A Cooperative Project:
Although runoff from nurseries and agricultural operations contributes to poor water quality in Orange County streams, these operations have been largely exempt from regulations to enforce water quality standards. In order to address this situation, Orange County Coastkeeper (OCCK) has initiated the Orange County Nurseries Water Quality Improvement Project. In a collaborative effort, Coastkeeper and the U.C. Cooperative Extension will work with nursery operators to reduce pollution from local nursery operations and selected large agricultural operations.
The Problem:
Coastkeeper’s recent testing has shown that runoff from wholesale nurseries in Orange County contains high levels of sediment, nutrients and bacteria that have an adverse effect on the receiving waters. It is also suspected that the runoff may contain pesticides that impact aquatic life. These pollutant discharges can be reduced or eliminated with the use of Best Management Practices (BMPs). Unfortunately, missing or poorly implemented BMPs commonly result in over-watering, improper storage, overuse of fertilizers and agricultural chemicals, and/or poor site design.
The Plan of Action:
The Orange County Nurseries Water Quality Improvement Project will proactively address these issues by:
- Identifying pollutant loads from nursery operations and selected large agricultural operations;
- Offering free BMP consultations and training to all operators;
- Documenting project effectiveness through water quality monitoring before, during and after the training and BMP implementation process; and
- Implementing several demonstration projects to evaluate the effectiveness of new BMP technology for reducing pollutant loads in agricultural runoff.
The Outcomes:
Our ultimate goal is to reduce specific pollutants from nursery operations through improved implementation of BMPs. The pollutants targeted in this project include: bacteria, sediment, nutrients, and pesticides. All of the target pollutants can adversely affect the beneficial uses of the receiving waters. For example: bacteria affect recreational uses, plant nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, phosphate) and pesticides affect wildlife and habitat. The projected outcomes of the Orange County Nurseries Water Quality Improvement Project are to:
- Measurably decrease the pollutant loads from nursery/agricultural runoff entering Orange County waterways;
- Help nursery/agricultural sites implement BMPs that reduce the use of water, fertilizer and pesticides, and control runoff; and
- Create new BMP programs for nurseries/agricultural sites that will improve water quality.
Coastkeeper wants YOU to be a Nurseries Project Volunteer!
This project requires that we repeatedly monitor over one hundred nurseries in the next year and a half. This means we’ll need teams around the county to collect samples and record observations during dry weather and storm events. This is an exciting opportunity to participate in a hands-on effort to protect your local waterways. No experience necessary; Coastkeeper staff will train all volunteers. Please contact Project Manager Wes Colvin at wes@coastkeeper.org or 714.850.1965 for more information on how you can get involved, and stay tuned for updates on this exciting project.
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