Sugar Creek Method

Water Quality and Testing Along the Sugar Creek

C. Developing a Monitoring Plan: (next)      (return to water quality and testing outline)

In order to help identify target areas and prioritize restoration efforts in the headwaters of the Sugar Creek, we used remote sensing, GIS and an extensive network of water quality monitoring sites to help develop models of chemical export as functions of landscape composition.

• Our preliminary results suggest that a variety of agricultural practices and other physical watershed characteristics (e.g., residential areas, farmsteads) account for a majority of the total variance in observed stream nutrient loadings, especially NO3 --N, NH4 +-N and PO4 --P.

• This suggests that significant improvements in water quality may be possible with modifications to management practices in environmentally sensitive areas (e.g., implementation of best management practices such as nutrient management plans and restored riparian buffers). Additionally, our integrated GIS approach will help target remediation efforts to these sensitive areas.

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