Protecting the Chesapeake Bay Watershed with Best Management Practices

With the expansion of suburbia, the nature of the Prince William County has changed. There are fewer and fewer truly agricultural properties and an increasing number of suburban developments and hobby farms. We are, nonetheless, still in the “Hunt Country.” Horse farms here are typically small in size often just five to ten acre properties with only a portion of that dedicated to horses. My own neighborhood consists of 10 acre properties which allow 6 horses each under the HOA rules. According to the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District, PWSWCD, horses will naturally graze 18 hours each day if allowed free access to pastures. Too many horses on too few acres can quickly denude green meadows and threaten the health of the horses and the environment and straining relationships among neighbors. Our neighborhood has a very small on-site horse population so our problems are limited.
In the most recent rainstorms exposed soil, horse manure, and whatever else was there wash across the neighborhood. I was digging sediment, leaves, plastic and all manner of odd things out of the drainage ditch at the end of the road this morning after watching the ditch flow brown to the river yesterday. I am still trying to figure out where some of the wash waste came from. There were plastic milk jugs dated 6 months ago, where have they been hiding? I walk the two miles of road next to the ditch regularly and collect trash and trust me much of the waste that appeared in the rain was not evident last weekend. Chestnut Lick is directly down hill from the drainage ditch and in turn runs right into Bull Run and finally onto the Bay. The wooded hillside generally protects Chestnut Lick from the drainage ditch muck and trash, but requires that I clean the trash out of the woods, I rather clean the muck out of the ditch, I’m much less likely to get Lyme disease.
Where the river and streams are not as well protected the run off containing soil sediment and excess nutrients from fertilizers and animal manure contribute to the high nitrate, potassium and sediment concentration in the Chesapeake Bay. To prevent these problem Horse farms can use basic principals called Best Management Practices (BMPs) so that they don't damage the environment. The PWSWCD created a model horse farm to demonstrate these principals include the installation of fencing to exclude the horses from a 25 foot buffer/filter area alongside the stream, waterlines and troughs to provide an alternate source of drinking water for the horses, pasture seeding and renovation to discourage weed growth, interior fencing to allow for rotational grazing, manure storage that allows for properly timed application or removal for off-farm use, and the installation of confinement paddocks for non-pasture turnout.
The ‘Big Reveal’ of the Chesapeake Bay-Friendly Horse Farm project in Gainesville, VA on is on Friday June 11 from 11am-1pm, and well worth the trip for anyone involved with horses. Check with the PWSCD website for other scheduled tours. The project was developed by the PWSWCD with a grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation for $125,000. An equal amount was contributed by PWSWCD and its' more than 20 partners in direct funding, staff and volunteer time, products, and services. The model farm was in poor condition at the start, so many of the ideas can be incorporated into less stressed properties cost effectively. Check out the PWSWCD web site for more information.
In addition, the PWSWCD has free metal signs that indicate a property’s commitment to protecting the Chesapeake Bay Watershed by becoming a SWCD "Cooperator." Just like a Hybrid in the driveway they could become the status symbol for the environmentally conscious horse-keeper. BMPs could also become required under the new Strategy for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Call the District if you've cooperated in the past, if you've been doing the right thing all along, or if you're interested in implementing BMPs at your property. Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District is in Nokesville, VA (703) 594-3621.

Non-Point Source Pollution and Best Management Practices

Non-point source (NPS) pollution is a major factor impacting the quality of the water supply. The rate at which diffuse sources of pollution are generated and delivered to water resources is greatly affected by human activities and natural processes. These pollutants are transported to surface water bodies by runoff, which results from precipitation or snowmelt (Leeds et al., 1993). Storm water is part of the natural hydrologic process; however, human activities, especially urban development and agriculture, cause significant changes in patterns of storm water flow and infiltration and the type and quantity of contaminants carried from land into receiving waters.

Urban storm water runoff includes all flows discharged from urban land uses into the storm water systems and receiving waters. Urban runoff includes runoff from landscape irrigation, dewatering, and water line and hydrant flushing as well as the wet-weather storm water runoff. Water quality can also be affected when runoff carries sediment and other pollutants such as oil and grease, pesticides, paints, cleaners and other products associated with modern life into streams, wetlands, lakes, estuarine and marine waters, or groundwater.

Agricultural activities that cause NPS pollution include confined animal facilities, grazing, plowing, pesticide spraying, irrigation, fertilizing, planting, and harvesting. The major agricultural NPS pollutants that result from these activities are sediment, nutrients, pathogens, pesticides, and salts. Agricultural activities also can damage habitat and stream channels. Agricultural impacts on surface water and ground water can be minimized by properly managing activities that can cause NPS pollution, by utilizing good environmental stewardship.

Good environmental stewardship means using land and animals in a way that protects and improves the environment. Environmental stewardship begins by evaluating the farm to identify likely pollution sources and their possible effect on the surrounding environment. Overgrazing pastures; applying too much manure; giving animals free access to streams, ponds, wetlands, or marshes; mismanaging manure; and allowing excessive erosion can reduce water quality. The type, size, and numbers of animals affect the amount of management required for your farm. Kate Norris of Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District has put together a series of articles outlining the basic techniques to use to minimize environmental impact from a horse property. Many of these techniques can be used with any small scale livestock farm or hobby horse farm.

Overstocking causes most of the water quality damage on small-scale livestock farms and hobby horsefarms. It occurs when too many animals are kept on too few acres. Overstocking can strip areas of pasture, increasing polluted runoff. On farms where animals are confined and manure is collected, overstocking often leads to large amounts of manure that must be managed. So called Best Management Practices, BMPs, range from making simple changes to building structures that hold manure, but they in total add up to less run-off of pollution. They can be comprehensive and consider how the parts of the farm are related. BMPs are meant to be practical and easy to implement. They are intended to be modified to fit the type of operation, and the environmental and geological factors specific to the site. Unbelievably enough, the Soil and Conservation Districts throughout the nation are there to help you manage your properties for free.
BMPs minimize inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, labor, etc. to achieve a desired level of course performance and quality while protecting the environment. BMPs are designed to benefit water quality while maintaining or even enhancing agricultural production.Agricultural BMPs are practical, cost-effective actions that agricultural producers can take to reduce the amount of pesticides, fertilizers, animal waste, and other pollutants entering our water resources. The most recent National Water Quality Inventory reports that agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is the leading source of water quality impacts to surveyed rivers and lakes, the third largest source of impairments to surveyed estuaries, and also a major contributor to ground water contamination and wetlands degradation. Good environmental stewardship of these properties can go a long way in making agriculture sustainable.