This document discusses a watershed approach to improving water quality in California's Lower Salinas River Valley. A consortium of organizations was formed to encourage local nutrient management solutions and integrate on-farm practices with edge-of-farm and off-farm treatments. Key practices include matching nutrient applications to crop needs, cover cropping, sediment controls, and treatment wetlands/bioreactors. While some successes were seen, regulatory inconsistencies have undermined cooperation. The group aims to test a watershed coordination concept and provide guidance on practices to better meet upcoming regulatory requirements. Monitoring of on-farm and treatment area water quality will evaluate the approach.

1. Tackling Regional Water Quality
Problems Using a Watershed Approach
Paul Robins
Resource Conservation District of Monterey County

2. Context
• $4.3 B Ag economy coupled with Monterey Bay Natural
Marine Sanctuary
• Intensive, multi-crop, irrigated ag with food safety
constraints
• California’s dynamic water quality regulations: meet
the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
• Environmental Advocates: antagonistic vs. collaborative
• History of collaboration with Ag Water Quality Alliance
(NRCS, RCDs, Sanctuary, Farm Bureaus, University of
California Cooperative Extension)

3. Conservation Innovation Grant:
“Modeling Partnerships for Improving Water Quality in
Irrigated Lands with Nutrient Management
Cooperatives in California’s Lower Salinas River Valley”
• Lead: Resource Conservation District of Monterey County (RCDMC)
• Collaborating Partners:
– The Nature Conservancy – California Chapter
– Central Coast Wetlands Group
– California Marine Sanctuary Foundation
– Individual farmer members of Grower-Shipper Association of Central
CA
• Project Timing: December 2016 to August 2020

4. Why and how we came together
• History of working collaboratively on BMPs, building and tracking
performance of treatment wetlands
• TNC success: Salinas River Stream Maintenance Program & Morro
Bay fishermen’s cooperative
• Changes to the Ag Order spurring interest in new approaches to
meeting regulatory requirements

10. The building blocks of the approach
• View water resources holistically – as a system
• Encourage local ownership of nutrient management solutions and
resulting improvements to waterways
• Integrate on-farm BMPs with edge-of-farm and off-farm treatment
within defined drainages

11. Key Nutrient Management Practices
• On-Farm:
– Matching timing and amount of water and nutrient applications to
to projected crop need
– Tools: Record-keeping, Flow meters, Irrigation evaluations,
University crop nutrition guidelines and California Irrigation
Management Information System (CIMIS) stations for reference ET
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
16.00
18.00
6/16 7/6 7/26 8/15 9/4 9/24 10/14
CumulativeAppliedWater(inches)
Date
AppliedWater
EstimatedCropET

12. Key Nutrient Management Practices
• On-Farm:
– Matching timing and amount of water and nutrient applications to
to projected crop need
– Tools: Record-keeping, Flow meters, Irrigation evaluations,
University crop nutrition guidelines and California Irrigation
Management Information System (CIMIS) stations for reference ET

13. Key Nutrient Management Practices
• On-Farm:
– Winter cover cropping for nutrient capture

14. Key Nutrient Management Practices
• Edge of Farm and Off-farm
– Sediment and water control structures at edge of
farm
– Collective water treatments: denitrification
bioreactors, treatment wetlands

15. Key Nutrient Management Practices
• Edge of Farm and Off-farm
– Sediment and water control structures at edge of
farm
– Collective water treatments: denitrification
bioreactors, treatment wetlands

16. Changes
• Cooperation undermined by inconsistent
regulatory implementation and agency mistrust.
(Each wants the other to make the first move)
• On-farm Practice implementation information
gathering available through imperfect ‘Annual
Compliance’ and ‘Total Nitrogen Applied’ forms
• ‘Ag Order’ 4.0 in flux/development...moving
target (Currently in 3.0; 3.5 coming soon!)

17. Current Status/Outcomes
• Treatment wetland results positive
• New woodchip denitrification bioreactor designs funded for
implementation and evaluation
• Tile drainage water contaminant sources unclear (shallow
groundwater vs irrigation?).
• Dialogue with Regional Water Quality Control Board hit and
miss
– Gaining recognition for cooperative or ‘good actor’ producers
1. Moro Cojo Slough de-listing with acknowledgement of impacts of
conservation practice implementation…in process
2. ‘Good actor’ producers request reduced reporting requirements
– Sounds great, but…
• agency focus on groundwater quality and broader range of
contaminants limits appeal of watershed approach

18. Current Status/Outcomes
• New concept for watershed coordination to
test in coming year for value towards meeting
requirements of pending AO 4.0 .
– Uses existing/improved compliance forms for
characterizing watershed and initiating dialogue
• Refining guidance for farm water quality
practices to better match regulatory
compliance needs

19. Watershed Approach for Surface
Water Management
1. Initial watershed characterization report relative to
ag-related surface water issues
2. Presentation to ‘watershed group’ of producers
3. Site-by-site recommendations for management
practices
4. Implementation with follow-up monitoring during
flow events
5. Updated watershed characterization report
– Regulators review and accept area as lower risk, or
– Watershed group told to make further improvements, or
– After too many failed attempts, Regulators assert own plan
for watershed.

20. Due in August 2020…
• Outcomes memo, including costs analysis of watershed
group approach for improving water quality and
supporting regulatory compliance
• Outcomes report the value of models used for
informing practice implementation in the project area
• Water quality report summarizing the findings of
monitoring of off-farm treatment areas and
information gathered for on-farm treatment efficacy
based on cooperative-level aggregated data
• Draft of regionally-specific decision-support guide for
Central Coast water quality improvement measures

21. Paul Robins, 975-7757
paul.robins@rcdmonterey.org
www.rcdmonterey.org

23. FYI/OPTIONAL SLIDE
Data collection and monitoring
focused on:
• Surface water quality of drainage discharges before the
confluence with receiving waters
• Treatment system effectiveness monitoring to analyze:
– load reductions or changes through the treatment system,
– instantaneous and seasonal load reductions achieved
through the treatment system,
– correlative analysis of cooperative nutrient reduction
trends and ambient data, and
– on-farm management efforts of Cooperative members
All data reported will be aggregated and cumulative!