ARS | Publication request: USING MODELING TO INVESTIGATE IMPACTS OF GRASS WATERWAYS ON WATER QUALITY

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: August 10, 1997
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The effectiveness of grass buffer strips for the control of runoff and for the transport of agrochemicals and sediments off of a field was investigated using a physically distributed computer model. The field simulated is located in Goodwater Creek watershed, a USDA research site. The watershed is characterized by a claypan soil and by limited relief. The physically distributed computer model simulates time varying infiltration, overland flow, dispersion of dissolved agrochemicals, soil detachment, and transport of nonpoint pollutants with runoff. The model was calibrated using field data observed from 1993 to 1995 without grass buffer strips. The effectiveness of grass waterways of varying lengths on runoff peak discharges, on dissolved chemicals, and on sediment yield was investigated using the calibrated model. The width of the grass waterways was fixed at 10 m. Results indicated that grass waterways have great potential for retarding runoff and reducing sediment losses but are not effective for controlling dissolved chemical losses.