Study design and preliminary data analysis for a streambank fencing project in the Mill Creek Basin, Pennsylvania

Abstract

IfSJTRODU,The Pequea Creek and Mill Creek Basins within Lancaster and Chester Counties in Pennsylvania have been identified as areas needing control of nonpoint-source (NFS) pollution to improve water quality. The two basins are a total of approximately 200 square miles and are primarily underlain by carbonate bedrock. Land use is predominantly agriculture. The most common agricultural NFS pollution-control practices implemented in the Pequea Creek and Mill Creek Basins are barnyard-runoff control and Streambank fencing. To provide land managers information on the effectiveness of Streambank fencing in controlling NFS pollution, a study is being conducted in two small paired watersheds within the Mill Creek Basin. 5CRIPTIONThe objective of the project is:To evaluate the effect of streambank fencing of pasture land on surface-and near-stream groundwater quality within a small watershed underlain by carbonate bedrock.To attain the project objective, the hydrology and water quality of the study area needs to be characterized and quantitative relations between paired basins A cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP), this project supports the study initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture within the Pequea and Mill Creeks Hydrologic Unit Area. The project is funded by PaDEP through the National Monitoring Program (NMP) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The NMP stems from Section 319 of the 1987 amendment to the Clean Water Act. The NMP was developed to document the effects of NPS pollutioncontrol measures and associated landuse modifications on water quality (Osmond and others, 1995).

Preliminary effects of streambank fencing of pasture land on the quality of surface water in a small watershed in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

“…These samples were collected at T-1, C-1, T-2, T-3, and T-4 irrespective of flow conditions. Fixed-interval samples were analyzed for selected N and phosphorus (P) species, suspended-sediment concentration, fecal streptococcus, and field parameters (pH, specific conduc- tance, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature) (Galeone and Koerkle, 1996). Samples also were collected during 15 to 30 storms per year at each of these 4 sites: T-1, C-1, T-2, and T-4.…”