Effects of best-management practices in Otter Creek in the Sheboygan River Priority Watershed, Wisconsin, 1990-2002

Steven R. Corsi; John F. Walker; Lizhu Wang; Judy A. Horwatich; Roger T. Bannerman

doi:10.3133/sir20055009

Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · sir20055009

Effects of best-management practices in Otter Creek in the Sheboygan River Priority Watershed, Wisconsin, 1990-2002

Steven R. Corsi·John F. Walker·Lizhu Wang·Judy A. Horwatich·Roger T. Bannerman

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources began a comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation-monitoring program in 1989 to assess the effectiveness of the Wisconsin Nonpoint Source Program. Hydrologic, water-quality, habitat, and fish data were collected at Otter Creek from 1990 to 2002 with the pre-BMP (best-management practice) period ending in September 1993 and the post-BMP period beginning in October 1999. BMPs installed in this basin included streambank protection and fencing, stream crossings, grade stabilization, buffer strips, various barnyard-runoff controls, nutrient management, and a low degree of upland BMPs. Reductions between pre- and post-BMP periods were detected in median concentrations of base-flow samples for total suspended solids and BOD5 but not for total phosphorus or dissolved ammonia nitrogen; fecal coliform concentrations in base-flow samples increased over the study period. Reductions in rainfall storm loads between the pre- and post-BMP periods during the non-vegetative season (November through May) were detected for all three constituents monitored (total suspended solids, total phosphorus, and dissolved ammonia nitrogen). Differences in rainfall storm loads of these three constituents for the vegetative season (June through October) were not detected. When considering rainfall data from the entire year, reductions in storm loads were detected for total suspended solids and dissolved ammonia nitrogen (reductions were estimated at 58 percent for total suspended solids and 41 percent for dissolved ammonia nitrogen). Annual reductions in rainfall storm loads for the non-vegetative season were estimated at 58 percent for total suspended solids, 48 percent for total phosphorus, and 41 percent for dissolved ammonia nitrogen. Habitat and fish data were collected each year of the study to track the effects of BMPs on stream habitat and fish communities. Final trend analysis was performed using habitat quality index scores, an index of biotic integrity, and some of the originally measured fish and habitat variables. Habitat was improved for stream segments that had either natural riparian buffer or where streambank fencing was installed, but not at the station where the riparian area was pasture and no streambank fencing was installed. The results also suggest that BMP implementation in Otter Creek substantially modified fish community structure, but the overall community quality was not improved.

Explore related subjects

Scientific Investigations Report Report

Source-reported bounding extent: 43.74803313328719° to 43.865722960678376° latitude; -88.01284790039062° to -87.86796569824217° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Steven R. Corsi, John F. Walker, Lizhu Wang, Judy A. Horwatich, Roger T. Bannerman. 2005. Effects of best-management practices in Otter Creek in the Sheboygan River Priority Watershed, Wisconsin, 1990-2002. https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20055009

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Monitoring recreation on federally managed lands and waters—Aspects of visitor use

Federally managed public lands and waters receive around 1 billion recreational visits each year. Data on these visitors can aid in guiding policy decisions, managing resources effectively, and communicating the economic contributions of lands and waters. This report explores the methods used by agencies to collect data on aspects of recreational visitor use to Federal lands and waters (apart from visitation numbers, which are the focus of a companion publication). Aspects of recreational visitor use include visitor demographics, recreational activity participation, visitor satisfaction, visitor attitudes and experiences, trip characteristics, and economic contributions. We review practices used to understand aspects of visitor use across seven Federal agencies, revealing similarities such as the use of visitor intercept surveys and coverage of similar topic areas, and differences in how survey programs are operationalized and how specific questions on visitor surveys are worded. We also evaluate emerging technologies, such as geolocated social media and mobile device location data, for their potential to aid in understanding aspects of visitor use. This report concludes with potential opportunities to enhance data collection and coordination, ensuring cost-effective data collection and informed decision making.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2026

Evaluation of best management practices at an edge-of-field site in the Eagle Creek watershed, Ohio, 2012–20

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey worked in partnership with the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to identify farm fields in priority watersheds—watersheds critically important to Great Lake health. Intensive best management practices were implemented in five States to test the efficacy of best management practices, also referred to as agricultural conservation practices, to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff on agricultural fields. These fields were chosen as representatives of the priority watersheds because their farming practices and geographical conditions were common among farms in those watersheds. A farm site located near Findlay, Ohio, in the Eagle Creek watershed used two conservation practices, cover crop (Natural Resources Conservation Service practice standard 340) and variable rate technology (VRT; Natural Resources Conservation Service practice standard 590), which represent common practices in the Maumee priority watershed. This study monitored surface runoff and subsurface tile runoff at the Eagle Creek watershed site. The effects of cover crop and VRT nutrient application on sediment and nutrient runoff were assessed from October 2012 to September 2020. Cover crops were applied in fall of 2016, 2017, and 2018, coinciding with VRT applications. The following parameters were analyzed as part of the study: runoff discharge; peak discharge; and concentrations and loads of total phosphorus, particulate phosphorus, dissolved reactive phosphorus, and suspended sediment. High peak runoff events disproportionally affected nutrient concentrations and loads in runoff. A threshold of the 85th percentile of the peak discharge was chosen to assess the effect of cover crop and VRT nutrient application on nutrient mitigation at each gage. Runoff events below the 85th percentile were considered small, and runoff events over the 85th percentile were considered large. Concentrations from collected water-quality samples were used for the analysis; estimated concentrations were excluded from the statistical evaluation. All surface runoff parameters during small runoff events, except surface runoff volume, were significantly lower in the period with cover crops and VRT implementation. Contrarily, subsurface runoff parameters during small events were not statistically different between the periods with and without cover crops and VRT implementation. Surface and subsurface parameters during large events were also not statistically different between the periods with and without cover crops and VRT implementation. These results indicate cover crops and VRT may improve water quality during small runoff events, but additional best management practices that mitigate large runoff events may lead to greater water-quality improvement given the contribution of large events to overall losses.

Ohio↗

USGS2026

Continuous monitoring and temporal variability of fluorescence of dissolved organic matter in karst groundwater of the Edwards aquifer, south-central Texas, 2019–24

Widespread urbanization on the Edwards aquifer recharge zone in south-central Texas has prompted the development of new approaches and tools for evaluating the current and future status of water quality in the San Antonio and Barton Springs segments of the Edwards aquifer. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System and the City of Austin, applied continuous monitoring of fluorescence of dissolved organic matter (fDOM) to characterize the sources and transport of dissolved organic matter and associated constituents in the Edwards aquifer. Continuous fDOM time-series data were adjusted using empirically derived temperature, turbidity, and inner-filter-effect correction factors prior to analysis and interpretation. Fully corrected fDOM time-series data from the study sites were evaluated for short- and long-term temporal variability in fDOM in the context of the hydrologic and climatic conditions that occurred during the 5-year study period to understand vulnerability of the aquifer to potential contaminants in recharge. Study results indicate that fDOM is an effective proxy for dissolved organic carbon that, in turn, is indicative of the influx of recent surface water and associated contaminants, and thus, aquifer vulnerability to those contaminants. Although other continuously monitored water-quality parameters provide insights into changes in water quality in response to varying hydrologic conditions, the quantitative relation between fDOM and dissolved organic carbon directly indicates the timing and magnitude of pulses of organic constituents derived from the land surface, whereas other water-quality parameters do not.

Texas↗