Tile Drainage Increases Total Runoff and Phosphorus Export During Wet Years in the Western Lake Erie Basin

Artificial subsurface (tile) drainage is used in many agricultural areas where soils have naturally poor drainage to increase crop yield and field trafficability. Studies at the field scale indicate that tile drains disproportionately export large soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and nitrate loads to downstream waterbodies relative to other surface and subsurface runoff pathways, but knowledge gaps remain understanding the impact of tile drainage to nutrient export at watershed scales. The Western Lake Erie Basin is susceptible to summertime eutrophic conditions driven by non-point source nutrient pollution due to a shallow mean water depth and land use dominated by agriculture. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of tile drainage on downstream discharge, nutrient concentrations, and nutrient loads for 16 watersheds that drain to the Western Lake Erie Basin. Daily discharge and nutrient concentrations were summarized annually and during the main nutrient loading period (March–July) for 2 years representing normal nutrient loading period precipitation (2018) and above normal precipitation (2019). Results indicate positive correlations between watershed tile drainage percentage and runoff metrics during 2019, but no relationship during 2018. Additionally, SRP concentration and load were positively correlated to watershed tile drainage percentage in 2019, but not in 2018. Watershed tile drainage percentage was correlated with nitrate concentration and load for both years. The SRP concentration-discharge relationships suggested relatively weak, chemodynamic behavior, implying a slight enriching effect where SRP concentrations were greater at higher stream discharge conditions during both years. In contrast, nitrate concentration-discharge relationships suggested strong, enriching chemodynamic behavior during 2018, but chemostatic behavior during 2019. The difference in SRP and nitrate export patterns in the 2 years analyzed highlights the importance of implementing appropriate best management practices that target specific nutrients and treat primary delivery pathways to effectively improve downstream aquatic health conditions.

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Trends in nutrient concentrations in Hatchery Bay, western Lake Erie, before and after Dreissena polymorpha

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f95-117 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 52 (6) ◽

pp. 1202-1209 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Ruth E. Holland ◽

Thomas H. Johengen ◽

Alfred M. Beeton

Keyword(s):

Total Phosphorus ◽

Dreissena Polymorpha ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Soluble Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Water Clarity ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Phosphorus Concentration ◽

Total Phosphorus Concentration ◽

Western Lake ◽

Western Lake Erie

Concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus, ammonium-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, silica, and chloride have all increased since the establishment of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in Hatchery Bay, western Lake Erie, in 1988. Total phosphorus concentrations have changed little. These results are from 188 samples collected weekly and year round before the establishment of Dreissena (1984–1987) and 192 samples post-Dreissena (1990–1993). The mean annual total phosphorus concentration for the three complete post-Dreissena years was 35 μg∙L−1 strikingly similar to the concentration of 36 μg∙L−1, which in 1959 helped to define the waters of Lake Erie as eutrophic. The relative steadiness in total phosphorus may reflect sediment reflux, because Hatchery Bay is a polymictic system. The slight increase in the biologically conservative ion, chloride, in the 1990s, is probably due to the increased precipitation and runoff in the western Lake Erie watershed. Decreased phytoplankton and associated increased water clarity caused by efficient filtering by D. polymorpha, have lessened symptoms of eutrophication and produced a situation where nutrients are not fully utilized, i.e., biological oligotrophy.

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Climate Change and Nutrient Loading in the Western Lake Erie Basin: Warming Can Counteract a Wetter Future

Environmental Science & Technology ◽

10.1021/acs.est.9b01274 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 53 (13) ◽

pp. 7543-7550 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Margaret M. Kalcic ◽

Rebecca Logsdon Muenich ◽

Samantha Basile ◽

Allison L. Steiner ◽

Christine Kirchhoff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Western Lake ◽

Western Lake Erie

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Probabilistically assessing the role of nutrient loading in harmful algal bloom formation in western Lake Erie

Journal of Great Lakes Research ◽

10.1016/j.jglr.2016.04.002 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 42 (6) ◽

pp. 1184-1192 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Isabella Bertani ◽

Daniel R. Obenour ◽

Cara E. Steger ◽

Craig A. Stow ◽

Andrew D. Gronewold ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lake Erie ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Algal Bloom ◽

Harmful Algal Bloom ◽

Western Lake ◽

Bloom Formation ◽

Western Lake Erie

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Tile drainage causes flashy streamflow response in Ohio watersheds

10.22541/au.161615707.73012545/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Samuel Miller ◽

Steve Lyon

Keyword(s):

Lake Erie ◽

Algal Bloom ◽

Annual Runoff ◽

Tile Drainage ◽

Storm Events ◽

Watershed Area ◽

Daily Streamflow ◽

Western Lake ◽

Streamflow Response ◽

Western Lake Erie

Artificial subsurface (tile) drainage is used to increase trafficability and crop yield in much of the Midwest due to soils with naturally poor drainage. Tile drainage has been researched extensively at the field scale, but knowledge gaps remain on how tile drainage influences the streamflow response at the watershed scale. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of tile drainage on the streamflow response for 59 Ohio watersheds with varying percentages of tile drainage and explore patterns between the Western Lake Erie Bloom Severity Index to streamflow response in heavily tile-drained watersheds. Daily streamflow was downloaded from 2010-2019 and used to calculated mean annual peak daily runoff, mean annual runoff ratio, the percent of observations in which daily runoff exceeded mean annual runoff (TQmean), baseflow versus stormflow percentages, and the streamflow recession constant. Heavily-drained watersheds (> 40 % of watershed area) consistently reported flashier streamflow behavior compared to watersheds with low percentages of tile drainage (< 15% of watershed area) as indicated by significantly lower baseflow percentages, TQmean, and streamflow recession constants. The mean baseflow percent for watersheds with high percentages of tile drainage was 20.9 % compared to 40.3 % for watersheds with low percentages of tile drainage. These results are in contrast to similar research regionally indicating greater baseflow proportions and less flashy hydrographs (higher TQmean) for heavily-drained watersheds. Stormflow runoff metrics in heavily-drained watersheds were significantly positively correlated to western Lake Erie algal bloom severity. Given the recent trend in more frequent large rain events and warmer temperatures in the Midwest, increased harmful algal bloom severity will continue to be an ecological and economic problem for the region if management efforts are not addressed at the source. Management practices that reduce the streamflow response time to storm events, such as buffer strips, wetland restoration, or drainage water management, are likely to improve the aquatic health conditions of downstream communities by limiting the transport of nutrients following storm events.

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Best Management Practices and Nutrient Reduction: An Integrated Economic-Hydrologic Model of the Western Lake Erie Basin

Land Economics ◽

10.3368/wple.96.4.510 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 96 (4) ◽

pp. 510-530

Author(s):

Hongxing Liu ◽

Wendong Zhang ◽

Elena Irwin ◽

Jeffrey Kast ◽

Noel Aloysius ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Best Management Practices ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Management Practices ◽

Hydrologic Model ◽

Nutrient Reduction ◽

Best Management ◽

Western Lake ◽

Western Lake Erie

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The impact of phytoplankton community composition on optical properties and satellite observations of the 2017 western Lake Erie algal bloom

Journal of Great Lakes Research ◽

10.1016/j.jglr.2018.11.015 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 573-586 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

C.E. Binding ◽

A. Zastepa ◽

C. Zeng

Keyword(s):

Optical Properties ◽

Community Composition ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Phytoplankton Community ◽

Algal Bloom ◽

Satellite Observations ◽

Phytoplankton Community Composition ◽

Western Lake ◽

The Impact ◽

Western Lake Erie

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Multi-Year Simulation of Western Lake Erie Hydrodynamics and Biogeochemistry to Evaluate Nutrient Management Scenarios

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13147516 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 7516

Author(s):

Qi Wang ◽

Leon Boegman

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Water Levels ◽

Management Scenarios ◽

Biogeochemical Models ◽

Western Lake ◽

Mean Square Errors ◽

Western Lake Erie ◽

Total P

During the 1970s, harmful cyanobacteria (HFCB) were common occurrences in western Lake Erie. Remediation strategies reduced total P loads and bloom frequency; however, HFCB have reoccurred since the mid-1990s under increased system stress from climate change. Given these concurrent changes in nutrient loading and climate forcing, there is a need to develop management tools to investigate historical changes in the lake and predict future water quality. Herein, we applied coupled one-dimensional hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models (GLM–AED) to reproduce water quality conditions of western Lake Erie from 1979 through 2015, thereby removing the obstacle of setting and scaling initial conditions in management scenarios. The physical forcing was derived from surface buoys, airports, and land-based stations. Nutrient loads were reconstructed from historical monitoring data. The root-mean-square errors between simulations and observations for water levels (0.36 m), surface water temperature (2.5 °C), and concentrations of total P (0.01 mg L−1), PO4 (0.01 mg L−1), NH4 (0.03 mg L−1), NO3 (0.68 mg L−1), total chlorophyll a (18.74 μg L−1), chlorophytes (3.94 μg L−1), cyanobacteria (12.44 μg L−1), diatoms (3.17 μg L−1), and cryptophytes (3.18 μg L−1) were minimized using model-independent parameter estimation, and were within literature ranges from single year three-dimensional simulations. A sensitivity analysis shows that 40% reductions of total P and dissolved reactive P loads would have been necessary to bring blooms under the mild threshold (9600 MTA cyanobacteria biomass) during recent years (2005–2015), consistent with the Annex 4 recommendation. However, these would not likely be achieved by applying best management practices in the Maumee River watershed.

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