Watershed Management Plan Summary of 2014 Activities/Progress Presented by: Matthew Bennett, MS December 2014

Outline  Introduction  2014 Program Objectives  Sampling Plan  Results  Recommended Corrective Actions

Introduction  Little Bushkill Creek Watershed  17.5 square miles  38.8 miles of regulated streams  East, West, and Main Branches  Water Quality Sampling Program: Portions of Little Bushkill Creek (LBC) had elevated fecal coliform levels  2012 PADEP Impaired for Recreational Use

 2013: Township Initiated Watershed Management Plan  Fecal Coliform water quality sampling  Macroinvertebrate Study  2014 Obtained Growing Greener Grant funds from PADEP to continue the Plan Introduction continued

2013 Potentially Obtaining 2012 Impaired Reaches

2014 Program Objectives  Identify additional stream reaches eligible for delisting  Continue monitoring reaches with historic elevated fecal coliform levels  Conduct riparian assessments to identify the extent and source of potential fecal coliform impairment  Identify locations where restoration/management efforts could improve water quality

2014 Sampling Plan  Sample Types  Monitoring  Attainment  Source Identification  Sampling Periods/Sample Methods  5 samples collected during low flow conditions in both June and September  Parameters Collected  Fecal Coliform & Fecal Enterococcus  Nitrates and other water quality parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity)

Sampling Plan continued  Riparian Watershed Assessment  Land Use, Springs/Seeps, and Wetlands  Fish, macroinvertebrates, and stream blockages  Stream vegetation and substrate  Unique Water Quality Issues  Locations  West Branch  Heimer Road Spring Tributary  Delabole Road Tributary  Benders Church Road Tributary  Browntown Road Tributary

Results  Fecal Coliform  Fecal Enterococcus  Nutrients  Other Parameters  Riparian Assessment Add Picture here

Fecal Coliform Results  Several locations satisfy PADEP’s requirements for fecal coliform water quality standards  One location was not attaining  Monitoring locations continued to show elevated levels, as expected  Source ID locations provided a better understanding of potential sources

Fecal Enterococcus Results  Several instances of elevated fecal enterococcus levels were obtained: *Acceptable levels = 33 CFU/ 100 ml  Benders Church Road Tributary (6)  Heimer Road Spring Tributary (1)  East Branch (1)  Indicative of potential human impact/input

Nutrient Sampling Results  Nitrate/Nitrite Ratio and Total Kjeldah Nitrogen (TKN)  Determine possibility of fecal coliform coming from wastewater  May indicate agricultural runoff input  Some locations on Benders Church Road Tributary and Heimer Road Spring Tributary had high levels, but were still within the EPA acceptable range

Water Quality Parameters Temperature  Cold temperatures decrease the reproduction rate of fecal coliform bacteria pH  May indicate chemical disturbance into stream (i.e. acid mine drainage or chemical additives) Dissolved Oxygen  Required to sustain health of aquatic life  Low levels may indicate a pollution source Conductivity  Abnormal values may indicate water source may be from non natural sources

 Fresh water trout streams should not exceed 18.9 degrees  One exceedance, but located in a pond not a stream  Dissolved Oxygen (DO) should be higher than 7.0 mg/L  DO was sufficient at all sampling locations

 pH should range between 6.0 and 9.0  One location more acidic  One location more alkaline  Typical conductivity range for streams is between 0.15 uS/cm to 0.50 uS/cm.  One location was below of range

Riparian Assessment Results  Fish  Macroinvertebrates  Stream Blockages  Springs/ Seeps  Stream Vegetation

 Land Use  Stream Substrate  Wetlands Riparian Assessment Results cont.

Outfall Documentation  In outfalls were identified during the field surveys  The 2014 riparian assessment identified 7 more, previously unidentified outfalls  2 along West Branch  5 along Delabole Road Tributary  Source and potential water quality concerns associated with these outfalls warrants further investigation

2014 Program Results  5 new reaches eligible for delisting  38.8 total stream miles  74% have met PADEP water quality requirements and are eligible for delisting  A few tributaries continue to have elevated levels & a few potential source areas have been identified  Recommended actions have been developed for certain reaches

West Branch  Additional sampling  Monitoring  Attainment  Expand sampling into Wind Gap Borough  Investigate outfalls  Improve flow  Remove log debris jams

Delabole Road Tributary  Additional monitoring samples  Restoration measures recommended:  Land Owner Outreach  Implementation of Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMP’s)

Heimer Rd Spring Tributary  Additional monitoring samples  Riparian buffer enhancement

Benders Church Rd Tributary  Additional monitoring samples  Restoration measures recommended:  Land Owner Outreach  Implementation of Agricultural BMP’s  Evaluation of potential up gradient groundwater sources

Browntown Road Tributary  Additional sampling  Monitoring  Attainment