Cannonsville Reservoir and Town Brook watersheds: Documenting conservation efforts to protect New York City's drinking water

Abstract

The Cannonsville Reservoir watershed is a major component of the unfiltered New York City water supply system. The voluntary, incentive-based Watershed Agricultural Program is a collaborative effort among producers, federal, state, and local organizations to address the problem of phosphorus loading effects on water quality through implementation of whole-farm plans. The effectiveness of selected conservation practices, including stream-bank fencing, precision feeding, and the use of cover crops with silage corn (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) are being evaluated. Simulation models have been developed and improved to evaluate the effectiveness of individual conservation practices and better assess animal agriculture and manure management practices. Conservation practices implemented through the Watershed Agricultural Program are resulting in lower phosphorus loading from nonpoint sources in the watershed. Future efforts need to identify the most cost-effective conservation practices and extend our knowledge of watershed quality protection beyond the boundaries of the Cannonsville Reservoir watershed.