Improving the Mississippi Basin Through Improving Indiana's Soil Health

A watershed, or drainage basin, is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point...where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean. The drainage basin includes both the streams and rivers that convey the water as well as the land surfaces from which water drains into those channels.

The world is connected by water like our bodies are by blood. If our bodies were a watershed, our flesh would be the drainage basin; our veins would be tributaries; and our hearts would be the final body of water.

We all live in a watershed. In Indiana, there are six different watersheds that drain into five different large bodies of water.

There is a lot of agriculture in Indiana. This is great growing land! However, food production can put quite a strain on our water system. For example, poorly-managed manure can drain into streams; chemical and nutrient run-off added to croplands can as well. Eventually, our water systems drain into the Mississippi River Basin, which drains into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mississippi River Basin. Map courtesy of NPS.

The Gulf of Mexico is a rich and delicate body of water that is currently recognized as a "hypoxic dead zone." (It's actually the most notorious dead zone in the world.) This means that due to contamination, not enough oxygen is available for life to exist. Dead zones can be caused and exasperated by nitrogen and phosphorus, which are two chemicals commonly, even extensively, used in agriculture.

Agriculture in Indiana can thus contribute to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

NRCS Chief Dave White stated, “The Mississippi River Basin provides drinking water and recreation for millions of people and hosts a globally significant migratory flyway. The basin also houses some of our nation’s most productive agricultural land." The health of the Basin affects our health. The Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI) "works with farmers using a conservation systems approach to manage and optimize nitrogen and phosphorus within fields to minimize runoff and reduce downstream nutrient loading" in order to improve the health of the land and of the Gulf.

Fact: Dead zones are reversible. In fact, the Black Sea, a dead zone when it was under Soviet Union management, has been revived. After the Soviet collapse, fertilizers became too expensive and thus fewer nutrients made it into the Sea. Fishing has once again become a major economic activity in the region.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Indiana encourage landowners to optimize the use of phosphorus and nitrogen on their lands to reduce runoff. If you work in agriculture, learn more about MRBI to see how you can improve your land's health and the health of the Gulf.

If you fertilize your lawn, go to the Clear Choices, Clean Water Campaign's Facebook page to learn more about how you can help reverse hypoxia in the Gulf.