MEASURING NON-POINT NUTRIENT RUNOFF FROM A DAIRY OPERATION IN THE CAYUGA LAKE WATERSHED

Agriculture, particularly dairy farming, is the dominant industry in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Dairy operations, however, are potential non-point sources of nutrients into the lakes. In southern Cayuga Lake, impairment of the water is in part due to eutrophication driven by an excess of nutrients such as phosphate. Understanding the nutrient load entering Cayuga Lake is important for the overall health of the lake ecosystem and people and animals that rely on the water for consumption, recreation and industry. It is, however, difficult to determine the fate and transport of nutrients coming from the various dairy farming activities (e.g., milking operations, manure handling, feed crops). The purpose of this study is to determine the dissolved nutrient run-off from a single dairy farm in the Cayuga Lake watershed. Using ion chromatography, we determined the concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium and phosphate levels in water samples from three locations downhill from the farm. Surface water uphill from the farm was used as a control. This research was started in the Fall of 2013 and is ongoing. The available data show that, compared to the control, all nitrogen species are elevated directly downhill from the farm site. Nitrate is highest in the summer months and lowest in the winter; ammonium data are sparse but seem to act in an opposite manner to nitrate. Phosphate is elevated in the colder months but is not present during the summertime.