Section 319
              NONPOINT SOURCF PRMRAK SUCCESS STORY
 Best Management Practices, Public Outreach Help River Recover


 from Impairments


Watprhndv ImnrnvpH  Run°ff from agricultural activities and urbanization contributed to
             *        ,"'.,,„„  organjc enrichment and dissolved oxygen (DO) impairments in the
 lower mainstem of the Flint River in Alabama. The implementation of best management practices
 (BMPs) and stakeholder education and outreach enhanced water quality and helped the Flint
 River meet the water quality standards associated with its designated water use classifications.
 As a result, the Alabama Department of  Environmental Management (ADEM) expects to remove
 a 28-mile segment of the Flint River from the state's 2006 303(d) list of impaired waters.

 Problem

 Originating in Tennessee, the Flint River flows
 south through Madison County, Alabama,
 before joining the Tennessee River. Data
 collected during the mid-1990s revealed that
 a 28-mile segment of the Flint River was not
 meeting its designated water use classifica-
 tions as a public water supply and fish and
 wildlife resource. Consequently, the segment
 was placed on Alabama's 1998 303(d) list of
 impaired waters for organic enrichment and
 low dissolved oxygen.

 ADEM variously listed the sources of water qual-
 ity impairments as unknown in 1998, agriculture
 in 2002, and agriculture/urban runoff in 2004.


 Project Highlights

 ADEM used a section 319 grant to reduce the
 cumulative effects of nonpoint source pollu-
 tion. Between 2001 and 2003, federal, state,
 and local agencies teamed with local landown-
 ers to implement numerous agricultural BMPs,
 including

   • winter cover and conservation tillage on
     2,000 acres
   • livestock BMPs (e.g., stream crossings,
     alternative watering facilities,  exclusion
     fencing, rotational grazing plans) on 10
     farms encompassing 400 acres
Exclusion fencing was installed to limit cattle's access to
creeks, and alternative watering sources were construct-
ed at eight different locations.
  • cropland conversion of 10 acres

  • heavy-use protection areas on 13 sites

  • annual soil tests and nutrient manage-
    ment plans covering 300 acres


Partners also led numerous education and
outreach activities, including stream cleanups,
presentations at local schools, landowner/
public meetings, and field days. The local news
media's coverage helped outreach efforts.

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Volunteers who live, work, and recreate in the area sup-
ported stream cleanup efforts throughout the watershed.
     Results
     Between March and October of both 2003 and
     2005, ADEM collected dissolved oxygen data
     at three sites on the impaired segment of the
     Flint River. The agency also collected continu-
     ous dissolved oxygen data at two of the sites
     during July 2005.

     As shown in the following table, only two
     monthly measurements (4.6 mg/L and 4.97
     mg/L) fell below the state minimum  criterion of
     5.0 mg/L for the public water supply and fish
     and wildlife designated water use classifica-
     tions. Furthermore, none of the continuous
Station
FLIM-5
FLIM-6
FLIM-7
Type of data
Water column
Water column
Continuous
Water column
Continuous
#of
samples
17
17
217
17
216
DO
< 5 mg/L
0
1
0
1
0
     Project leaders measured water column dissolved
     oxygen concentrations at three stations during
     separate 8-month periods in 2003 and 2005. In
     addition, continuous dissolved oxygen monitoring
     occurred at two stations in July 2005. Only two
     water column samples showed concentrations
     below the water quality standard of 5 mg/L.
dissolved oxygen measurements were below
the minimum criterion.

ADEM's assessment methodology stipulates
that conventional water quality parameters,
including dissolved oxygen, may not exceed
water quality standards more than 10 percent
of the time in waterbodies designated as pub-
lic water supply and fish and wildlife resources.
The data demonstrate that this 28-mile seg-
ment of the river now meets this requirement.
As a result, ADEM has  proposed that the seg-
ment be removed from the state's 2006 303(d)
list  of impaired waters. The next scheduled
monitoring year for the segment is 2008.
Partners and Funding
ADEM provided $250,000 in section 319 fund-
ing to support a watershed coordinator and to
implement BMPs. Other stakeholders—includ-
ing the Madison County Soil and Water
Conservation District, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation
Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the
Flint River Conservation Association, and the
City of Huntsville—contributed $331,000 in
nonfederal matching funds. The total project
cost was $581,000.
Sediment loading in the watershed was reduced
by implementing conservation tillage and planting
cover crops on approximately 2,000 acres.
         U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
         Office of Water
         Washington, DC


         EPA841-F-06-003C
         June 2006
For additional information contact:
Carmen Yelle
Alabama Department of Environmental Management
334-394-4397 • cyelle@adem.state.al.us
Sam Sandlin
Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District
256-532-1692 • Sam.Sandlin@al.nacdnet.net

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