R2016-09 AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT AGRICULTURAL WATERSHED INSTITUTE

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THE AGRICULTURAL WATERSHED INSTITUTE Progress Report to City of Decatur Period Covered: July—October 2015 This report summarizes activities and progress during this period under the agreement between the Agricultural Watershed Institute (AWI) and the City of Decatur for financial support of watershed research, on-farm demonstrations, and educational activities. Sediment and nutrient reduction / TMDL implementation: In 2014, AWI completed Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implementation plans for two subwatersheds of the Lake Decatur watershed: the Big Creek/Long Creek watershed located east of Decatur in Macon County and the Big Ditch watershed near Rantoul in Champaign County. These plans include perennial biomass crops to reduce sediment and nutrient loss and several innovative Best Management Practices (BMPs). Now that the plans have been completed and approved, they are guiding activities by AWI and partners, including the Macon County Soil & Water Conservation District and Prairie Rivers Network, to reduce sediment and nutrient loads impacting Lake Decatur. As previously reported, AWI collaborated with Macon County SWCD and other partners on a successful application for funding through USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) which provides federal funding for on-farm conservation practices. Added funding comes from a variety of partners. During the Jan-Jun 2015 reporting period, the Macon County RCPP application was approved by USDA and work started on the project. AWI is participating in recruiting partners and identifying sites for BMPs including bioreactors, saturated buffers, and drainage water management systems. AWI senior scientist Dr. Greg McIsaac has developed monitoring plans to evaluate performance of these BMPs. During the current reporting period, we identified a site in the Friends Creek watershed for one bioreactor. Tim McMahon of AWI continues to collect water samples as part of monitoring of the saturated buffer installed by the Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition near Cisco (Piatt County) as part of a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant. During this period, AWI worked with Prairie Rivers Network on a project funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation to plan on-farm demonstrations of experimental BMPs in the Sangamon, Embarras, and Kaskaskia watersheds. In August, we held a workshop on Perennial Biomass Crops and Nutrient Loss Reduction as outreach and education for this project. AWI identified two sites in the Lake Decatur watershed for harvestable saturated buffers and slopes and began working with landowners on the design of these on-farm demonstrations. These practices are included in our TMDL plans and represent innovative approaches to reduce soil and nutrient loss by converting sloping or poorly drained land to perennial crops. 1