Use of the Kiliszek Water Quality Indices (KWQI) To Assess The Impact Of a Manure Collection System on Surface Water Quality Within A Small Agricultural Watershed

摘要

Kiliszek and Chirnside (2010) researched previously developed WQIs (Swamee and Tyagi, 2000 & 2007) and the different water quality parameters that were used in developing the equations. Using these as a guideline, changes were made to adapt the WQI to Delaware and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) standards and criteria. The sub-index equation constants required for each parameter were calculated and the equations modified in order to calculate the resultant WQI, subsequently named the Kiliszek WQI (KWQI). A user-friendly computational interface tool for calculating the KWQI was developed.Since the summer of 2006, the surface water quality of the University of Delaware Cool Run Experimental Watershed (UDEW) was monitored for nutrients, metals, and bacteria. The monitoring sites are located in the Newark Research and Education Center (NREC) Farm, where conservation practices were implemented within the sub-watershed in order to reduce pollutant loading from agricultural activities and stormwater runoff (McDermott and Sims, 2005). One of the BMP implemented in the study site was a manure collection system that collected manure from impervious surfaces of the milking house and feeding barn. Construction of the entire system started in April 2007 and was completed in October 2007. By December 2007, the system was put into operation.This paper describes the Kiliszek model assessment of the impact of the manure collection system on the water quality of the Cool Run located downstream from the collection system. The Kiliszek model uses the KWQI to evaluated temporal changes in individual water quality parameters as well as overall stream health.