Red River Basin Commission
Report date
May 2017
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
2016 was our first cattail harvest. We completed harvesting on August 30, 2016. As with any new pilot project, there were obstacles that we had to overcome. The harvested cattails were land applied on adjoining cropland to provide both nutrients back to the cropland as well as providing organic matter to enhance the soil health of that cropland. We will continue to monitor this land application area to document the benefits of this operation. As a result of the completed cattail harvest, drone footage was shot and and added to an educational video on the watershed and outcomes of the cattail harvest. This video will provide those that do not have the capabilities to see the impoundment first hand the opportunity to see the project and work being done to assist agriculture producers reduce nutirent runoff upstream of the impoundment. The operation of the impoundment cells will continue for at least two more years to allow us to evaluate water management systems to maximize nutrient capture. What we learn from this pilot project will help us design and operate future flood control impoundments to also provide significant nutrient capture and water quality benefits.
Through our newly developed partnerships and relationships within the ag sector, we were able to gain a better understanding of who is doing what and also looking at historically what has been done that has lead us to today. The ag sector tend to stay on their own due to feelings of blame and not doing anything type accusations so tayloring an effort that is geared toward voluntary measures to improve water quality amongst the ag sector requires a delicate balance between learning and understanding what they are currently doing and helping them identify opportunities that make sense for their individual needs. Through this process we understood that to effectively reach the ag sector we need to understand what all the entities involved were doing and maximiaze our resources as partners vs competitors. We did this through relationships with farm organizations and their outreach. It was cost effective and much more effective than trying to develop our own network of agriculture producers.
The development of educational materials have allowed us to reach a much broader audience. The RRBC developed a video that goes through the history, flooding components and water quality components included in the North Ottawa Impoundment. It also walks the audience through the cattail harvest and utilization of the biomass and water quality benefits and results. This tool will allow others to see this work being done without having to go to the impoundment. It can also be shared throughout the country and in other countries as a best maanagment practice for cattail management and water quality improvements. The RRBC with a number of partners in Manitoba worked together to develop a webinar series on tile drainage. This is an educational webinar designed to educate those on how to best manage tile drainage systems to promote reducation in nutrients and other issues related to flood peaks. These videos can be found on the Red Rivr Basin Commission you tube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCprheSfj_TFFXfmx1w3O7DQ
Key lessons learned
Through this process the RRBC identified and explored many opportunities in how to utilize the cattail harvest material. One of the important selling pieces of this puzzle was to use the cattail biomass on the fields. The harvested cattails were land applied on adjoining cropland to provide both nutrients back to the cropland as well as providing organic matter to enhance the soil health of that cropland. The concept is innovative but conceptually this is not a feasible option for landwoners and producers to buy into however there are many other opportunities for utillizing the biomass produced from the cattails.
The most important lesson learned is that despite the answers you think you may have, they may not be right on target. We found that the more we listened to those in the ag sector the more we learned about why things are and are not happening. As a result of this gained knowledge, the RRBC board of directors ackonowledged the need to add ag positions to our board therefore increasing our board size from 41 to 44. This has enabled a more clear cut channel of communication amongst all the stakeholders in the Red River Basin.
Another key lesson that was learned is by developing partnerships within the ag sector we were able to maximize our resources and reach of this audience. We had many opportunities to be part of farmer driven meetings and facilitate discussion on the impediments to implementing best management practices for the purpose of reducing nutrient runoff.
Reflections on the community innovation process
Identifying a community need or issue. The challenge we faced that proved to be critical in this effort was gaining an understanding of impediments and benefits to what motivates agriculture producers to implement best maangement practices to improve water quality. Once we were able to develop critical relationships and partnerships in the ag sector, we were able to have honest, productive conversations about the limitations, frustrations and impediments to implementing these practices on their own farmland. As we learned that cattail biomas redistributed on fields has little economic viability, it identifies the need to develop and explore other voluntary nutrient reductions strategies.
Progress toward an innovation
The cattail harvest process is one that is very unique and takes an innovative approach to removing phosphorus and nitrogen from the Red River.
The desired project outcome is to maximize the capture and removal of nutrients and sediment found in surface runoff from the 75 square mile agricultural watershed above the North Ottawa Impoundment. The project
utilizes a multiple cell system operated to maximize
impoundment water quality benefits through:
Surface water management to slow flows and cap-ture suspended sediments in the impoundment
Treatment for nutrient via uptake by wetland
vegetation
Harvesting wetland vegetation during optimal times of the growing season to maximize nutrient removal
North Ottawa Impoundment 2016 Nutrient Load Reductions
Total Phosphorus % Load Reduction
54%
Total Nitrogen % Load Reduction
68%
Total Suspended Solids % Load Reduction
47%
The desired project outcome is to maximize the capture and removal of nutrients and sediment found in surface runoff from the 75 square mile agricultural watershed above the North Ottawa Impoundment. The project
utilizes a multiple cell system operated to maximize
impoundment water quality benefits through:
Surface water management to slow flows and cap-ture suspended sediments in the impoundment
Treatment for nutrient via uptake by wetland
vegetation
Harvesting wetland vegetation during optimal times of the growing season to maximize nutrient removal
North Ottawa Impoundment 2016 Nutrient Load Reductions
Total Phosphorus % Load Reduction
54%
Total Nitrogen % Load Reduction
68%
Total Suspended Solids % Load Reduction
47%
What it will take to reach an innovation?
The RRBC will continue its outreach efforts specifically continuing to further engage and reach the ag sector. We have come along way through adding their participation on our board of directors and attending and presenting at meetings that we have not been represented until now.
What's next?
The next step in this project is to develop a new approach to reduce the nutrient impairments common to the agricultural regions of our state. This project work could aid in advancing water quality improvements in the Red River Basin to meet proposed nutrient reduction goals for the State of Minnesota and the Red River. The current nutrient reduction goals being discussed on the Basin scale include the need to reduce current loading to the Red River by over 50%. In addition, Governor Mark Dayton has set forth an ambitious goal of achieving a 25% improvement in Minnesota’s water quality by 2025. We need to develop new techniques if we ever want to be able to reach potential goal. This work could be used for many existing and proposed flood retention projects in the Red River Basin.
If you could do it all over again...
Engaging the agriculture community was a process that took considerable time and effort to gain trust and common understanding. Beginning with the farm and commodity groups would have been the desired path at the start of the grant process.