Former strip mine showcases nutrient management studies

CUBA, Ill. — Travelers along Fulton County Highway 5 between Canton and Cuba pass a site with several buildings fronted by a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District sign and may wonder what it’s all about.

The MWRD of Greater Chicago has had a presence in Fulton County since 1970 when it purchased 13,500 acres of primarily abandoned strip mines as part of its “Prairie Plan” restoration efforts. It now features ponds, row crops, pastures and woodlands.

“You may be thinking, what is MWRD Chicago doing in Fulton County,” Albert Cox, MWRD environmental monitoring and research manager, said at a recent field day highlighting the nutrient stewardship research at the site.

“This land used to be strip mine land. Almost nothing could grow on it, but MWRD already had a resource, which was biosolids. It was applied to the land and that is what converted most of this land to productive agriculture land.”

MWRD treats an average of 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater daily and discharges as clean water into waterways. The process recovers nutrients in the treatment process and converts it into products like fertilizer and compost for reuse.

“If we can come together and address the issue collaboratively that will help us meet our goal faster.”

—  Albert Cox, environmental monitoring and research manager, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

Air-dried biosolids are solid organic matter recovered from a sewage treatment process and improves soil structure and porosity.

“Not all of the land had biosolids applied to it. Some of it was good farmland. Now 4,000 acres is cropland that is farmed by farmers from the area,” Cox added.

The restoration effort was honored by the American Society of Civil Engineers as the outstanding engineering achievement of the year in 1974.

Field Research

The site has since been transformed into a large outdoor laboratory where multiple research projects are conducted to develop and test best management practices to reduce non-point source nutrient loss from farmland.

MWRD established the program at its test site to foster collaboration with agricultural producers and academic researchers to test and showcase nutrient management practices.

This effort began with meetings in 2013 where stakeholders set the foundation for what was to become the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy two years later.

The NLRS set goals of reducing total phosphorous loss by 25% and total nitrogen loads by 15% by 2025 with a long-term goal of a 45% reduction in both.

“The reason why we’re here is really because of this entire effort that started in Illinois back in 2013,” said Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau director of environmental policy.

Lurkins represented agriculture in the initial meetings to develop a plan to reduce nutrient loads from the “I” states and others down into the Gulf of Mexico.

“We give a lot of credit to our Department of Agriculture and Illinois EPA for really making this thing have a life of its own. That started with them inviting different opinions and stakeholders into the room on multiple occasions to develop a strategy moving forward.”

Representatives from environmental groups, ag groups, large wastewater treatment facilities, academics and regulatory agencies participated in those meetings.

Partnership In Action

“This site has become the perfect example of a place where the point source which is like MWRD that discharges water from a pipe and agriculture can come together in partnership to address nutrients because the point sources are only half the story and the non-point sources which is agriculture is the other half of the story,” Cox said.

“If we can come together and address the issue collaboratively, that will help us meet our goal faster. If you want to go slow, go alone, if you want to go fast, take others with you. That is why this collaboration is one of the key elements of the statewide nutrient loss reduction strategy.”

“Regardless of where you live in Illinois, we are all connected by our waterways” said MWRD Commissioner Eira Corral Sepúlveda.

“Through this partnership, we can learn best practices for nutrient loss reduction strategies that improve water quality here in Illinois and as far away as the Gulf of Mexico.”

Field Day

About 60 people attended the June 7 field day including representatives from IFB, Cook County Farm Bureau, Fulton County Farm Bureau, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois DOA, and the Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council, along with area farmers.

University of Illinois professors and research scientists presented approaches to reduce phosphorus losses, soil erosion through practices such as slow-release fertilizer captured from municipal wastewater treatment, a bioreactor and biochar-sorption system to capture nutrients, and water-lifting devices for combining drainage and sub-irrigation systems to keep nutrients in the field.

Funding for the research has been provided by Illinois NREC, MWRD and U.S. EPA.

“We continue to remain open to expand this collaboration even further to incorporate additional ideas to make this collaboration and this program contribute even further to the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy,” Cox said.