Nutrient Export at Meadowbrook Farm, Madison County, Kentucky: Local Steps Toward Improving Global Water Quality
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Geosciences
Institution
Eastern Kentucky University
KY House District #
53
KY Senate District #
7
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Walter S. Borowski
Department
Geosciences
Abstract
Excess nutrient export from agricultural areas is among the leading sources of water pollution in the United States today. Among the most prevalent contaminants are dissolved and solid forms of nitrogen and phosphorus. Although nutrients are a necessity for healthy and sustainable ecosystems, excess nutrients can lead to eutrophication that results in decreased oxygen levels, growth of toxic algae, and significant loss of biodiversity. Eutrophication can occur locally, regionally, and globally. In Kentucky, excess nutrients cause degradation of water quality whereas on larger scales, oversupply of nutrients cause dead zones in marine systems. If we can comprehensively reduce nutrient contamination at the local level, overall water quality can be improved.
EKU’s Meadowbrook Farm, located within the Muddy Creek watershed of Madison County, Kentucky, is a typical farm raising crops and stock. Our first goal is to measure the concentration and export of nutrients (dissolved ammonium, NH4; nitrate, NO3; phosphate, PO4; total phosphorus, SP) leaving the farm. We sampled water within a stream draining farmland that flows over an instrumented weir during eight storm events in the field seasons of 2017 and 2018. These data, used in concert with flow measurements, enable us to calculate nutrient export. We found that kilograms of these nutrients can be exported in a single storm event, leading to enormous export values over the longer term. Our second goal is to limit excess nutrients leaving the Farm by constructing riparian zones and catchments along the stream. Then, we want to measure nutrient export after remediation to compare nutrient export before and after our efforts. If nutrient amounts decrease, similar methods can be employed elsewhere to decrease nutrient contamination of Kentucky and U.S. waterways, perhaps also leading to global improvements in eutrophication.
Nutrient Export at Meadowbrook Farm, Madison County, Kentucky: Local Steps Toward Improving Global Water Quality
Excess nutrient export from agricultural areas is among the leading sources of water pollution in the United States today. Among the most prevalent contaminants are dissolved and solid forms of nitrogen and phosphorus. Although nutrients are a necessity for healthy and sustainable ecosystems, excess nutrients can lead to eutrophication that results in decreased oxygen levels, growth of toxic algae, and significant loss of biodiversity. Eutrophication can occur locally, regionally, and globally. In Kentucky, excess nutrients cause degradation of water quality whereas on larger scales, oversupply of nutrients cause dead zones in marine systems. If we can comprehensively reduce nutrient contamination at the local level, overall water quality can be improved.
EKU’s Meadowbrook Farm, located within the Muddy Creek watershed of Madison County, Kentucky, is a typical farm raising crops and stock. Our first goal is to measure the concentration and export of nutrients (dissolved ammonium, NH4; nitrate, NO3; phosphate, PO4; total phosphorus, SP) leaving the farm. We sampled water within a stream draining farmland that flows over an instrumented weir during eight storm events in the field seasons of 2017 and 2018. These data, used in concert with flow measurements, enable us to calculate nutrient export. We found that kilograms of these nutrients can be exported in a single storm event, leading to enormous export values over the longer term. Our second goal is to limit excess nutrients leaving the Farm by constructing riparian zones and catchments along the stream. Then, we want to measure nutrient export after remediation to compare nutrient export before and after our efforts. If nutrient amounts decrease, similar methods can be employed elsewhere to decrease nutrient contamination of Kentucky and U.S. waterways, perhaps also leading to global improvements in eutrophication.