Estimated daily loads of nutrients, sediment, and chloride at USGS edge-of-field stations, tributaries to Lum Drain, Genesee County, Michigan, water years 2012-17

As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have partnered to evaluate agricultural conservation practices focused on nutrient management. Monitoring methods allow for rapid assessment of water-quality changes in response to conservation efforts by focusing on subsurface-tile drainage and direct surface runoff from fields.
Estimated daily loads presented within this dataset are from one surface-runoff monitoring station (USGS station identification number 0414826544; approximated drainage area of 60.6 hectare) and one tile-runoff monitoring station (USGS station identification number 0414826545; approximated drainage area of 28.6 hectare). The monitored field is a row-crop parcel planted in a biennial corn-soybean crop rotation. Best-management practices were applied during part of the monitoring period: cover crops were planted in the fall of each year from 2014 to 2016; nutrient management methods were employed and a filter strip was installed on the field each spring from 2015 to 2017.