UPDATE 8/18/19: Thanks for your response! We now have enough volunteers for this monitoring!
The recent acquisition and planned restoration of the Acker Farm by Dane County provides an opportunity to monitor the water quality response of conversion of agricultural land to perennial vegetation (prairie). The planned monitoring methods are similar to those employed by the Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy (FOPBC) in their 2003-06 and 2010-12 study (Garn 2012). Water quality sampling and flow measurements will be coordinated by Herb Garn of FOPBC. Sampling will be conducted by FOPBC volunteers, Garn, or Dane County LWRD staff depending on availability.
Samples will be collected at 2-4 sites (see map) during up to 6 runoff events per year. Garn will identify runoff events based on rainfall and coordinate and alert volunteers when to sample. If possible, runoff events during all seasons should be sampled. Sites 3 and 4, which are downstream from the Acker Farm, will be sampled during every runoff event and sites 1 and 2, which are upstream of the Acker Farm, will be sampled when there is significant flow at those sites.
The objective of this monitoring project is to document the water quality response of the Pheasant Branch Creek tributary to conversion of the cropped fields on the Acker Farm to perennial vegetation. The study should start as soon as possible in the summer 2019 to document baseline conditions prior to any restoration activities and run for at least 2 years after the completion of restoration (total of 4 – 6 years).
Volunteer Duties
Volunteers are asked to serve for at least one year and may renew each year. Volunteers will be trained on sampling protocols by Herb Garn prior to serving. Water quality samples will be collected by the “grab” method, dipping sample bottles near the center of flow. A phosphorus sample will be preserved with a small amount of sulfuric acid from a premeasured vial. Stream discharge is estimated at time of sample collection by measuring cross sectional area of flow and by estimating velocity by timing a floating object across a measured length of channel. Volunteers will deliver water samples to the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene (2601 Agriculture Drive, Madison, WI) as soon as possible after collection that day or the next day. Mileage ($0.58 /mile) to deliver samples to the lab will be reimbursed by Dane County. The number of runoff events to be sampled could vary from 1-6 per year depending on weather conditions, and sampling time involved per event could range from 1 to 2+ hours depending on number of sites sampled.