TMDLs on the Clearwater RiverFecal Coliform Impairment of the Trout Stream Portion of the Clearwater River

ByCorey Hanson

Water Quality CoordinatorRed Lake Watershed District

Explanation of Impairment• The trout stream reach of the Clearwater River is impaired by fecal coliform,

begins at the Clearwater/Beltrami County Line, and ends at Clearwater Lake. • Listed on the 2002 303(d) List and remains listed on the 2004 303(d) List of

Impaired Waters

RLWD Role in TMDL Study

• Fiscal Agent• Project Administration• Monitoring• Water quality data

collection and analysis• Water quality

modeling using FLUX• Load allocation• Report writing

Characteristics of the Impaired Reach

• Land Use• Runoff• Physical

Characteristics of the stream

• Possible Sources of fecal coliform

Land Use• 32% Forest• 27% Grass/Pasture• 19% Ag• 11% Water/Wetland• 8% Urban/Rural

Development• 3% Other

Runoff Potential

Physical Characteristics• The gradient and velocity of the stream increase prior to the trout stream

reach. • Fecal coliform suitability decreases.

Upstream of the Trout Stream Reach Trout Stream Reach

Weighted Average Fecal Coliform Levels from FLUX Modeling

Possible Sources of Fecal Coliform Bacteria

• High Probability– Overflows from Bagley

Sewage Treatment Facility (Has been improved to eliminate overflows)

– Stormwater from the City of Bagley (Stormwater ponds have been constructed to reduce amount of pollutants entering river)

– Wildlife

• Low Probability/Unknown– City of Bagley

wastewater Treatment (Not a large contribution)

– Feedlots– Hydrologic Modification– Fecal Coliform deposited

in calcareous fens/bogs (under investigation)

– Sampling Techniques

Monitoring Conducted for use in the TMDL Project

• Clearwater Nonpoint Study – 1992-93• Clearwater Lake Water Quality Model Study

– 2002 - 6 stream sites, bi-weekly monitoring

• RLWD Long Term District Monitoring– Quarterly monitoring since mid-80’s– Data entry into STORET just recently completed, not in time for

2004 303(d) list

• Clearwater Soil and Water Conservation District– Intensive fecal coliform monitoring for this TMDL Project from

August 2002 – October 2002– Samples analyzed by Minnesota Department of Health, data is

currently available in STORET

Clearwater Lake Water Quality Model Monitoring Sites

RLWD District Monitoring Sites in the Cleawater Lake Watershed

SWCD/MDH Monitoring Sites

CR #25

Hwy #2 3-Mile Road

CR #22

CR #24 (inlet)

Methods for Determination of Impairment

• From the MPCA Guidance Manual for Assessing the Quality of Minnesota Surface Waters for Determination of Impairment – 305(b) Report and 303(d) List.

• Section VIII. Assessment Based on Numeric Standard for Protection of Recreation

• For Class 2A waters (trout streams)• Pollutant – Fecal Coliform

– Affects swimming and other forms of recreation that involve contact with the water

Methods for Determination of Impairment – Fecal Coliform1. Standard = 200 organisms per 100 ml of water2. Geometric mean of 5 + samples in one month, or 3. If information from #2. is not available, find % of

samples exceeding the standard within the most recent 10 years (at least 10 data points). If >10%, the stream is considered potentially impaired and moves on to the next step of the assessment process

4. Data aggregated by month. 5. If geometric mean for >2 months exceed 200

col/100ml, reach placed on 305(b) not supporting list and placed on the 303(d) impaired list.

Data used for original impairment

• Clearwater Nonpoint Study Data• Impairment found at Clearwater

Lake Inlet Monitoring Site– Samples taken April 1992-May 1993

• 36.84% of samples were >200col/ml– Geometric Means of 3 months were

> 200col/ml– Only 1 yr of sampling– Less than 5 samples per aggregate

month

Using Data Available for 2004 303(d) List

• Sampling data from October 1992 – September 2002• All sites within the Clearwater Lake watershed

qualify as fully supporting in the first step of data assessment

• Shaded Sites are in the trout stream reach2004 Assessment of most Recent 10 Years of DataStep 1 Upstream

Site CL Inlet CSAH 22 3-Mile Road Hwy 2 CR #25% of samples that exceed standards 6.25% 7.14% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%Fully Supporing (<10%) X X X X XPotentially Impaired (>10%)

Using All Available Data• Last 10 years of data currently in STORET and

RLWD District Monitoring data that will be entered into STORET

• All sites upstream of Clearwater Lake qualify as fully supporting in the first step of data assessment

Assessment of Most Recent 10 Years of Data From All SourcesStep 1 Upstream

Site CL Inlet CSAH 22 3-Mile Road Hwy 2 CR #25Percent of samples that exceed standards 3.45% 7.14% 0.00% 4.55% 6.52%Fully Supporing (<10%) X X X X XPotentially Impaired (>10%)

Why there is no longer an impairment

• Improvements to the Bagley Sewage Treatment Facility

• Stormwater Treatment Pond Construction

• Best Management Practices

Next Steps• Include load allocations, etc. in order to prevent

the reach from becoming impaired in the future• Write TMDL Report• Delisting of the reach• Published TMDL

The End