Cox Ranch, a 155-acre property located along the San Joaquin River, demonstrates how restoration-based best management practices can successfully reduce agricultural runoff while supporting healthy ecosystems and sustainable land stewardship.
Through multiple funding partnerships—including an Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) conservation easement and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Wildlife Program—Cox Ranch developed and constructed a treatment and conveyance system designed to move water strategically between wetland, upland, and riparian habitats across the property.
The goal of the project was to improve the treatment of agricultural tailwater runoff before it reached surrounding waterways. Tailwater often contains sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants that can negatively affect water quality downstream. During its first year of operation, the Cox Ranch system effectively demonstrated its ability to remove silt from agricultural runoff, helping reduce sediment pollution entering the San Joaquin River watershed.