Landowner perceptions of sinkholes and groundwater contamination

ABSTRACT:

Sinkholes allow harmful materials to enter groundwater aquifers in karst areas. Interviews with Iowa farmers having sinkholes found widespread recognition that sinkholes threaten groundwater quality. Farmers indicated that runoff into sinkholes was common, as was material disposal, feedlot runoff, and tile drainage. Most fanners expressed concern about runoff into sinkholes. The most acceptable practices to control such runoff were reduced chemical use, plugging, filter strips, diversions, and contour stripcropping. Practices considered most effective were permanent seeding of drainage areas and elimination or reduction in farm chemical use. Most farmers were unlikely to enroll land in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) if available for sinkhole areas because participation would be inconvenient or because they had small farms and needed the land to remain economically viable. Two modifications of CRP are suggested. Farmers wanted slightly more than full land value for conservation easements to establish trees around sinkholes because they felt there would be no return from the trees in their lifetime. They also considered about 70% of full land values reasonable for easements restricting use to forages because they felt this was a fair value for the change to permanent forages.