4R NUTRIENT STEWARDSHIP LESSON 2
A CASE CHANGE STUDY FOR GROWING GREEN WATERS WITH PHOSPHOROUS
At a Glance
A course introducing students to sustainable agriculture, more specifically our current challenge
of using agriculture sustainably to grow our foods. This lesson involves a case study involving
phosphorous, which introduces students to real life examples of current environmental
challenges. Followed by a 4R right rate experiment with fertilizer, and concludes with discussing
solutions to the problems of phosphorous pollution. Students will enjoy these hands on activities
based on current events while learning some of the basics of agricultural sustainability.
Major Concepts
 Our growing world population puts increasing pressures on our current food system and
agriculture.
 Understanding of sustainable agriculture including 4R nutrient stewardship.
 Defining the three pillars of sustainability – economic, social and environmental.
 Concept and application of 4R framework for sustainability.
 Understanding the importance of right rate in terms of fertilizer use with crops.
Objectives
After completing this lesson, students will be able to
 Define 4R nutrient stewardship and its importance.
 Understand and define the importance of right rate in terms of fertilizer use.
 Describe current challenges of farmers with regards to phosphorous and sustainable
farming.
 Identify potential sources of nutrient pollution (locally), and
 Recognize the benefits of sustainable agriculture.
Activities
Activity 1: A 4R Case Study called Growing Green Waters examining the nutrient - Phosphorous.
Activity 2: 4R experiment with understanding the Right Rate.
Activity 3: A Solution to Our Phosphorous Pollution.
Activity 1
Growing Green Waters
A 4R Case Study Examining Phosphorous
4R Lesson 2
Activity 1 – A Case Study Challenge Examining Phosphorous
Overview
Activity one introduces students to real life examples demonstrating potential impacts of
excessive fertilizer use and agricultural runoff, specifically using the nutrient
phosphorous. This exercise will allow students to understand the potential impacts of
excessive fertilizer use and its relevance on local drinking water systems and local
watercourses. Students can complete this activity individually or in small groups,
followed by students sharing results with the class.
Materials
 Background Teacher Resource Material – Phosphorous
 Photocopied News Articles
1. Lake Simcoe
2. Lake Erie
3. Lake Winnipeg
4. Toledo
 Teacher PowerPoint Presentation
PRE-ACTIVITY DISCUSSION
Is Phosphorous a friend or foe?
Introduce or review to students to the nutrient phosphorous, its historical use, our current
challenge and the concept of 4R nutrient stewardship. See Teacher background
information (corresponding PP Presentation) attached to this file.
Is Too Much Phosphorous – Too Much Of A Good Thing?
 Ask your class what happens if we use too much fertilizer (specifically
phosphorous) on our crops? Can too much be too much of a good thing? What
do you think might happen?
INTRODUCE THE KEY CONCEPT: PHOSPHOROUS
One of the environmental impacts of too much phosphorous is agricultural runoff into our
local waterways and streams, and its byproduct is excessive algae, algal blooms, and
sometimes even toxic blue-green algae. Agricultural runoff happens typically during
excessive rainfall events, or during spring snowmelt events or sometimes if farmers
apply too much fertilizer for the crop to uptake. Part of the challenge of being a farmer,
or an agronomist is to understand how much is required for optimal crop growth.
Remember as a farmer, farming is your business and you need to account for the cost of
fertilizer (your input) and try to earn top dollars for your crops (your output). There used
to be an old expression – “bigger inputs = bigger outputs.” Your challenge is to also
think about your social, environmental, and economic impacts and goals relating to
fertilizer use.
Can you name some social, environmental, or economic goals of farming? Maybe ask
yourself can farming be a sustainable practice?
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Activity 1
Growing Green Waters
A 4R Case Study Examining Phosphorous
Case Study Challenge – Are We Growing Green Waters?
Review with students the phosphorous cycle, the historical use of phosphorous, and the
result of applying too much fertilizer.
Can anyone give examples of current challenges as a result of agricultural runoff? What
is happening in your areas?
Activity Instructions
Ask students to make small groups for the case study. Give each group a case study.
Ask how can we achieve environmental sustainability with agriculture and fertilizer?
Let’s explore…
Our challenge is to feed more people with more food, using with less land and water
resources. Lets review some of our current challenges.
Activity Instructions
1. Ask students to form small groups (6-8 people).
2. Give each group a case study example of a news article (Lake Erie, Lake Simcoe
(Ontario), Lake Winnipeg, Toledo).
3. Read and discuss each article within your group.
4. Complete the following activity sheet for each article and be prepared to share
your learning’s with your class. Each group will introduce and report on the
current challenge, concerns, and outcome.
5. Discuss in your class what could be some possible solutions.
6. Introduce the concept of 4R nutrient stewardship to the class.
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Activity 1
Growing Green Waters
Teacher Resource Farming 4R Manitoba
Activity 1 Teacher Resource - Background Teaching Material on Phosphorous
Lets Meet Phosphorous
Phosphorous, also known as the element P on the periodic table, Atomic number 15, is
one of the main essential ingredients in fertilizer. It has been also called the “devil’s
element” not only because it was it the 13th element to be discovered, but it has had a
colourful history in war and is also highly toxic when ingested. It is essential for optimal
crop growth in agriculture, but in terms of water quality it has been related to a number of
ecological and human health concerns when in excess. So we can question what makes
it a friend or foe?
From the element phosphorous comes phosphates, phosphates are the most common
form of phosphorous on earth and it consists of phosphorous bonded to atoms of
oxygen.
The Phosphorous Cycle and Runoff Potentials
Phosphorous as an element naturally enters the environment from rocks or deposits
from present from many years ago. The commercial form is known as apatite, and
weathering and soil erosion gradually release natural amounts of phosphorous into our
environment. Phosphorous is also water-soluble meaning it moves with the water.
Phosphates are incorporated into many molecules essential for life including adenosine
triphosphate (ATP), and is also one of the backbones of DNA, and RNA.
Phosphates cycle as part of the phosphorous cycle and many are typically washed away
into waters from erosion, or leaching or runoff. Plants like crop need the uptake of
phosphorous as a nutrient. If too little is available the plants and crops can become
stunted or are slow to grow. If too much is available, some of the phosphorous runs off
during excessive rainfall events and/or during annual snowmelt events, etc. Many times
to our lakes, rivers, and streams resulting as part of the sediment, where its redissolved
and recycled as a problematic nutrient. Define leaching
Human activities also influence the phosphorous cycle and input other sources into the
system. These come from mainly the synthetic sources of fertilizers. Municipal sewage
treatment plants are also a source of added phosphorous to our waterways, along with
the degradation of our wetlands – thereby eliminating our natural water’s filters in the
environment. Animal wastes and manures also applied as fertilizers can be problematic
if too much as applied or applied during winter months on frozen grounds. Feedlots are
another example of potential agricultural runoff sources of fertilizer.
Historical Use of Phosphorous
During the 1960s, laundry detergents averaged roughly 10 per cent phosphorus by
weight. Many waterways suffered from large algae blooms each summer. Some fish
virtually disappeared from our waters. Research at Canada's famed Experimental Lakes
Area -- now abandoned by the federal government - clearly documented the role of
phosphorus. The Canada Water Act was amended in 1970 to require detergent
manufacturers to reduce phosphate in detergents to 2.2 per cent by 1971. This was a
key victory of the early days of the environmental movement.
Since then, many waters have demonstrated considerable improvements in terms of
phosphorous, until about five years ago when scientists began warning about excessive
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Activity 1
Growing Green Waters
Teacher Resource Farming 4R Manitoba
amounts of phosphorous showing up in our waters – Eutrophication it is called. But with
the phosphates out of our detergents – what was the source of all this algae?
Phosphorous and Fertilizer
Phosphorous is essential for optimal plant growth and is a key ingredient used in
fertilizers. Too much fertilizer for the plant can result in agricultural runoff and it’s a trend
that seems to be increasing.
Current Challenge with Phosphorous
Excess phosphorous has been showing up in our waterways in Canada for a number
years more recently. Popping up everywhere from Lake Winnipeg, to Lake Erie, Lake
Simcoe, and Lake Ontario in the summer months and then disappearing again. Is green
water making a comeback?
Our current challenge with phosphorous includes two main concerns. As we continue to
put additional pressures on today’s farmers, agronomists, and scientists to keep farming
competitive, combined with the needs of our growing populations and their need for
more food, combined with our limited amount of farmland, and limited amount of
freshwater sources – this creates a great challenge for everyone. Can we farm
sustainably now and for the future? And what are the solutions to our growing green
water problem?
A Solution to Our Current Phosphorous Challenge
One key solution to our current phosphorous challenge is 4R nutrient stewardship.
According to the United Nations, the global population will increase by more than two
billion people in the next 40 years, and many reports have indicated that agricultural
production needs to double by 2050. Industry experts agree that increased production of
food, fiber and fuel will be achieved by intensified production and not by expanded
arable land base. Genetic and biotech seed industries have predicted yield increases of
three to four percent per year. However, to optimize the yields of advanced seeds,
fertilizer inputs must be optimized to provide the greatest potential for success.
4R nutrient stewardship provides a framework to achieve cropping system goals, such
as increased production, increased farmer profitability, enhanced environmental
protection and improved sustainability. To achieve those goals, the 4R concept
incorporates the Right Source, at the Right Rate, Right Time, and Right Place.
Properly managed fertilizers support cropping systems that provide economic, social and
environmental benefits. On the other hand, poorly managed nutrient applications can
decrease profitability and increase nutrient losses, potentially degrading water and air.
4R nutrient stewardship requires the implementation of best management practices
(BMPs) that optimize the efficiency of fertilizer use. The goal of fertilizer BMPs is to
match nutrient supply with crop requirements and to minimize nutrient losses from fields.
Selection of BMPs varies by location, and those chosen for a given farm are dependent
on local soil and climatic conditions, crop, management conditions and other site specific
factors.
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Activity 2
4R Experiment 4 Right Rate
Teacher Resource – Teacher Instructions
4R Experiment to Understanding the Right Rate – Teacher Instructions
Overview
In this part of the lesson, students in small groups will experiment by applying different
rates of fertilizer to their plants. This hands on experiment will teach students the
importance of understanding the right rate – one of the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship.
Students will be asked to observe and record findings of their plants over a number of
weeks.
Materials
 Small pots or containers for growing plants (3 per each group)
 3 plants per group to represent a crop – suggested plants (sunflowers, tomatoes,
basil, or even grass). Choose same plant for each group and ideally a hardy, fast
growing one.
 Extra soil
 Water
 Some form of household all purpose fertilizer (i.e. miracle grow 24-8-16)
 Label for containers
 Source of light (light or a window)
 Ruler
 Paper and pencil/pen for recording
 Activity sheet for recording
 Small groups of students
Next review with students the three essential and most common sources of nutrients
N:P:K (Nitrogen, phosphorous, and Potassium or potash) needed for effective crop
development.
Split the students into small groups and ask them to think and brainstorm ideas about
what would happen if you over applied or under applied fertilizer to plants?
Next introduce the experiment to students and ask them to write a hypothesis (1 per
group). Give each group needed materials and ask them to complete the experiment.
Each week ask students to record results and discuss final outcomes.
Complete the experiment with students.
Ask students to graph and share their results of the experiment for each plant. Discuss
with students the following questions:
1. What was the final outcome of your crop?
2. Was your experiment fully successful?
3. Under what conditions (what rate of fertilizer) did your crops grow best?
4. What were the challenges
5. What was the purpose of this experiment and how is it applicable to our local
environment?
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Activity 2
4R Experiment using Right Rate
Student Resource - Student Instructions
A 4R Experiment to Understanding the Right Rate Applications
Student Activity Instructions
1. In your small group, re-read the experiments instructions.
2. Think about what might happen to each plant (crop).
3. Write a hypothesis in your group for this experiment.
4. Setup the experiment as per the Right Rate Experiment Instructions.
5. Complete experiment.
6. Observe and record results each week.
7. Finalize with your group your final results and share to class your experiment
findings.
My hypothesis is . . . .
Right Rate Experiment Instructions
1. Label each container with the correct label [Control (1), Full (2), Double (3)].
2. Transplant each crop into one of your three containers.
3. Measure and record each crop prior to any watering (height, width of leaves,
length of leaves, # of flowers, etc.).
4. Your crop in container #1 will represent the control for the experiment – therefore
only give it water and record each week, we will refer to the control as #1.
5. Container #2 represents your crop using the right rate application. Therefore
water according to right rate instructions based on your all purpose fertilizer.
Generally speaking fertilize once every 7 days and water also accordingly when
plants seem dry.
6.
Don’t forget to measure and record all amounts of water given to each plant.
7. Container #3 represents double the amount of fertilizer, therefore double the
amount of fertilizer suggested by the instructions. Apply fertilizer once every 7
days but double the amount (rate) of fertilizer given to your crops.
8. Place your crops in a sunny window and watch your crops grow for six weeks.
9. Observe and record weekly your results in a table form, see the suggested table
form (Table 1-1).
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Activity 2
4R Experiment using Right Rate
Student Resource - Student Instructions
Table 1-1: Suggested table form for Right Rate Experiment.
Week
#
Crop #
Initial
1
Crop
Height
(cm)
# of
Leaves
Length/Width
of leaves (cm)
# flowers
State of crop
(healthy, dead,
alive, etc.)
Amount of
water/
Fertilizer
(mL)
2
3
1.
1
2
3
2.
1
2
3
3.
1
2
3
4.
1
2
3
5.
1
2
3
6.
1
2
3
Final
Avg.
1
2
3
10. Graph your results and review your crops results with your group. Share your
results with the class.
11. Review and discuss the final outcomes of the experiment and the impact of using
the Right Rate of fertilizer. Think about how this experiment may be applicable in
real life. Discuss the importance of including a control in the experiment
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Activity 3
Solutions to Growing Green Water
Student Resource - Student Instructions
Activity 3 - Solutions to Growing Green Water
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Ask your students – What is the solution to our current challenges? Can we farm
sustainably? What are the 3 pillars of sustainability?
Overview
In this third and final part of the lesson it’s time to talk about solutions to the potential
pollution. Introduce and ask your students what is being done to minimize these
environmental concerns related to agricultural runoff and fertilizer use? Provide some
examples for the teacher. Discuss what actions might help? Review and discuss the
results of Activities 1 and/or 2, then play a short video (4:38) about Farming 4R Manitoba
featuring farmer Curtis McCrae. Students will complete accompanied question sheet and
further discuss solutions to our current challenge.
Materials
Video student answer sheet, and
Video and audio equipment,
And popcorn (optional).
Video: Farming 4R Manitoba, featuring Curtis McCrae.
More about the video - Curits McCrae shows us his farm in Manitoba, and how he is
using the 4R Nutrient Stewardship (the Right Source @ Right Rate, Right Time, Right
Place® approach to nutrient management) on his farm to provide understanding of how
various crop nutrients behave in the landscape, how they are used by crops and how to
prevent their loss into the environment.
The Province of Manitoba, the Canadian Fertilizer Institute (CFI) and Keystone
Agriculture Producers (KAP) signed a 4R Nutrient Stewardship memorandum of
understanding (MOU) that formalizes a joint commitment to support agriculture
production and environmental protection through improved fertilizer use. Manitoba is the
first prairie province to complete an arrangement with CFI on nutrient management and
adoption/impact measurement.
More information available at farming4Rfuture.ca
Video: Farming 4R Manitoba: Featuring Curtis McCrae (4:38).
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xISrwwXEA8
Instructions
Watch video and ask students to complete the question activity 3 sheet.
Closing Activity
Summarize about the environmental concerns of excess phosphorous and agricultural
runoff and the importance of using the right rate – one of the 4Rs of nutrient
stewardship. Discuss with students what is happening in your areas, locally, regionally,
provincially to protect local drinking water sources? Ask your class as a group - what
they could do to help?
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Activity 3
Solutions to Growing Green Water
Student Resource - Student Instructions
Activity 3 – Student Activity Farming 4R Manitoba
Name:
Date:
Source: CFI Video - Farming 4R Manitoba, featuring Curtis McCrae
1. What happens if we apply too much fertilizer to our crops?
2. What is 4R nutrient stewardship and how does it help?
3. What are some factors that may affect application rates of fertilizer?
4. How does 4R nutrient stewardship make a healthy crop?
5. Why is right placement important?
6. Why is right rate important?
7. Why are farmers good stewards of the land? And what is the added bonus?
8. Consider what actions farmers can do in the future to minimize agricultural
runoff?
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Lesson Resource
-
News Article 1, Activity 1
Lake Simcoe (Lake Ontario)
NEWS ARTICLE –
Local officials keeping tabs on water after algae emergency in Lake Erie
By Cheryl Browne, Barrie Examiner
Friday August 5, 2014.
The blue-green algae bloom that left Toldeo,
Ohio, residents thirsty last weekend isn't being
ignored by water officials here in Barrie.
Tucked between several large bodies of water,
including Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe,
Barrie's in a precarious position if a bluegreen
algae bloom appeared.
“I don't think we fully understand the fairly new
threat and its possible impact on our
waterways,” said Brenda Armstrong, program
manager of safe water at the Simcoe Muskoka
District Health Unit.
Lake Simcoe.
“We have to monitor the nutrient levels in our
waterways and after a heavy rainfall event, the
possible contamination from animal
feces and fertilizer run-off with increases in temperatures, are certainly explored as a factor for the
blue­green algae contamination,”
she said.
Hundreds of thousands of Ohio and Michigan residents were cautioned not to drink, bathe or even boil
their tap water Aug. 2 after high levels of blue-green algae – or cyanobacteria – were found in Lake Erie.
Armstrong said the area's many waterway authorities are constantly monitoring for the bacteria and the
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change would be contacted if one appeared.
Both the Nutrient Management Act and Lake Simcoe Protection Act have been put in place to reduce
phosphorous levels and protect Ontario's water quality, said the ministry's Lindsay Davidson.
“Prevention of algae blooms is more effective in controlling impacts than trying to deal with one after it
has occurred,” Davidson said.
“Prevention can include limiting the amount of phosphorus that are discharged to lakes and rivers.
Common sources of phosphorous are sewage treatment plants, septic systems and storm water run-off
from urban and agricultural land.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich declared a state of emergency last Saturday, but after six clear tests, it was lifted on
Monday. No one was reported to have become sick from the contamination. Featherstone said when
water isn't being refreshed constantly, an increase in the amount of phosphates and nitrogens can
explode in
stagnant water causing bacteria to multiply.
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Lesson Resource
News Article 1, Activity 1
Lake Simcoe (Lake Ontario)
Along the Collingwood shoreline and Lake Simcoe, we generally don't see those conditions, he said, but
added Parry Sound, the Kawartha Lakes region, Hamilton and the Bay of Quinte occasionally see large
blue-green algae blooms. At the Barrie surface water treatment plant, Jamey Adams said Barrie residents
should not to be alarmed about blue-green algae blooms due to how we access our water.
Adams said residents in the northeast portion of the city draw their water from deep wells fed by aquifers
which aren't known for their blooms.
When all other residents turn on the tap, they're drawing water through the treatment centre which pulls
in water from deep intake valves in Kempenfelt Bay.
“A lot of effort and study went into the location (of the intake valves). They're 60-feet deep in 80-foot
deep water. It's very deep and very clean,” Adams said
The temperature of Lake Simcoe's water is approximately 10 to 12 degrees Celsius, he said, which is much
colder than the surface water in Lake Erie.
Barrie's facilities run computer tests for contaminants, continuously checking for phosphorous and
temperature levels, as well as chlorine and turbidity or clarity.
“It's not one check we run each day. It's continuous and it's alarmed,” he said.
SOURCE: THE BARRIE EXAMINER Accessed at http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2014/08/07/localofficials-keeping-tabs-on-water-after-algae-emergency-in-lake-erie
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Lesson Resource
-
News Article 2, Activity 1
Lake Erie
NEWS ARTICLE –
Lake Erie Algae Bloom Crisis Is Putting Pressure On Ohio Farm States To Tackle
Agricultural Runoff
By Maria Gallucci, International Business Times
Friday August 16, 2014.
On the shores of Lake Erie, the immediate
sense of crisis has passed. Following the
toxic algae that bloomed in the lake
earlier this month, forcing residents of
Toledo, Ohio to rely on bottled water for
their drinking water supply, authorities
now offer assurances that the tap water
is safe.
But a gnawing fear remains in
communities along the lake. The algal
bloom has intensified concerns about its
apparent source -- pollution washing off
surrounding fields in the form of fertilizer
and manure. Not without reason, people
worry that more outbreaks could emerge at any time.
“I’m still drinking bottled water,” said Jessica Morelli, a nursing mother who skipped showers the
weekend of the tap water shutdown, worrying she’d get a skin infection that she could potentially pass on
to her 8­month­old daughter. “People are still kind of leery. If it could make you so sick one day, how
could it be normal so quickly again?”
Around the nation, similar worries have become a part of everyday life as communities grapple with
growing volumes of pollution spilling into waterways from livestock and farming operations. Though talk
of industrial pollution may summon images of belching smokestacks, the agricultural expanses producing
meat, dairy, grains and vegetables are today so enormous that they can generate quantities of water
pollution rivaling cities. Yet the rules governing this pollution still generally treat farming as something
other than an industry.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate agricultural runoff, leaving such effluent to
be governed by local agencies whose philosophies and standards vary from state to state. State rules and
enforcement are often lax, environmental policy experts assert, in part because pushback from
agricultural lobbying interests, but also because of limited funding and staffing at regulatory agencies.
Last year alone, 20 states reported nearly 150 separate toxic algal blooms in lakes rivers and ponds,
including 10 in Ohio and 50 in New York, according to National Wildlife Federation data. While industrial
waste, sewage from septic tanks and lawn fertilizer also contribute to the problem, agriculture is the
biggest source of the phosphorous and nitrogen that nurture harmful blooms. If ingested, certain types of
algae-born toxins can cause fevers, vomiting and diarrhea. Direct skin contact can cause hives, blisters and
rashes.
Scientists peg the increasing incidence of algae blooms to a mix of factors that seems set to intensify in
coming years, ratcheting up the risk of more. Farmers are relying more on so-called dissolved
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Lesson Resource
News Article 2, Activity 1
Lake Erie
phosphorous fertilizers, which they apply directly to the soil rather than till into the ground. Left on the
surface, these fertilizers are more prone to being washed into surrounding waterways. Climate change
threatens to bring more severe rainstorms, which would carry larger volumes of runoff into streams and
overflowing sewer systems.
All of this is happening just as agriculture is growing in some states. In Ohio, sales of corn, soybeans,
wheat, poultry, hogs and milk collectively soared to $10 billion in 2012, up 42 percent compared to five
years earlier, according to the latest federal Census of Agriculture.
In Gulf states, environmental groups say states haven’t done enough to confront the 5,000­square­mile
“dead zone” that’s killing fish and marine ecosystems. The zone is caused by runoff that drains into the
Mississippi River and creates algal blooms, which decompose and suck up oxygen needed to sustain life
underwater. The Natural Resources Defense Council, the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network,
and other groups are suing the EPA to compel states to
enforce pollution measures.
At least one region, however, has policy advocates optimistic: The Chesapeake Bay.
For decades, extensive water quality efforts had failed to stem runoff from poultry and livestock manure
and other sources. So in 2010, the leaders of six states and the District of Columbia joined with the EPA to
put the region on a “pollution diet.” Federal regulators established a so­called total maximum daily load ­­
a limit on how much nutrient, sewage and stormwater pollution would be allowed to reach the
64,000-square-mile estuary. The states around the Chesapeake agreed to develop pollution control plans
through 2025, which include reduction targets for every two-year period.
Back in Ohio, the same questions over voluntary-versus-mandatory rules are gaining renewed attention in
the wake of the Toledo crisis. The state has a target of cutting phosphorous runoff by 40 percent, but it
hasn’t established a timeframe or a plan to get there.
But environmentalists and some scientists and state lawmakers say that much more aggressive measures
are needed to avoid toxic algal blooms in the near term.“If you want to eliminate [runoff] almost
immediately, all you have to do is reduce the loads for sewage treatment plants and regulate agriculture,”
said Jeff Reutter, director of OSU’s Sea Grant College Program and an expert on toxic algae. “Voluntary
approaches might work … but if you go that route, it’s going to take longer. So how long is society willing
to wait?”
On Friday, a group of state legislators from around Lake Erie called on Gov. Kasich and the General
Assembly to declare the Maumee River watershed “distressed,” a move that would make it easier for
regulators to restrict agricultural runoff. “This issue isn’t going to go away,” state Rep. Teresa Fedor, who
represents Toledo and attended the meeting, said in an earlier interview. Without clean water,
“Everything in your day just stops. It really just shuts down your life.”
SOURCE: Accessed at: http://www.ibtimes.com/lake-erie-algae-bloom-crisis-putting-pressure-ohio-farm-states-tackleagricultural-1660240
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Lesson Resource
News Article 3, Activity 1
Toledo (Lake Erie)
- NEWS ARTICLE -
Toledo is a warning about phosphorus pollution and toxic drinking
water
By Ole Hendrickson
August 6, 2014
Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins lifted the city's
drinking water ban at a Monday, August 4 news
conference after three days of chaos. The National
Guard had been called in to provide clean water so
residents could avoid potential health effects -including skin rashes, vomiting and diarrhea -- of
drinking Lake Erie water contaminated with bluegreen algal toxins. While some toxins remain, the
mayor has declared the city's water supply "safe" for
human use.
Scientists point to excessive phosphorus as the
culprit in this incident. History bears them out.
During the 1960s, laundry detergents averaged roughly 10 per cent phosphorus by weight. Lake Erie
suffered massive algae blooms each summer. Whitefish, pike and walleye virtually disappeared. Research
at Canada's famed Experimental Lakes Area -- now abandoned by the federal government -- clearly
documented the role of phosphorus. The Canada Water Act was amended in 1970 to require detergent
manufacturers to reduce phosphate in detergents to 2.2 per cent by 1971. This was a key victory of the early
days of the environmental movement.
Detergent manufacturers fought against binding national legislation. Nonetheless, citizen action led to a
patchwork of municipal and state laws. Manufacturers grudgingly marketed alternative detergent
formulations. This greatly reduced (but did not completely eliminate) clothes-washing as a source of
phosphorus pollution. Lake Erie returned to reasonable health -- for a while.
Unfortunately, phosphorus pollution and blue-green algae are back with a vengeance (e.g., in Lakes
Winnipeg and Simcoe as well as Erie). Excess fertilizer nutrients from fields and pastures wash into lakes
and streams and stimulate the growth of photosynthetic algae, bacteria and plants -- a process known as
eutrophication. High phosphorus inputs, in particular, favour blooms of blue-green algae, more properly
called cyanobacteria. Toxins produced by cyanobacteria have been known for centuries to cause poisoning
in animals and humans, with risks of liver and kidney damage, nerve damage, and gastrointestinal
disturbances.
Phosphates in agriculture
Modern agri-business is hooked on phosphate fertilizer. Only about one-fifth of the phosphorus extracted
from phosphate rock is consumed as food -- the remainder is released into the environment. A large
fraction of the phosphorus we consume as food eventually ends up as pollution as well. Most sewage
treatment plants are not designed for phosphorus removal. This requires "tertiary treatment," beyond the
limited budgets of most municipalities.
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Lesson Resource
News Article 3, Activity 1
Toledo (Lake Erie)
Pollution concerns have prompted efforts to encourage more efficient phosphate fertilizer use, but it
remains on an upward trend. Government subsidies for liquid ethanol transport fuels have resulted in higher
corn acreage and fertilizer demand. While net environmental impacts of biofuel use are hotly debated, there
is growing evidence that replacing gasoline with corn ethanol has led to greater water pollution while only
slightly reducing air pollution by greenhouse gases.
This is a poor trade-off. Treating air and water pollution as separate issues no longer makes sense. We are
sleep-walking into inter-connected, recurring environmental crises. More intense rainfall -- a feature of our
greenhouse-gas-disrupted climate -- means more runoff and soil erosion and higher loads of sediment and
phosphorus in lakes and streams. Streamside buffers in agricultural areas can help, but bigger changes will
be needed.
The longer we remain on the fossil fuel treadmill, the faster fertilizer and food prices will increase. The
fertilizer industry widely acknowledges that the quality of remaining phosphate rock is decreasing and
production costs are increasing. Estimates of remaining supply range from 50 to 100 years. Within our
children's lifetimes it will be impossible to produce food (and fuel) with current agricultural practices.
Avoiding starvation will require a major shift to use of human and animal manures. This is organic farming
on a broad scale -- as practiced by humans for millennia. It will mean dealing with higher labour and
transportation costs, appropriate application rates, risks of transmitting pathogens, and undesirable odours.
Ideally, this will lead to smaller farms; mixed livestock, vegetable and grain crops; and reduction of the
indirect dietary consumption of corn (used to produce meat and fructose-sweetened drinks).
Taking action to keep water safe
In eastern Ontario we are seeing hopeful signs of citizen action bringing about positive change. Cobdenarea residents have formed a Muskrat Watershed Council, aimed at protecting water supplies and property
values, and reducing the occurrence of blue-green algae blooms in Muskrat Lake -- which has some of the
highest phosphorus levels in Ontario. Volunteers with Ottawa Riverkeeper's River Watch program are
monitoring the health of local water bodies. A younger generation is getting back into farming, bringing a
new environmental awareness and a commitment to healthier diets. Ottawa now has a year-round organic
farmers' market, and organic produce can be found at farmers' markets throughout the Ottawa Valley,
including in Cobden.
Despite an overall worrisome trend of increased frequency of harmful algal blooms, there are many
opportunities to take action to keep water safe for drinking, swimming and fishing. One of the most
important is through your pocketbook. Buy food that is grown in the most sustainable manner -- not most
cheaply.
Ole Hendrickson is a retired forest ecologist and a founding member of the Ottawa River Institute [8], a
non-profit charitable organization based in the Ottawa Valley.
SOURCE: http://rabble.ca/columnists/2014/08/toledo-warning-about-phosphorus-pollution-and-toxicdrinking-water
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Lesson Resource
News Article 3, Activity 1
Toledo (Lake Erie)
Farmers have new way to fix Lake Winnipeg
By: Bartley Kives, The Winnipeg Free Press
Posted: 08/30/2011
When freshwater scientist sat down to figure out the source of Lake Winnipeg’s ecological
problems, farmers would up with a large portion of the blame. In 2006, the Lake Winnipeg
Stewardship board determined agriculture was responsible for five per cent of the nitrogen and
15 per cent of the phosphorus flowing into the world's 10th-largest lake, which suffers from algae
blooms and low-oxygen "dead zones" as a result of heavy loads of these fertilizers.
Given the vast size of the Lake Winnipeg watershed, which stretches from the Rocky Mountains
to lakes west of Thunder Bay, no individual farm can be held responsible for an algae bloom. But
the portioning of blame was an unpleasant surprise for farmers in this province, who shoulder an
even heavier load of the blame for the nutrient loads that originate within Manitoba's borders.
Agriculture turned out to be the source of no less than 38 per cent of the nitrogen and 32 per cent
of phosphorus that originates within Manitoba and winds up in Lake Winnipeg, the stewardship
board concluded in its landmark report.
In the aftermath, the province enacted a moratorium on hog-barn construction and created new
agricultural land-use maps that came under heavy fire for being imprecise. But there are less
onerous means for agricultural producers to reduce the amount of nutrients that wind up flowing
downstream from their farms, according to newly published research led by University of
Manitoba soil scientist Kevin Tiessen.
Farmers in areas of Manitoba with rolling hills can reduce nutrient loading into Lake Winnipeg by
creating small artificial wetlands, Tiessen and fellow researchers at the U of M and a trio of
federal agencies suggest after analyzing nine years worth of water-quality data from a pair of
small dams on the South Tobacco Creek, west of Miami, Man.
The dams in question were originally built on farms at the top of the Manitoba Escarpment to
prevent erosion from scarring the hillside below and damaging downstream roads during serious
flood seasons. One is a "dry dam" that simply holds back water temporarily, while the other is a
"multi-purpose dam" that functions as an artificial wetland -- complete with marsh plants -- but
also serves as a water source for cattle.
In an article published this May in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Tiessen and his
colleagues found the dry dam reduced the downstream flow of nitrogen by 20 per cent a year and
phosphorus by nine per cent a year. The multi-purpose dam reduced nitrogen outflows by 15 per
cent a year and phosphorus loads by 12 per cent.
The researchers conceded they weren't sure why the artificial wetlands were so effective. During
the spring snowmelt, it's too cold for marsh plants to filter out phosphorus and nitrogen because
they aren't growing. And during summer rains, brief downpours provide too short a window for
plants to take up nutrients.
The dams themselves seem to play a role in reducing nutrient loads, possibly by mellowing out
the peak water flows that cause the most erosion and free up nutrients that occur naturally in the
soil.
"It is clear that small headwater dams and reservoirs are an effective tool to reduce downstream
nutrient loading," concluded the researchers, recommending the construction of small dams on
agricultural land anywhere in southern Manitoba with undulating terrain.
Their research adds to a body of work that demonstrates how flooding of agricultural land affects
the water quality of Manitoba's largest lakes.
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Lesson Resource
News Article 3, Activity 1
Toledo (Lake Erie)
After analyzing the 2009 spring flood, U of M geography student Reanne Pernerowski found the
Portage Diversion, an artificial floodway, was responsible for 93 per cent of the phosphorus and
60 per cent of the nitrogen that wound up in Lake Manitoba at the time.
During the same flood season, U of M geographer Greg McCullough also found elevated nutrient
loads on the La Salle River. McCullough also found nutrient loads into Lake Winnipeg were
roughly four times higher in 1997, the year of the Flood of the Century, than they were in 2003, a
low water year.
SOURCE:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/farmers-have-new-way-to-fix-lake-winnipeg128658788.html
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