SARDA Ag Research March 2021 Issue

Page 11

SARDA Ag Research News

Water Quality Sampling Program - 2020 Semi-annual water sampling continued in 2020. Sampling occurred in the late spring to early summer (June 10) after the spraying of pre-emergent herbicides on croplands, and again in late summer to early fall (October 27) following harvest.

By Aquality Environmental Consulting

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ARDA Ag Research (SARDA) began a water quality monitoring program in 2011, with the assistance of Aquality Environmental Consulting Ltd (Aquality). SARDA Ag Research chose sample locations based on their proximity to agricultural lands, use as drinking water intakes, and their likelihood of exposure to terrestrial inputs. SARDA Ag Research staff collects surface water samples from three sites: Peavine Creek, New Fish Creek, and the Little Smoky River. One site is considered more pristine with little upstream agricultural activity (Little Smoky River), one primarily drains areas dominated by livestock-based agricultural activities (New Fish Creek), and one drains mostly areas dominated by cropland (Peavine Creek).

The nutrients analyzed included phosphorus and nitrogen. These nutrients reached all-time highs for Peavine Creek in 2020. The New Fish Creek Site and Little Smoky Site were better. Bacteria or coliform concentrations have historically shown inconsistent patterns with high variability, both seasonally and between years. E.Coli concentrations seem to correlate with coliform levels but were below guidelines at all sites and for both seasons.

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We analyzed water samples for 100 different pesticides but found no evidence of any residues in


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