The major livestock raised are pigs and cattle. The major crops produced in this drainage basin are hay and corn. The major livestock raised in the SCRB are cattle. Nutrients Nutrients are essential for plant and animal growth. However, elevated concentrations of nutrients in slower-moving reaches of streams and in lakes can result in eutrophication.
Eutrophication is the excessive growth of aquatic plants and algae.
This excessive growth can result in the water smelling and tasting foul, which may ultimately increase water treatment costs if the water is used for drinking. In addition, when these plants and algae die dissolved oxygen may be depleted in the water, which can ultimately result in fish kills. Excessive applications of nutrients to the land surface also could result in the leaching of more soluble forms, such as nitrate and ammonium, to ground water. Un-ionized ammonia in water can be toxic to fish and other aquatic life. Nutrients may reach surface waters from these sources by direct discharge, runoff, or atmospheric deposition.