How can your soil health be related to your health? Audrey Eldridge, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, GWMA Mama The story of a groundwater improvement project in Oregon’s Willamette Valley

A Groundwater Management Area is a tool used by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to address a large scale groundwater contamination when the contaminants originate from non-point sources.

(1) Document contamination (2) Declare a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) (3) Appoint an Advisory Committee (4) Form an Action Plan (5) Implement the Action Plan (6) Rescind the GWMA declaration

 The public drinking water standard is 10 mg/L  “Action Level” for Oregon GWMA declaration is 7 mg/L

 Blue baby syndrome  Some research has indicated an association with increased incidence of cancer in adults, incidence of brain tumors, leukemia  Spontaneous miscarriages

 Be recognizable to the general public, so they would know if they are “in”  Capture most of the high nitrate values seen in the earlier studies

 Shallow (20-40 ft.)  Unconfined  In some areas, the shallow groundwater overlies a larger and deeper regional aquifer

 GWMA declared in 2004, and a committee was appointed  An Action Plan was finalized Dec 2006 and is being updated now!  Outreach and implementation continues

1,704 annual tons 74 annual tons 109 annual tons

 Over the whole SWV-GWMA, fertilizer nitrogen is the most likely source for the majority of nitrate in groundwater. Septic Systems cannot produce enough nitrate to reach the concentrations observed (account for less then 2% of the total yearly addition of nitrogen to the valley). CAFOs do not cover a large enough area of the GWMA.  Both CAFOs and Septic systems are potential hot spots of localized high nitrate.

 ~197 square miles (93 % of the area) Includes grains, hay and forage, seed crops, row crops, vegetables, fruits, and various specialty seed crops. Known as the “grass seed capitol of the world.”  Eight permitted Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)  Small acreage agricultural landowners.

PRECIPITATION AT THE EUGENE AIRPORT IN INCHES PER YEAR

During precipitation, water infiltrates into the soil profile Thanks to Dr. Maria Dragila

After precipitation stops, water redistributes itself into Evaporation and Downward Gravitational Drainage

 DW = 14 domestic wells, generally deeper, used on a regular basis.  GW = 25 groundwater monitoring wells, generally shallower, purged only when sampled

 What is being measured  pH  Specific Conductance  Temperature  Dissolved Oxygen  Nitrate  Sulfate (every other event)

Sampling occurs every 3 months (quarterly) pH, Specific Conductance, Temperature Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrate, Sulfate 28 Quarterly events completed, next one is due mid May 2013

Monitoring well __ Land Surface _______________________________________ Depth to Water = 5 feet Depth to Water 15 feet Depth to bottom – usually 23 feet

 Over the years, there seems to be some water results from select wells that indicate we are seeing more surface-water influence than groundwater influence.  Wells GW-17 and sometimes GW-5 are good examples of this phenomena

 All high nitrate-N values in Feb or May  All nitrate-N values <1.5 mg/L in Aug or Nov  Lowest conductivity in Aug and Nov  Watertable lowest in Aug and Nov If this well is river water influenced – one might think the nitrate would be lowest when the river stage is the highest (Feb) & the DTW is the lowest (Feb and May)

Nutrient storage and release Soil reactions Energy (C) storage Physical support for plants Aeration Soil water storage and movement Resistance to soil erosion Physical root proliferation and organism movement Pest suppression N mineralization OM decomposition Support of microbial community PhysicalChemical Biological Soil Health => Understanding soil processes

Healthy soils have many beneficial organisms but few plant pests. Ultimately, healthy soils increase grower profits and protect the environment  Suppress plant disease, & insect and weed pests  Form beneficial symbiotic associations with plant roots  Recycle essential plant nutrients  Improve soil structure for better water and nutrient retention

 Groundwater quality in the valley can improve if protective management strategies – including increasing soil quality - are implemented when using nitrogen fertilizers.  Management strategies are also needed for the potential “hot spots”  Healthy soil can reduce the amount of fertilizer needed – which can also reduce the amount of N lost to groundwater.

Starting this summer Measuring SQ at selected companion fields (traditional and innovative) Collecting soil water samples monthly for 2 years Working to build a NTT model for future credits

Two schools in Benton County – high nitrate in their drinking water Rural Resident Focus Group this month Agriculture Community Focus Group later this year