Suwannee River Partnership

2. Suwannee River Partnership

3. Georgia Florida Basin/Watershed Areas Suwannee - 9,950 sq miles Middle Suwannee - 862 sq miles Santa Fe – 1,384 sq miles

4. Partnership HistoryLate 80’s and Early 90’s • Water Quality Impacts Identified • SRWMD monitoring • DEP Dairy Water Quality Survey • DOH private well survey • USGS Water Quality Studies • NRCS and SWCDs Planning • Hydrologic Unit BMP Demonstrations • PL-566 Small Watershed Program Application • SRWMD Dairy Cost Share

5. Agreement to address nutrient impacts to water quality 50 Members Suwannee River Partnership • Federal, State, Regional, and Local Governments • Conservation Groups • Agriculture Associations • Other Private Associations

6. Mission Statement Assess sources of nutrient loading to the Suwannee River Basin and optimize reductions in loading to the waters of the basin emphasizing voluntary, incentive-based programs for protection of the environment and public health.

7. Goals by 2008 Status as of 2004 Goals and Status Middle Suwannee • 80 % of Dairy • 37 of 40 (92 %) dairies have plans • 80 % of Poultry • 136 of 140 (97 %) poultry farms have plans • 80 % of Row Crop • (Forage,Vegetable) • 80 of 300 (26 %) row crop farms have plans

8. Funding Sources • Cost Share • USDA-NRCS/FSA • SRWMD • FDACS • FDEP • Other Funding (staff and T.A., research, farmer contributions) • Over $20 million

9. Poultry BMPs Litter Storage Dead Bird Disposal Litter Use

10. Dairy BMPs Waste collection and handling management Waste storage Waste utilization

11. Forage, Vegetable and Row Crop BMPs • Nutrient management • Irrigation water management

12. BMP Research • Verify BMP effectiveness in protecting water quality under farm scale conditions

13. BMP Effectiveness Verification 12 Dairies 11 Poultry 2 Row Crop

14. BMP Quality Assurance • Tracking BMP operation and maintenance • Technical assistance • Annual BMP Status Review

15. Nitrate Monitoring • Water Assessment Regional Network (WARN) • Purposes: Identify water quality issues and enable water quality reporting • Status Network • Trend Network • Springs Network • Surfacewater Network

16. Status Network • 147 wells randomly selected and sampled annually • Re-randomized every 5 years

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18. Trend Network • Monitor changes in ground-water through time • 106 wells, sampled quarterly, located in areas where: • Background conditions exist • Known problems exist • Management actions are being applied

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20. Surfacewater Network • Monitors water quality trends in rivers and springs • 67 sites with sampling monthly, bimonthly or quarterly • 22 sites are springs

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22. Statistical Data Analysis • Consequences of land-use • Management decisions • Remedial activities

23. Suwannee River Partnership • Diverse partnerships • Clear mission • Aggressive funding • High level of implementation • Verification of BMP operation and maintenance • Tools for determining success over time