LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY | Secretary Aurelia S. Giacometto
A DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
This study employs a simple nonlinear statistical approach to establish nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment concentration and unit area load thresholds to aid in the evaluation of aquatic biological health of watersheds within the state of Pennsylvania. Flow, nitrogen and phosphorus species, sediment, basin area, land cover, and biological assessment data were assembled for 29 Pennsylvania watersheds. For each watershed, rating curves depicting flow versus load relationships were developed using the USEPA’s storage and retrieval database (STORET) flow and concentration data, then applied to daily flow data obtained from USGS daily flow gauging stations to estimate daily load between 1989 and 1999. The load estimates and concentration data were then sorted into six sets of data: mean annual unit area nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads; and average nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment concentrations. Results of Mann-Whitney tests conducted on each of the six datasets indicate that there is a statistically significant difference between the concentrations and unit area loads of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment in impaired and unimpaired watersheds. Concentration thresholds, calculated as the midpoint between the impaired and unimpaired watersheds’ 95 percent confidence interval for the median, were estimated to be 2.01 mg/L, 0.07 mg/L, and 197.27 mg/L for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment, respectively. Annual unit area load thresholds were estimated to be equal to 8.64 kg/ha, 0.30 kg/ha, and 785.29 kg/ha, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment species.
LDEQ's Small Business / Community Assistance Program provides environmental regulatory assistance and information to small businesses and communities.
Techniques for managing polluted runoff from nonpoint source pollution through irrigation water management.
2012-2013 Update: With an established framework for understanding and applying human dimension issues to watershed management in place, the “Social Indicators” initiative advances to the next level of organizing, coordinating and delivering trainings to water resource, conservation and extension professionals. Initiative leaders from University of Wisconsin, Ohio State University and Purdue University, with the support of the Great Lakes Regional Water Program, have already created a Social Indicators for Planning and Evaluation System (SIPES) along with the Social Indicators Data Management and Analysis (SIDMA) tool focused on polluted runoff. Anticipated outcomes of this year’s funded initiative include an increased awareness of SIPES/SIDMA, increased knowledge of social indicators for watershed management by conservation professionals, increased use of SIPES/SIDMA for planning and evaluation of watershed management and the increased use of social data in watershed management efforts.
The objective of the SWAT Model is to predict the effect of management decisions on water, sediment, nutrient and pesticide yields with reasonable accuracy on large, ungaged river basins. Available for download on web.
The Office of Soil & Water Conservation provides financial assistance, administrative support, centralized direction and coordination to Louisiana’s 44 Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) which provide conservation planning services to landowners within their individual districts. SWCDs are local units of state government with capabilities very unique to any other form of state or local government, due mainly to their capability of entering private property at the request of landowners to plan and/or construct various conservation systems. SWCDs are established at the request of resident landowners from within the proposed SWCD. Each SWCD is governed by board of 5 supervisors, 3 locally elected and 2 appointed by the SWCC. These supervisors are landowners or farm operators from within the SWCD and represent local conservation needs and concerns. Each SWCD typically hires 2 or more employees to assist in carrying out conservation planning, office administration, conservation program administration, conservation education, and similar duties. SWCDs are funded by the State Legislature and through self generated income. Each of Louisiana’s 44 SWCDs are assisted by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser online soil survey can be used to access USDA-NCSS detailed soil survey data (SSURGO) for most of the United States. SoilWeb allows to explore mapped soil survey areas using an interactive Google map and view detailed information about map units and their components. This app runs in your web browser and is compatible with desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones.
A web-based geographic data viewer showing master plan boundary, Coastal Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) stations and data, sand source projects, and coastal management permits and consistency information. LDNR also represented by this tool.
The toolkit offers effective steps that source water protection professionals working at the state level can take to build partnerships with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to get more agricultural conservation practices on the ground to protect sources of drinking water. Developed by the Source Water Collaborative, a group composed of 23 organizations working together to protect sources of drinking water, with support from EPA and in consultation with NRCS, the toolkit includes insightful tips and highlights specific opportunities states can take advantage of immediately. In addition, the Source Water Collaborative is working with the National Association of Conservation Districts to develop a locally-focused supplement to the toolkit to provide a step-by-step process for collaborating with conservation districts.
Spreadsheet used to provide gross estimates of sediment and nutrient load reductions from the implementation Best Management Practices for various land uses.