Hydrosphere Notes Part 9-Land Use

What is land use? The way people use land

Describe the main types of land uses. Forested: Land covered with trees Open Land: Undeveloped land such as farms, field and meadows Water: Land covered by water including rivers, ponds, and lakes. Developed: Land that has changed for urban usage including houses, buildings, roads and parking lots

o Nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) o Sediment (dirt) o Bacteria o Pesticides o Road salt o Toxic chemicals o Metals (mercury, copper, etc.) What are Types of Pollutants?

Explain how water quality in both groundwater and surface systems is impacted by land use decisions. Change in Land Use: Remove trees and vegetation. Bulldozing of land for houses and subdivisions. Effect on Water System: More storm runoff and erosion because there is less vegetation to slow water as it runs down hills. More sediment is washed into streams. Flooding can occur because water-drainage patterns are changed.

Explain how water quality in both groundwater and surface systems is impacted by land use decisions. Change in Land Use: Building of roads Commercial and industrial buildings and parking lots. Effect on Water System: The water table will lower (More pavement means less water will soak into the ground) Wells might run dry. Increased flooding (The runoff from the increased pavement goes into storm sewers, which then goesstorm sewers into streams. This runoff, which used to soak into the ground, now goes into streams, causing flooding.)

Explain how water quality in both groundwater and surface systems is impacted by land use decisions. Change in Land Use: Diverting streams to supply water for people. Discharging of sewage into streams. Effect on Water System: Flooding can occur because water drainage patterns are changed Increased sewage in streams causes pollution -- it can kill fish and make water unusable for other purposes downstream.

Explain how water quality in both groundwater and surface systems is impacted by land use decisions. Change in Land Use: Industries might drill some deep, large-capacity wells. Effect on Water System: The use of too many large wells can lower the underground water table. This can cause other wells to run dry, can cause saltwater to be drawn into drinking-water wells, and can cause land that was formerly "held up" by underground water to subside, resulting in sinkholes and land subsidence.sinkholesland subsidence

Explain how water quality in both groundwater and surface systems is impacted by land use decisions. By removing trees and vegetation and bulldozing of land for houses and subdivisions there is more storm runoff and erosion because there is less vegetation to slow water as it runs down hills so more sediment is washed into streams and flooding can occur because water-drainage patterns are changed. Roads and parking lots increase runoff, lower the water table and can increase flooding. Increased sewage in streams causes pollution -it can kill fish and make water unusable for other purposes downstream.

What is a BMP (best management practice)? structural, vegetative, or management practices designed to prevent or reduce water pollution from reaching a stream, river, or lake.

Hydrosphere Notes Parts 10_BMP

Forestry Leave a foot buffer along the stream channel to filter out contaminants in runoff and prevent streambank erosion.

Homes Use fertilizers and pesticides on lawns sparingly or not at all. Leave shrubs and trees with expansive rooting systems and abundant plant cover on the ground along a stream or river, rather than replacing with 100% grass, which is far less effective at holding soil in place during periods of flooding.

Construction Sites – Place erosion control fabric on streambanks to prevent sediment from reaching the stream (also called silt fences).

Urban Areas – Provide a settling basin to prevent runoff from parking lots from washing directly into a stream and allowing time for the runoff to infiltrate into the ground where soil can naturally filter the contaminants.

Farming/crops – Seed a cover crop or leave crop stubble to hold the soil in place over the winter and during snow melt Leave shrubs and trees with expansive root systems and plant cover on the ground along a stream or river to hold soil during periods of flooding or heavy rain.

Livestock grazing – Build a concrete-lined pit to safely store manure and later spread on fields leave shrubs and trees along the stream or river to slow runoff, filter pollutants, and hold soil in place.

Motorized recreation – Do not drive All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) through wetlands, along lakeshores, or through streams and rivers. ATVs can damage plants, compact soils, cause erosion, and result in sediment reaching lakes and rivers.

Leading Sources of Water Quality Impairment to Rivers (MICHIGAN*) 1.Physical stream alterations (e.g. channelization or straightening) 2.Agriculture (crop runoff and animal feedlots) 3.Sediment 4.Industrial Point Source 5.Habitat modification (loss of streamside riparian vegetation) 6.Combined sewer overflows 7.Municipal Point Source 8.Construction Leading pollutants: organic compounds, pathogens, sediment, mercury, low dissolved oxygen, nutrients, metals (copper, chromium) * 2004 Water Quality and Pollution Control in Michigan: Sections 303(d) and 305(b) Integrated Report, MI DEQ Water Division, page34.

How can we reduce or prevent pollution ? BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs) …are designed to control, prevent, remove, or reduce pollution. Three BMP categories: 1. Structural Practices oGrass or rock-lined drainage ditches. oFence livestock away from stream oSedimentation basin for parking lot runoff 2. Vegetative Practices oCover crops oLeave tree and shrub “buffer strips” along streams 3. Management Practices oNo till farming (don’t plow) oRotate pastures used for livestock grazing oNo grazing, logging, or building houses right next to a stream

*Fill in your student sheet as you view the slides Identify the land use shown in the photo? Identify what type of pollutants might result from the land use (shown in the photo) and possibly affect the water quality of a nearby stream? Look at the following slides

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Bill Taft #2

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#4 Dickinson Conservation District Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

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#8 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality