Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2009NY121B

The fate of non point sources of nitrate in lawn maintenance

Institute: New York
Year Established: 2009 Start Date: 2009-06-01 End Date: 2010-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $10,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $20,164

Principal Investigators: Gilbert Hanson, Henry Bokuniewicz

Project Summary: Quantifying nitrate leaching from fertilizer practices of turfgrass lawns is essential to keep concentrations in groundwater below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standard of 10 mg/L especially in areas which use septic tanks for domestic sewage treatment (Baier and Rykbost, 1976; Flipse and Bonner, 1985; Flipse et al., 1984; Kimmel, 1984; Porter, 1980). It is an especially sensitive problem on Long Island, NY where all potable water is derived from the local groundwater aquifers, the potential for nitrate leaching to the groundwater is high due to the sandy soils, and 25% of the land has been classified as lawns, i.e. turfgrass (Koppelman, 1978). Although results from investigations elsewhere are, of course, useful, it is necessary to examine regional conditions and practices to determine the impact to groundwater reserves (Petrovic, 1990). Also needed are long-term studies in order to capture both interannual variability and maturation of the turfgrass systems. Such long-term monitoring studies provide information that will allow other studies both in New York State and elsewhere to design more effective monitoring programs.