the nutrients
applied to the land are (a) the use of "recommended rates of application", and (b) the use of
"fertilizer sales statistics". Both were used concurrently and several revisions were made as this
information was being developed.
Using the "Recommended Rate" approach, three Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
(1973) publications on crop recommendations were consulted and an overall average recommended
rate was assigned to each crop as shown in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1. Recommended Rates of Fertilizer Application Used for the First Estimation of Nutrient Densities on the Basin
Crop N-Applied P-Applied K-Applied wheat506030 oats 20 20 20 barley 30 30 30 rye506030 corn grain 100 60 60 corn silage 100 60 60 grass-mixed hay 50 40 50 alfalfa. hay 0 40 80 potatoes 70 150 150 tobacco 25 140 170 soybeans104040 field beans 15 60 60 mixed grains 20 20 20 tree fruits 200 60 90 small fruits 85 60 90 vegetables 100 120 120 improved pasture 50 40 50 others 50 50 50
II-130 Then to determine the number of fertilized acres in each county for each crop, statistics for fertilized acreage on a county basis were taken from Statistics Canada Cat. 96-726(AA-9) to obtain the number of acres of the following crops that received commercial fertilizer in 1971:
Wheat tame hay small fruits
Oats potatoes vegetables
Barley tobacco improved pastures
Corn for grain tree fruits others
It was found however that the category "others" contained a considerable acreage of crops lumped together, such as rye,.corn silage, soybeans, field beans, and mixed grains. Therefore, from the statistics of field crops "grown" on a county basis (Statistics Canada Cat. 96-718 (AA-1)), the acreage ratio of each of these crops to the total of these crops included in the category "others"
(in the list above) was calculated on a county basis. These ratios were applied to the total fertilized acreage for "others" to obtain an estimate of the fertilized acres for each of these crops. Similarly, using the same method of ratios, the reported fertilized acres of tame hay were divided into fertilized acres of alfalfa hay and grass-mixed hay.
A computer program was written to accept, these data and calculate the pounds of N per fertilized acre (Figure 4.7A, Appendix) and the pounds of P2O5 per fertilized acre (Figure 4.8A, Appendix).
Using the "Fertilizer Sales" approach, the tons of nitrogen and phosphorus sold in "fertilizer materials" and in "fertilizer mixtures" was obtained from Statistics Canada, Manufacturing and
Primary Industries Division3 for the following counties: Brant, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Kent,
Lambton, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Lincoln. Since time did not. permit further collection of these
______3 Extracted by SRI Task Force staff from their files
II-131 data, estimates of nitrogen and phosphorus sold in materials and in mixtures were made for the remaining counties. This was done by using tons of "materials" and tons of "mixtures" sold in each county as published in Fertilizer Trade (Statistics Canada Cat. 46-207)›and the Ontario average content of nitrogen and phosphorus in materials sold (27.8% and 8.4% respectively), and in
"mixtures" sold (7.3% and 18.7% respectively). These percentages were calculated from data in
Fertilizer Trade. These nutrient input data for each county were divided by the number of fertilized acres and the results of these calculations for nutrients on a per fertilized acre basis are shown in
Figure 4.9 A, Appendix, for N and Figure 4.10 A, Appendix, for P2O5.
The results obtained using the "Recommended Rates" approach (Figure 4.7A and 4.8A,
Appendix) were compared with the results from the "Fertilizer Sales" approach (Figure 4.9A, and
4.10A, Appendix). The nutrient input from the "Fertilizer Sales" approach was higher in the majority of counties as shown by comparison of the N input from the "Fertilizer Sales" approach to the N input from the "Recommended Rate" approach (80.8 and 53.7 lbs/fertilized acre resp.). Similar comparison of approaches showed P inputs to be 80.8 and 46.6 lb/fertilized acre resp. Kent, Elgin,
Glengarry, Lambton, Middlesex, Norfolk, Peel, and Russell were almost twice as high by the
"Fertilizer Sales" approach as by the "Recommended Rates" approach, and York county was approximately five times as high.
Sales in one county and used in another could account for adjacent county differences but not for the overall high figures. Factors that could account for this discrepancy were assumed to be:
(a) incorrect reporting of the actual acres fertilized; (b) recommended rates used in calculations were too low, or at least, were not the application rates being used. In order to obtain a distribution of N and P from the "Recommended Rates" method that would more closely agree with that obtained from the "Fertilizer Sales" method, two assumptions were made. First, the recommended rates for some crops were lower than what would in fact be used, and were thus increased. A revised list of recommended rates is given in Table 4.2. Secondly, all "corn for grain" grown would
II-132 be fertilized, and therefore, the acres of "corn for grain" grown were used instead of the reported fertilized acres. Since no township data on "corn for grain" grown were available, the ratios of acres of "corn for grain" grown to acres of "corn for grain" fertilized on a county basis were applied to township statistics of fertilized acres. The sum of this calculated figure for acres of "corn for grain" fertilized and the fertilized acres for all other crops as reported was used as "revised fertilized acres".
The revised recommended rates of application were applied to the revised fertilized acres by the same computer program previously mentioned, but using data on a township basis. The results of these calculations are shown in Figure 4.11A, Appendix, for N and Figure 4.12A, Appendix, for
P2O5.
Table 4.2. Revised Recommended Rates of Fertilizer Application used for the Second Estimation of Nutrient Densities on the Basin.
Crop N-Applied P-Applied K-Applied wheat506030 *oats303030 *barley404040 rye506030 *corn grain 120 80 80 corn silage 100 60 60 *grass-mixed hay606060 *alfalfa hay 0 60 80 *potatoes 100 150 150 tobacco 25 140 170 soybeans104040 field beans 15 60 60 *mixed grains 30 30 30 tree fruits 200 60 90 small fruits 85 60 90 vegetables 100 120 120 *improved pasture 60 60 60 others 50 50 50 * Crop values revised
II-133 With the "Fertilizer Sales" approach, a similar calculation as before was carried out using the revised fertilized acres to obtain N in pounds per revised fertilized acre (Figure 4.13A, Appendix) and P2O5 in pounds per revised fertilized acres. (Figure 4.14A, Appendix).
Results from the "Revised Recommended Rates" method using revised recommended rates and revised fertilized acres (Figures 4.11A, and 4.12A, Appendix) were compared with those from the
"Revised Fertilizer Sales" method, and showed that there were still discrepancies between methods.
The average N for all counties studied compare reasonably well (69.6 lb/acre by the Revised
Fertilizer Sale method and 68.1 lb/acre by the Revised Recommended Rates method) but the comparable values for P2O5 (70.4 and 58.9 lb/acre) show a higher average density using the sales figures.
Densities based on sales, are still high in Elgin, Kent, Lambton and Russell counties and exceptionally high in York county. The high density values for York (221 lb/acre N and 210 lb/acre
P2O5) could be due to either a large amount of fertilizer being used in non-farm urban and suburban areas in Metropolitan Toronto, or York county farmers are applying fertilizer at a rate much higher than recommended, or both of these factors are responsible.
Since there was reasonable agreement between the two "Revised" methods of calculating fertilizer nutrient density, it was felt that the data in Figures 4.11A and 4.12A, Appendix represented a close approximation of the township distribution of N and P205. High inputs of N are indicated for five townships in southwestern Ontario, for the townships along the Lake Ontario shoreline in
Lincoln county, for South Dumfries township in Waterloo county and for Murray township in
Northumberland county. High P2O5 inputs are only indicated for five townships in Norfolk county.
II-134 4.1.1.7. Density of Combined Manure and Fertilizer Nutrients by Townships
The both sources of nutrients were finally integrated to show the combined effect of animal manure and fertilizer nutrients. The densities for both sources of nutrients were re-calculated expressing them on an improved acre basis to weight their effect, and these densities values for each source were added together. The fertilizer nutrient input values used were based on the
"revised recommended application rates" shown in Table 4.2. The results of these calculations on a township basis for total N application on the land are shown in Figure 4.15A, Appendix, and for
P2O5 in Figure 4.16A, Appendix.
The data for the combined input of manure and fertilizer N indicates that South Dumfries township in Waterloo county has the highest level but high inputs are also indicated for seven other townships scattered through the south-western part of Ontario, Similarly, South Dumfries has the highest level of P2O5 input but there are also blocks of townships centered in Kent, Oxford and Waterloo counties that have high levels.
Considering N and P2O5 input together, these results suggest that the following areas should receive careful consideration for proposed watershed studies of the gross effect of high indicated nutrient input from agriculture: South Dumfries and Woolwich townships in Waterloo county,
Pilkington township in Wellington county, East Zorra township in Oxford county, Camden and
Howard townships in Kent county, and possibly Colchester South township in Essex county and
Grimsby township in Lincoln county.
Similar use of these maps can be made to identify watersheds where low N and P2O5 inputs are indicated; Chinguacousy township in Peel county and Enniskillen township in Lambton county are examples in Western Ontario and there are many other examples in Eastern Ontario.
II-135 4.1.1.8. Quality of Water Discharging to the Lower Great Lakes
Since July 1964, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has conducted a water quality monitoring program on a number of watercourses throughout Ontario. Data for the 1964-67 period have been published in three volumes (Ontario Water Resources Commission). Computer print-out data for the 1968-72 period are available from MOE, and these additional data were obtained for several selected watercourses. Data recorded are:
(1) date and time sampled (11) total phosphorus
(2) coliforms (12) soluble phosphorus
(3) flow rate (13) ammonia-nitrogen
(4) water temperature (14) total Kjeldahl nitrogen
(5) dissolved oxygen (15) nitrite-nitrogen
(6) 5-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (16) nitrate-nitrogen
(7) total solids (17) chlorides
(8) suspended solids (18) hardness
(9) turbidity (19) alkalinity
(10) conductivity (20) total iron
(21) pH
Flow rates have not been recorded at all stations nor at all times when samples were taken, and over the period of record, some sampling stations have been moved to new locations.
Although some study of the water quality being discharged by individual streams to Lakes Erie and Ontario have been made, no extensive presentation of the MOE nitrogen and phosphorus data for the many stations at the Mouths of watercourse could be found to compare even the order of magnitude of average N and P concentrations for different watersheds. Therefore, available nitrate-nitrogen, Kjeldahl nitrogen, soluble phosphorus and total phosphorus data for thirty-five
II-136 stations near the watercourse mouths were averaged and the results were recorded on the six nutrient density maps (Figures 4.5A, 4.6A, 4.11A, 4.12A, 4.15A, 4.16A, Appendix). The period of record used to obtain these values is shown on the figures.
Time did not permit any attempt to investigate cause and effect relationships between characteristics and activities on the watersheds and the water quality discharged to the lakes: Nor was there time to make any integrations of N and P concentrations with flow rates from available data to compute quantities contributed.
However, assuming that these average N and P values are reasonably representative of concentrations suitable for comparison between watercourses, nutrient concentrations of water entering Lake Ontario east of Toronto appear to be lower than water entering Lake Erie and the western end of Lake Ontario. With a few exceptions, particularly the Toronto-Hamilton area, P concentrations do not vary greatly across the province.
It is dangerous to make further interpretations without spending more time on analysis of watershed conditions. However, one interesting observation should be noted. Research results
(Bolton et al, 1970) on concentrations of N and P from tile drains in Brookston clay, near Woodslee,
Essex county, show average values for the 1961-67 period of about 7 ppm N, which was predominantly NO3-N, and about 0.2 ppm total P.
The Belle River drains land comparable to that studied at Woodslee, but average values of only
1.6 ppm NO3-N and 0.4 ppm total P for the 1964-67 period have been recorded at the river mouth. The P concentration would expectedly be higher because the MOE water quality data on coliform numbers showed that the water at the. River mouth was likely grossly polluted with sewage. On the other hand, nitrogen appears to have been lost. This comparison suggests that caution should be exercised in extrapolating isolated research data from small areas to larger watershed
II-137 conditions. Other studies of these water quality data should be made to ascertain their value to identify with reasonably accuracy the magnitude and sources of pollutants.
4.1.2. Thames River Basin
A base map showing the Thames River basin watershed boundary, the major tributary. streams, township boundaries and major urban centers was supplied by the Ministry of the Environment
(MOE). Several smaller urban centers were plotted to identify the location of populated centers in the sub-basins, and runoff isopleths taken from Figure 2.1, were transferred to the base map shown in Figure 4.1.1
These runoff data were supplied by and obtained through personal communication with Mr. B.
Sangal, Engineering Hydrology Section, Department of the Environment. Since these data have not been published nor approved, they should not be reproduced by others without consultation with
Mr. Sangal. Mean annual runoff can be meaningful to compute average movement of pollutants in watercourses provided reliable average pollutant concentrations can be established.
A check was made on the validity of the runoff isopleth map data against the measured runoff upstream from a Water Survey of Canada gauging station at Thamesville. Integration of the areas between isopleths showed that the total area of that part of the watershed was about 1500 square
Miles compared to the Department of the Environment (1972a) recorded area of 1660
______
1 Figures are not included with this copy.
II-138 square miles. The mean annual flow calculated by integrating the runoff between isopleths, was about 1370 cfs compared to the 1956-70 mean annual flow of 1560 cfs measured by the
Department of the Environment (1972b). Although this comparison showed some discrepancy between both watershed area and mean annual flow, the "mean annual flows per square mile" are very similar (0.91 cfs/mi2 calculated using isopleth map data and 0.94 cfs/mi2 using Department of the Environment data). Mean annual flows do however vary from year to year. For example, the measured annual flow at Thamesville gauging station has varied from a low of 780 cfs in 1958 to a high of 2270 cfs in 1967.
4.1.2.2. Density of Manure Nutrients by Townships
The inventory data on animal manure nutrient production described in 4.1.1.5. and shown in
Figure 4.5A and 4.6A, Appendix, were transferred to the Thames River basin maps. Figure 4.2 shows the township distribution of the annual nitrogen produced by animals in pounds per improved unfertilized acre, and Figure 4.3 shows the similar distribution of P2O5. The highest density of both N and P2O5 in the basin is in East Zorra, and, as a general pattern, animal nutrient densities are higher in the headwaters area than in the lower part of the watershed.
Additional information on the total N and P2O5 input from manure and fertilizer is readily available from Figures 4.15A and 4.16A, Appendix, and can be transferred to the base map for consideration in the selection of research sub-basins.
4.1.2.2. River Water Quality
Average concentrations of NO3-N, Kjeldahl N, soluble P and total P measured in 1971 were
II-139 plotted for 14 Ministry of the Environment (MOE) monitoring stations on Figures 4.2 and 4.3.1 Data for 1971 only were used to show water quality in the same year that the animal statistics were obtained. Cursory observations only of relative values within the watershed show that nitrogen concentrations did not vary greatly except at the outfall over the Fanshawe Dam near London where nitrogen values were reduced considerably. NO3-N concentrations from watersheds in the headwaters area that are essentially agricultural (see Cedar Creek and Thames River in East Zorra township) were no higher than those near the Thames River outlet. Phosphorus concentrations at the Cedar Creek and Thames River (East Zorra) stations were very low compared to those at other stations. It is also noted that phosphorus values at the three stations near the Thames River outlet were essentially the same and lower than those at most upstream points except the two mentioned above.
The results of the present basin study by MOE should be reviewed when available to determine their success in defining the roles of agricultural nutrients, the hydrology of agricultural areas as contributors of high quality dilution water, and the physical, chemical and biological reactions in the watercourses, on the nutrient content of the Thames River water finally discharged to Lake St. Clair.
4.2. Preliminary Analyses of Existing Data
As the above inventory data reflecting land use and the stream water quality data were nearing organized assembly on maps and on computer print-outs, a search was made for agricultural watersheds in the Basin that met the following conditions:
(a) There were no large urban centers in the watershed.
(b) M.O.E. water quality data were available at the watershed outlet.
(c) Township data were available on the acreage of total, improved.
______1 Figures are not included with this copy. and fertilized land, and on the input of N and P from fertilizer and manure applied to the
II-140 land.
Seven watersheds that met these conditions reasonably well were located; information on the location of these watersheds and the time period over which quality data were available is shown in Table 4.3. Preliminary correlations were made by plotting several selected land use parameters against average concentrations of total solids, suspended solids, nitrogen, and phosphorus measured in the watercourses over the period of record.
Table 4.3. Watershed Locations and Water Quality Data Used in Correlation Studies.
Water Quality Data Station Location Watershed Location Watercourse Period of Record from River Mouth (miles) 1. Huron Co.- Stanley and Bayfield River 1964 - 72 0.1 Tuckersmith Twp. 2. Bruce Co.- Huron Twp. Pine River 1966 - 72 1.2 Penetangore 3. Bruce Co.- Kincardine Twp. 1964 - 72 0.6 River Ganaraska 4. Durham Co.- Hope Twp. 1964 - 72 0.6 River 5. Haldimand Co.- Rainham Stoney Creek 1964 - 72 1.0 Twp. 6. *Dufferin Co.- East Luther Grand River 1965 - 67 168.2 Twp. and Wellington Co.- West Luther Twp. 7. * Dufferin Co.- East Luther, Grand River 1964 - 67 141.3 Amaranth, East Garafraxa and Malanothon Twp., and Welling- ton Co.- West Luther and West Garafraxa Twp.
* Watershed 6 is .a sub-watershed of watershed 7.
II-141 The following observations are tentative. They are based on only seven watersheds and no measure of the statistical significance of correlation was made. All water quality data were averaged without regard to flow rates, and the land use parameters used were those recorded for the township in the watershed (see 4.1.1:).
Total solids in streams tended to increase as the proportion of land that is improved increased (Figure 4.4). No relation appeared to exist between total solids and the proportion of fertilized land (Fig. 4.5).
Suspended solids also tended to increase as the proportion of improved land increased (Figure 4.6), but again there was no apparent relationship with fertilized acreage.
Nitrate nitrogen in streams showed a definite trend to increase as the amount of fertilizer N applied per improved acre increased (Figure 4.7), but not with increased manure N per improved acre (Figure 4.8). When the Combined N from manure and fertilizer was plotted against NO3-N, the relationship is not clear although an increase might be indicated (Figure 4.9).
Phosphorus in streams, whether total or soluble, showed no relationship with P input from fertilizer nor from manure per acre improved or fertilizer. An example plot of the combined manure and fertilizer P applied per improved acre versus total phosphorus is shown in Figure 4.10, and is typical of the scatter obtained for several other phosphorus correlations.
The final phosphorus correlation plotted was the county data on bicarbonate extractable phosphorus (Figure 4.4 A, Appendix) versus total phosphorus in stream, but similar to Figure 4.10, no relationship was apparent.
Additional correlation studies on more of the existing data available should be conducted.
II-142 Figure 4.4. Relationship between the proportion of improved land and total solids in streams.
II-143 Figure 4.5. Relationship between the proportion of fertilized land and total solids in streams
II-144 Figure 4.6. Relationship between the proportion of improved land and suspended solids in streams
II-145 Figure 4.7. Relationship between fertilizer N applied per improved acre and nitrate-nitrogen in streams.
II-146 Figure 4.8. Relationship between manure N applied per improved acre and nitrate-nitrogen in streams
II-147 Figure 4.9. Relationship between the combined manure and fertilizer N applied per improved acre and nitrate-nitrogen in streams
II-148 Figure 4.10. Relationship between the combined manure and fertilizer P per improved acre and total phosphorus in streams
II-149 4.3. References
Bolton, E.F., J. W. Aylesworth and F. R. Hore. 1970. Nutrient losses through tile drains under three cropping systems and two fertility levels on Brookston clay soil. Can. J. Soil Sci. 50: 275-279.
Canada Animal Waste Management Guide Committee. 1972. Canada animal waste management guide. Canada Committee on Agricultural Engineering.
Department of the Environment. 1972a. Surface water data reference index, Canada, 1971. Inland Waters Branch.
Department of the Environment. 1972b. Historical streamflow summary, Ontario, to 1970. Inland
Waters Directorate. Cat. No:: En36-418/1970-71.
Hoffman, P.W., B.C. Matthews, and R.E. Wicklund. 1964. Soil associations of southern Ontario. Ontario Soil Survey Report 30.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 1973. Field crop recommendations. OMAF Pub. 296.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 1973. Fruit production recommendations. OMAF Pub. 360.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 1973. Vegetable production recommendations. OMAF Pub. 363.
Ontario Water Resources Commission. Water Quality Data. Vol. 1 (1964-65), Vol. 2(1965-66), Vol. 3(1966-67).
Statistics Canada Cat. 96-726 (AA-9). Agriculture - fertilizer use. 1971 Census of Canada.
Statistics Canaria Cat. 46-207. 1971. Fertilizer Trade.
Statistics Canada Cat, 96-718 (AA-1). Agriculture - areas and census farms reporting field crops. 1971 Census of Canada.
II-150 PART 5 Existing Agricultural Pollution Research Projects In Ontario And Quebec
The information on the existing projects listing below was obtained by personal contact with the personnel involved and from several agency listings of funded research. Projects listed for Macdonald College of McGill University and the Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa are not being conducted in the Lower Great Lakes Basin, but because of their close proximity, they have been included.
5.1 Canada Department of Agriculture 5.1.1. HORE, F. R., SOWDEN, F. J., FISHER, L. J., Research Branch, Ottawa. NUTRIENT LOSSES TO WATER SUPPLIES AND ACCUMULATIONS IN SOIL.
Nutrients removed in the drainage effluent from a small (5 acre) and large (400 acre) area will be monitored so that nutrients lost from fertilizer and manure
applications can be estimated. In other parts of the. project, removal of nutrients and microorganisms by surface runoff and tile drainage effluent will be measured from small field plots, to which various rates of manure will be applied, and the ultimate fate of nutrients that leak from manure storages will be studied.
5.1.2. MACLEAN, A. J,, Soil Research Institute, Ottawa. SEASONAL LEACHING OF NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM.
Objective: To measure seasonal leaching of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in two sandy loam soils receiving different levels of these elements in plots with different cover (fallow, corn, corn and rye as cover crop, and different grasses under field conditions.
5.1.3. MACLEAN, A. J., Soil Research Institute, Ottawa.
II-151 HEAVY METALS IN SOILS (ZN, CD, HG) AND THEIR UPTAKE BY PLANTS IN POT TESTS The effect of soil properties and added amendments on solubility of heavy metals will be studied.
5.1.4. SOWDEN, F. J., Soil Research Institute, Ottawa. NATURE OF THE AMINO ACID AND OTHER NITROGEN-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS IN SOIL. Work on this project will involve conversion of soil organic nitrogen (and organic nitrogen added to soils by manures) to ammonium and nitrate and the role of denitrification in reducing nitrate levels in soil and water.
5.1.5. WEBBER, M. D., Soil Research Institute, Ottawa. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE REACTIONS OF PHOSPHORUS IN SOIL. Study of phosphorus sorption by montmorillonite clay containing amorphous aluminum. hydroxide interlayer material. The objective is to learn about materials which probably bind phosphorus in soil.
5.1.6. HALSTEAD, R. L., Soil Research Institute, Ottawa. INFLUENCE OF SEWAGE SLUDGE ADDITIONS ON SOIL PROPERTIES AND ON YIELD OF LETTUCE AND TOMATOES. This experiment was started to assess effects of sewage sludge from Windsor, Ontario, on soil properties and growth in conjunction with its use on land for horticultural crops in southwestern Ontario. Analysis of sludge, crops and soils, as well as changes in soil properties are being assessed.
II-152 5.1.7. AYLESWORTH, J. W., BOLTON, C. F., Research Station, Harrow. PLANT NUTRIENT LOSSES AND WATER FLOW INTO TILE DRAINS ON BROOKSTON CLAY SOIL. This project relating agricultural practice to water quality was initiated on Brookston soil in the late 1950's and is continuing. Analyses include N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and physical components, sediment and organic matter. The treatments include two fertility levels and three cropping systems - continuous corn, continuous bluegrass sod and a rotation of corn-oats-alfalfa-alfalfa. The project was extended in 1971 to include fertility levels of no fertilizer, recommended amount, and 2 and 4 times recommended rates, and the effect of two drain depths.
5.1.8. FINDLAY, W.T., Research Station, Harrow. MOVEMENT OF NITROGEN TO THE GROUNDWATER FROM FERTILIZER PLOTS An experiment was established at Harrow in 1970 to examine the leaching losses of nitrogen from Harrow sandy loam. Plots of corn are treated annually with 0, 100, 200 and 300 lb/ac nitrogen. The movement of nitrate is monitored by sampling the soil to a depth of 9 feet in 6 inch increments and by taking samples of water from wells in each plot to a depth of 20 feet. Soil samples from Harrow sandy loam, in mid-July, 1972, to a depth of 9 feet, contained 106, 191, 356 and 498 lb/ac nitrate-N. The fertilizer treatments were 0, 100, 200 and 300 lb/ac N applied to corn annually since 1970. The N is distributed throughout the profile but has not been found in wells within the plot where the water level is 13.5 feet from the surface. However, a water sample from the 8 foot depth extracted by another method contained 220 ppm. This work is continuing through 1973.
II-153 5.2. University cf Guelph
5.2.1. KAY, B.D., Department of Land Resource Science. THE EFFECT OF SNOWPACK MANAGEMENT ON WATER AND NUTRIENT MOVEMENT IN SOIL.
5.2.2. DICKINSON, W.T., School of Engineering. INFLUENCE OF LAND USE ON EROSION AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT.
Hydrologic studies of extreme values are being conducted and will be related to erosion measurements.
5.2.3. WHITELY, H.R., School of Engineering. MEASUREMENT BY WATER CHEMISTRY OF THE TIME VARIABILITY OF FLOW COMPONENTS IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO STREAMS. Objectives: To measure the rate of discharge of water from storage zones within a watershed using chemical parameters to distinguish the source of water flowing in a stream.
5.2.4. POS, J., School of Engineering. ANIMAL WASTE TREATMENT. Research facilities have been developed to evaluate different methods of treatment of animal-based industry wastes for nuisance control, and provide a site for evaluation of liquid waste handling equipment.
5.2.5. MILLER, M. H., Department of Land Resource Science. THE CONTRIBUTION OF PLANT NUTRIENTS FROM AGRICULTURAL LANDS TO WATER SUPPLIES. Objectives: To determine the contribution of N and P to drainage water from fertilized agricultural land and to determine the influence of soil factors such as texture and organic matter on the contribution. Drainage systems on
II-154 farms that are intensively cropped are to be sampled every 30 minutes of pump operation for nitrate, ammonium and organic nitrogen and soluble and total phosphorus. The pump operation time will allow measurement of total N and P. Drainage systems sampled are to be from both mineral and organic soil. Sampling systems were installed on 12 drainage sites in Kent county which are pumped into municipal drainage ditches flowing into Lake St. Clair or Lake Erie: 4 sites on muck soil in Erieau marsh; 4 sites on clay or clay loam; and 4 sites on sandy soil. All sites are intensively cropped -- the muck soils to onions and the inorganic sites to corn, barley or soybeans. Samples have been collected and frozen for analysis. At least two years of data are required.
5.2.6. KETCHESON, J.W., Department of Land Resource Science. EFFECT OF INCREASING ROW CROP ACREAGE ON POLLUTION OF STREAMS. Objectives: Determination of the effects of increasing acreage of row crops on the movement of soil and nutrients from field to streams, and formulation of practices to minimize such movements. This will be done by measuring losses from various crop and soil management systems and use of soil characteristics. Proposal extended to include other forms of fertilizers, manures and sludges, with particular concern to winter behavior of soil and nutrients on sloping land with inter-tilled crops. Movement of nitrogen as well as phosphorus will be considered. Project continued, to extend the findings of previous work on movement of soil and nutrients from various crop and management systems to fall and winter conditions and to apply these findings to sample areas for purposes of . estimating prevailing soil and nutrient losses to streams in specific watersheds. The mobility of heavy metals precipitated in sludges will be investigated, and attention given to the movement of pesticides from sloping land.
II-155 5.2.7. BATES, T.E., Department of Land Resource Science. POLLUTION POTENTIAL FROM NITROGEN APPLIED AT VARYING RATES TO GRAIN CORN. Objectives: To determine the fate of nitrogen applied as a fertilizer for grain corn - to relate the distribution of ammonium and nitrate nitrogen to rate of nitrogen application, soil texture, soil moisture, and plant uptake. The nitrogen plots from experiments on a sandy loam, a loam, and . a clay loam soil which received 0 to 300 lbs of N fertilizer per acre per year over the past four years will be sampled periodically through the season to a depth of 3 or 4 feet. Samples will be analysed for nitrate and ammonium. Soil nitrogen was monitored from corn harvest time through the fall and in early spring periods when nitrogen movement in the soil is most likely to occur. A reasonable estimate of nitrate in the soil profile at harvest and freeze-up should be obtained.
II-156 5.2.8. *LANE, T.E., DWIVEDI, O.P., GOEL, R,G., JOHNSTON, R.A., ROBINSON, J.B. * Co.-ordinator -- Department of Land Resource Science. EFFECTS OF LAND USE PRACTICES ON WATER QUALITY AND INHERENT SOCIO-POLITICAL ISSUES. Objectives were under three parts: I. Land use survey of watersheds. II. Biological and chemical survey of the stream waters. III. Analysis of socio-political issues. It is proposed to do a land use survey in a watershed as to soil type, production patterns, cultural practices and livestock concentration. In relation to a simultaneous water quality study, a survey of public awareness toward water pollution and quality management and of community. concern will be made. The Otter Creek watershed was selected as an area of manageable size and intensive agriculture. Eleven water sampling stations were selected on four small watersheds of the big Otter Creek drainage basin. Two of these areas are located in intensive tobacco growing areas south of Tillsonburg, Ontario, and two are located in areas of mixed agriculture practices to the north. Twenty-six samples were taken at each station. Results indicate that low specific resistance, high nitrate and chloride levels, high total counts of bacteria, faecal conforms and faecal streptococci are associated with mixed agricultural areas. Results are not quantified due to lack of flow data.
5.2.9. WEBBER, L.R., STEWART, N.E., RUDGERS, L.A., KING, L.D., Department of Land Resource Science. DISPOSAL AND UTILIZATION OF WASTES (AGRICULTURAL, URBAN, INDUSTRIAL). Studies involved include: (1) Land disposal of digested sewage sludge - influence on nitrate-N leaching, evaluate mineralization- nitrification reactions and to assess fertilizer value. (2) Columnar nitrification of animal wastes - removal of N from liquid manure by nitrification and denitrification,
II-157 (3) Incubation studies on mixtures of soil, garbage, sewage and manures - to determine effect of C:N ratio and application rate on mineralization and immobilization (4) Disposal of pulverized municipal waste on land - monitoring quantity and concentration of groundwater pollutants.
5.2.10 BATES, T.E., BEAUCHAMP,. E.G., JOHNSTON, R.A., KETCHESON, J.W., PROTZ, R. LAND DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE SLUDGE. Outline of main aspects of the study and subject to change: The objectives are to determine maximum rates of sludge application which can be used on agricultural soils without polluting ground and surface waters with plant nutrients, heavy metals, or pathogenic organisms and without reducing .quantity or quality of crops. Six field trials are planned - on sandy loam soil, loam soil, and clay loam soil. Grass and corn will be grown in one trial at each site. Rates of sludge; 0 (no fert.), 0-(NPK fert.) 200, 400, 800, 1600 kg N/ha/yr on the grass trials; a rate of 5,000 kg N/ha is to be applied once. Lime treated, aluminum treated and iron treated sludges are to be used. Aspects involved are: (1) Plant growth, nutrients, and heavy metals - crop yields will be measured as well as nutrient and heavy metal uptake and extractable nutrient and heavy metal content of the soils will be monitored.- (2) Nitrogen aspects - soil will be sampled to a depth of three feet. Total N,
NO3 and NH4 will be determined and compared with N in the sludges and taken up by the crop. The extent of losses of ammonia gas from sludges applied to the soil surface will be determined. The rate of release of plant available N from the N in the solid phase of sludge will be determined.(3) Microbial aspects - the microorganisms of both sludge and soil will be characterized, as to various groups of microorganisms. Isolates of some of these will be maintained and used to determine the fate of some sludge derived microorganisms in the soil. (4) Runoff studies - to determine runoff losses due to different applications of sewage sludge. Determinations would include runoff losses of water, soil, nutrients, including heavy metals, micor-
II-158 organisms and the yield and nutrient content of crop.
5.2.11 SMITH, J.A., WILLIS, A.L., THOMAS, R.L., Department of Land Resource Science. METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF SOILS AND PLANTS. Improved methods and techniques for chemical analysis of soils and plants are being sought, and methods for additional elements are being studied. Techniques applicable to the analysis of manure and sewage sludge are being developed.
5.2.12 THOMAS, R.L., Department of Land Resource Science. CHARACTERIZATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS IN SOIL. Studies of the enzyme decomposition of various fractions of the nitrogen material in soil organic matter. Use of enzymes for the controlled degradation protein-like material and the studies of the products produced.
5.2.13. THOMAS, R.L., Department of Land Resource Science. CHARACTERIZATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS IN SOIL. Studies of the nature of phosphorus in soil organic matter. identification of the compounds in soil and of breakdown products after chemical and biological treatments. Use of enzymes to study bondings and stability of the compounds.
5.2.14. BEAUCHAMP, E.G., Department of Land Resource Science. DENITRIFICATION IN SOILS. The influence of temperature and plant residues are being studied in as much as they influence the denitrification process in soils. The possibility of developing a method to determine denitrification rates in the field using
II-159 techniques such as gas chromatography or redox potential will be investi- gated.
5.2.15. BEAUCHAMP, E.G., Department of Land Resource Science. NONEXCHANGEABLE AMMONIUM IN THE SOIL NITROGEN CYCLE. Objectives: To determine the concentration of nonexchangeable ammonium in selected soils from agricultural areas in Ontario in relation to kind and quantity of clay minerals in different soil particle size fractions; to study the rate and extent of fixation of ammonium ions as applied in a nitrogen fertilizer; to study the rate of release of nonexchangeable ammonium ions to nitrifying organisms and plants; and to determine if nonexchangeable ammonium-nitrogen can be considered in the development of a nitrogen soil test.
5.2.16. MACCRIMMON, H. R., Department of Zoology. EFFECTS OF INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE ON THE LIMNOLOGY OF A RIVER SYSTEM. Objectives: A comparison of nutrient levels in subsurface and drainage waters from cultivated and undeveloped areas of the Holland marsh; and, a measurement and evaluation of the effects of agricultural practices in the Holland marsh on the eutrophication of the Holland River and Lake Simcoe, including identification of the relative contributions of urban, mixed agricultural and intensive agricultural inputs within the watershed. Work has been completed, with current grant for publication and presentation services.
5.3. University of Windsor 5.3.1. WALLEN, D.G., WINNER, J.M., Department of Biology. THE EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF ON PLANKTON PRODUCTIVITY.
II-160 5.4. University of Waterloo 5.4.1. HILL, H. M., Civil Engineering Dept. SEDIMENT TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL HYDROLOGY, SYSTEMS MODELLING.
5.5. Macdonald College of McGill University. 5.5.1. WARKENTIN, B.P.W., MACKENZIE, A.F., Department of Soil Science. CONTRIBUTION OF SEDIMENTS TO NUTRIENT LEVEL OF WATERWAYS Objectives: To assess effect of sediments on water quality in waterways in agricultural regions and indicate probable control mechanisms for improved water quality: a) to assess amount of sediment from agricultural and non agricultural regions; to assess the total nutrient content of these sediments; to evaluate effect of agricultural practices on sediment levels. The second major objective is to propose experiments on management systems for controlling sediment level and nutrient content of waterways in agricultural regions.
II-161 5.5.2. WARKENTIN, B.P.W., IQBAL, M.M., Department of Soil Science. NITROGEN MOVEMENT AND LOSSES FROM APPLICATION OF ANIMAL WASTES TO SOILS. A Ph.D. Thesis Abstract on this project revealed that a nitrogen recovery by maize following two annual applications of different rates of cow manure slurry was from 10 to 12 per cent. Leaching losses in tile drain effluents were highest during the spring and were higher during 1972 than in 1971 because of higher summer rainfall. Nitrogen balance sheets for each tile line revealed that an amount of nitrogen equivalent to 77-100 per cent of the applied manure remained unavailable to the crop or for leaching during a two-year period following the application of manure. Laboratory studies showed that mineralization of nitrogen added in manure, during a seven-week incubation, varied from one to 85 per cent depending upon soil and moisture conditions. Almost 100 per cent of added nitrate was lost in denitrification in soil columns in the laboratory. No extra energy source was required for these soils, indicating that denitrification likely accounted for losses of mineralized nitrogen not present in the leachate or the crop.
5.5.3. OGILVIE, J.R., SHADY, A.M.A., Department of Agricultural Engineering. MINIMAL TREATMENT OF SWINE MANURE FOR IRRIGATION-EFFECT ON NITROGEN. A laboratory experiment was conducted using the continuous flow culture technique for a minimal treatment of swine manure. Treatment for 33 to 100 hours detention time resulted in 40 per cent reduction of total Kjeldahl nitrogen. Most of the losses (98.5 per cent) were as free ammonia stripped out of the reactor. Nitrate formed was very low due to limitation of oxygen supply. The effluent was applied to soil columns at a rate of 540 lb/acre nitrogen (one inch) in 1, 2, and 4 applications. The treatment with the most applications yielded the lowest nitrate in the leachate. Nitrate concentration decreased with time to less than one p.p.m. A reduction zone at the bottom
II-162 of the column was identified having a redox potential of -110 my (Ecal) and less than one p.p.m. dissolved oxygen. Nitrogen removal efficiency was 98 per cent and there was no difference between treatments. The odor generated at the surface of the column was mainly due to ammonia released, and was proportional to the amount of application.
5.5.4. BLACKWOOD, A.C., Coordinator, Department of Microbiology. INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE AND WATER POLLUTION. An investigation into contamination of fresh water by agricultural pollutants.
II-163 PART 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LITERATURE
During the course of this study, considerable literature on file or obtained by ERS and SRI was reviewed, abstracted and categorized according to the index shown in Table 6.1. This information was set up as a computerized information retrieval system and a print-out according to the index (including cross-reference numbers) is separate from, but part of this report. The computer program is reasonably flexible so that print-outs in several forms can be made.. For example, print-outs in single copy have been made of Current Research Projects, of literature in each main index category with compressed information on cross-referenced literature, and of authors. This information is on file in SRI.
II-164 TABLE 6.1. BIBLIOGRAPHY SUBJECT MATTER INDEX
1. ONTARIO 1.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF REGION 1.1.1. AGRICULTURE 1.1.2. NON-AGRICULTURAL 1.1.3. HYDROLOGY 1.1.4. STATISTICS 1.1.5. GENERAL 1.2. AGRICULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO WATER POLLUTION 1.2.1. SURFACE RUNOFF & DRAINAGE 1.2.1.1. MANURE UTILIZATION 1.2.1.2. ANIMAL CONFINEMENT 1.2.1.3. FERTILIZERS 1.2.1.4. SOIL EROSION 1.2.1.5. PATHOGENS 1.2.1.6. GENERAL 1.2.1.7. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECT 1.2.1.8. SOIL EFFECT 1.2.2. GROUND WATER 1.2.2.1. MANURE UTILIZATION 1.2.2.2. ANIMAL CONFINEMENT 1.2.2.3. FERTILIZERS 1.2.2.4. PATHOGENS 1.2.2.5. GENERAL 1.2.2.6. SOIL EFFECTS 1.2.2.7. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECTS 1.2.3. NUTRIENT STUDIES, AND EFFECTS OF CROPS AND SOILS 1.2:3.1. NITROGEN 1.2.3.2. PHOSPHORUS 1.2.3.3. NITROGEN & PHOSPHORUS 1.2.3.4. OTHER ELEMENTS 1.2.3.5. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECTS 1.2.3.6. SOIL EFFECTS 1.3. WATERSHED STUDIES 1.3.1. SOURCES OF POLLUTANTS 1.3.2. MONITORING 1.3.3. CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEM OF WATERS 1.3.4. GENERAL
2. OTHER GREAT LAKES REGIONS 2.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF REGION 2.1.1. AGRICULTURE 2.1.2. NON-AGRICULTURAL 2.1.3. HYDROLOGY 2.1.4. STATISTICS 2.1.5. GENERAL 2.2. AGRICULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO WATER POLLUTION 2.2.1. SURFACE RUNOFF & DRAINAGE
II-165 2.2.1.1. MANURE UTILIZATION 2.2.1.2. ANIMAL CONFINEMENT 2.2.1.3. FERTILIZERS 2.2.1.4. SOIL EROSION 2.2.1.5. PATHOGENS 2.2.1.6. GENERAL 2.2.1.7. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECT 2.2.1.8. SOIL EFFECT 2.2.2. GROUND WATER 2.2.2.1. MANURE UTILIZATION 2.2.2.2. ANIMAL CONFINEMENT 2.2.2.3. FERTILIZERS 2.2.2.4. PATHOGENS 2.2.2.5. GENERAL 2.2.2.6. SOIL EFFECTS 2.2.2.7. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECTS 2.2.3. NUTRIENT STUDIES AND EFFECTS OF CROPS AND SOILS 2.2.3.1. NITROGEN 2.2.3.2. PHOSPHORUS 2.2.3.3. NITROGEN & PHOSPHORUS 2.2.3.4. OTHER ELEMENTS 2.2.3.5. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECTS 2.2.3.6. SOIL EFFECTS 2.3. WATERSHED STUDIES 2.3.1. SOURCES OF POLLUTANTS 2.3.2. MONITORING 2.3.3. CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEM OF WATERS 2.3.4. GENERAL 3. OTHER REGIONS 3.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF REGION 3.1.1. AGRICULTURE 3.1.2. NON-AGRICULTURAL 3.1.3. HYDROLOGY 3.1.4. STATISTICS 3.1.5. GENERAL 3.2. AGRICULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO WATER POLLUTION 3.2.1. SURFACE RUNOFF & DRAINAGE 3.2.1.1. MANURE UTILIZATION 3.2.1.2. ANIMAL CONFINEMENT 3.2.1.3. FERTILIZERS 3.2.1.4. SOIL EROSION 3.2.1.5. PATHOGENS 3.2.1.6. GENERAL 3.2.1.7. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECT 3.2.1.8. SOIL EFFECT 3.2.2. GROUND WATER 3.2.2.1. MANURE UTILIZATION 3.2.2.2, ANIMAL CONFINEMENT 3.2.2.3. FERTILIZERS
II-166 3.2.2.4. PATHOGENS 3.2.2.5. GENERAL 3.2.2.6. SOIL EFFECTS 3.2.2.7. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECTS 3.2.3. NUTRIENT STUDIES AND EFFECTS OF CROPS AND SOILS 3.2.3.1. NITROGEN 3.2.3.2. PHOSPHORUS 3.2.3.3. NITROGEN & PHOSPHORUS 3.2.3.4. OTHER ELEMENTS 3.2.3.5. CROPPING SYSTEM EFFECTS 3.2.3.6. SOIL EFFECTS 3.3. WATERSHED STUDIES 3.3.1. SOURCES OF POLLUTANTS 3.3.2. MONITORING 3.3.3. CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEM OF WATERS 3.3.4. GENERAL
4. LAKE STUDIES 4.1. GREAT LAKES 4.1.1. CHEMISTRY & PHYSICS 4.1.1.1. CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY OF WATERS 4.1.1.2. EUTROPHICATION 4.1.1.3. PHYSICAL LIMNOLOGY 4.1.2. WATER QUALITY 4.1.3. SEDIMENTS 4.1.3.1. NUTRIENT AND CHEMISTRY STUDIES 4.1.3.2. OTHER 4.1.4. GENERAL 4.1.5. SOURCES OF POLLUTANTS 4.2. OTHER WATER: CANADA 4.2.1. CHEMISTRY & PHYSICS 4.2.1.1. CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY OF WATERS 4.2.1.2. EUTROPHICATION 4.2.1.3. PHYSICAL LIMNOLOGY 4.2.2. WATER QUALITY 4.2.3. SEDIMENTS 4.2.3.1. NUTRIENT AND CHEMISTRY STUDIES 4.2.3.2. OTHER 4.2.4. GENERAL 4.2.5. SOURCES OF POLLUTANTS 4.3. OTHER WATER: OTHER REGIONS 4.3.1. CHEMISTRY & PHYSICS 4.3.1.1. CHEMISTRY OF BIOCHEMISTRY OF WATERS 4.3.1.2. EUTROPHICATION 4.3.1.3. PHYSICAL LIMNOLOGY 4.3.2. WATER QUALITY 4.3.3. SEDIMENTS 4.3.3.1. NUTRIENT AND CHEMISTRY STUDIES 4.3.3.2. OTHER 4.3.4. GENERAL
II-167 4.3.5. SOURCES OF POLLUTANTS
5. ANIMAL WASTE 5.1. CANADA 5.1.1. HANDLING 5.1.2. DISPOSAL 5.1.3. UTILIZATION 5.1.4. TREATMENT 5.1.5. ECONOMIC 5.1.6. ODOR CONTROL 5.1.7. LEGAL ASPECTS 5.1.8. DISEASES 5.1.9. REFEEDING 5.2. OTHER COUNTRIES 5.2.1. HANDLING 5.2.2. DISPOSAL 5.2.3. UTILIZATION 5.2.4. TREATMENT 5.2.5. ECONOMIC 5.2.6. ODOR CONTROL 5.2.7. LEGAL ASPECTS 5.2.8. DISEASES 5.2.9. REFEEDING
6. OTHER WASTES 6.1. CANADA 6.1.1. HANDLING 6.1.2. DISPOSAL 6.1.3. UTILIZATION 6.1.4. TREATMENT 6.1.5. ECONOMICS 6.1.6. ODOR CONTROL 6.1.7. LEGAL ASPECTS 6.1.8. DISEASES 6.1.9. FEEDING 6.2. OTHER COUNTRIES 6.2.1. HANDLING 6.2.2. DISPOSAL 6.2.3. UTILIZATION 6.2.4. TREATMENT 6.2.5. ECONOMICS 6.2.6. ODOR CONTROL 6.2.7. LEGAL ASPECTS 6.2.8. DISEASES 6.2.9. FEEDING
II-168 APPENDIX SECTION II Figures are not included with this copy.
PART 1.
Figure 1A. Some details of Lakes Erie and Ontario Watersheds on Canadian side (Water Survey of Canada, 1968).
Figure 2A. Map of physiography of southern Ontario (Chapman and Putnam).
Figure 3A. Map of soil associations of southern Ontario-. (Ontario Soil Survey Report No, 30).
PART 2
Figure 2.1 A Mean Annual Runoff - Southern Ontario
PART 4.
Figure 4.1A Soil Associations of Southern Ontario
Figure 4.2A Distribution of Farmland - Southern Ontario
4.3 A Crop Distribution - Southern Ontario
4.4A Average Bicarbonate Extractable Phosphorus in Southern Ontario Counties
4.5A Animal Nutrient Density: Nitrogen (N) in pounds per improved unfertilized acre
4.6A Animal Nutrient Density: Phosphorus (P2O5) in pounds per improved unfertilized acre
4.7A Fertilizer Nutrient Density: Nitrogen (N) in pounds per fertilized acre From fertilized acre statistics and recommended application rate
4.8A Fertilizer Nutrient Density: Phosphorus (P2O5) in pounds per fertilized acre From fertilized acre statistics and recommended application rate
4.9A Fertilizer Nutrient Density: Nitrogen (N) in pounds per fertilized acre From sales statistics
4.10A Fertilizer Nutrient Density: Phosphorus (P2O5) in pounds per fertilized acre From sales statistics
4.11A Fertilizer Nutrient Density: Nitrogen (N) in pounds per revised fertilized acre From revised fertilized acre statistics and revised recommended application rate
4.12A Fertilizer Nutrient Density: Phosphorus (P9O5) in pounds per revised fertilized acre From revised fertilized acre statistics and revised recommended application rate
II-169 4.13A Fertilizer Nutrient Density: Nitrogen (N) in pounds per revised fertilized acre From sales statistics
4.14A Fertilizer Nutrient Density: Phosphorus (P2O5) in pounds per revised fertilized acre From sales statistics
4.15A Total Animal and Fertilizer Nutrient Density Nitrogen (N) in pounds per improved acre
4.16A Total Animal and Fertilizer Nutrient Density Phosphorus (P2O5) in pounds per improved acre
II-170