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<br />I-' <br />co <br />(.? <br />CD <br /> <br />National Wat.r Quality <br />Evaluation Project <br /> <br />Begun in 1981, this project at North <br />Carolina State UniverSity (NCSU) has <br />been funded under RCWP for the <br />purposes of.' providing technical <br />assistance to USDA, EPA and the <br />projects regarding mohitoring and <br />evaluation; tracking and reviewing <br />project progress; evaluating the <br />effectiveness of best management <br />practices; and reporting the combined <br />experimental results of the RCWP <br />projects. Much of the fnformation <br />contained In this report has been <br />generated by NCSU <br /> <br />objectives are threefold: (1) to improve water quality and beneficial uses In <br />the most cost-effective manner possible, consistent with the production of <br />food and fiber, (2) to help rural landowners and farmers practice nonpoint <br />source pollution control, and (3) to develop and test programs, policies, <br />and procedures designed to control agricultural nonpointsourcepoliutlon. <br />The program is administered by the U,S. Department of Agriculture's <br />Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS), In consult- <br />ation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). National, <br />state, and local RCWP coordinating committees make the major decisions <br />affecting the program. <br />RCWP began in 1980, and with a total appropriation of $64 million has <br />funded 21 watershed projects in 22 states across the country. Five projects <br />- located in Idaho, Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Vermont - <br />were designated as comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (CM&E) <br />projects: they received additional federal funding to monitor and evaluate <br />project impacts on water quality. All projects, however, were required to <br />monitor water quality. <br />The contracting period for 16 RCWP projects ended In 1986; the pro- <br />gram is scheduled to terminate in 1995. These projects represent a wide <br />range of poliution problems and Impaired water uses. Project locations are <br />shown in the accompanying map. <br />The following pages describe how the RCWP has worked so far, its suc- <br />cesses and Its failures - synthesized into lessons learned that can help <br />state and local managers put together their own management plans for <br />controlling agricultural nonpoint source poliution. <br /> <br />Lessons Learned from RCWP <br /> <br />Three major principles govern this experimental program: <br /> <br />1. Best management practices (BMPs) improve water quality. <br /> <br />2, A VOluntary program with cost-sharing Incentive can Improve water <br />quality. <br /> <br />3. Federal, state, and local agencies can cooperate to Implement a '! <br />water quality program effectively. <br /> <br />So, at the 10-year point in the program, have these principles held up? J <br />What can the RCWP tell those who would base future programs on these <br />same concepts? <br /> <br />Best Management Practices: How Effective <br />for Water Quality? <br /> <br />BMPs, when properly implemented, have improved water quality in some <br />of the RCWP projects. Several specific results document this. <br />It is important to note that, although several of the findings listed here <br />may seem to be statements of the obvious, there Is little documentation In <br />the scientific literature to support this intuitive knowledge with respect to <br />watersheds. For example, It is difficult to find scientific publications that <br />demonstrate the relationship between stream quality and nutrient manage- <br />ment. The findings reported here, because they are backed by adequate <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />