The North Fork of the Ninnescah River flows into the Cheney Reservoir in south-central Kansas and provides 40 to 60 percent of the City of Wichita’s daily water supply. The North Fork of the Ninnescah River Watershed covers over 600,000 acres and encompasses land in Sedgwick, Reno, Kingman, Pratt and Stafford Counties in southeast Kansas. The watershed is diverse in terms of soil types, topography and rainfall.

The North Fork of the Ninnescah River Watershed is 99 percent agricultural, with a variety of farming and ranching practices. Sediment and other nonpoint source pollution from crops and livestock production are the main threats to water quality. Concentrations of animal waste and over-application or improper application of fertilizers and pesticides have created excessive levels of nutrients, especially phosphorous. The watershed is listed as a Category 1-A watershed in Kansas’s Unified Watershed Assessment.

Agricultural Best Management Practices

In 1992, the Reno County Conservation District began to prepare a comprehensive management plan for the watershed. Implementation began in 1994 under the leadership of Citizen’s Management Committee (CMC) of the Cheney Lake Water Quality Project, a rural-urban partnership representing local, state and federal agencies, local landowners and farmers and the City of Wichita. In 1995, the Kansas Rural Center joined the effort promoting and implementing sustainable farming and best management practices (BMP).

Implementation of BMPs to mitigate the impacts of agricultural pollution and sedimentation has occurred throughout the North Fork of the Ninnescah River Watershed. On-farm demonstrations, farm tours, educational workshops and farmer-to-farmer meetings have all encouraged and spread successful and innovative conservation practices. Agricultural BMPs used in the watershed include cover crops, filter strips, crop rotations, management- intensive grazing systems, strip cropping, center pivot irrigation, no-till planting techniques and animal waste systems, waterways and terraces. Seventeen percent of the land in the watershed is enrolled in USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program.

The Cheney Lake Water Quality Project uses innovative funding to encourage BMP implementation. Traditional cost-share programs, such as USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program, provide funds covering 50-70 percent of the cost for structural practices, thereby leaving some of the BMP financial burden with the landowner. In the North Fork of the Ninnescah River Watershed, the City of Wichita pays an additional 30 percent of the cost so that, in some cases, farmers do not incur any expenses for BMP installation. BMPs ineligible for cost-sharing can receive EPA Section 319 grants. BMPs and sustainable farming practices are credited with preventing 77,000 tons of manure from entering the watershed annually.

State and Federal Partners The watershed project receives financial support from the federal government and the City of Wichita Water and Sewer Department, and local support from the Reno, Sedgwick Pratt, Kingman and Stafford County Conservation Districts. State support comes from the Department of Health and Environment, Department of Wildlife and Parks and Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service. Federal partners include the USDA Farm Services Agency, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, EPA, DOI Geological Survey, DOI Bureau of Reclamation, DOI Fish and Wildlife Service and DOI National Park Service.

Table of Contents

http://water.usgs.gov/owq/cleanwater/success/ninnescah.html
Created October 13, 2000