NESPAL > Water Use & Quality > Research Projects > Animal Production and Water Quality
Animal Production and Water Quality in the Suwanee River Watershed
by Susan Crow
What's important about the Suwannee Rivershed?
The Suwannee River is a major water resource in the southeast. The river originates in Georgia's Coastal Plain and flows through north Florida before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The Georgia headwaters, or Upper Suwannee, consists of two distinct areas. The eastern headwaters are primarily in the Okeefenokee Swamp, a region with wide expanses of swampland. The western headwaters include the Alapaha, Little and Withlacoochee (ALW) Rivers. In Georgia the Suwannee extends into 21 counties with a drainage of 2.6 million acres. Agriculture is the dominant land use. Although water quality in the basin is thought to be good generally, there are a number of stream segments that do not or only partially meet designated uses because of low dissolved oxygen and the presence of fecal coliform bacteria.
Why is animal production a concern in the Upper Suwannee Watershed ?
The western Upper Suwannee River Watershed is largely agricultural and may attract many new animal production facilities. Animal production with confined feeding operations in Georgia continue to receive attention because of potential adverse impacts on water quality. For example, swine production has been put under strict new rules for waste lagoon operation by the state of Georgia. Also, poultry production, rapidly expanding in the Coastal Plain, presents special problems and opportunities. Properly managed livestock and confined animal operations protect water quality. Improperly managed operations may degrade water quality by increasing stream nutrients and bacteria. And these inputs will impact waters downstream including the Middle Suwannee and the Gulf of Mexico.
What will this project do to help ?
Project partners will work with local landowners and others in the ALW Watersheds to demonstrate how best management practices for animal production facilities may protect water quality. Examples of best management practices include Nutrient Management Plans, cover crops, conservation tillage, and vegetated buffers along streams. In cooperation with local residents, this project will help to improve on-farm management practices; implement innovative best management practices, and communicate with watershed residents about ways to maintain and enhance their water resources. Additionally, this project will help provide information needed to manage confined animal production in ways that benefit the local farm economy and protect water quality.
On-going Activities
• Work with farmers and others to inventory and map animal production facilities in the Alapaha, Little and Withlacoochee Watersheds
• Work with farmers to develop new ways to manage their livestock production facilities to maintain and improve water quality in the Alapaha, Little and Withlacoochee Rivers
• Monitor the effectiveness of these Best Management Practices to show that they are both environmentally and economically viable
• Work with farmers to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Best Management Practices to others
• Work with stakeholders in the Alapaha River Watershed, including farmers, stream-side landowners and recreational users of the river, to improve awareness and knowledge of water quality issues and watershed protection strategies.
