Little River Ditches Watershed MonitoringProject 11-2000S

Jennifer L. Bouldin, PhDEcotoxicology Research Facility

Arkansas State University

arkansaswater.org

Little River Ditches

• Shared with MO and KY• ~ 25% in AR• Intensive row crop

agriculture

www.epa.gov

Land Use

• 81.4% cropland• 11% forested

arkansaswater.org

MRBI sampling

• ISCO sampler set for runoff events• 24 ISCO containers analyzed

individually– Total solids (g/time)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2402468

101214 MTN total solids 17 June 2011

MTN site

Gram

s sol

ids

Measured Parameters

• pH• Dissolved Oxygen• Total Suspended Solids (TSS)• Turbidity• Dissolved Nitrate, Nitrite,

Orthophosphate• Total Nitrogen,

Total Phosphorus

• Ditch Number 4-Buffalo Creek – HUC#080202040806

• Ditch Number 56 – HUC#080202040807

Site 1

21642415 1242

1714

Site 2

10782520

162614202340

Site 3

15861248

2451

Site 4

2457 16862052

Site 57.5

17964430

17463280

Site 76.7 5.2

1510 459017023640

2200

Preliminary results

• High flow vs. low/no flow conditions vary nutrient and TSS values

• Sediment and nutrients values much higher in primary ditches – More TSS spikes in 2013 due to rainfall

• Comparison of edge-of-field data to instream data will determine direct input from field

Questions?

Thanks to ANRC, Kyle Cassidy, students and technicians at Ecotox