National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI)
Pilot Project – Connecting on-farm
conservation efforts to watershed scale
assessments to benefit water quality
USDA-NRCS Landscape Conservation Initiatives Team
Dee Carlson
SWCS 72nd International Annual Conference

• Working collaboratively with EPA and states
to improve water quality in small agricultural
watersheds
• Primary goal to reduce nonpoint sources of
nutrients and sediment, and pathogens
related to animal agriculture
A major focus of the Initiative is to demonstrate that
focused implementation of conservation practices can
lead to meaningful progress on water quality goals
National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) Launched in 2012

Successful Watershed Planning*
• Establish strong partnerships through stakeholder, community and
producer involvement
• Define achievable and measureable watershed goals
• Clearly understand the pollutants of concern and transport modes
• Target conservation to critical source areas
• Develop conservation systems that address the pollutants, and that
meet producers’ needs (fit the watershed and fit the operations)
• Apply effective outreach strategies
* CEAP watersheds synthesis (2012), Rural Clean Water Program evaluation (1993), EPA
watershed planning (2008), RESOLVE review of NRCS watershed projects (2015)

NWQI Increases Water Quality Conservation
NWQI provided a three-fold
increase in average annual
practice obligation and a
four-fold increase in average
annual treated acres for core
water quality practices, as
compared to General EQIP in
the same small watersheds
Baseline Years – 2010-2011

NWQI Reaches More Customers
NWQI more than doubled
the amount of producers
reached for voluntary
conservation in small priority
watersheds
Baseline Years – 2010-2011

NWQI’s Targeted Approach
Primary targeting approach for
NWQI is to concentrate efforts at the
small watershed scale (HUC12) in
priority watersheds identified by the
State water quality agency and
other NRCS partners.
Further targeting is needed to
adequately address water quality
concerns….
Source: Vulnerability Assessment and Program
Performance Tool (VAPPT) developed by the NRCS RAD
GIS Lab for NWQI

• Identify pollutants of concern
• Identify pollutant sources
• Identify pollutant transport mechanisms
and routes
• Identify and target conservation to critical
source areas
Pollutant(s)
Sources
Transport
Critical Areas
Within-Watershed Targeting Approach
Slide courtesy of Craig Goodwin, NRCS National Water Quality Specialist

Need for Watershed-Scale Assessment
While a watershed plan is a requirement for inclusion in
NWQI, many of the initial NWQI watersheds lack
watershed plans at the scale or level of detail necessary
to inform placement of on-farm conservation efforts for
greatest water quality benefit.

NWQI Pilot Project
• Develop watershed-scale assessments during the pilot period
sufficient to guide future investments in on-farm planning and
conservation efforts to increase water quality improvements.
• Assessments complement existing watershed plans by
identifying vulnerable acres for treatment in order to
accomplish watershed goals.
• Outreach strategies to achieve conservation on acres most in
need of treatment
• Identify meaningful measures of progress towards watershed
goals

Targeting Tools Used by Pilot Watersheds
• Soil Vulnerability Index (SVI) - NRCS Resource Assessment Division
• CEAP Conservation Benefits Identifier (CCBI) – NRCS Resource
Assessment Division
• Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) – ARS-Iowa
• Prioritize, Target, Measure Application (PTMApp) - International Water
Institute, Red River Watershed Management Board, MN Board of Soil and
Water Resources, Houston Engineering Inc.
• APEX/SWAT – TAMU/ARS – Texas

NRCS CEAP Soil Vulnerability Index (SVI) - Identifies cropland soils vulnerable to
runoff and leaching. Based on APEX modeling for CEAP cropland.
Source: Vulnerability Assessment and Program Performance Tool
(VAPPT) developed by the NRCS RAD GIS Lab for NWQI

NRCS CEAP Conservation Benefits Identifier (CCBI) - Qualifies relationships between levels of
inherent vulnerability (SVI) and known levels of conservation treatment to rank fields by their potential
for soil or water quality gains from additional conservation.
Source: Vulnerability Assessment and Program
Performance Tool (VAPPT) developed by the NRCS
RAD GIS Lab for NWQI

Across watershed: Nutrient/manure management, Cover Crops, No-tillage or strip tillage
Slide courtesy of Jill Reinhart, NRCS Indiana State Office
ARS - Agricultural
Conservation
Planning
Framework
(ACPF):
GIS-based planning
resource to help
improve soil
management and
identify potential
practices and
locations to
control/reduce water
and nutrient
movement within
fields, at and below
field edges, and in
riparian zones.

Avoid point and non-point source
contributions from agricultural
operations
Control runoff, erosion, and leaching to
ground water
Trap or physically stop contaminants
before they can exit the agricultural
landscape
Systems Approach to Non-Point Source Control:
Avoid, Control, and Trap (ACT)
Control
Avoid
Trap
Slide courtesy of Craig Goodwin, NRCS National Water Quality Specialist

Pilot Results Analysis and Lessons Learned
Nitrogen Transport/
New vs. Existing NWQI
Priority 1 Treated
Acres (%)
Priority 1 Needing
Treatment (%)
Acres with
Improvement (%)
Acres Fully Treated*
(%)
RUNOFF
New Watersheds 54% 60% 44% 10%
Existing Watersheds 76% 51% 63% 2%
LEACHING
New Watersheds 37% 54% 19% 8%
Existing Watersheds 38% 66% 35% 24%
Successful Targeting – Example Analysis
Average Watershed Size 24,000
Average Percent Cultivated Acres 33%
*Full treatment refers to a system comprised of all 3 components - avoiding, controlling
and trapping practices.
Data from the NWQI Decision Tool developed by the NRCS RAD GIS Lab

Pilot Results Analysis and Lessons Learned
• Measure progress towards watershed goals
– Track implementation on critical source areas in graduated pilot watersheds
– Establish and monitor a set of water quality metrics that meets local partners’
needs - outcomes
– In-stream monitoring results where available
• NRCS will continue to work with science partners to evaluate and
implement targeting tools
• Continued focus on outreach strategies - the importance of producer
engagement cannot be overstated
Next Steps