Maintenance program for three Southwestern Ontario watersheds, final report, 1996-97

At the end of the Soil and Water Environmental Enhancement Program (SWEEP) Program, monitoring in the Paired Watersheds resumed through funding provided by the Green Plan. The study was revised to include Paired Watersheds at the headwaters of Kintore Creek. The Essex Region and Kettle Creek Paired Watersheds were retained from the original SWEEP Paired Watershed Study. The monitoring, technical assistance and landowner liaison were managed by the Upper Thames River, Essex Region and Kettle Creek Conservation Authorities respectively. The study was designed to determine the impact of conservation farming systems on water quality at the subwatershed scale by measuring soil and nutrient loss as suspended solids and total phosphorous concentration in the surface drainage system. To facilitate the study, the Conservation Authorities encouraged the farmers to continue their level of adoption of conservation farming practices which were attained at the end of the SWEEP Program. Monitoring included precipitation, air temperature, agricultural practices, water quality and water quantity. The data collected was shared with a number of other research projects sited within the watersheds.