Water Stewardship Information Sources
| Citation | Rushworth, G and Younie, M. 2006. Compliance assessment of agricultural practices in the Cloverdale Area, British Columbia, September - December 2004. BC Ministry of Environment. |
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| Organization | Ministry of Environment |
| URL | https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib97170.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | A compliance assessment of selected agricultural practices was completed in the Cloverdale area between September and December 2004. The assessment was initiated in response to water quality sampling programs that found elevated levels of E. coli in watercourses used to irrigate ready to eat crops such as spinach and lettuce. A serious outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, traced to the consumption of spinach grown in the Cloverdale area, occurred in 2001. The objective of this compliance assessment was to evaluate the degree to which agricultural practices, related to animal and manure management, complied with the Agricultural Waste Control Regulation (AWCR). A total of 61 hobby and commercial farms (376 ha) were assessed. The study area was grouped into two priority areas (PA1-2 and PA4) based on elevated E. coli levels measured in previously obtained water samples. PA1-2 tended to support animal based commodities while PA4 tended to support blueberries and vegetable production. This compliance assessment found results similar to those of previous studies in that hobby farms tend to have greater levels of non-compliance relative to commercial farms. For the three main AWCR categories (storage requirements, pollution prevention and composting) that were evaluated, commercial and hobby farms had a 95% and 66% compliance rate, respectively. Commercial and hobby farms were 94% and 58% compliant, respectively, in PA1-2, while commercial and hobby farms were 100% and 93% compliant, respectively, in PA4. This suggests that the hobby farms may be a significant source of the contamination measured in PA1-2. It is suspected the greater degree of non-compliance amongst hobby farms is related to fewer available resources and lack of awareness regarding statutory requirements and best management practices. Four sites where animals had unrestricted access to watercourses were identified as significant point sources for E. coli. Shortly after the completion of the field work, one site was rehabilitated by the City of Surrey with funding from the Salmon Habitat Restoration Program. This compliance assessment makes the following recommendations: • Remediation strategies for the remaining three sites where animals have uncontrolled access to watercourses need to be developed. It is recommended that this be done similar to site that has already been rehabilitated by the City of Surrey; • The Ministry needs to approach landowners to resolve the remaining significant noncompliance issues - typically uncovered manure piles adjacent to watercourses. Should non-compliance continue, the Ministry will continue to implement its compliance and enforcement policy and procedure; • The Ministry should consider completing an aerial assessment of the whole study area in early spring 2006 to assess manure application practices and to assess portions of the study area that were not assessed during this study; • The Ministry, in partnership with other stakeholders, should determine ways to engage the hobby farmers to improve awareness, compliance levels and environmental quality. Potential stakeholders could include Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, streamkeeper groups and local governments. Activities could take the form of working with any hobby farm associations that may exist, such as the Horse Council British Columbia, development of educational materials and Ministry presence at community, trade and agricultural fairs; • Further investigations into the source of the elevated E. coli levels measured in PA2b are recommended. These could be completed by any one of the stakeholders. It is also recommended that the Ministry continue to work with local governments to ensure that the Liquid Waste Management Plan commitments to sewerage infrastructure upgrades are met. |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Lower Fraser |
| Sub-watershed if known | Nicomekl River |
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| Project status | complete |
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