Lower Big Blue WatershedDraft Escherichia coli (E. coli) TMDL

Stakeholder Meeting

May 7, 2014

Agenda

• Watershed Overview

• Listing Information

• Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Allocations

• Implementation

• Schedule

Watershed Overview• Watershed Size• Watershed Location• Lower Big Blue Subwatersheds• General Watershed Land Use

Watershed Overview

County area– 19.14% in Hancock– 5.10% in Henry– 1.81% in Johnson– 29.42% in Rush– 44.35% in Shelby

Municipalities– Shelbyville– Shirley– Morristown– Edinburgh

Drains approximately 280 square miles

• Subwatersheds– Headwaters Little Blue River– Beaver Meadow Creek– Gilson Creek- Little Blue River– Manilla Branch- Little Blue River– Town of Rays Crossing- Little Blue River– Headwaters Six Mile Creek– Anthony Creek- Six Mile Creek– Nameless Creek– Prairie Branch- Big Blue River– Foreman Branch- Big Blue River– DePrez Ditch- Big Blue River– Shaw Ditch- Big Blue River

Land Use

Land Use

Watershed

Area

PercentAcresSquare Miles

Open Water730.34 1.14 0.41

Developed Land13,656.60 21.34 7.61

Forested Land12,424.31 19.41 6.93

Grasslands and Shrubs1,649.28 2.58 0.92

Pasture/Hay6,789.05 10.61 3.79

Agricultural Lands14,3430.22 224.11 80.01

Wetlands592.02 0.93 0.33

TOTAL17,9271.82 280.11 100.00

Listing InformationLower Big Blue Watershed

Definition of a TMDL

• Clean Water Act requires that a TMDL be allocated as follows:– TMDL = WLA + LA + MOS– Wasteload allocations (WLA) for “point sources”

(regulated under NPDES)– Load allocations (LA) for nonpoint sources and

natural background– MOS for margin of safety

Water Quality StandardsEscherichia coli (E. coli)

April 1 through October 31, E. coli shall not exceed 125 colony forming units (cfu) per 100 milliliters (mL) as a geometric mean based on not less than 5 samples equally spaced over a 30-day period nor exceed 235 cfu per 100 mL in any 1 sample in a 30-day period

• Impaired Segments-72 Miles E. coli-15 Miles PCB Fish Tissue-8 Miles Total Mercury

• TMDL only addresses E. coli

Assessment of Water Quality

2012 listings reassessed – E. coli sampling performed by IDEM in 2010

• 21 sites for E. coli• Sampled 5 consecutive weeks

– September 20, 2010 – October 18, 2010

– 2013 East Fork White River sampling• 2 sites sampled in Lower Big Blue River watershed

– July 16, 2013- August 13, 2013

Site #

L-Site # Stream Name Road Name

1 WED020-0031 Sixmile Creek CR 1050 E

2 WED020-0032 Dilly Creek CR 200 S

3 WED020-0033 Nameless Creek CR 400 S

4 WED020-0001 Sixmile Creek CR 800 E

5 WED030-0029 Little Blue River CR 150 W

6 WED030-0030 Little Blue River CR 300 N

7 WED030-0031 Beaver Meadow Cr CR 100 N

8 WED030-0026 Little Blue River CR 400 N

9 WED030-0032Tributary of Little Blue

RiverUnion Rd

10 WED030-0033 Little Blue River CR 200 N

11 WED020-0014 Foremans Branch Knighthood Grove Rd

12 WED020-0003 Big Blue River Morristown Rd

13 WED-02-0001 Little Blue River Franklin St

14 WED-08-0002 Big Blue River Noble St

15 WED-08-0003 Big Blue River CR 575 E

16 WED-08-0001 Big Blue River CR 100 S

17 WED050-0033 Howell Ditch Manetta Rd

18 WED050-0008 Big Blue River CR 550 S

20 WED050-0035 Big Blue River SR 252

21 WED-02-0003 Little Blue River CR 400 W

22 WED-08-0004 Sixmile Creek CR 900 E

E. coli Data• IDEM sampled in 2010, 2013• Geometric mean calculated for each

site– 7 sites reported meeting the

standard in 2010– 14 sites reported not meeting

the standard in 2010– 2 sites reported not meeting the

standard in 2013

• Highest geometric mean = 1215.7– Site 21

• Lowest geometric mean = 30.16– Site 1

• Highest single sample = 2419.6– Sites 3, 10

• Lowest single sample = 10.8– Site 1

E. coli Data

• Impaired Segments-256 Miles E. coli-15 Miles PCB Fish Tissue-8 Miles Total Mercury

• TMDL only addresses E. coli

TMDL Allocations

Lower Big Blue River Sources of E. coliPoint Sources• Municipal NPDES Permits

– 5 permitted WWTPs

• MS4 Permits– 2 permitted MS4s

Nonpoint Sources• Land use Practices: Agricultural, Forested, Urban• Wildlife• CFOs

– 12 permitted CFOs

• Septic Systems

Point Sources• Municipal NPDES Permits

– IN0031593- Eastern Hancock Jr/Sr High School

– IN0024503- Shirley WWTP– IN0023841- Morristown WWTP– IN0032867- Shelbyville WWTP– IN0020184- Edinburgh WWTP

• MS4 Permit– INR040051- Shelbyville– INR040026- Edinburgh

Nonpoint Sources• Land Use Practices

– Agricultural– Forested– Urban

• CFOs– 184- David Vanosdol– 637- Janes Brothers– 1901- SSZ Enterprises– 2208- Jarrod Law and Michael Pauszek– 2950- Ronald Sullivan– 4448- Jeff and Bruce Muegge– 4623- Bob White Farm– 1939- Signature Farms Morristown– 2581- Lewis Pork Farm LLC– 4909- William E. Smith Farm 3– 6435- J & J Livestock LLC– 6582- Pork in Blue River LLC

• Septic Systems• Tile Drains• Wildlife

Lower Big Blue River TMDL AllocationsLoad Allocations

– Agricultural Run-off– Failing Septic Systems– Livestock– Tile Drains– Urban Run-off– Wildlife– Forested

Precipitation

• Many sources of pollution are impacted by precipitation

• A path for pollutant to enter a waterbody is through rain and snow melt

• Information on precipitation used with the Load Duration Curve will give a better overall sense of flow conditions in stream

Flow

• The long history of flow gages provides a valuable tool in evaluating water quality data

• USGS flow gages provide a consistent high quality source of flow information

• The large network of flow gages means that finding a representative flow gage is possible

Upstream Downstream

Load Reductions NeededHUC 12 Minimum

[CFU/100mL]Maximum

[CFU/100mL]Geometric Mean

[CFU/100mL]% Reduction to meet WQS

Headwaters Little Blue River 29.2 1986.6 141.12 11.42

Beaver Meadow Creek 95.9 435.2 148.73 15.96

Gilson Creek- Little Blue River 22.6 2419.6 > 1215.77 0

Manilla Branch- Little Blue River 28.8 325.5 118.93 0

Town of Rays Crossing- Little Blue River 28.8 1553.1 360.57 65.33

Headwaters Six Mile Creek 10.8 77.6 30.16 0

Anthony Creek- Six Mile Creek 57.1 1732.9 380.65 62.51

Nameless Creek 104.6 2419.6 > 460.27 72.84

Praire Branch- Big Blue River 146.7 435.2 281.24 55.55

Foreman Branch- Big Blue River 37.7 1119.9 191.56 34.75

DePrez Ditch- Big Blue River 60.9 214.2 130.92 4.52

Shaw Ditch- Big Blue River 71.2 146.7 114.2 0

Implementation

Implementation• Implementation of TMDL expected to occur

via ongoing and new watershed management activities:– Outreach, education, and training– Agricultural conservation practices– Urban storm water management– Control of failing septic systems– Forestry BMPs

Potential Priority Implementation AreasSubwatershed

PPIA Rank

Load reduction(Billion MPN/Day

% Reduction Implementation Strategies

DePrez Ditch-Big Blue River 1 42.76 93.24%

Outreach, Education, and TrainingStream Fencing

Storm water planning and managementCover Crops

Manure handling, storage, treatment, and disposalConservation tillage/ residue management

Grassed WaterwaysPrescribed Grazing

Septic System EducationConservation Easements

Comprehensive Nutrient Management PlansConstructed WetlandsHeavy Use Area Pads

Pasture and Hay PlantingConservation Crop Rotation

Riparian BuffersFilter Strips

Precision Agriculture

Prairie Branch-Big Blue River 2 22.43 51.59%

Anthony Creek-Six Mile Creek 3 7.73 64.69%

Town of Rays Crossing-Little Blue River

4 5.60 72.07%

Nameless Creek 5 4.39 72.80%

Manilla Branch-Little Blue River 6 1.87 45.17%

Beaver Meadow Creek 7 0.32 16.24%

Headwaters Little Blue River 8 0.22 11.58%

Gilson Creek-Little Blue River 9 0 0

Headwaters Six Mile Creek 10 0 0

Shaw Ditch-Big Blue River 11 0 0

Foreman Branch-Big Blue River 12 0 0

Schedule

Lower Big Blue River TMDL Schedule

• Sampling Completed September 2010 and 2013

• Draft TMDL Meeting: May 7, 2013

• 30-Day Comment Period: May 7– June 6

– www.idem.in.gov/nps/3914.htm

– Final TMDL Report Submittal to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA): July 2014

TMDL Project ManagerCory Fischer

TMDL Project ManagerOffice of Water QualityIndiana Department of Environmental Management100 N. Senate Ave.Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2251

PH: (317) 308-3184FX: (317) 308-3219E MAIL: cfischer1@idem.IN.govwww.watersheds.IN.gov/2347.htm