Using the soil and water assessment tool to estimate achievable water quality targets through implementation of beneficial management practices in an agricultural watershed

Study of uncertainty of satellite and reanalysis precipitation products and their impact on hydrological simulation

Satellite and reanalysis precipitation products are potential alternatives in hydrological studies, and it is very important to evaluate their accuracy and potential use for reliable simulations. In this study, three precipitation products (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 3B43 Version 7 (TRMM 3B43), spatial interpolation grid data based on 2472 national meteorological observation stations in China (GRID_0.5), and National Centers for Environmental Prediction-Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (NCEP-CFSR)) were evaluated against gauge observations in the Xiangxi River watershed of Hubei Province. The performance results indicated that the results of the three precipitation products were correlated with those of the rain gauges; however, there were differences among the three products. TRMM 3B43 tended to overestimate precipitation with the highest correlation coefficient, while NCEP-CFSR tended to underestimate precipitation with the least satisfactory performance, and the performance of GRID_0.5 ranked between them. However, the annual and monthly mean errors differed, as the errors of most of the results driven by NCEP-CFSR were lowest. The errors varied at different time scales. During years with high precipitation, the results were often underestimated, while the results are often overestimated during years with low precipitation. According to the average monthly results, the GRID_0.5 results were closest to the gauge observations for most months. During the wet season, TRMM 3B43 performed better, while NCEP-CFSR precipitation performed better during the dry season. The errors from precipitation to streamflow, NPS pollution, and water environmental capacity (WEC) driven by the three precipitation products increased gradually, ranging from 10% for precipitation to over 20% for NPS pollution and almost 100% for WEC. The error increase for NCEP-CFSR was lower than that of the other two products. Although the simulation error from precipitation to the WEC results driven by the three precipitation products gradually increased, the degree of overestimation and underestimation became smaller.

Modeling and Prioritizing Interventions Using Pollution Hotspots for Reducing Nutrients, Atrazine and E. coli Concentrations in a Watershed

Excess nutrients and herbicides remain two major causes of waterbody impairment globally. In an attempt to better understand pollutant sources in the Big Sandy Creek Watershed (BSCW) and the prospects for successful remediation, a program was initiated to assist agricultural producers with the implementation of best management practices (BMPs). The objectives were to (1) simulate BMPs within hotspots to determine reductions in pollutant loads and (2) to determine if water-quality standards are met at the watershed outlet. Regression-based load estimator (LOADEST) was used for determining sediment, nutrient and atrazine loads, while artificial neural networks (ANN) were used for determining E. coli concentrations. With respect to reducing sediment, total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads at hotspots with individual BMPs, implementing grassed waterways resulted in average reductions of 97%, 53% and 65% respectively if implemented all over the hotspots. Although reducing atrazine application rate by 50% in all hotspots was the most effective BMP for reducing atrazine concentrations (21%) at the gauging station 06883940, this reduction was still six times higher than the target concentration. Similarly, with grassed waterways established in all hotspots, the 64% reduction in E. coli concentration was not enough to meet the target at the gauging station. With scaled-down acreage based on the proposed implementation plan, filter strip led to more pollutant reductions at the targeted hotspots. Overall, a combination of filter strip, grassed waterway and atrazine rate reduction will most likely yield measureable improvement both in the hotspots (>20% reduction in sediment, total nitrogen and total phosphorus pollution) and at the gauging station. Despite the model’s uncertainties, the results showed a possibility of using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to assess the effectiveness of various BMPs in agricultural watersheds.

Comparison and evaluation of model structures for the simulation of pollution fluxes in a tile-drained river basin

The European Union Water Framework Directive requires an integrated pollution prevention plan at the river basin level. Hydrological river basin modeling tools are therefore promising tools to support the quantification of pollution originating from different sources. A limited number of studies have reported on the use of these models to predict pollution fluxes in tile-drained basins. This study focused on evaluating different modeling tools and modeling concepts to quantify the flow and nitrate fluxes in the Odense River basin using DAISY-MIKE SHE (DMS) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The results show that SWAT accurately predicted flow for daily and monthly time steps, whereas simulation of nitrate fluxes were more accurate at a monthly time step. In comparison to the DMS model, which takes into account the uncertainty of soil hydraulic and slurry parameters, SWAT results for flow and nitrate fit well within the range of DMS simulated values in high-flow periods but were slightly lower in low-flow periods. Despite the similarities of simulated flow and nitrate fluxes at the basin outlet, the two models predicted very different separations into flow components (overland flow, tile drainage, and groundwater flow) as well as nitrate fluxes from flow components. It was concluded that the assessment on which the model provides a better representation of the reality in terms of flow paths should not only be based on standard statistical metrics for the entire river basin but also needs to consider additional data, field experiments, and opinions of field experts.

Development of environmental thresholds for streams in agricultural watersheds

Global increases in consumption of chemical nutrients, application of pesticides, and water withdrawal to enhance agricultural yield have resulted in degraded water quality and reduced water availability. Efforts to safeguard or improve environmental conditions of agroecosystems have usually focused on managing on-farm activities to reduce materials loss and conserve habitat. Another management measure for improving environmental quality is adoption of environmental performance standards (also called outcome-based standards). This special collection of six papers presents the results of four years of research to devise scientifically credible approaches for setting environmental performance standards to protect water quantity and quality in Canadian agriculturally dominated watersheds. The research, conducted as part of Canada's National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative, aimed to identify Ideal Performance Standards (the desired environmental state needed to maintain ecosystem health) and Achievable Performance Standards (the environmental conditions achievable using currently available and recommended best available processes and technologies). Overviews of the papers, gaps in knowledge, and future research directions are presented. As humans, livestock, and wildlife (both terrestrial and aquatic) experience greater pressures to share the same limited water resources, innovative research is needed that incorporates a landscape perspective, economics, farm practices, and ecology to advance the development and application of tools for protecting water resources in agricultural watersheds.