Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:

Presentation by Donald H. Wilkison, U.S. Geological Survey

This presentation was originally given on March 31, 2015 at Westport Coffeehouse Theater – 4010 Pennsylvania Ave. Kansas City, MO.

Since 2010, the USGS, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, has been monitoring stream water quality in the Lower Grand River Basin.   Previous work demonstrated that substantial quantities of sediment and nutrients were exported from the basin each year and that these contaminants ultimately contributed to Gulf of Mexico hypoxia.  Simultaneous with the monitoring effort, and in attempt to reduce deleterious effects on stream water quality, farmers in the Lower Grand River Basin have been encouraged to implement integrated conservation practices. This talk will focus on approaches to understanding how such conservation programs may affect water-quality, illustrate approaches for determining long-term trends in water quality, and explore how the lingering effects of drought may challenge assumptions about conservation effectiveness.