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Manure Management in the Maumee River Watershed and Watershed Modeling to Assess Impacts on Lake Erie's Water Quality

Kast, Jeffrey Benjamin
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7875-0202
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532009053900119

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering.
Current water quality targets for Lake Erie call for a 40% reduction in total phosphorus (TP) and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) from 2008 levels from the Maumee River watershed. Previous studies have shown pathways to reaching these targets through widespread implementation of agricultural best management practices due to the large impact agriculture has on the water quality discharged from the watershed. Approximately 88% of the total phosphorus delivered to Lake Erie from the watershed comes from agricultural fertilizer and manure applications. Although a large focus on achieving these water quality targets is on management of agricultural land practices, many unknowns exists about the impact manure applications have on the water quality discharged from the watershed. To investigate how permitted, large-scale livestock operations plan to manage their manure, Permits and Inspection Reports submitted to and conducted by the Ohio Division of Livestock Environmental Permitting for 48 Confined Animal Feeding Facilities (CAFFs) in northwestern Ohio were examined. Results from this analysis found that dairy manure likely traveled further from its source than swine manure and much liquid manure was planned to be applied in the growing season (July-October). Furthermore, results indicated that CAFFs were generally following their approved Manure Management Plans. In 2014, 65% of acres receiving manure had soil phosphorus levels below 50 ppm (Bray P1). In 2015, 69% of acres receiving manure had soil phosphorus levels below 50 ppm (Bray P1). Results also highlight that approximately 80% of swine and 75% of cattle within the study area are not housed on permitted operations and approximately 100% of solid poultry manure produced within the study area is managed through Distribution and Utilization. Little public information regarding manure management is available for non-regulated livestock or for manure managed in Distribution and Utilization. To simulate impacts of manure application and alternative management practices on water quality entering Lake Erie, a Soil and Water Assessment Tool model was developed with improved representations of manure application in the watershed based on data from CAFFs in northwestern Ohio. Compared to baseline levels it was found that when phosphorus in manure applications is removed from the Maumee River watershed total spring-time (March-July) TP loads decreased by 11% and DRP loads decreased by 13% Alternative manure applications practices focused on application timing: applying manure on growing corn and eliminating manure application between December 1st and March 15th (modeled after the manure application ban currently in effect in Mercer County, OH) were found to have non-substantial impacts on spring-time TP and DRP loadings from the watershed as a whole. However, substantial impacts of these practices were found to exist when examining phosphorous loads from individual fields. Subsurface placement of 100% of the manure in the watershed substantially decreased TP (4.4%) and DRP (6.5%) during the spring months. Our findings show that the implementation of manure management practices have the potential to reduce phosphorus loads reaching Lake Erie, but will need to be used in conjunction with other agricultural best management practices to reach the 40% reduction targets.
Jay Martin (Advisor)
Margaret Kalcic (Committee Member)
157 p.
Agricultural Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Management; Livestock
Manure; CAFO; Water Quality; Maumee River Watershed; SWAT

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kast, J. B. (2018). Manure Management in the Maumee River Watershed and Watershed Modeling to Assess Impacts on Lake Erie's Water Quality [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532009053900119

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kast, Jeffrey. Manure Management in the Maumee River Watershed and Watershed Modeling to Assess Impacts on Lake Erie's Water Quality. 2018. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532009053900119.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kast, Jeffrey. "Manure Management in the Maumee River Watershed and Watershed Modeling to Assess Impacts on Lake Erie's Water Quality." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532009053900119

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1532009053900119
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