Wetlands as a Best Management Practice on a Dairy Farm

J. Cronk 1

Abstract

Two wetlands (550 m2 each) were constructed at a 170 head dairy farm in Maryland in July 1993. The wetlands were designed to intercept and treat the farm's waste before it enters the Monocacy River (a Maryland scenic river). To determine the wetlands' effectiveness as a Best Management Practice, we measured several water quality parameters at the inflows, outflows, and within the wetlands from August 1994 to April 1995. During this period, the wetlands retained approximately 70% of incoming BOD5, 90% of TSS, 60% of TKN, 30% of NH3-N, 90% of NO3-N, and 54% of incoming TP by mass.

  1. J. Cronk, Assistant Professor, Agricultural Engineering Department, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.

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