HR: 0800h
AN: H31F-0724    [Abstracts]
TI: Combining Water Quality and Cost-Benefit Analysis to Examine the Implications of Agricultural Best Management Practices
AU: * Rao, N S
EM: nsr7@cornell.edu
AF: Department of Natural Resources, Fernow Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
AU: * Rao, N S
EM: nsr7@cornell.edu
AF: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Riley-Robb Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
AU: Easton, Z M
EM: zme2@cornell.edu
AF: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Riley-Robb Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
AU: Lee, D R
EM: drl5@cornell.edu
AF: Department of Applied Economics and Management, Warren Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
AU: Steenhuis, T S
EM: tss1@cornell.edu
AF: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Riley-Robb Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
AB: Nutrient runoff from agricultural fields threatens water quality and can impair habitats in many watersheds. Agencies consider these potential risks as they determine acceptable levels of nutrient loading. For example, in the New York City (NYC) watershed, the Environmental Protection Agency's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for phosphorus (P) has been set at 15μg P L-1 to protect against eutrophication and bacterial outbreaks. In the NYC watersheds agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) are the primary means to control nonpoint source P loading. BMPs include riparian buffers, filter strips, manure storage facilities, crop rotation, stripcropping, tree planting and nutrient management plans (NMPs). Water quality research on BMPs to date has included studies on site-specificity of different BMPs, short and long term BMP efficacy, and placement of BMPs with respect to critical source areas. A necessary complement to studies addressing water quality aspects of different BMPs are studies examining the cost-benefit aspects of BMPs. In general, there are installment, maintenance and opportunity costs associated with each BMP, and there are benefits, including cost share agreements between farmers and farm agencies, and increased efficiency of farm production and maintenance. Combining water quality studies and related cost-benefit analyses would help planners and watershed managers determine how best improve water quality. Our research examines the costs-benefit structure associated with BMP scenarios on a one-farm headwater watershed in the Catskill Mountains of NY. The different scenarios include "with and without" BMPs, combinations of BMPs, and different BMP placements across agricultural fields. The costs associated with each BMP scenarios are determined using information from farm agencies and watershed planning agencies. With these data we perform a cost-benefit analysis for the different BMP scenarios and couple the water quality modeling using the Variable Source Loading Function (VSLF) model (Schneiderman et al., 2007) with the cost-benefit analysis to look at the specific water quality and economic consequences of different watershed management scenarios. The results of our study will be useful for planners and watershed managers in determining how best to reduce nonpoint source pollution in a cost-effective manner. References Schneiderman, E.M., T.S. Steenhuis, D.J. Thongs, Z.M. Easton, M.S. Zion, G.F. Mendoza, M.T. Walter, and A.C. Neal. 2007. Incorporating variable source area hydrology into curve number based watershed loading functions. Hydrol. Proc. (In Press).
DE: 1847 Modeling
DE: 1880 Water management (6334)
DE: 6300 POLICY SCIENCES (7964)
DE: 6304 Benefit-cost analysis
DE: 6334 Regional planning (1880)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting