2009 CSREES National Water Conference; St. Louis, MO Water Quality Trends in a CEAP Watershed

This presentation is based on a Conservation Effectiveness Assessment Project (CEAP) in the Lincoln Lake watershed located in Northwest Arkansas. Land use in the watershed is primarily pasture for forage production. Litter from poultry houses located in the watershed is used to fertilize the pastures. The primary water quality issue of concern is excess amounts of sediment and phosphorus from runoff affecting the water quality of the Illinois River. The watershed has experienced significant land use change over the last fifteen years as part of accelerated urbanization in the greater Northwest Arkansas area. Over this same period, a number of best management practices (BMPs) have been implemented in the watershed by landowners in agricultural areas. Water quality has been monitored periodically in three sub-watersheds as part of several previous projects dating back to 1991. We combine these historical data with two years of data from our project to analyze trends in sediment and water quality parameters over time. Trends are then related to changes in land use and the increased usage of BMPs.