SWaMP is pleased to offer the Smart Yards Incentive Program to City of Auburn residents located in the Saugahatchee Watershed in the northern part of Auburn. The Smart Yards Incentive Program is made possible through a partnership between the City of Auburn and SWaMP, and is funded by an EPA Region 4 watershed restoration grant awarded by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. A primary goal of the Program is to reduce pollution in stormwater runoff flowing into Saugahatchee Creek through the installation of landscape best management practices (BMPs).

Through the Smart Yards Incentive Program, qualifying Auburn residents can apply for funding for landscape improvements to reduce stormwater runoff from their property. These improvements, also called stormwater BMPs, can include rain gardens, bioswales, stream bank or riparian zone restorations, and other stormwater runoff management improvements. These projects not only benefit your property but can benefit other properties while preserving and improving water quality and our water resources. If you live in the Saugahatchee Watershed and are interested in this opportunity to improve your property and help protect our streams, here is additional information on the Program, and the application form:

Information on the Program

Application Form

You can also contact SWaMP personnel by phone at 844-4785, or by email at reuteem@auburn.edu. We look forward to making your yard a Smart Yard!

Streamside Repair Workshop

Join us to learn more about using native plants to slow erosion of your property, improve water quality, and increase diversity in our landscapes.  This free, hands-on workshop will cover the basics of live staking, native plant selection, and invasive, exotic plant management along streams.

When: Saturday, February 25, 1 - 3 pm

Where: 208 North Cedarbrook Dr., Auburn, AL

View flyer

The City of Auburn’s Watershed Division teamed up with SWaMP on Auburn’s first “Green Streets” project. The project consists of installing a stormwater planter at the Moton Housing Complex on Martin Luther King Drive on the west side of Auburn. The planter will be on the downslope, backside of the housing complex along Slaughter Avenue. City of Auburn Watershed Division conceptualized and designed the project, and SWaMP is providing funding for materials to construct the planter. Anticipated completion of the project is spring of 2012.

Conceptual schematic (draft, project design has not been finalized) of stormwater planter installation at Moton Housing Complex in Auburn, Alabama (click here for larger image)

Description of a stormwater planter

(source: Charles River Watershed Association , see www.charlesriver.org for more information)

A stormwater planter is a small, contained vegetated area that collects and treats stormwater using bioretention. Bioretention systems collect and filter stormwater through layers of mulch, soil and plant root systems, where pollutants such as bacteria, nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals, oil and grease are retained, degraded and absorbed. Treated stormwater is then infiltrated into the ground as groundwater (Infiltration Planter) or, if infiltration is not appropriate, discharged into a traditional stormwater drainage system (Flow-Through Planter). Stormwater planters do not require a large amount of space and can add aesthetic appeal and wildlife habitat to city streets, parking lots, and commercial and residential properties. Stormwater planters typically contain native, hydrophilic flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees.

Stormwater planter in Portland, Oregon

(source: www.crwa.org/projects/stormwater/stormwaterBMPs.html)

Benefits of stormwater planters

• Reduction of stormwater runoff volume, flow rate and temperature
• Increased groundwater infiltration and recharge
• Treatment of stormwater runoff
• Improvement in water quality of local surface waterways
• Improvement of aesthetic appeal of streets and neighborhoods
• Provides wildlife habitat
• Provides shade to nearby buildings to reduce energy costs
• Requires limited space
• Flexible for use in areas of various shapes and sizes
• Provides a cost-effective way of treating stormwater as the ratio of cost to volume of runoff treated is lower than many other stormwater best management practices

For more details on stormwater planters, go to:

• www.crwa.org/projects.html  and under Education & Outreach, click on Low Impact Development Stormwater Best Management Practices
• www.portlandonline.com/bes and under Library, click on Stormwater Solutions

Area volunteer monitoring groups began collaborative watershed-level water monitoring in the Saugahatchee and Chewacla watersheds in and around Auburn, Alabama back in 2007. Members of Save Our Saugahatchee (SOS) and Friends of Chewacla Creek and the Uphapee Watershed (CHEWUP) had been trained and certified in Bacteriological Monitoring by Alabama Water Watch (AWW), and had monitored a few sites for E. coli in the two watersheds. Concerns about sewage contamination in the Auburn-Opelika area were growing, and the watershed “blitz” sampling idea was born. Actually, the idea was adopted from another monitoring group, Lake Wedowee Property Owners Association, that had initiated watershed blitz sampling (lots of key sites throughout the watershed sampled simultaneously to provide a snapshot of watershed health) in the Lake Wedowee Watershed in 2006 (click here for Lake Wedowee story).

SOS monitor, Cliff Webber, reads plates of bacteria after incubation

Up until 2009, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) used a slightly different measure, fecal coliforms, to measure bacteria contamination in surface waters. Since the presence of E. coli, a subset of fecal coliforms, correlates more closely to the occurrence of human illness from bacteria-laden waters, ADEM switched to an E. coli-based water quality standard in December 2009. Since these relatively new water quality standards are in close agreement with the existing AWW bacteria monitoring protocols, AWW is sticking with its 200 and 600 cut-offs for continuity in citizen monitor data reporting and interpretation (below 200 E. coli/100 mL of water = safe for frequent human contact, 200-600 E. coli/100 mL of water = maximum level for infrequent human contact, and above 600 E. coli/100 mL of water = unsafe for human contact; symbolized by the green-yellow-red traffic light used on AWW bacteria graphs).

E. coli (blue colonies) measured in Pepperell Branch
in March 2010

SOS and CHEWUP monitors strategized on a sampling plan and conducted their first watershed blitz in January 2007, monitoring 26 sites in the two watersheds. Five years later, blitz sampling has grown to 40 sites on Saugahatchee and Chewacla creeks and their key tributaries.

During SOS’s annual meeting in December 2011, AWW staffer, Eric Reutebuch, presented an overview of the 2011 Bacteria Blitz results (click here to view the Powerpoint). The 2011 sampling plan had

Volunteer monitor sites during 2011 bacteria blitz sampling (click for enlarged image)

expanded by five additional sample sites on the Pepperell Branch in Opelika. This sampling was added as a part of the implementation of an ADEM-funded watershed management plan, the Saugahatchee Watershed Management Plan (SWaMP) that targets reduction of nonpoint source pollution to clean up the creek. Since Pepperell Branch was added to ADEM’s 303(d) list of polluted streams in 2010 because of excess pathogens, more intensive sampling of this tributary was proposed to aid in quantifying and sourcing bacteria contamination as a part of SWaMP implementation. Interestingly, of the 40 sites sampled in 2011, exactly half (20) were in the Saugahatchee Watershed and the other half were in the Chewacla Watershed (which was unplanned, based solely on volunteer monitor concern and effort).

Summaries of results were presented for the four seasonal bacteria blitzes in both tabular and map formats (see Powerpoint). A total of 45 “hits” (E. coli levels of 200 per 100 milliliters of water or higher) were measured out of 138 samples measured during 2011 blitz efforts (15 of the 45 hits were in the “red zone” – greater than 600 E. coli per 100 milliliters of water, which is unsafe for human contact; 30 were in the “yellow zone” – 200 to 600 E. coli per 100 milliliters of water, which is the maximum allowable level for infrequent human contact).

Total 2011 hits broken out by stream indicated that the two streams 303(d)-listed for pathogens, Parkerson Mill and Pepperell Branch, had the highest levels and occurrences of E. coli contamination (11 and 10 hits respectively). The following graph is a priority ranking of sampled streams based on occurrence of E. coli hits measured by the SOS and CHEWUP water monitors (red portion of bars indicate hits of E. coli greater than 600/100 milliliters of water; yellow portion of bars indicate hits of E. coli in the 200-600/100 milliliter of water range):

Click here for larger graph

As seen above, the two 303(d)-listed streams (based on presence of excessive pathogens) were the highest priority streams (had the greatest number of E. coli hits) based on the 2011 citizen bacteria blitz data.

Examples of long-term trends in bacteria concentrations in select streams were presented to show more intensive sampling done by some of the local volunteer monitors, and to emphasize that these data and graphs can be accessed and explored via the AWW homepage (www.alabamawaterwatch.org, click on WATER DATA).

In conclusion:

1. The mainstem of Saugahatchee Creek was not heavily contaminated with E. coli, contamination occurred mostly in a tributary, the Pepperell Branch.
2. Volunteer water quality data in the two watersheds, the Saugahatchee and Chewacla watersheds, grew from zero in 1996 to 5,250 records in December 2011.
3. As a result of volunteer water monitoring, sewage contamination problems in both Auburn and Opelika have been sourced and fixed.
4. Collaborative relationships have developed between citizen monitors and municipal officials, which are crucial for the effective and timely solving of water quality problems.
5. Auburn-area efforts serve as an inspirational success story to motivate others toward watershed stewardship (featured as an AWW SUCCESS STORY – see AWW’s homepage).

Watershed monitoring and pollution resolution was accomplished through the efforts of both SOS and CHEWUP volunteer monitors, through training and backstopping provided to volunteers by AWW, through funding provided by grants from ADEM and the World Wildlife Fund, and through collaboration with municipal officials in the cities of Auburn and Opelika – thanks to all for making this part of Alabama a better place to live!

Here are some facts that are worth considering before we apply phosphorus fertilizer on our lawns, landscapes, gardens, pastures, fields and forests.

• Phosphorus fertilizer comes from a relatively few mining operations around the globe (China, USA, are the major producers, in that order; Morocco is the largest global source). It is estimated that we will run out of domestic sources in two to four decades (pretty darn soon!, google ‘phosphorus crisis’ for more details). 

 from Scientific American, June 2009(1)

• Phosphorus is the middle number in the three-number label on bags of fertilizer. When you purchase a bag of fertilizer, the three numbers on it represent Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium. All are required plant nutrients, and needed in fertilizer if not in adequate supply in the soil. 

• Landscapes growing certain plants, like lawns and pastures, may not require any addition of phosphorus. If the soil contains adequate phosphorus already (naturally or from previous fertilizer applications), adding additional phosphorus is wasting a nonrenewable resource that is critical to food production. 

• A landowner NEEDS to do a soil test to determine if the land needs any phosphorus.   Take a soil sample and send that sample to a reputable laboratory for a soil analysis. Auburn University Soil Laboratory provides soil testing at a very low price (see www.aces.edu/anr/soillab for more information).  

• Don’t waste you money on ‘home’ test kits - they provide no useful information. If your soil phosphorus is too high simply stop applying it.  Use fertilizers with analyses such as 10-0-10 or 15-2-10, ones in which the middle number (the phosphorus) is either zero or very low. Removing lawn clippings (normally not recommended) will keep phosphorus from recycling to the lawn as well.   

Percent of soil test results(2) for 2010 from the whole state of Alabama (blue bar) and from Lee County (orange bars) that contained adequate-to-excessive phosphorus (did NOT require additional phosphorus fertilizer).  

 *F+HO = Farms + Homeowners,

 **HO = Homeowners only (lawn, garden, orchard)

• Unlike nitrogen, phosphorus is not prone to downward movement (leaching) in the soil.  Instead it can accumulate readily, especially when over-applied (in fertilizers such as 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 products).  Once phosphorus accumulates in the surface layers of soil it can move via runoff to surface water, creating a nonpoint source pollution issue.  This is especially a problem when the soil is bare, with no vegetative cover to prevent erosion.  

• High levels of soil phosphorus can also affect plant uptake of some needed micronutrients, especially iron (Fe) and may harm the very plants that one is trying to grow.  Consider sprays of iron chelates or iron sulfates to help revive your plants’ green color (rather than over-applying nitrogen).   

• If soil phosphorus is high in your garden (or area in which you till the soil) till the soil to a slightly deeper depth. This will help dilute the phosphorus with deeper soil that tests lower in phosphorus (personal communications, Elizabeth Guertal, Professor, AU Department of Agronomy and Soils).

• Phosphorus is detrimental to the aquatic environment, and is considered a major pollutant when its concentrations in the water exceed the very low levels that naturally occur (see www.aces.edu/waterquality/faq/faq_results.php3?rowid=2527 , http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/library_index.cfm).

• Studies have shown that streams in the Auburn-Opelika area are excessively high in phosphorus concentrations, and that a large part of this phosphorus is from stormwater runoff in the urban/suburban headwaters (the Auburn-Opelika metropolitan area, see figure below(3)).

Average phosphorus concentrations (in µg/Liter) in tributary sub-watersheds in the Saugahatchee Watershed (outlined in red) from AU Fisheries study(3). Note, the phosphorus concentrations in urban/suburban sub-watersheds (in yellow) are much higher (three times higher) than concentrations in rural, mostly forested sub-watersheds (in green).

• Excess phosphorus from un-needed phosphorus fertilizer application is oftentimes detrimental to the environment. In the Auburn-Opelika area, excess phosphorus flowing into the Saugahatchee Creek is one of the two causes listed by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for its placement on their 303(d) List of Impaired Streams (the other being Organic Enrichment; see http://adem.alabama.gov/programs/water/303d.cnt for more information).

• A growing number of local, county and state policy-makers have drafted and adopted various ordinances and regulations that limit fertilizer applications. Such policies have the potential of significantly reducing costs of land management and simultaneously reducing amounts of nonpoint source pollutants flushing into local surface waters.  Policies restricting the use of fertilizers have been adopted in 11 states, including MN, ME, WI, MI, IL, NY, FL, MD, VA, NJ, and VT (source: EPA Watershed Academy Webcast - Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution Series: State and Local Policies to Restrict the Use of Phosphorus Lawn Fertilizer (September 21, 2011, http://water.epa.gov/learn/training/wacademy/archives.cfm ).

Heavy algae bloom in the Saugahatchee Creek near Reeltown, July 2000. 

• Excess phosphorus in streams and lakes can, and oftentimes does generate algal blooms. Algae are tiny plants that grow in surface waters, the primary producers (along with aquatic plants) that form the base of the aquatic food chain. These algal blooms foul the water, interfere with recreational uses, can deplete the water of dissolved oxygen and lead to fish kills, make it more difficult and expensive to process potable water, and sometimes produce a variety of toxins (neurotoxins, hepatotoxins; see  www.cdc.gov/hab for more information).

References:

(1)Phosphorus: A Looming Crisis. 2009 (June). Scientific American, pp 54-59.

(2)Results from AU Soil Testing Laboratory (personal communications, Gobina Huluka, Director of the AU Soil Testing Laboratory, AU Department of Agronomy and Soils).

(3)Nutrient and Sediment Loading in Sougahatchee Creek and the Impacts on Aquatic Biota. 2004.  www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/natural-resources/riversandstreams.php

SWaMP partnered with the AU Department of Horticulture, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) and ADEM on a rain garden workshop. The workshop was held at the Donald E. Davis Arboretum on the Auburn University Campus on April 28th, 2011. Approximately 30 people participated.

Theworkshop covered the function of a rain garden, its placement, how to build one, what plants to use, and rain garden maintenance. Amy Wright, Associate Professor, in Horticulture at AU and primary organizer of the workshop, gave a workshop overview and then introduced Anne Spafford, Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University.

Rain garden workshop at the AU Arboretum (click for more pictures)

Anne began the workshop by discussing the importance of rain gardens in developed landscapes. If installed properly, they are highly effective at removing pollutants, such as lawn fertilizers and chemicals, from stormwater runoff. They reduce the volume of stormwater runoff into local streams, and promote infiltration of rain water onsite, which equates to less need for watering the lawn. A rain garden can be installed in a day or two, and can be very low maintenance. And they can be very aesthetically pleasing, since they are one of the most beautiful of BMPs (best management practices – for pollution/runoff control).

Anne continued with some general guidelines on rain garden construction:

• Rain garden area should be 5-10% of the impervious area on your lot
• The rain garden only needs to be about 6 inches deep when finished
• Its location should be at least 10 feet away from building foundations, 25 feet from septic field lines, and 50 feet away from wells
• Do not locate the rain garden in a low spot that stays wet, since it should drain/infiltrate water into the soil within 24-48 hours after a storm
• The garden should be visible from your house so that you can see and enjoy it daily.

Rain Garden Plan

Click image above to enlarge

Next, Anne went over the three components of a rain garden:

• The Filter Bed:

After digging out a depression of the correct area, mix the existing soil with compost at a 50% existing soil: 50% compost ratio. You want the final mixture’s surface to be about 6 inches deep relative to the surrounding lawn.

• The Plants:

Plant types chosen for the garden must be able to thrive in brief periods of flooding and extended periods of dry conditions. Plants with dense bases are desirable to dampen the force of stormwater flow into or through the garden. Avoid plants that aggressively spread because they will take over the garden. Choose a variety of plants that will be attractive throughout the four seasons of the year.

Click here to see more rain garden plants

• Mulch:

After planting the garden, thoroughly mulch it, preferably with a hardwood mulch (a heavy mulch that will stay in place during flooding). The mulch helps retain soil moisture during dry/drought conditions.

This is just a brief overview of how to make your own rain garden. Construction is simple and relatively cheap. For in-depth information on all aspects of rain garden sizing, placement, construction, planting and maintenance, read Rain Gardening in the South – Ecologically Designed Gardens for Drought, Deluge, and Everything in Between by Helen Kraus and Anne Spafford, and read the section on rain gardens in the ACES publication, Alabama Smart Yards – Introducing environmental Consciousness and Options to Our Yards and Neighborhoods (available online at www.smartyards.org, and will soon be available in hard copy  from ACES) . Happy gardening!

SWaMP is pleased to announce an upcoming Rain Garden Workshop at 4:00-6:00 p.m., on April 28, 2011 at the Donald E. Davis Arboretum on the Auburn University Campus.  

Click here for Workshop Agenda

SWaMP, ACES, AU College of Agriculture and ADEM have partnered to organize this workshop. The workshop will cover the function of a rain garden, its placement, how to build one, what plants to use, and rain garden maintenance.

Amy Wright, Associate Professor, Landscape Horticulture, and Anne Spafford, Associate Professor, Landscape Design, Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University, will conduct the workshop.

The cost of the workshop is $25 per person.

Each participant will receive:

• Free rain garden information including online rain garden resource list and rain garden recommended plant list,
• Alabama Smart Yards manual,
• Free 3-gallon rain garden shrub!

Registration is required – CLICK HERE to register. The workshop is limited to the first 25 registrants, so sign up soon!

We hope to see you there!

Click here for a map to the Donald E. Davis Arboretum

SWaMP is pleased to announce an upcoming Lawn Care and Landscape Management Workshop at 9-11:30 AM, on April 2nd, 2011 at the Opelika Sportsplex.

Click here for Workshop Agenda

SWaMP, ACES, ADEM and the cities of Auburn and Opelika have partnered to organize this workshop. The workshop will cover practical tips and management methods to maintain a healthy and environmentally-conscious lawn and landscape. Chuck Browne, Lee County Extension Coordinator, David Han, ACES Extension Turf Specialist, and Eric Reutebuch and Wendy Seesock, SWaMP personnel, will conduct demonstrations and do presentations. We hope to see you there!

Click here for directions to the Opelika Sportsplex

According to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, or ADEM, the Auburn area currently has three streams that are classified as impaired (polluted). The three are the Pepperell Branch (a tributary of Saugahatchee Creek), Moores Mill Creek and Parkerson Mill Creek (both of which are tributaries of Chewacla Creek). Part of Saugahatchee Creek was also on the list, but since pollution to the creek is currently being addressed by a Total Maximum Daily Load, it is now under a ‘pending-cleanup’ classification. Pollutants in all of these creeks come from a variety of sources, both point sources (from pipes) and from nonpoint sources (from stormwater runoff). Pollutants vary also, including excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus, used in fertilizers), pathogens (such as E. coli), and siltation (mud flushed into the stream).

Many of these pollutants are symptoms of a rapidly developing landscape within a stream’s watershed, as we have in the Auburn-Opelika area. As forests are replaced with subdivisions and roadways, and homeowners meticulously cultivate their lawns, landscapes and gardens, pollutant loads flushing into local streams tend to increase. Fortunately, there are a plethora of watershed-stewardship tools to combat this trend, and keep our local waterways clean for all of us to use and enjoy. The cities of Auburn and Opelika have taken several measures to minimize pollution in runoff and protect local waterways, including:

• Development of erosion and sediment control policies
• Establishment of minimum stream riparian buffers (protective zones)
• Water quality monitoring programs in local streams
• Development site inspections coupled with enforcement of erosion prevention measures
• Collaboration with partners in the installation of best management practices (BMPs) to prevent erosion and pollution runoff.

 A major collaborative effort has been with a watershed management project called SWaMP, the Saugahatchee Watershed Management Project. SWaMP is a multi-year effort funded by ADEM and directed by Dr. Bill Deutsch, who also directs the Alabama Water Watch Program based at Auburn University. SWaMP efforts include both public education-outreach and the installation of on-the-ground BMPs. During the first three years of SWaMP (Phase 1), the cities, , Auburn University, local schools, community organizations and developers collaborated with SWaMP on 18 on-the-ground projects, including stream riparian zone restoration, implementation of stormwater runoff management measures (rain gardens, bioswales, a constructed wetland, rainwater harvest systems), and stream channel restoration.  

Read O-A news article on Swamp Phase 2

Dr. Deutsch recently received good news that SWaMP has been funded by ADEM for an additional two years, known as SWaMP Phase 2. SWaMP plans to strengthen stakeholder partnerships in both outreach and on-the-ground efforts to further clean up the creek. Analysis of water quality data has shown that drainage from urban/suburban landscapes is a major contributor of pollution in the form of nutrients. Therefore, a major goal is to educate urban-suburban homeowners and businesses about the benefits of proper landscape management. This will be accomplished through workshops, incentive programs (free soil tests and no-phosphorus fertilizers), and other forms of education-outreach. There are multiple benefits from applying the appropriate fertilizer and at the appropriate rate:

• It’s cheaper to NOT apply excess fertilizer
• Your lawn/landscape may actually be harmed from the application of excess fertilizer, especially phosphorus (test your soil to see if you need phosphorus BEFORE fertilizing)
• Those local streams that are on ADEM’s ‘polluted’ list will all benefit from the application of fewer chemicals and less fertilizer (especially when they’re not needed, and particularly less phosphorus, which is a major pollutant of streams).

Other on-the-ground projects will include the installation of rain gardens, bioswales, and other runoff management techniques that intercept pollutants before they enter a stream.

 Rain garden for filtering chemicals and fertilizers from lawns at Cary Woods Elementary School. Project was a collaborative effort with support from the City of Auburn, SWaMP, the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service and the school.

To learn about environmentally-responsible landscaping, check out a recently published Extension manual, Alabama Smart Yards, which is full of good information on the use of appropriate plants and wise landscape management (available on the web at www.smartyards.org).

SWaMP personnel recently wrapped up the first three years of the SWaMP Phase 1 Implementation Grant. The grant was provided through ADEMs 319 Program. During SWaMP Phase 1, 18 different projects were completed in collaboration with community groups, business/industry, government and academia. Projects involved installing low-impact-development BMPs (rain gardens, swales, constructed wetland), stormwater management, stream riparian zone restoration, stream channel and floodplain restoration, rainwater harvest, and public outreach.

Read all about SWaMP accomplishments and activities in the SWaMP Final Report (click here, 22 MB).