Fall Creek Watershed Committee Minutes
November 2, 2000

Present: Deb Grantham, Steve Penningroth, Sharon Anderson, Greg Nagle, Ruth Sherman, Jennifer Graham

Guest: Dave Bouldin

1972 Cornell received grant from an integrated study of agriculture and environmental concerns. Bob Young was the principal investigator of a multi-discipline group. Nitrogen and phosphorus, food production, waste and the environment.

Bouldin's work focused on sediment phosphorus, nitrate in Fall Creek (near Freeville/Etna) where Virgil intersects with Fall Creek at Freeville (just above).

80% of sediment delivered during 5% of the time when the highest flow occurs.

1972 & 1980 -
Concentration of sediment increases logarithmically
Sediment load of Virgil 2.5 times higher than Fall Creek at Freeville

Fall Creek Sediment load - 1980
25 to 50 metric tons/KM2/year - some NY tributaries are over 400

To get good sediment data, need to get samples at peak flow

Six Mile Creek has a gauge at German Cross Rd. that automatically increases the rate of sampling when flows peak.

Nitrate - about 1/10 from precipitation NO3 - always less than 4 ppm (Nitrate N)

Relatively few samples needed. Stray junction of season of the year, not strongly correlated to flow rate. Two hypotheses why:

• lots of water running through and leaches out nitrate so it is lower sometimes of the year
• summer flow is from deep aquifers

Riparia de Nitro:
as it leads through to streams goes through area which is inorganic matter - nitrogen is reduced to water

Gradual increase of nitrate loading over the years of sampling. Getting towards 4 ppm. Natural standard is 10 ppm.

P - limnologist points to P as most important factor in limiting excessive algae production. 15 pint per billion dissolved pristine area of watershed; 38 ppB - Forest Home of 2/3 from human activity, 1/3 is HPSP, 1/3 PS

Sources of P

• sewage
• septic statistics not helpful to point
• ag land
• non-ag land

Conclusions

on a macro scale, no major problem; no data on pesticides or pathogen

Monitoring not necessarily helpful for making management choices, may work on a sub-watershed, such as an area where population is dense. What problems are there that we should work on?

May help guide decisions to reduce future problems.

Why increase in N?

How have numbers of on-site septic systems changed?

Septic systems - 5-6 pounds NO3 - N per ?? per year. Bouldin guesses ½ of nitrate gets into ground water.

How many cows have been added to watershed?

How many new houses and how many acres of turf?

Long Island study put as much as 1,000#/acre.

What is the nitrate level in wells?

For management what is the reduction cost per units of soluble P?

Territory treatment of Dryden - $12
Reduction in corm acreage - $409
Avoidance of winter spreading of manure 1,034 liquid storage
barn yard runoff $30 574 stacking

What could FCWC do? Find out how data has changed since 1972. What is problem?

Cornell has flow date for Fall Creek since 1926.

Greg explained a grant proposal to look at bottom sediment to determine sources of erosion, separating surface and deep bank erosion. He is likely, if funded, to include Fall Creek.

Dam - what impact will the dam have on sediments? How will sediment be managed?

Sample about and below dam.

Steve L. - segment analysis of Sucker Brook, upper end of Fall Creek and Virgil Creek. Car tour including land use - Sat. AM

Bird Stanton - changes in land use in Central NY

Walter Hauge
Jeannie Barraba - Fall Creek aerial photography
Kate Hackett presentation