TMDLs on the Clearwater River Fecal Coliform Impairment of the Trout Stream Portion of the Clearwater River By Corey Hanson Water Quality Coordinator Red 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 (d) List and remains listed on the (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 ReachTrout 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 – Clearwater Lake Water Quality Model Study – 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 (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 Coliform 1.Standard = 200 organisms per 100 ml of water 2.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 % 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 (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 reach

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

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