Water-quality and hydrogeologic data used to evaluate the effects of farming systems on ground-water quality at the Management Systems Evaluation Area near Princeton, Minnesota, 1991-95

Abstract

The Minnesota Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) project was part of a multi-scale, inter-agency initiative to evaluate the effects of agricultural management systems on water quality in the midwest corn belt. The research area was located in the Anoka Sand Plain about 5 kilometers southwest of Princeton, Minnesota. The ground-water-quality monitoring network within and immediately surrounding the research area consisted of 73 observation wells and 25 multiport wells. The primary objectives of the ground-water monitoring program at the Minnesota MSEA were to: (1) determine the effects of three farming systems on ground-water quality, and (2) understand the processes and factors affecting the loading, transport, and fate of agricultural chemicals in ground water at the site. This report presents well construction, geologic, water-level, chemical application, water-quality, and quality-assurance data used to evaluate the effects of farming systems on ground-water quality during 1991-95. Introduction The Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) program is part of a multi-scale, inter-agency initiative to evaluate the effects of agricultural systems on water quality in the midwest corn belt. Five primary MSEA’s were selected to represent a variety of hydrogeologic settings and the geographic diversity of prevailing farming practices in the region (Delin and others, 1992). The Minnesota MSEA is near the town of Princeton, Minnesota, in the Anoka Sand Plain, an area of glacial outwash covering about 4,400 km2 (fig. 1) (Anderson and others, 1991; Delin and others, 1992). Research at the Minnesota MSEA was a cooperative effort conducted primarily by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the University of Minnesota Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDAARS). The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) provided assistance with water-quality monitoring. As part of the interdisciplinary research efforts at the Minnesota MSEA, ground-water quality and hydrogeology were studied. The primary objectives of the ground-water monitoring program at the Minnesota MSEA were to: (1) determine the effects of three farming systems on ground-water quality, and (2) understand the processes and factors affecting the loading, transport, and fate of agricultural chemicals in ground water at the site. This report presents well construction, geologic, water-level, chemical application, water-quality, and quality-assurance data used to evaluate the effects of farming systems on ground-water quality during 1991-95. Graphs of selected data are included as an example of the data collected. Location and Description of Study Area The 8.3 km2 study area is located about 5 km southwest of Princeton, Minnesota, and about 80 km northwest of Minneapolis and St. Paul (fig. 1). The 1 1 U.S. Geological Survey, Mounds View, Minnesota 2 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, St. Paul, Minnesota 3 University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, St. Paul, Minnesota 4 U.S. Geological Survey, Minneapolis, Minnesota 5 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, St. Paul, Minnesota