Protecting and saving water Partnership Overview Who we are Our accomplishments Our challenges Our priorities Established to address water quality water quantity 63 Members - Federal Agencies State Agencies Local Government Conservation Districts Agricultural Groups State Universities Industry Associations Environmental Groups Who We Are Involve everyone in the solution Provide incentives to use BMPs BMP Research to verify BMPs work Develop implementation assurance programs BMP Follow-up Provide supporting education Recognize participants Farmers (CARES) Homeowners (FY&N) Regional and Farm water quality monitoring Partnership Approach Dairy BMPs Lined Waste Storage Solid Separator Systems Manure Application Waste Collection Litter Storage Dead Bird Composter Litter Application Manage Fertilizers NRCS Conservation PracticesNRCS Conservation Practices Split ApplicationsSplit Applications Proper PlacementProper Placement Recommended Rates and TimingRecommended Rates and Timing Controlled Release FertilizersControlled Release Fertilizers Crop Program 325+Irrigation systems improved Estimated 1 Billion gallons water saved BMP Participation Map Farmer Participation Dairy 90%, Poultry 99%, Crop 75% - Crop manual being implemented on 145,000+ acres BMP Tools & Equipment Estimated Nitrogen Reduction from Farms Using Crop Tools 15 farms participating in the Progressive Farms program PF Data shows 50 lbs. N/acre reduction 162 Crop farms District-wide using tools on 103,563 acres At 50 lbs N/acre reduction Estimated reduction in lbs of N applied per year 5,178,150 (2,589 tons) 39% Reduction Research and models show farms using BMPs** Have the potential to reduce Nitrate-N to ground water Up to 77% on poultry & dairy operations Up to 90% on dairy spray fields Up to 50% on crop farms **FDEP Literature Review 2007 Research Document BMPs Work Overall Dairy BMP Implementation Assurance Overall Poultry BMP Implementation Assurance Partial Compliance BMP Implementation Assurance Farmer Education Many farmer meetings have been held over the last ten years CARES Program 328 farmers Florida Friendly Landscaping Water Quality Trends Regional Network Designed to evaluate trends for ground water, springs, and rivers Summary Showed decreasing, increasing, & no trends Most likely influenced by climatic events, water age, & BMP efforts Recommended more time is needed Springshed Protection Our Challenges State Funding Cost Share Research Farmer O&M long term Documenting long term results Complexity of our system Our Priorities Working one-on-one with farmers Recruit new farmers BMP operation & maintenance Water quality Water conservation Education/outreach Implementation Assurance Keys To Our Success Our leadership Our approach Funding Our people Questions?