An Ex Post Evaluation of Ohio’s Great Miami Water Quality Trading Program1

Newburn, David A. and Richard T. Woodward, 2011. An Ex Post Evaluation of Ohio’s Great Miami Water Quality Trading Program. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(1): 156‐169. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00601.x Abstract: Market‐based approaches to address water quality problems have resulted in only limited success, especially in trading programs involving both point and nonpoint sources. We analyze one of the largest point‐nonpoint trading programs – the Great Miami Trading Program in Ohio, administered by the Miami Conservancy District (MCD). Our evaluation focuses on the economic and institutional aspects of the program, including cost effectiveness, efficiency of bidding, transaction costs, trading ratios, and innovation. We use a unique dataset consisting of all bids from agricultural nonpoint sources and interviews of soil and water conservation district (SWCD) agents in the watershed. We find that the MCD’s reliance on county‐level SWCD offices to recruit and advise farmers has been essential to achieve relatively high rates of farmer participation. Additionally, the MCD is able to partly free ride on the administrative costs that SWCD offices receive to assist federal conservation programs, which is helpful to lower costs for a fledgling trading program. However, the involvement of SWCD offices reduced the potential cost savings from the reverse auction structure because some agents were able to learn about the threshold price over the six rounds of bidding and help farmers bid strategically. Overall, the program structure serves as an effective model for future trading programs in other regions that seek to involve agricultural nonpoint sources.     

Farmers' willingness to participate in best management practices in Kentucky

This paper investigates farmers' willingness to participate in Best Management Practices (BMPs) through a proposed Water quality trading (WQT) program in Kentucky. This analysis includes two parts: the first part is to investigate the factors influencing farmers' current usage of BMPs; the second part is to estimate farmers' willingness to implement BMPs given different levels of compensation given in a survey. The results show that farmers who participate in the conservation programs are more likely to use BMPs, but these farmers may not accept the offer to implement additional BMPs. Farmers' experiences about BMPs are more likely to persuade them to adopt additional BMPs than the level of compensation. The results find that using riparian buffers, fencing off animals and building up waste storage facilities are responsive to the levels of compensation offered.     

Sociopolitical Conditions for Successful Water Quality Trading in the South Nation River Watershed,Ontario, Canada1

O’Grady, Dennis, 2011. Sociopolitical Conditions for Successful Water Quality Trading in the South Nation River Watershed, Ontario, Canada. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):39‐51. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00511.x Abstract: The South Nation River watershed has a regulated water quality trading program. Legally, wastewater dischargers must not discharge any increased loading of phosphorus (P) into receiving waters. New wastewater systems are now choosing trading instead of traditional P removal technology, and point source dischargers are buying P credits from rural landowners, primarily farmers. These credits are generated by constructing nonpoint source pollution control measures. Mathematical formulae are used to calculate the credits of P removed by each measure. A successful trading program requires several conditions, including community agreement, legislative backing, credit and cost certainty, simplified delivery and verification, written instruments, and legal liability protection. South Nation Conservation, a community‐based watershed organization, is the broker handling the transactions for these P credits. The program is run by a multi‐stakeholder committee, and all project field visits are done by farmers and not paid professionals. An independent evaluation showed higher opinions for the broker and regulatory agency, and most farmers were willing to, or had already, recommended the program to other farmers.     

Water Quality Signals from Rural Land Use and Exurbanization in a Mountain Landscape: What's Clear and What's Confounded?

In mountainous landscapes with high climatic and geomorphic variability, how do rural land uses and exurbanization alter hydrology and water quality? We evaluated effects of rural land use and exurbanization on streamflows, suspended sediment concentrations and loads, specific conductance, and summer water temperatures in 12 streams and rivers within the Upper Little Tennessee River basin in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Eleven streams featured low levels of development (>61% forest cover) but differed in land use patterning, basin size, annual precipitation, and watershed morphology. One urban stream, located within the largest town in the basin, provided the high development comparative endpoint. Even low levels of rural development and exurbanization were associated with substantial increases in suspended sediment concentrations, sediment loads, and summer stream temperature daily maxima and diurnal variation. Observed summer temperature increases were much larger than would be expected due to global climate change over the next century. Specific conductance was idiosyncratic among the smaller streams. These water quality changes were not accompanied by streamflow changes that were discernible amid the high natural variation in precipitation and geomorphology. The water quality findings suggest the need for applying the best management practices, including riparian buffers, to even low levels of rural development.     

IMPLEMENTATION OF BIORETENTION SYSTEMS: A WISCONSIN CASE STUDY1

ABSTRACT: The implementation of various bioretention systems was analyzed, including rain gardens, vegetated swales, trenches, and infiltration basins in the St. Francis subdivision, Cross Plains, Wisconsin. Through the examination of archival data and interviews with key participants, it was found that although regulatory and political pressures encouraged the inclusion of bioretention, current standards for storm water management prevailed. The developers had to meet both existing requirements and anticipated rules requiring infiltration. As a result, bioretention systems simply supplemented, rather than replaced, traditional storm water practices. The confusion surrounding dual standards contributed to substantial delays in the negotiations among relevant stakeholders in the watershed. It is concluded that the St. Francis subdivision serves as both a cautionary tale and a bioretention success story. As a caution, this situation demonstrates the need for careful review and refinement of existing storm water ordinances to incorporate water quality improvement technologies, such as bioretention. The demonstrated success of the St. Francis development, however, is that it became a positive prototype for best management storm water practices elsewhere in the region. In addition, the water quality monitoring data from the site has contributed to development of a new county ordinance, the first in Wisconsin to address both quantity and quality of storm water runoff.