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Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Agricultural Conservation for Water Quality Improvement in Headwater Watersheds

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  2026 ASABE Annual International Meeting  2600264.(doi:10.13031/aim.202600264)
Authors:   Evelyn Chen, Chloe Chen, Ashley Crowl, Zhulu Lin
Keywords:   Conservation expenditure, cost-effectiveness analysis, nutrients, sediment, water quality trend.

Abstract. Nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural lands in the Midwest U.S. contribute to downstream water&-quality impairments, including hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Since 2009, Minnesota has invested substantial resources in conservation practices aimed at reducing these pollutant loads. This study evaluates water&-quality trends and their relationship to conservation expenditures in 32 headwater HUC&-8 watersheds in Minnesota from 2007 to 2021. Annual flow&-weighted mean concentrations of TSS, TKN, NOx&-N, TP, and DOP were analyzed using the Theil–Sen estimator, and cumulative conservation spending per acre was compared with pollutant trends through linear regression. Results show widespread improvements, with most watersheds exhibiting declining concentrations of TKN, TP, and DOP, and more than half showing reductions in TSS and NOx&-N. Conservation spending demonstrated moderate correlations with improvements, strongest for TP. These findings indicate that conservation investments are contributing to measurable water&-quality gains, though additional factors also influence watershed responses.

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