Conservation Farming Relating to Water-Quality and Quantity

The School Branch watershed, located in Hendricks County Indiana,  has become the focus of a collaborative partnership of federal, state, and local agencies, a university research center, and agricultural producers to understand the effects of conservation cropping practices on water quality and water quantity.

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What  is Conservation Cropping?

Conservation cropping is a combination of best management practices:

• Zero or no-till management
• “Continuous” cover crops
• Precision nutrient and pesticide application
• Improved soil health, productivity, drought resistance

School Branch Watershed

• 5,747 acres (9 mi²)

Land Use: 

• 80% agricultural (corn, soybeans, wheat, pasture, hay)
• 13% developed (suburban/rural housing, open space)
• 90% agricultural N of CR 750 N
• 40% of agricultural land use has been in conservation cropping for 10 years on 2 farms

What data are we collecting?

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This USGS study provides water-quality and water-quantity information for three surface water sites on School Branch and at nested monitoring wells in the watershed.  One surface water site has a supergage which provides continuous water-quality data for temperature, pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, nitrate as nitrogen, and orthophosphate as phosphorus.

Streamflow from 3 gages:

• School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg, IN (03353415)
• Super Gage-School Branch at CR750N at Brownsburg, IN (03353420)
• School Branch at Noble Drive at Brownsburg, IN (03353450)

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Monitoring Wells:

Continuous water levels and temperature from four wells   

• USGS well School Branch SNW at Brownsburg, IN (395223086214201)
• NAWQA Ag Well TP26 near Brownsburg, IN (395223086214202)
• USGS Well School Branch SNE at Brownsburg, IN (395223086214203)
• USGS well School Branch DNE at Brownsburg, IN (395223086214204)

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Water-Quality Samples:

• Discrete water-quality samples at three streamgages
• Develop surrogate models using discrete data and continuous data from supergage
• Compare instantaneous loads through the watershed
• Examine relation of streamflow & water quality

Specific Parameters for Discrete Water-Sample Analysis

• Dissolved ammonia as nitrogen
• Dissolved ammonia as nitrogen and organic nitrogen
• Whole water nitrogen
• Dissolved nitrite as nitrogen
• Dissolved nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen
• Dissolved orthophosphate as phosphorus
• Whole water phosphorus
• Suspended sediment 

Supplemental Water Analyses

Along with sampling at the surface-water sites for nutrients and sediment, the USGS will be conducting more intensive sampling during the growing season.  This includes water-quality sampling for nutrients, ions, and isotopes in surface and groundwater, as well as deploying passive samplers for septic systems wastewater indicators in streams.

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Additional sample analysis will include:

• Calcium, dissolved
• Chloride, dissolved
• Fluoride, dissolved
• Iron, dissolved
• Magnesium, dissolved
• Manganese, dissolved
• Potassium, dissolved
• Dissolved solids
• Silica, dissolved
• Sodium, dissolved
• Sulfate, dissolved
• 60 wastewater indicator  compounds
• Hydrogen H2/H1 isotopes
• Oxygen O18/O16 isotopes
• Nitrogen N15/N14 isotopes

Biological Assessment

• Fish and benthic invertebrate community samples
• Algal biomass
• Habitat assessment  

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