August/September 1997
#49
Non pointSource
News-Notes
The Condition of the Water-Related Environment
The Control of Nonpoint Sources of Water Pollution
The Ecological Management & Restoration of Watersheds
Notes on the National Scene
American Heritage Rivers Initiative
Restoring America's Majestic River Systems
Criteria for selecting the first "American Heritage Rivers" have been announced, following a
series of 12 meetings across the nation. Hundreds of people participated in developing the
guidelines that will be used to implement President Clinton's State of the Union vow to
"designate 10 American Heritage Rivers [and] to help the communities alongside them
revitalize their waterfronts and clean up pollution."
Through, the American Heritage Rivers Initiative (AHRI), communities will nominate rivers for
the designation. President Clinton will then select 10 of the nominees, and a task force will work
with each community to identify technical and funding needs. Though only a few rivers will be
designated the first year, all communities that nominate sites will benefit from project-related
workshops and other information tailored to their needs.
A federal liaison will be appointed to work with the communities whose rivers are selected. The
liaison will help the community access existing federal services.
River Communities Charged with Nominating Rivers
Meetings held in various cities during April and May resulted in an abundance of ideas for the
program and an early consensus: namely, that the rivers should symbolize America's traditional
water heritage and represent a variety of stream sizes and surrounding land uses. They embrace
a wide range of values, including strong community support, a vision of the river's historic and
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Notes on the National Scene
American Heritage Rivers
TMDL Update EPA Issues Final Policy Statement
National Clean Boating Campaign Announced . . .
Urban Runoff Notes
Top Ten Watershed Lessons Shared
Spirit of Cooperation on Washington's H'way 18 . .
Are Golf Course BMPs Under Par?
Restaurants Doing Their Part for Water
Business Partners for Clean Water
Extension Service Cultivates Water-Wise Gardeners .
Green Development Resource
News From the States, Tribes, and Localities
Snapshot of Delaware River Basin Quality
Save Florida's Swales
Maumee River Project a Success
Partnership in Utah Park
Canada and U.S. Share Lake Management
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Technical Notes
Biological Indexes Characterize Sources and Impacts 16
Constructed Wetland Remediating Acid Mine Drainage 17
Notes on Education and Outreach
Landowner Packet for Erosion Control
Volunteer Monitors Aspire to Better Data
Education Resources Column
Education and Outreach in Action
Georgia Students Make a Difference
Reviews and Announcements
Stormwater/Wetlands BMP Guidebook
NCSU Reports on 319 Monitoring Program
EPA Has Fact Sheet for Linear Regression
New Award to Recognize Creativity in Water Technology
Environmental Principles for Golf Courses
Seminar for Watershed Planning
DATEBOOK
THE COUPON
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All issues of News-Notes are accessible on the WPS Information Exchange on EPA's World Wide Web Site: http://www.epa.gov. See
page 26 for log-on information.
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American Heritage
Rivers Initiative
(continued)
cultural significance, and a demonstration by the sponsoring group that it can and will enter
into partnership agreements to benefit the river. The following criteria were announced in the
Federal Register on June 20, and will be finalized in September after an appropriate time for
public comment:
A broad spectrum of private citizens, organizations, elected officials, and local and
state agencies must support the designation and the goals of the American Heritage
Rivers.
The proposed river area must have a range of natural, economic, scenic, historic,
cultural, and/or recreational uses that demonstrate distinctive qualities of America's
river heritage.
The principal party or parties nominating the river and local or regional
governmental entities must show their willingness and capability to enter into new
partnership agreements, or to expand existing partnerships with each other, as well as
with federal and state agencies, Indian tribes, and/or other parties to implement a
plan for the river area.
The sponsoring party or organization must have or develop a broad plan of action for
the river that includes a community vision, operating procedures and policies, a
schedule of actions, projects and products, resources committed and anticipated, and
anticipated obstacles to the community action.
Implementation of the community's vision must result in measurable benefits to the
river community reflecting the community's goals.
The initiative's interagency task force (see the accompanying box) is streamlining access to
federal environmental, historic, and economic services that communities can tap into to improve
rivers and riverside localities. Funding for the program will come from existing programs and
services that can be used by communities engaged in a variety of river restoration projects.
Special emphasis will be given to ensuring the availability of the program to as many
communities as possible.
Internet Resources
The American Heritage Rivers homepage, offers up-to-date
information on the latest developments concerning the
initiative. There, web surfers, whether participating in the
initiative or just curious, can find information on environmental
conditions and demographics of rivers nationwide and local
information such as drinking water sources, land use, and
population through a link to EPA's Surf Your Watershed. The
site also provides the published Federal Register Notice,
minutes from the regional stakeholder meetings, and a list of
the federal interagency workgroup contacts. More information
on river restoration and revitalization, including ongoing efforts
will be posted on the web site in the future.
Widespread Praise for Initiative
Environmental advocates, commerce, and local and state
governments have all expressed enthusiasm for the initiative. In
Illinois, where citizens plan to nominate the Illinois river, Lieutenant Governor Bob Kustra, was
"happy to see a complementary effort... that also recognizes the importance of the economy
and the environment to the future of river communities."
The United States Conference of Mayors also applauded the President for "bringing national
attention and resources to the creation of preserved environments in urban areas as well as in
the remote wildernesses of our nation."
Applications for the first round of designations will be due in December. The designated rivers
will be announced in January 1998.
[For more information, call 1-888-40-RIVER or visit the web page set up by U.S. EPA's Office of Wetlands,
Oceans, and Watersheds at www.epa.gov/rivers.]
American Heritage River
Interagency Taskforce Members
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
Department of Interior
Department of Justice
Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Army Corps of Engineers
National Endowment for the Humanities
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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TMDL Update EPA Issues Final Policy Statement
EDITOR'S NOTE: Adapted from Enviro-Newsbrief, U.S. EPA, August 13, 1997.
EPA's final policy statement on Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) requires EPA and states
to agree on a schedule for setting TMDLs by October 1. States are also required to deal with
nonpoint source load allocations for waterbodies affected by runoff. According to a
memorandum signed by EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Robert Perciasepe, states would
have between 8 and 13 years to set total maximum daily loads of pollutants in water.
Perciasepe wrote, "The two new policies I am establishing today for developing and
implementing TMDLs are another step toward the goal of clean water everywhere. It is crucial
that EPA managers, together with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners, take every step we
can to make sure that the TMDL program is carried out effectively and quickly."
The time frame for each state to set TMDLs will be based on state-specific factors, including the
number of polluted water bodies in the state, the size of the geographical area covered by these
waterbodies, the proximity of listed waters to each other, the number and complexity of
TMDLs, the similarities or differences between the source categories to be allocated, availability
of monitoring data and models, and the significance of the environmental threat to the area.
The policy also directs states and EPA regional offices to work together to achieve TMDL load
allocations for nonpoint sources for waters that are polluted by runoff. Regional offices are
empowered to take additional steps if states don't develop these plans.
Some representatives of states are concerned about a lack of funding for these initiatives.
According to the policy statement, EPA has requested $5 million in grants to states under the
Clean Water Act, an additional $8 million for technical assistance, and an additional $5 million
to support nonpoint source activities.
[For more information on TMDLs, contact U.S. EPA, Vi/atershed Branch (4503F), 401 M St. SW,
Washington, DC 20460 or fax (202) 260-1517.]
National Clean Boating Campaign Announced
On August 6, the Marine Environmental Education Foundation (MEEF) kicked off the National
Clean Boating Campaign, which will include a week-long celebration in every state between
July 11 through 19,1998.
Under the leadership of MEEF, 36 prominent marine trade associations, key environmental
groups, marinas, major corporations, and government agencies have outlined a national
program to reduce water pollution from boating activities and facilities through an outreach
education program. The campaign's purpose is to create boater awareness of water quality
protection and water pollution sources and impacts.
Recreational boating is one of the most popular uses of coastal and inland waters. Over 17.2
million boats were used in 1996, and $17.8 billion retail was spent on those boats. "Clearly,
Americans like boating," said MEEF President Neil Ross of Rhode Island. "However, boating
activities and facilities can impact the environment in significant ways, such as shoreline
erosion, bottom/reef habitat damage, oil spills, sewage discharge, contaminated solid runoff.
Fortunately, almost all these problems are relatively small and are easy to prevent and control."
At the conclusion of the two-day planning workshop held in Rhode Island, the 36 participants,
from 16 states and Puerto Rico, voted to form a partnership under MEEF to establish the
National Clean Boating Campaign. "The preceding two days have produced a national initiative
unparalleled in our industry," said MEEF Chairman Phil Keeter of Oklahoma. "This campaign
will highlight the importance of clean water so that boating can remain fun for the 70 million
Americans who enjoy it."
Larry Innis of Maryland, a former chairman of National Safe Boating Week, was elected
unanimously to chair the campaign. "I look forward to working with leaders in the
environmental community and the boating industry to increase the public's awareness of the
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
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National Clean need for clean water. We all agreed on a common blueprint for an annual celebration of
Boating Campaign recreational boating and clean water," said Innis.
The MEEF program planning workshop, organized by Neil Ross, was made possible through
the sponsorship by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and SeaLand Technology, Inc.
The Marine Environmental Education Foundation, Inc. (MEEF) was incorporated in Rhode
Island in 1994, as a national nonprofit charitable foundation to bring national experts together to
develop educational programs and research on marine environmental issues. MEEF is a
tax-exempt consortium of professional groups dedicated to working together to improve
boating through clean water education.
[For more information, contact Neil Ross, President, Marine Environmental Education Foundation, P.O.
Box 36, Kingston, Rl 02881-0036. Phone: (401) 782-2116: email: goMEEF@aol.com.]
Urban Runoff Notes
The Top Ten
Watershed Lessons That May Help Your Watershed
by Ben Picks, Watershed Outreach Coordinator, U.S. EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
The national watershed community comprises an eye-opening variety of people and tasks
from a coal miner in West Virginia to a local government official in Puget Sound, from a Detroit
student monitor to a Texas industrial representative. Their work ranges from clean ups to
pollution prevention to watershed planning. An EPA project is drawing on the experience of
such seasoned veterans to collect and evaluate the lessons learned in watershed programs
throughout the United States. As that project winds up, plans are to publish it this fall.
The Process
Last year, EPA convened an advisory group of 20 key partners such as the River Network, Know
Your Watershed, and the Center for Watershed Protection who eagerly embraced the idea of
sharing the top lessons they'd learned over the years. Vigorous brainstorming produced a list
that was circulated and expanded with the insights of about 100 other watershed practitioners
who offered their experiences to illustrate each lesson.
Some Valuable Lessons
The lessons learned spanned many different projects but all were similar in their emphasis on
the importance of community and communication. For example, the first lesson about clear
visions, goals, and action items is illustrated through work done in the Chesapeake Bay. Bay
communities set out a clear vision: "improve and protect the water quality and living resources
of the Chesapeake Bay estuarine system"; then used this formal (even bureaucratic-sounding)
dictum to set their goal: "to reduce nutrient loads by 40 percent."
What makes the vision accessible, however, are actions like those of Bernie Fowler. Fowler, a
former Maryland state senator, wades out each year into one of the Bay's tributaries, exclaiming
that he "wants to be able to see his feet." That image, easy for people to envision, grabs a lot of
attention. It also helps people understand one of the main issues plaguing the Chesapeake Bay
the turbidity that results from sediments and excess nutrients. EPA Administrator Carol
Browner joined Fowler in his most recent wade-in, which was covered by the Washington Post
and the Baltimore Sun.
It is abundantly clear throughout these lessons that success depends on people, with institutions
in a supporting role. The third lesson, for example, describes the benefit of having a project
coordinator based in the watershed. Mike Adcock, a coordinator in the Tensas River Watershed,
exemplifies this lesson. His position is funded jointly by USDA conservation funds, EPA
nonpoint source and wetlands grant funds, the Nature Conservancy, the McKnight Foundation,
and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This long-term local position he has been a
coordinator for four years allowed him to establish credibility among the farmers. Adcock
says that the secret to his success has been finding farmers who were willing to restore wetlands
in the watershed (where 80 percent of the original bottomland hardwoods have been lost).
4 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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The Top Ten
Watershed Lessons
(continued)
The Top Ten
1. The Best Plans Have Clear Visions, Goals, and Action Items
2. Good Leaders Are Committed and Empower Others
3. Having a Coordinator at the Watershed Level Is Desirable
4. Environmental, Economic, and Social Values Are Compatible
5. Plans Only Succeed if Implemented
6. Partnerships Equal Power
7. Good Tools Are Available
8. Measure, Communicate, and Account for Progress
9. Education and Involvement Drive Action
10. Build on Small Successes
Adcock then arranges for other
farmers to see first-hand, the
benefits of the restoration,
including its economic ones
(e.g., revenue from duck
hunters). Adcock depends on
these painstakingly
established, one-on-one
relationships to further the
protection of the Tensas
watershed.
The tenth lesson also
emphasizes the importance of
starting small and building
incrementally on modest
successes. Several years ago, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dwight Siemaczko, a West Virginia coal miner, organized a watershed cleanup along Paint
Creek. Starting with only a few committed folks, a small stretch of Paint Creek was cleaned up.
A second effort was planned, however, and then another. Now as the cleanup gains momentum,
more people are pitching in. At the most recent one the fifth as many as 25 people combed
the banks.
Starting small also worked for the Upper Arkansas Watershed in Colorado, where a history of
mistrust among the stakeholders had to be overcome to organize a watershed partnership. A
brainstorming session among interested parties yielded an idea to hold a seminar for citi/ens
and public officials on water law something everyone could use. The popular seminar
brought people together and helped establish an atmosphere of trust on which citi/ens could
begin to build a partnership.
Top Tools
In addition to identifying various projects and project leaders as exemplars of the "top ten,"
practitioners detailed the tools that had worked for them. For example, John Hassell of the
Oklahoma Conservation Commission said he and his staff use the River Network's Starting Lift
handbook produced by Kathy Luscher to help establish watershed associations. The book
provides critical and relevant information on such things as grants and bylaws. A California
state worker recommends Watershed Techniques, a periodical published by the Center for
Watershed Protection in Maryland, citing its "great case studies and best management practices
information." Another state participant at the Watershed '96 conference pointed to the conference
itself as the motivator to implement the watershed approach in his region. (The proceedings from
this conference can now be accessed and searched at www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/Proceed).
[To reserve a copy of Watershed Lessons Learned, call (800) 490-9198 and ask for EPA 840-F- 97-001.
When completed, the report will be available on EPA's Web site, where people can also share their own
watershed lessons learned. For more information, contact Ben Picks (4501F), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street SW.
Washington, D.C. 20460. Phone: (202) 260-8652; email: ficks.ben@epamail.epa.gov.]
Highway Construction Erosion Problem Revamps
Washington State's Program
Following numerous fines for excessive erosion topped off with a work shut down and
escalating fault-finding among contractors, inspectors, and regulators on an eight-year
construction project on state Route 18, the Washington State Department of Transportation
decided that it was time to get its act and its contractors together.
Accordingly, it invited contractors and grading inspectors to meet with the Department to
discuss the roles and challenges that each player has in the construction process. The
discussions built understanding, and on the heels of understanding came the ability to work
together. The state now boasts a brand new highway runoff manual, a certification course for
construction personnel, an innovative test facility, and a new attitude.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
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Highway The difficulty of resolving problems between contractors and inspectors on the Route 18 project
Construction led the state, with the help of the University of Washington and the International Erosion
Erosion Problem Control Association, to develop a training program that emphasizes cooperation and
(continued) communication skills as well as technical knowledge. Similarly, to encourage a "partnership
approach" in complying with sediment and erosion control regulations, the state developed
new contract specifications requiring that contractors have a lead worker certified in erosion
and spill control. Certification is based on attending the department's training program.
The course, based on the new highway runoff manual, helps contractors plan for, prevent, and
control erosion during highway construction. The manual requires a temporary erosion and
sediment control plan for all transportation projects that involve excavation, clearing, grubbing,
trenching, or any other activity that exposes bare soil to wind or precipitation.
Courses are offered off-season to accommodate construction workers. They cover the difference
between erosion controls and sediment controls; measures to prevent erosion; rules for the
proper installation, maintenance, and inspection of erosion control materials; and chemical spill
controls.
To support the education program, the department has also built an erosion control test facility
that is probably the first of its kind in the nation. The facility, lodged in two separate locations to
accommodate the state's varying topography, helps workers match the most suitable control
methods with different soil and weather conditions. Water erosion is the principal problem in
the deep soils in western Washington, while eastern Washington's dry, rocky soils are plagued
by wind erosion.
Today, the Route 18 project progresses in a spirit of cooperation. No further fines or shutdowns
have occurred, erosion is under control, and the Department of Ecology and King County
inspectors continue to monitor the project's success.
[For more information, contact David Jenkins, Erosion Control Coordinator, Washington State Department
of Transportation, Environmental Affairs Office, P.O. Box 47331, Olympia, Washington 98504-7331. Phone:
(360) 705-7479: fax: (360) 705-6893.]
Are Golf Courses Under Par
When It Comes to NPS Pollution Prevention?
Golf courses, which many turf experts see as intensively managed agro-ecosystems, are
proliferating rapidly in the coastal southeastern United States. Because many of these courses
are adjacent to tidal creeks and wetlands, best management practices are needed to prevent
nonpoint source pollutants from entering coastal waters. The BMPs may add significant costs to
golf course development; yet there is little empirical data to show that they effectively reduce
NPS pollution. To address this gap, a state and federal partnership between NOAA's National
Ocean Service, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Delaware has been established to test the
effectiveness of these practices on both traditional agricultural and golf course landscapes.
(Delaware is concentrating largely on agriculture; North Carolina and South Carolina have
yielded promising data on golf course runoff.)
South Carolina
The South Carolina project encompasses approximately 11,500 acres of tidal marshes and water
in the Winyah Bay watershed near Georgetown. Since about 1984, South Carolina has required
builders of new courses to submit stormwater management plans. A common construction
strategy now used for NPS pollution control is a system of drains, tiles, and landscaping that
directs subsurface and surface runoff waters to a central detention pond. The water eventually
flows from the detention ponds into tidal waters by way of a spillway or control structure.
Researchers are studying sites representing four different scenarios along the Waccamaw River.
The first site is a modern golf course engineered to capture and detain runoff (i.e., it
incorporates BMPs). The second represents an older golf course, 1960s vintage, built without
benefit of BMPs (stormwater drains through a series of four linked ponds created from a natural
wetland). The third site is a reference site, an undeveloped, diked and ponded, forested wetland
managed for waterfowl and wading birds. The fourth site is also a reference site, a tidal creek
6
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Are Golf Courses
Under Par
(continued)
that receives runoff from a forested watershed without the influence of a golf course or an
impoundment. The discharge waters from all the sites eventually enter the Waccamaw River
through the tidal creeks. The golf courses were surveyed to determine the amount and timing of
chemicals used in their management.
At eight stations, automatic data loggers record water levels, salinity, conductivity, temperature,
dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH at 30 minute intervals. During storms, automated samplers
collect water for nutrient analyses and to monitor site-specific rainfall and flow measurements
that can be used to quantify pollutant loadings. In addition, scientists at the University of South
Carolina Baruch Marine Field Lab also make bimonthly surveys to quantify the diversity and
numbers of benthic invertebrates at each site, as an index of habitat quality and effluent impact.
Three major storms were successfully sampled in 1996.
Preliminary study results suggest that unvegetated
detention ponds are not very effective at removing
nutrients from the runoff water.
North Carolina
North Carolina is conducting a similar project in the Howe
Creek watershed of New Hanover County. This
productive tidal creek is bordered by marshes, woodlands,
single-unit housing, inactive farmland, and a large
residential development that includes a golf course.
North Carolina researchers are comparing runoff from the
golf course at two places: at the outflow from a large pond
(the pond functions as a BMP); and at a ditch that receives
golf course runoff and channels it directly into the creek
without benefit of BMPs. In addition, four other stations
are located along Howe Creek: one upstream and one
downstream of the golf course? and two in between.
During the first year of this project, researchers sampled
three major storms. Analysts found significant differences
in discharge characteristics between the treatment station
(the pond) and the untreated runoff (the ditch). Storm
runoff at the non-BMP station was much like a flash flood,
sending a large, short-term pulse of fresh, nutrient-laden
water into Howe Creek. Runoff at the BMP station
increased during and after storms and was more
prolonged than at the ditch, but its nutrient levels were
lower.
In fact, both areas channel large quantities of water and
nutrients into the creek, but the timing varies significantly.
Cleaner Water
One Stroke at a Time
Golfers competing in last fall's Second Annual Water
Quality Open held at Tiburon Golf Course in Omaha,
Nebraska, played by an unusual set of rules. Hosted by
the Wehrspann Lake Watershed Project, the tournament
allowed players to move their balls closer to the holes
depending on Secchi disk measurements in the lake. A
Secchi disk reading of the lake was taken before the
game began, and each team could then use that
measurement (all at once or in increments) to sink a putt
and save a stroke during the day. In the process, golfers
learned more about the effects their sport has on water
quality, and about the measures that the Tiburon Golf
Course is taking to protect Wehrspann Lake.
To emphasize the tournament's theme, stations throughout
the course provided water quality information to the
golfers as they moved from hole to hole. At the end of the
tournament, players who had completed a water quality
questionnaire were eligible for a special prize drawing.
Last year, fully 64 percent of players listed something new
that they learned about water quality, while 88 percent
could identify a source of NPS pollution and a means of
prevention.
The project is funded in part through a Section 319 grant
from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7.
[For more information, contact Diana Allen, Lower Platte
River Corridor Alliance, 3125 Portia Street, P.O. Box
83518, Lincoln, Nebraska 68501. Phone: (402) 476-2729.]
During periods of successive storms, the BMP retention pond failed to control sediment
discharge. When the pond and surrounding drainage reached a certain level of saturation,
increased sediments and water, along with other constituents, were released from the pond.
Although Howe Creek is near an ocean inlet, during storms these discharges (along with others
feeding the creek) dramatically decreased its salinity. This decrease, in turn, changes the
biological characteristics of the creek. As the significance of these changes becomes known, the
results may lead to useful changes in stormwater runoff management.
Early indications are that this pilot project will be a useful tool for comparing the impacts and
efficacy of various nonpoint source BMP strategies. Complete results and analyses of the first
two years data are expected by the end of 1997.
[For more information on the North Carolina and South Carolina golf course projects, call Steve W. Ross,
North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, 7205 Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington, North
Carolina 28403. Phone: (910) 395-3905; email: rosss@uncwil.edu. Or contact Joseph Schubauer-Berigan,
North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, USC Baruch Marine Field Lab, P.O. Box
1630, Georgetown, SC 29442. Phone: (803) 546-3623; email: jschubau~Sbelle.baruch.sc.edu.]
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
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Business in the Blue
Restaurateurs Educated on their Clean Water Role
Food establishments in the Mason County, Washington-portion of the Hood Canal watershed
are going "clean-water" blue. Since 1994, Business in the Blue, a Washington State University
(WSU) Cooperative Extension program, has been actively helping Mason County restaurateurs
deal with conditions and management needs that sometimes contribute to septic system
failures. Participating restaurateurs see the program as an opportunity to save money while
protecting the environment.
Facing the Challenge
Mason County is underlain by impermeable glacial till soils and plagued by heavy rainfalls and
high seasonal water tables, a combination that promotes septic system failure and consequent
nonpoint source pollution. Septic systems connected to food establishments are especially
vulnerable because they receive heavy volumes of high temperature wastewater containing
food, oil, and disinfectants. Such inputs can lead to blocked pipes, clogged drain field soils, and
incomplete wastewater treatment.
The university offered the Business in Blue program to 100 food establishments in the area.
Twenty-five restaurants, most of them located on waterways and at the greatest risk for system
failures and surface water pollution, chose to participate. Each took part in a free on-site training
workshop.
Customizing the Solution
Extension's Dick Burleigh visited each facility to assess kitchen practices and sewage system
management. He inspected plumbing systems, evaluated water conservation practices,
reviewed menus to determine oil usage, checked cleaning compounds and concentrations, and
interviewed the facility manager. Burleigh then tailored a workshop to the needs of the
individual facility.
Follow-up visits usually yielded a number of system management improvements. Typical
improvements included more frequent inspection and cleaning of grease traps, the installation
of strainer baskets, decreased amounts of food in wash water, better water conservation
practices, use of less-toxic cleaning agents, and a better understanding of septic system
principles and maintenance.
One restaurateur, Nancy McConaghy, switched from a caustic deep-fat fryer cleaner to a
noncaustic version, a change that saved her $400 the first year in pumping costs. "After just six
weeks on the program," she said, "our septic tank was operating so efficiently that our pumping
company reduced our pumping schedule from four times a year to three. And over time, it
might be reduced to only twice a year a potential savings of $800!"
Although most restaurateurs have not seen such immediate results, they do expect to save on
septic maintenance costs over time. Kristy Rutledge, manager of Spencer Lake Resort, foresees a
"long-term cost savings because the need for pumping will be reduced, as will the probability of
drain field failure."
Rutledge pointed out that employee education is the key to the program's success and
consequent cost savings: "The program was very helpful for passing along information to
employees." Rutledge proudly emphasized that Spencer Lake Resort employees are very
conscientious about adhering to recommended food disposal practices. "The employees, as well
as the surrounding community, want to keep their waterway clean," she said.
Extending Community Outreach
In addition to assisting food establishments on a one-to-one basis, Business in the Blue
successfully reached out to the community by advertising through local newspapers, local radio
stations, professional journals, newsletters, and display booths. Goals of the advertising
campaign included recognizing the participating establishments, attracting other clients, and
raising public awareness about the importance of on-site system maintenance.
8 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Business in As a result, additional food establishments inquired about training materials. Public awareness
the Blue of on-site system maintenance was significantly enhanced, as documented by telephone
(continued) inquiries, Extension office visits, and the amount of literature (over 150 bulletins) picked up by
homeowners at public displays.
Building on Success
Business in the Blue recently received a public involvement and education contract from the
Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team. This contract will facilitate the program's expansion to
the entire Hood Canal watershed, which includes portions of Mason County Jefferson County,
and Kitsap County. In addition, the program is increasing its outreach efforts to the public and
will sponsor at least 12 homeowner presentations. Judging by past success, the Hood Canal
watershed and its on-site systems will benefit greatly from these efforts.
[For more information, contact Robert Simmons, Extension Faculty, Regional Water Quality Education
Program, Washington State University Cooperative Extension, N. 11840 Highway 101, Shelton,
Washington 98584. Phone: (360) 427-9670; fax: (360) 427-7264; email: simmons@wsu.edu.]
Business Partners for Clean Water
Technical Assistance Provides a Formula for Success
Business Partners for Clean Water is moving businesses and industries in Waukesha, Wisconsin,
above and beyond the requirements of Wisconsin's Stormwater Permit Program by giving them
the technical assistance they need to comply with water quality laws.
Part of Water Wauk, a countywide effort to involve all citizens in cleaning up the area's
waterways, Business Partners for Clean Water helps participating businesses develop effective
stormwater pollution prevention plans. Its tools are a combination of free workshops,
self-guided assessments, water quality manuals, and on-site consultations. Because the program
uses nonregulatory agencies (e.g., the Department of Parks and Land Use) to provide the
information and on-site visits, businesses and industry get the assistance they need to comply
with regulations without incurring the risk of enforcement actions.
Participant Profiles and Pilot Project
Business Partners for Clean Water targets any business in Waukesha County whose activities
may contribute to surface water quality. Its potential audience includes manufacturing and
other industries, retail businesses with heavy traffic, restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, car
dealerships, automobile mechanics, construction companies, landscapers, nurseries, carpet
cleaners, roofers, pressure washing companies, and property managers.
First Partners in the Business Partners
for Clean Water Pilot Program
The program began with a pilot program conducted in
the Frame Park subwatershed of Waukesha in 1996.
The city had recently completed a stormwater
management plan for all residential and commercial
properties in the area and Wisconsin's Department of
Natural Resources was distributing permit packets to
businesses operating in this area.
Eight businesses completed stormwater pollution
prevention plans during the pilot program the
SuperSaver Food Store among others.
As part of its stormwater pollution prevention plan,
SuperSaver Food Store employees began cleaning
shopping carts in a semitrailer using a high-pressure
steam cleaning process. The wastewater was then
taken to a nearby treatment facility. The chain's former practice was to wash the carts in the
parking lot with a high phosphate cleaner and let the polluted water flow directly to stormwater
intakes.
To reduce the costs of the new practice, SuperSaver instituted the practice in all its stores,
thereby getting the service in bulk. To maximize its efficiency, the stores also posted signs to
Accurate Products Manufacturing
Industrial Clutch, Navistar
Instant Mailing Services
M&W Industrial Equipment
SuperSaver Food Store
Wisconsin Centrifugal
Wisconsin Coach Lines
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE f 49
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
9
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Business Partners discourage individuals from dumping substances such as motor oil in the parking lot. And the
for Clean Water chain, which has always cleaned it parking lots monthly, now also cleans the catch basins twice
(continued) a year. This action prevents leaves, cigarettes, and other trash from washing into the Fox River.
SuperSaver has received positive public recognition and was honored by the mayor and county
executive at an awards luncheon along with seven other local businesses.
Business Partners for Clean Water is sponsored by the Waukesha County Department of Parks
and Land Use, Land Conservation Division, City of Waukesha, UW-Extension, Waukesha Area
Chamber of Commerce, Fox River Development Board, and Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources. It was adapted from a program developed in Belleview, Washington, to fit
Wisconsin's stormwater pollution prevention requirements. It addresses both regulated and
unregulated industries.
The Department of Parks and Land Use held another round of workshops in August, preparing
for a countywide program that may include up to 50 businesses. One of the companies that has
already successfully completed the program will host the workshops at its facility.
[For more information, contact Denise LaBott, Conservation Specialist for the Department of Parks and
Land-Use, Land Conservation Division, Waukesha County Administration Center, 1320 Pewaukee Road,
Room 260, Waukesha, Wl 53188. Phone:(414)896-8308.]
Water-Wise Gardeners
Extension Service Cultivates a New Species
Many homeowners have a high level of interest in establishing and maintaining attractive
landscapes on their property. Some have even elevated lawn care to an art, if not a religion.
Unfortunately, too few realize that their landscaping activities make significant contributions to
nonpoint source pollution. The Virginia Cooperative Extension has developed the Water-Wise
Gardener Program and handbook to educate lawn fanciers about practices that benefit both
lawns and water quality.
Created with special funding through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service at USD A, the Water-Wise Gardener is a multifaceted extension program targeted to
reduce homeowner contributions to NPS through their participation in a progression of
educational experiences on proper landscape management. This program brings traditional
Extension teaching methods, like field days, volunteer and demonstration sites, and one-on-one
interactions with volunteers, to urban and suburban clientele, making them partners in the
protection of natural resources. Water-Wise Gardener seminars cover topics such as Integrated
Pest Management, how to plant to avoid problems, proper fertilization techniques, and
backyard composting.
Mark Aveni, a water quality extension agent, says, "We have about 700 homeowners
participating in the program, with 200 demonstration lawns throughout Northern Virginia's
multicounty area. We are looking to expand the program to other states. Right now we are
working with Extension agents in Clemson, South Carolina, and Alabama."
The Water-Wise Handbook includes sections on planning, implementation, data evaluation and
reporting, as well as examples of surveys, impact sheets, and marketing materials that have
been successfully used in public education. The 52-page handbook, based on five years of
Extension experiences with the Water-Wise Program, comes in a sturdy, three-ring binder and
includes an extensive listing of the Cooperative Extension and other water-quality related
resources from across the United States.
To order copies of The Water-Wise Gardener Handbook, send a check or money order for $15
payable to Treasurer, VA Tech, the Water-Wise Gardener, Office of Consumer Horticulture, 407
Saunders Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0327.
[For more information, contact Mark Aveni, Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent at Virginia Cooperative
Extension, Prince William County Office, 8033 Ashton Avenue, Suite 105, Manassas, Virginia 22110-8202.
Phone: (703) 792-4632; fax: (703) 792-4630; email: ex153@vt.edu]
10 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Green Development Resource Document
EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds recently produced a literature summary and
analysis of the costs and benefits associated with alternative development approaches. Green
Development Literature Summary and Benefits Associated with Alternative Development Approaches is
a compilation of examples, case studies, and issues related to urban development. Developed in
response to cities' continuing sprawl into new suburbs and rural areas, the Green Development
framework promotes better approaches to development through the use of alternative
management approaches to site planning, zoning, grading, natural resources protection, site
layout, and stormwater management.
Green Development seeks a balance between economic growth, quality of life, and
environmental protection. Elements of the approach include townhouses that create a
"street-wall" effect, apartments above retail stores, outbuildings, alleys, gridded streets, cluster
development, planned open spaces, minimal impacts on predevelopment hydrology, and
mixed-use neighborhoods that provide housing, shopping, employment, and recreation all
within walking distance. Advocates hold that these objectives can be achieved through such
practices as flexible zoning and subdivision requirements, comprehensive and integrated site
planning, reductions of impervious surfaces, pedestrian-friendly development, and respect for
agriculture and natural resources preservation.
The Village of Woodsong in Shallotte, North Carolina, is highlighted in the report to illustrate
different elements that can be used to reduce site imperviousness and the amount of runoff that
reaches surface waters. The village incorporates rooftop cisterns as a means of capturing
stormwater runoff for reuse; separations between outbuildings and primary dwellings; and a
narrower street design which serves to reduce both stormwater runoff and traffic speeds [For
more information on Woodsong, see News-Notes (October/November 1995), pp. 9-11].
[For more information or to request a copy of the Green Development Literature Search, contact Jessica
Cogan (MC-4504F) or Rod Frederick (MC-4503F) U.S. EPA, 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460.
Email: frederick.rod@epamail.epa.gov.; cogan.jessica@epamail.epa.gov. Or see the Internet Web Page:
www. sustainable, org. ]
News From the States, Tribes and Localities
A Picture Perfect Delaware River Basin, Again?
Citizen monitoring organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region celebrated Earth Day 1997 by
grabbing every Secchi disc and sample bottle they could get their hands on and participating in
Water Snapshot '97. The event, an organized collection of water quality data by volunteers from
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, took place the week of April 19 to 27 on the
Delaware, Susquehanna, and Allegheny rivers.
The volunteers measured everything from air and water temperature,
transparency, dissolved oxygen content, nitrate and phosphate levels, and
pH to biological parameters and habitat. The results will be publicized and
will, organizers hope, increase citizens' environmental awareness and
active participation in pollution prevention efforts. Says Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary James Seif: "With the
participation of these volunteer groups, we will be able to increase public
awareness of water quality issues through the entire river basin, as well as
open the door to greater communication among monitoring groups."
Water Snapshot '97
Sponsors
U.S. EPA Region 2
U.S. EPA Region 3
Delaware River Basin Commission
| Delaware Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental Control
Jacobsberg Environmental Center
Windgap
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection
A History Worth Repeating
The first Water Snapshot, in 1996, monitored only the Delaware River
basin. More than 70 organizations, including schools, watershed groups,
government agencies, and private companies, plus various individuals,
sampled 174 individual waterways at 335 different locations in the basin.
Analysis of the data they collected indicated that a fairly healthy
environment for aquatic life prevails in the basin.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
11
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A Picture Perfect According to Teresa Halverson, the Delaware's Water Snapshot '97 coordinator, the program
Delaware River made a special effort to maintain a high quality of data, asking participating organizations to
Basin, Again? submit a formal description of its monitoring project and information on the type of equipment
(continued) it would use in the process. Last year's data are available on the Internet in a searchable
downloadable database at
www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/watermgt/WC/GENERAL/snap_database.htm.
Data from 1997 will be available soon.
[For more information or a copy of the report, contact Peter Weber, U.S. EPA Region 3 (3WP13),
841 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Phone: (215) 566-5749; fax: (215) 566-2301]
Save the Swales
They may not be a majestic symbol of environmental action, but the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection's Stormwater/Nonpoint Source Management Section is trying to
keep swales from becoming an endangered species. "Save the Swales" is the catchy motto
developed to rivet public attention on this useful, but underappreciated stormwater control tool.
Swales, or wide shallow ditches used to temporarily store, route, or filter runoff, are a very
effective and affordable treatment technique. By slowing runoff and allowing it to pond for 24 to
36 hours, swales give water enough time to soak into the soil, reducing runoff volume and
pollutants. Vegetation in the swale acts as a filter, removing sediments, heavy metals, and
hydrocarbons.
One obstacle confronting the construction of new swales in Florida is that most people,
including public officials, don't understand their benefits. Some localities even have regulations
that prohibit them.
"A lot of people just want to get rid of runoff quickly and use conventional curb and gutter
systems," says Eric Livingston, administrator of the state's Stormwater/Nonpoint Source
Management Section. "Some people are worried that if water ponds for over 24 hours,
mosquitos will breed and become a nuisance. But, actually, mosquitos will breed only when
water is allowed to pond for over 72 hours, while a properly managed swale will hold water for
no more than 36 hours."
The campaign encourages landowners to construct swales as an alternative to conventional curb
and gutter systems on newly developed land and promotes the use of swales generally. Save the
What Makes a Swell Swale?
Many cities and counties now require biofiltration as
a standard approach for controlling stormwater
runoff.
Swales are less expensive to construct, easier to
maintain, and often require a smaller land area than
other BMPs. The vegetation in a swale reduces the
flow rate, promotes sedimentation and infiltration,
and filters out contaminants.
Most swales are bowl-shaped broad and shallow
with relatively flat side slopes so that ponding will
not exceed 72 hours. Swales should be deep
enough to handle peak flow events. The standard
swale length is 200 feet, but may vary depending
on soil conditions. If the soil type in the area does
not allow rapid water infiltration, a longer swale will
compensate by increasing the area over which
infiltration occurs.
Vegetation in a swale should be at least as tall as
the depth of the expected flow. The best types of
vegetation include grasses and wetland plants that
can be established quickly, are drought resistant,
and are tolerant of wet conditions. In many cases,
rocks placed in the swale will help reduce runoff
velocity.
Swale maintenance involves periodic mowing,
reseeding, and sediment and litter removal. Grass
clippings should also be removed from the swale
before they decay and reintroduce nutrients and
pesticides to the system.
[Based on Water Quality Swales, a guidebook prepared by the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority's Public
Involvement and Education Project in conjunction with the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks.
For copies of this guide, contact the Washington Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office
Parks, P.O. Box2016, Edmonds, WA 98020-9516. Phone: (206) 382-9121; fax: (425) 771-9588.]
12
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Save the Swales Swales also emphasizes proper swale management, such as regular mowing, trash and yard
(continued) clippings removal, and soil aeration. The latter helps restore percolation rates and maintain
good grass growth. Other management actions include alerting local officials when ponding
problems occur and reducing the amount of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides applied to
lawns and gardens.
[For more information, visit the EPA Region IV web page: http:\\www.epa.gov.region4/reg4.html, or contact
Eric Livingston at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Stormwater/Nonpoint Source
Management Section, 2600 Blairstone Road, Tallahassee, FL 32399. Phone: (904) 921-9918.]
Maumee River Project Succeeds
Achieves Dramatic Loading Reductions
The Maumee River NPS Project, carried out between 1991 and 1994 with the enthusiastic
involvement of the Maumee River's largest farm operations, dramatically exceeded the
phosphorus and sediment reduction targets that had been set for it.
As the single largest contributor of phosphorus and sediment to Lake Erie, the Maumee River
watershed accounts for 46 percent of the lake's phosphorus load and 37 percent of its sediment,
while providing only 3 percent of the inflow. Part of the Ohio Phosphorus Reduction Strategy
for Lake Erie, the Maumee River NPS Project used BMPs to reduce these pollutants. When, in
October 1991, U.S. EPA awarded the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency $641,000 in section
319 funds for the project, the proposed reduction goals were 301,100 pounds of phosphorus and
229,470 tons of soil.
Widespread Participation
A total of 525 farmers from all corners of the watershed participated in the project and
contributed more than $5.5 million of their own money as matching funds. Every federal dollar
allocated to the project was backed by a $7-to-$10 local commitment to pollution control.
According to Mark Wilson, agricultural specialist at Ohio Environmental Protection Agency,
"The high number of farmers volunteering to participate and the large amount of local
matching funds for this project indicates that farmers are willing to shoulder more of the costs of
pollution prevention programs."
Adding "bang" to the "buck" was the fact that the participating farmers operated farms nearly
three times larger than the average farm in the area. The farmers received funds for buying new
conservation tillage equipment or retrofitting their existing equipment. Several enterprising
participants used the equipment to farm additional land for their neighbors, nearly doubling the
pollutant load reductions projected in the plans. Over the three-year project period, 545,736
pounds of phosphorus and 431,683 tons of soil were saved.
"This project demonstrates that a limited supply of federal dollars can be used to focus the
resources of many farmers on a common goal, such that significant water quality improvements
can be achieved," said Wilson, who credits local project ownership as the key to success. Ohio
EPA gave local soil and water conservation boards the latitude to design specific programs
addressing local concerns, so long as these concerns were appropriate to the broader project.
Thus, each program had to target critical areas, using approved residue enhancing equipment
and land treatments, and adhere to cost-share limits and acreage requirements. The creation of a
joint advisory board for the entire Maumee River helped balance individual agendas with the
larger goal of improving water quality for the entire watershed, Wilson said.
Farmers in the Maumee River basin proved to be a determined and resourceful lot, an integral
component in the success of the project, which can serve as a model for other voluntary
agricultural NPS projects.
[For more information, contact Mark Wilson, Agricultural Specialist, Office of the Director, Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049. Phone: (614) 644-2782.]
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 13
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Partnership in Utah Rescues Mill Creek
Benefits Accrue to Community and Natural Resources
National parks and forests are popular retreats for recreationists, but too many visitors can love
nature to death. That is what almost happened in Utah's Mill Creek Canyon before a
local/national partnership came to the rescue. Now the once degraded and eroding area is
blossoming again.
The canyon, located east of Salt Lake City, or less than an hour's drive from a million people, is
one of the most heavily used recreation areas in the National Forest system. It hosts about
700,000 visitors annually, primarily for picnicking and hiking. The canyon has nine picnic areas
and 10 trail heads that provide access to another 161 picnic sites and 35 miles of hiking trails.
Averaging 1,917 visitors per day in 1991, Mill Creek Canyon faced extensive degradation: 70
percent of its picnic sites were in poor condition; riparian areas were trampled and disturbed;
and vandalism was draining 10 percent of the maintenance budget. In addition, the picnic sites
were contributing NFS pollution to Mill Creek.
That same year, however, things began to change. To finance protection and restoration, Salt Lake
County set up a toll booth at the entrance to the canyon and began collecting $2.25 per vehicle or
$22 for an annual pass. Salt Lake County and the Wasatch-Cache National Forest signed a
memorandum of understanding for the protection and management of Mill Creek Canyon. The
understanding calls for an interagency Canyon Management Team to help Salt Lake County
implement the fee program and to help the Forest Service manage the area. The tolls are turned
over to the Forest Service to use for restoration, maintenance, and security in the canyon.
Citizens Link County and National Interests
Citizens then formed the Mill Creek Canyon Stewardship Committee to advise the county and
the Forest Service on all aspects of the partnership program.
The partnership is working well for the public and for the environment. The Forest Service has
been able to restore picnic areas, maintain 15 to 20 miles of trails, reseed barren areas, restore
stream reaches, rebuild facilities, and beef up security. Much of the renovation has focused on
"psychological landscaping." Making the durable areas more attractive draws visitors away
from sensitive areas like streambanks.
Frequent visitors to the canyon were initially opposed to the usage fees but have since
recognized the benefits. Salt Lake City resident Mary English saw "amazing changes" after the
partnership was in place. "True, the picnic areas were improved, but much more has happened.
The trails are well maintained, and new trails are reducing erosion. Trail signs are in place now
that have been needed for years. In places, the bare, ugly streambanks are coming back green
and lovely again. It's nice to see a government program that works and a tax that actually
returns as much value as given."
[For more information, contact Mike Sieg, District Ranger, Salt Lake Hanger District, phone: (801) 943-1794.]
Vermont and Canada Unite over Lake Memphremagog
Nature's Boundaries Are Apolitical
Nature recognizes no political boundaries. This basic tenant of watershed management is
especially apparent at Lake Memphremagog, situated on the U.S.-Canadian border. Most of
Lake Memphremagog (73 percent) is in Quebec, while most of its watershed (71 percent) is in
Vermont. Consequently, the lake is most used in Quebec, though most of its pollution originates
in Vermont. The resulting dilemma threatens the vitality of Lake Memphremagog and demands
cooperation between international neighbors.
Both Canadians and Americans use Lake Memphremagog for recreation, and a number of
Quebec municipalities, including the city of Magog, draw their water from the lake. As a result,
both countries need to maintain water quality. Pollution first became a concern in 1968, when a
massive algal bloom restricted lake uses. When studies revealed that the algae resulted from
nutrient enrichment and sedimentation from nonpoint sources in the surrounding water- shed,
the two countries established an intergovernmental commission to address the problem.
14 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Vermont and
Canada Unite
over Lake
Memphremagog
(continued)
Cooperation Between Countries
Over the next two decades, despite good intentions, the two countries were unable to cooperate
effectively, and their effort on behalf of the lake faltered. In 1989, a new working group was
formed to evaluate the possibility of developing a cooperative approach. The working group's
final report, issued in 1993, concluded that fundamental governmental differences between
Vermont and Quebec, especially in agricultural and municipal authority, made it unrealistic to
seek identical legislative frameworks for lake management.
Instead, the working group proposed 50 recommendations to facilitate cooperation beginning
with the establishment of an information exchange. This exchange would enhance the
coordination of regulations on both sides of the lake, especially those related to solid waste
management, agriculture, fisheries management, and on-lake activities. Other principle
recommendations were to
establish a comprehensive, permanent water quality sampling program for the lake
and a special nonpoint sources data collection program;
encourage and help municipalities implement environmental protection measures,
particularly in areas of shoreline protection and septic systems; and
increase awareness among watershed residents regarding the role they can play in
controlling nonpoint source pollution.
Since 1993, Canada and Vermont have taken many steps to fulfill these recommendations. Both
countries established steering committees to coordinate the efforts of all those involved with the
environmental management of the lake, and these committees, in turn, have formed a number
of joint task forces that are successfully addressing specific issues.
During the summer of 1996, for example, the Water Quality Monitoring Task Force developed
and initiated a comprehensive program to monitor long-term trends in water quality.
In 1995, Vermont devised its Accepted Agricultural Practice Rules, which included prohibition
of winter spreading of manure as recommended in the 1993 Quebec/Vermont report. Federal
funds were made available in the Lake Memphremagog watershed to decrease the cost-share
portion that farmers are required to pay for BMPs.
The Agricultural Task Force is currently providing educational outreach about water quality
protection measures and has stepped up dialog between Quebec and Vermont farmers,
government administrators, and farm assistance organizations to benchmark the most
successful measures.
Citizen participation is also a vital part of the watershed management process. Quebec citizens
in the towns bordering the lake have been active in environmental management efforts because
they have a direct association with the lake; citizens and towns in the Vermont portion of the
watershed find it more difficult to appreciate their role in lake protection, and many remain
uninvolved.
Susan Warren, coordinator for the Vermont Steering Committee, observes that the state has
increased its public outreach because "we need to develop additional local interest in the
watershed to progress further."
The Lake Memphremagog Watershed Association (LMWA) is setting an example for others on
the Vermont side of the border. LMWA has launched a project for streambank and in-stream
restoration on a major tributary of the Black River, which feeds directly into the lake. With the
aid of grant money, the LMWA will stabilize two miles of badly eroded streambank by creating
a 10- to 25-foot buffer strip on either side of the tributary. On the same stretch, the LMWA hopes
to restore in-stream habitats and thus encourage more landowners in the watershed to take part
in similar restoration projects.
In addition to bolstering awareness among landowners in the watershed, Quebec and Vermont
are reaching out to those who use the lake for recreation. Quebec has installed boat washing
stations at seven locations to prevent zebra mussel infestation. The city of Newport, Vermont,
has installed one as well. During the next several years, Quebec and Canada will focus on
educating the public about general prevention and control of zebra mussels.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
15
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Vermont and The citizens in the Lake Memphremagog watershed are fortunate. Although the lake is
Canada Unite primarily in Quebec, the watershed (and most of the pollution sources) in Vermont, the people
over Lake of Vermont recognize Canada as a neighbor with whom they share an important resource. By
Memphremagog working together and sharing information, the governments and citizens on both sides of the
(continued) lake can protect and improve the water quality of Lake Memphremagog.
[For more information, contact Susan Warren, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Water Quality
Division, 103 South Main Street, Center Building, Waterbury, VT 05671-0301. Phone: (802) 241-3794;
fax:(802)241-3287.]
Technical Notes
Measures of Water Quality in New York
Stream monitoring data are critical for assessing water quality, but often their usefulness
depends on their reduction to a single, comprehensible value. This reduction of complex
biological monitoring data allows managers to characterize water quality more readily. Such a
mathematical determination, or metric, may be as simple as summing the total number of
species present (species richness) or as sophisticated as using complex statistical evaluations to
find significant differences between reference and test sites. Bob Bode and his colleagues at the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation have developed two metrics that
advance biological monitoring: percent model affinity and impact source determination.
Discerning the Level of Impairment
Percent model affinity compares a benthic macroinvertebrate community in sampled waters to
an ideal, or "model" benthic macroinvertebrate community. The metric is based on the premise
that the biological effects of pollutants can be measured by comparing an existing
macroinvertebrate community with an expected community, a concept that Bode says most
biologists practice intuitively. "We set out to develop a new metric that would determine stream
impairment more accurately than some of the other metrics we were using," Bode says,
"Margaret Novak [a New York State entomologist] came up with the concept of a model
community, and it took us about five minutes to come up with the numbers."
The analysis of data from 108 nonimpacted streams throughout New York State between 1983
and 1989 verified Bode's intuition. Based on the results, a model riffle community in New York
consists of 20 percent Chironomidae, 10 percent Trichoptera, 40 percent Ephemeroptera, 5 percent
Plecoptera, 10 percent Coleoptera, 5 percent Oligocheata, and 10 percent "other." Percent model
affinity is calculated using percentage similarity (developed by Whittaker and Fairbank in 1958)
and is very useful in determining the level of impact when a reference stream is not available.
Sites typical of the four water quality assessment categories in New York State determined the
ranges for percent model affinity. Streams greater than 65 percent similarity to the model are
considered nonimpacted or nonpolluted; between 50 and 64 percent similarity indicates slight
impact; 35-49 percent moderate impact; and less than 35 percent severe impact. "What is nice
about percent model affinity is that it is closely correlated with the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index and
the Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera index," says Bode. The HBI is an index that
assigns tolerance values to organisms on a scale of 1 to 10, where 0 is the least tolerant to
pollution and 10 is the most tolerant to pollution. "Model affinity," adds Bode, "can also reflect
water quality changes better than HBI does in some instances of non-organic pollution."
Unearthing the Type of Impairment
The analysis of benthic macroinvertebrate communities has been quite successful in
determining the severity of water quality impacts. It has been less effective in determining the
type of pollution causing the impact, so Bode and his colleagues have come up with a second
metric for use in this situation. Where model affinity determines the level of impairment, impact
source determination (ISO) determines the type of impairment. ISO is also based on community
composition, but applies it to ascertain the primary factor influencing stream fauna. The percent
model affinity compares the similarity of a test site to an ideal, nonimpacted community; ISD
compares test data to model communities impacted by various known impacts.
16 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Measures of Water Bode and his colleagues developed ISO using a large macroinvertebrate database to distinguish
Quality in New York seven categories of impact: nonpoint nutrient additions, toxins, sewage effluent or sewage wastes,
(continued) municipal/industrial, siltation, impoundment, and natural or nonimpacted. The model that exhibits
the highest percentage similarity to the test data denotes the likely impact source type.
Percent model affinity and ISO are incorporated into biomonitoring protocols outlined in the
Department's Quality Assurance Work Plan for Biological Stream Monitoring in Neiv York State.
Unlike other metrics that look at certain taxa or functional feeding groups, percent model
affinity and ISO take into account the entire macroinvertebrate community and help determine
the level and source of impact.
[For more information, contact Bob Bode, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,
50 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12233-3502. Phone: (518) 285-5682.]
University of Kentucky Renovates Constructed Wetland
to Improve Metal and pH Reductions
In 1989, a wetland constructed to reduce the effects of acid mine drainage at Jones Branch in the
Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky looked like a success. The wetland, built by the U.S.
Forest Service to carry out a combination of physical and chemical processes, was effectively
reducing metal concentrations and acidity. Soon, however, the project failed. The University of
Kentucky's Department of Agronomy set out to find out why.
Researchers found that one reason the wetland failed was 'insufficient use of the treatment
area." Since the wetland was fed exclusively by surface flow, the deeper levels of limestone
gravel that should neutralize the low-pH drainage were not functioning.
The other major problem was low detention time. The more time acid mine drainage spends in
a wetland, the more it interacts with active surfaces and microbes and the more it is neutralized.
In 1994, these findings led to a $74,000 grant from the Kentucky NFS Pollution Program to
renovate the wetland and improve its function. A carefully planned two-phase project
incorporating the use of anoxic limestone drains and a series of anaerobic subsurface drains was
the result.
The installation of subsurface flow in the renovation project enhanced the subsurface treatment
and use of the wetland's substrate. The renovation improved the wetland's neutralizing
capacity by increasing pH and bicarbonate alkalinity production through limestone dissolution
and bacterially mediated sulfate reduction. Sulfate-reducing bacteria use organic carbon from
residues within the wetland as an energy source to reduce sulfates to sulfides, and, in the
process, increase bicarbonate alkalinity, precipitate out heavy metals, and neutralize the acidity
in the system.
After the renovation, the pH in the wetland increased from 3.41 to 6.38 and the retention of
aluminum, iron, sulfate, and manganese increased significantly. The researchers used a bromide
tracer to check the wetland's detention time and found the nearly 94-hour residence time a huge
improvement over the two-hour residence time before the renovation.
Monthly performance data now indicate good consistency in the project's treatment efficiency,
but the effect of this success is limited. Over 40 other acid mine drainage seeps in the Jones
Branch watershed still degrade the stream within a short distance from the wetland. According
to A.D. Karathanasis, an agronomy professor at the University of Kentucky, "Unless there is a
comprehensive treatment plan, we are not going to see drastic improvements on a watershed
level."
Ideally, Karathanasis said, the renovation should function for 15 to 20 years, depending on the
toxicity of the acid mine drainage and the size of the wetland. In this particular case, both
factors make long term success questionable. The acid mine drainage at the Jones Branch site is
very toxic, with a pH of three. In addition, due to topographic constraints, the area of the
wetland is limited to 1,022 square meters, about 20 times smaller than it should be. Even with
these less than ideal conditions, Karathanasis says, "If all goes according to schedule, the
renovation can last six to seven years. And in the process, we saved $1-2 million in the cost of
chemically treating the acid mine drainage."
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 17
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The project is no longer funded by Kentucky, but Karathanasis hopes that additional funding
will come through. "We are submitting a new proposal for the 1998-2000 Kentucky EPA NFS
Pollution Program to continue monitoring and maintaining the site, but we do not know
whether it will be funded. Between now and then we will be visiting the wetland mainly as a
research site."
The U.S. Forest Service is also trying to find funding for use in renovating several other
watersheds in the Daniel Boone National Forest that are adversely affected by coal mining. The
projects will involve multiple renovation technologies, including wetlands.
[For more information contact Professor A.D. Karathanasis, University of Kentucky, Department of
Agronomy, N-122K Agricultural Science Center North, Lexington, KY 40506-0091. Phone: (606) 257-5925;
fax: (606) 257-2185; email: ADKARAOO@UKCC.uky.edu.]
Notes on Education and Outreach
Connecticut River Organization Depending on
Landowner Education Packet
The Connecticut River Joint Commissions are banking on the success of an educational packet
to reduce streambank erosion in the Connecticut River. The Joint Commissions, comprised of
the Vermont Connecticut River Watershed Advisory Commission and the New Hampshire
Connecticut River Valley Resource Commission, recently published "Living with the River: The
Challenge of Erosion in the Connecticut River Watershed" to encourage and educate
landowners with riverfront property about practices that will reduce riverbank erosion.
The Commissions drew on the knowledge of 99 experts from many areas, including federal and
state transportation, fisheries, planning, water quality, and soil conservation agencies;
representatives of the hydropower industry; private nonprofit groups involved in land and
wildlife conservation; private landowners (including riverfront farmers); and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers. Supported by the Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Program and
the National Park Service, the information was developed into an educational packet for
landowners, town road agents, and any other interested parties.
The educational packet explains how vegetation on streambanks can reduce erosion by trapping
suspended sediment, protecting streambanks with roots and vegetation, and slowing the
velocity of runoff. It discusses restoration of riparian buffers and the implementation of
streambank stabilization techniques.
The packet leans strongly toward vegetative stabilization techniques as the most effective and
environmentally friendly, and it presents the advantages and disadvantages of a series of
streambank stabilization methods, including stone stabilization (riprap), a combination of stone
and vegetative stabilization, and vegetative-only stabilization.
A field assessment form included in the packet can help individuals locate and describe factors
causing or resisting erosion at a particular site. To assist Vermont and New Hampshire residents
who are planning to work near a river or stream, the packet also provides information about
required approvals and permits.
Sharon Francis, Executive Director of the Connecticut River Joint Commissions, notes that the
packet has put everybody on common ground and has presented a case for vegetative
stabilization that is hard to dispute, "Now, those who might believe that riprap is the way to go
will have to prove their case against vegetative stabilization."
As with most environmental management concepts, education is the key to success and
implementation. The erosion prevention packet is an excellent educational tool that can assist
efforts to promote erosion control. Packets are available to the public at no charge from the
Connecticut River Joint Commissions, P.O. Box 1182, Charlestown, NH 03603.
[For more information, contact Sharon Francis, Executive Director, Connecticut River Joint Commissions,
P.O. Box 1182, Charlestown, NH 03603. Phone: (603) 826-4800; fax: (603) 826-3065.]
18 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Washington Volunteer Monitors Aspire to Better Data
No one knows exactly how many volunteer monitors there are in the United States (the last
official count, in 1993-1994, tallied over 340,000), but Washington state has nearly 160 groups
with 8,000 volunteers monitoring water alone. All this activity generates a lot of data and a
potential nightmare for quality assurance.
A1996 survey of the state's volunteer monitors revealed that most are eager to have their data
used by state and local agencies, but according to Annie Phillips, a Washington Department of
Ecology environmental education specialist, "Different groups use different methods, standards,
and levels of quality." This disparity can make it difficult for agencies to use data from volunteers.
The survey, conducted by the Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the Governor's Council on
Environmental Education, produced a statewide list of the location of monitoring projects, the
parameters measured, and the methods and quality assurance protocols used by the monitors.
"It became clear that each of the various groups did things their own way, and therefore, their
data were inconsistent and of unknown quality," Phillips said.
To solve this problem, Ecology developed a matrix to characterize the methods and quality of
the data collected by volunteers. The agency categorizes data from each volunteer monitoring
group according to criteria such as quality assurance /quality control protocols, monitoring
methods, and the education and training of the monitors. "We developed the matrix as a kind of
ranking system to give a standard description for the quality of data produced for a specific
project," explained Phillips.
Lewi
One
Two
Three
Four
Quality
Assurance/Control
PUVQC) protocols
No formal
QA/QC plan
required
Basic written
plan - purpose,
parameters,
methods, sites,
schedule
Formal QA plan
(i.e. meets 24
requirements of
EPA's new Vol.
Mon. Guide to
QAPP, 1996); all
tests needing lab
analysis done at
an accredited lab
Follows formal
QA plan and
documents
exactly how it is
implemented;
sample chain of
custody
Examples
of QA/QC
Guidelines
Field observations on
standard forms;
EPA Streamwalk
GREEN field
manuals; Color
comparator kit
instructions
Technical guidelines
(e.g., Adopt-A-Streom's
LjlrcaJtUUXpcTb I'lau
Guide, 1995;
Michaud's Citizen's
Guide to Monitoring,
1991; EPA's Volunteer
Monitoring Methods
Manuals
Ecology technical
guidelines
(e.g. Cusmano 1994,
Cootsl995)-,Platn&nffs
Instream Biological
Assessment Moiiitomtg
Protocols, 1994
Bnuplts
of
Activities
General field observations,
including the number and
diversity of organisms
Field sampling; analysis using
field kits; observing categorical
abundance*** of organisms and
identifying them to the order
level
Using calibrated meters for
field measurements or
following the protocols in a
current APHA Standard
Methods; collecting and
analyzing water samples;
identifying benthics to the
family level; volunteer
portion of Ecology's lake
water quality assessments
Toxic substance sampling;
sampling for enforcement
purposes; bioassays;
identifying benthics to
the genus/species level
Desired
Education/
Training
Volunteer or
student with
brief orientation
Volunteer, student
or technician
supervised by an
expert monitor
Trained
volunteer (e.g.,
Streamkeepers)}
technician with
experience or
training or a
participant tn an
established volunteer
monitoring program
Professional/
Qualifier)
individual with
degree and
specific training or
equivalent experience
OMpaWjaV USBS
of Data
by Ecology
Educational,
general awareness
Educational;
watershed
characterization;
red flag or
early warning
Screening level
information; scoping
phase of watershed
approach; 305(b)
Report*; Best
Management
Practices (BMP)
evaluation data;
water quantity/
flow data
Baseline, impact and
ambient assessments;
action planning/
policy development;
permitting; compli-
ance /enforcement;
303(d) List**
'Ecology's 305ft> J Report shows whether waterbodies support beneficial uses such as swtmmmg end fishing - or whether these uses ere imputed. Contributions of data
are solicited from various sources, but must meet high standards (see level 3).
"Ecology's 303(4) List shows impaired and threatened waters that don't or probably couldn't meet applicable water quality standards. Ecology accepts data for this list
from outside sources, but it must meet the highest professional standards (see Level 4). Both are published every two years.
Categories of abundance: absent, rare, present, abundant, very abundant Publication #96-2014-WQ&FA May 19%
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
19
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Washington
Volunteer Monitors
Aspire to Better
Data
The matrix influences, but doesn't dictate, the way data is used. For example, Level One data,
gathered through general field observations, can be used for general public awareness. Level
Four, using technical guidelines for toxic substance sampling, bioassays, and taxonomic
classification qualifies for use in impact assessments, planning, permitting, and enforcement.
Survey Tops Volunteer Monitors
[Adapted from Watch Over Washington Survey Report
(October 1996). Responses to this survey came from
158 groups representing over 11,500 people.]
Volunteer profile
7,567 volunteers monitor some aspect of water
surface or groundwater, quality or quantity, lakes,
streams and rivers, or estuaries
6,258 monitor benthic macroinvertebrates;
6,120 monitor vegetation;
8,620 monitor wildlife;
2,168 monitor wetlands;
6,314 monitor things such as weather, land use,
sediments, and/or construction sites. (Most
monitor more than one resource.)
Over half the volunteers are students; the rest are
members of neighborhood associations or the general
public. Of the student monitors, 21% are elementary
students, 22% attend middle school, 40% are high
school students, and 17% are college or graduate
students.
Many classrooms are affiliated with GREEN (Global
Rivers Environmental Education Network),
NatureMapping, or Adopt-A-Stream; many community
groups were trained by Adopt-A-Stream.
The average number of years these groups have been
in operation is 4.9. Nearly two-thirds use email.
How credible is their work?
5,456 monitors collect data at Level Two on the matrix;
2,317 at Level One; 1,894 at Level Three.
Why do they monitor?
61% education/awareness, 21% to collect baseline
data, and the rest checked various reasons red
flag/early warning, enforcement/compliance, research,
a specific project, or land use impact.
Using the matrix will "facilitate better, more
consistent monitoring," said Phillips. It was also the
first Step, she says, in achieving recognition by
agency scientists. "It was kind of a bargain. If the
volunteer group is willing to work this hard, we will
look at their data for these purposes. But if they only
want to go this far, we will only look at it for this
purpose."
The matrix has gone a long way toward convincing
skeptics that volunteer monitoring can go beyond
outreach. Some are even acknowledging that the
very highest quality volunteer data could be used
for 305(b) reports and the state's 303(d) list, if
certain requirements are met.
Washington's volunteers seem more than ready to
accept the challenge. Three-quarters of the
volunteer coordinators surveyed would like their
groups to receive training, and half want to monitor
additional resources or parameters. "Our survey
showed most volunteers are eager to meet high
standards. We want to help the volunteers develop
skill levels which will support their needs," said
Phillips.
To accommodate the widespread enthusiasm for
volunteer monitor training, Ecology is linking
volunteers through "Watch Over Washington," or
WOW. Using a Web site
(http://www.wa.gov.gov/ecology/wq/wow.html)
as a virtual central meeting place, volunteer
monitors can locate other monitoring activities in
their areas and access training opportunities.
Coordinators of monitoring groups can keep
abreast of what other groups are doing and contact
each other to combine resources. They can also learn
about, and announce, events, resources, tools, new
methods, environmental reports, and success stories
on the Web site. There will also be a section, or FAQ
as it is called, for frequently asked questions about
monitoring.
Support for such a citizen monitoring network is overwhelming. Almost three-quarters of the
volunteers surveyed indicate that they are very interested in participating. Although new and
still fairly informal, a number of contacts have already occurred via the network's roster of
members organized by watershed. Phillips is active as a catalyst as well. She explained, "When I
learn of a project starting up, I tell them about other projects in the area that might act as
mentors or partners. For instance, I recently put two college instructors in the Puyallup River
watershed in contact with each other. One was hoping to start up a monitoring program; the
other had already established his. I thought they might share equipment and lab services."
[For more information, contact Annie Phillips, Environmental Education Specialist, Washington State
Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600. Phone: (360) 407-6408; fax (360)
407-6574; email: aphi461@ecy.wa.gov. Or contact Beverly Isenson, Special Assistant, Governor's Council
on Environmental Education, P.O. Box 40900, Olympia, WA 98504-0900. Phone: (360) 407-7317; email:
beverlyi@parks. wa.gov.]
20
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Educational Resource Column
INTERNET
Educational Directory on Web. The Committee for the National Institute for the
Environment has made the Directory of Higher Education Environmental available on the
World Wide Web. Located www.cnie.org, the directory contains detailed information on
undergraduate and graduate interdisciplinary programs, including the full spectrum of
environmental disciplines. CNIE is now in the process of collecting additional information for
the directory and is seeking information to assist undergraduate and graduate students in
selecting interdisciplinary environmental degree programs.
Administrators, faculty, and staff of degree-granting institutions can submit information
through a survey form at the above address. The directory includes degree-granting programs
only, not certificate programs or programs that offer a minor with an environmental focus. The
committee is asking programs that submit information to consider making a $100 tax-deductible
donation to help defray program operating costs.
[For more information, contact Allison Lee, Committee for the National Institute for the Environment.
1725 K Street, NW, Suite 212, Washington, DC 20006. Phone: (202)530-5810; email: stafWcnie.org.]
REPORTS
Greenbook '96. This annual report of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Energy
and Sustainable Agriculture Program (ESAP) highlights the activities and findings of people
willing to try out innovative ideas through the ESAP grant program.
[For a free copy, contact Wayne Monsen at (612)296-7673; fax (612) 297-7678; email:
wmonsen@mda-ag.mda.state.]
CATALOGS
Aquatic Plant Drawings. The very popular Aquatic Plants Information Retrieval System
aquatic plant drawings collection is now for sale. As of December 1996 there were 114 loose leaf
pages of drawings in the collection, which grows monthly. Purchase of the set allows the
purchaser to use the drawings and qualifies him or her to receive updates of new drawings for
one year from the time of purchase.
Cost of the package is $35 plus shipping and handling from: IFAS Publications, University of
Florida, P.O. Box 110011, Gainesville, Florida 32611-0011. Phone: (800) 226-1764. Refer to IFAS
Publication # SP233.
[For more information, contact Vic Rameyat(352) 392-1799; email: varamey@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu.]
Catalog of Materials and Publications. The Water Education Foundation has
published a catalog of educational supplies and programs designed to foster a broader
understanding of water issues. Videos, slide shows, a groundwater model, maps, and posters
are among those resources included, along with educational kits for elementary through
high-school-age students.
[To receive a free copy of the Catalog of Materials and Publications, published in 1996, contact the Water
Education Foundation, 717 K Street, Suite 517, Sacramento, CA 95814. Phone: (916) 444-6240.]
GUIDES
Drinking Water Resource Guide Available. The National Drinking Water
Clearinghouse has developed a drinking water resource guide that lists the name, address and
phone number, mission statement, and water-related activities of nearly 75 federal, national,
professional, and trade organizations. The guide, entitled The Outreach Resource Guide: A
Directory of Small Community Drinking Water Information, will help small communities
identify the appropriate organization for whatever assistance they might require. It also lists
relevant publications of each organization and telephone numbers and addresses of regional,
state, and local offices.
[To receive a copy of the resource guide, call the NDWC at (800) 624-8301 and request item
#DWBKGN30. The cost of the publication is $6 plus shipping and handling charges. It is also available
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 21
-------
Educational for viewing in the "bulletins" section of NDWC's Drinking Water Information Exchange Bulletin Board
Resource Column System (DWIE-BBS) by calling (800) 932-7459 or through the NDWC Web site at:
(continued) http://www.ndwc.wvu.edu.]
Water Efficiency for Your Home. This 18-page booklet, now in its third edition, is
distributed by the Rocky Mountain Institute for $1 for a single copy and 50 cents each for orders
of 10 or more. A $2.50 minimum shipping and handling charge is applied to each order.
[To obtain a copy, ask for Publication W95-36 from the Rocky Mountain Institute, 1739 Snowmass Creek
Road, Snowmass, CO 811654-9199. fax: (970) 927-3420.]
Need a Homeowner's Guide to Reducing the Risk of Pollution? If so, look at the
new publication called Home*A*Syst: An Environmental Risk Assessment Guide for the Home.
Chapters include site assessment, stormwater management, drinking water well management,
household wastewater, managing hazardous household products, lead, yard and garden care,
liquid fuels, air quality, heating and cooling systems, and household waste. Developed by the
National Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst Program.
[To order ($11.50), call (607) 255-7654, fax (607) 254-8770, or email nrase@cornell.edu.]
VIDEOS
Keeping Soil on Construction Sites. A new technical video geared toward contractors
and construction workers by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Home
Builders illustrates methods of controlling sediment from erosion on construction sites. Topics
covered include shallow ponds, phasing, stockpiling, sediment barriers and traps, drop inlet
protection, and settling ponds. An illustrated manual is also available.
[The video runs 50 minutes and costs $10. The manual is $20. Both may be ordered from Stan Ring, 2625
North Loop Drive, Suite 2100, Ames, Iowa 50010. Phone: (515) 294-8103.]
Improving Water Quality at Godfrey Creek. In this 27-minute video, farmers, ranchers,
and agency representatives describe the improvements made to Godfrey Creek and the process
used to make those changes. Godfrey Creek flows through part of Gallatin County in
southwestern Montana. Over the span of a century, the water quality in the 10-mile long creek
has gradually become degraded from farming and grazing. Several federal and state agencies
came together with farmers and ranchers living along the creek in a concerted effort to clean it up
[The cost of the video is $14.95, including shipping and handling. To obtain a copy, contact Gene Surber,
Montana State University, Linfield Hall, Room 2356, Bozeman, MT59717. Phone: (406) 994-5560.]
Best Management Practices for Nitrogen and Water Use. This video provides a
general overview of the problem of excess nitrogen in groundwater. The video and
corresponding reference book can be purchased for $20 from the Fertilizer Research and
Education Program, California Department of Food and Agriculture, 1220 N Street, Sacramento,
CA 95814. Phone: (916) 653-5340.
Education and Outreach in Action
Georgia Students Make a Difference
EDITOR'S NOTE: Adapted from Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, January/February 1997.
Students in Sequoyah Middle School in the Atlanta metro area have found they can make a
difference in their community. Thanks to alert reporting by the Ecology Club and assistance
from the Georgia Environmental Protection Department, a leak in a sewer line was repaired.
The Ecology Club also discovered that an office park landlord was allowing office trash,
cabinets, carpet, and assorted junk to be thrown over the back fence into their stream. The
students wrote to the landlord explaining the importance of keeping streams and creeks free of
litter. He responded by cleaning up the mess!
Students also assisted the Upper Chattahoochee River Keepers in cleaning up a tributary of the
Chattahoochee above Atlanta in the Fifth Annual River Clean Up Week in October 1996.
22 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Utah Students Plant Utah Students Plant Trees
Trees jn September 1996, students from seven Utah schools "adopted" a section of the Jordan River in
(continued) front Of the new Rose par^ Branch of the Salt Lake City Library by planting trees and other
vegetation in steep, rocky soil along the river to help stabilize the river's erosion-prone banks.
Pacificorp donated $2,000 in trees and the Utah Society for Environmental Education instructed
the students on how to plant trees.
Because of the river's urban nature, it is a popular attraction for nature lovers and fishermen,
who often trample the streamside vegetation and cause even more erosion. The city partially
remedied the problem by building a river walk with cobble stone access points and natural
stone steps down to the river to discourage people from walking along the river's steep banks.
The students laid erosion blankets to help stabilize the banks.
The mayor, Adopt-A-Waterbody coordinators, and other dignitaries gathered at the site with the
students when they were finished to celebrate the effort. The executive director of the Utah
Department of Environmental Quality thanked the students for being a part of the
Adopt-A-Waterbody program. She told them that they play an important role in keeping the
river and its surrounding area clean because the government does not have the resources or
personnel to do it. The students have continued their interest in the river by patrolling it from
time to time and using it as an outdoor classroom.
[For more information, contact Jack Wilbur, Utah Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 146500, Salt Lake
City, UT84114. Phone: (801)538-7098.]
Reviews and Announcements
Stormwater/Wetlands Best Management Practices Guidebook
Wetlands in urban areas can be dramatically altered by uncontrolled runoff resulting from
natural drainage or direct discharge to wetland systems. As a first step toward a framework for
baseline protection of wetlands that receive stormwater runoff, the Wetlands Division of the
Environmental Protection Agency has released Protecting Natural Wetlandsa Guide to
Stormwater Best Management Practices. It provides information for decisions regarding the
potential benefits, limitations, and appropriate applications of BMPs to protect the many
functions of natural wetlands from the impacts of urban stormwater discharges and other
diffuse sources of runoff.
The document is available from the Wetlands Hotline: (800) 832-7828.
Section 319 National Monitoring Program: An Overview
The North Carolina State University Branch Water Quality Group and U.S. EPA's Nonpoint
Source Branch recently published an attractive 20-page report explaining the section 319
National Monitoring Program. Illustrated with color photographs, the report features 20
projects in Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland,
Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota,
Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Copies of the report may be obtained free of charge from NCEPI, PO. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH
45242. Phone: (800) 490-9198; fax: (513) 489-8695; web: http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/index.html.
Mention EPA publication number EPA-841-S-97-003. A copy of the report may be viewed at
http://h2osparc.wq.ncsu.edu/319glossy/index.html and can also be downloaded in Adobe
Acrobat (PDF) format.
New Linear Regression Approach Predicts Water Quality Impacts
A new EPA fact sheet on using linear regression for nonpoint source pollution analyses is now
available. The fact sheet demonstrates an approach for describing the relationship between
water quality variables and land uses or hydrologic factors such as crop type, soil type, rainfall,
stream flow, and others. The method should allow water quality analysts to predict water
quality impacts due to changes in those factors.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 23
-------
To get a copy of the fact sheet, "Linear Regression for Nonpoint Source Pollution Analyses"
(EPA-841-B-97-007), contact the National Center for Environmental Publications and
Information at (800) 490-9198; fax: (513) 489-8695.
New Award To Recognize Creativity in Water Technology
The San Diego Foundation's prestigious new Blasker Award for Environmental Science and
Engineering will, in its first cycle, target innovations in environmental science and engineering
relating to water. Every year, the $250,000 award will recognize an individual or group of
individuals who provide the most creative and innovative original contribution leading toward
a solution of a specific environmental problem. The topic for the first award, to be given in 1999,
is innovative science and technology achievements contributing to creation or maintenance of
sustainable supplies of water to meet a wide range of needs including agricultural, industrial,
and domestic use, and the maintenance of natural ecosystems. Applications for the 1999 award
must be postmarked between November 1,1998 and November 15,1998.
[For more information and a sample application, visit the Blasker Award web site at
http://www.blasker.org. Or send a request for information to Blasker Award, 1420 Kettner Blvd., Suite 500,
San Diego, CA 92101-2431; fax: (619) 239-1710; email: blasker@sdcf.org.]
Environmental Principles for Golf Courses in the United States
The Golf and the Environment Consortium, a collaborative research and dialogue process
managed by the Center for Resource Management, has published Environmental Principles for
Golf Courses in the United States. Addressed to developers, designers and others involved in golf
course development, and to golf course associations, managers, and golfers, it contains
voluntary principles for knowing when, where, and how to develop "new and existing golf
courses in a wide variety of geographic areas."
Aware that environmental solutions depend on local issues and conditions, the Consortium
describes the guidelines as broadly philosophical in purpose and intent; readers, however, will
find them refreshingly practical. They offer guidance for every exigency: for planning, siting,
constructing, operating, and maintaining golf courses; and conclude with 10 actions that "every
golfer can do to help."
[For more information, contact Paul Parker, The Center for Resource Management, 1104 East Ashton
Avenue, Suite 210, Salt Lake City, Utah 84106. Phone: (801) 466-3600; or Sharon Newsome, Associate
Director, Commission on Risk Assessment, 529 14th Street, Northwest, Suite 420, Washington, DC 20045.
Phone: (202) 233-9533.]
Seminar on Watershed Planning
The National Association of Counties invites local and municipal officials and other
stakeholders at all levels of experience to participate in Practical Watershed Protection a state
cf-the-art "how-to" for protecting growing watersheds. The seminar (registration is $150 for the two
days) will be presented by the Center for Watershed Protection, November 20-21,1997, at the
Quality Hotel, Silver Spring, Maryland. The agenda and special panel presentations include (1)
a variety of ways to reduce the impacts of land development and (2) valuable tips for crafting
effective watershed programs to deal with sensitive areas, the importance of imperviousness,
and the latest techniques and practices for stormwater management and NPDES Phase II. In
addition, the Center's 9 elements of effective watershed protection and 12 elements of effective
watershed plans will be followed by presentations on how to implement the plans and balance
the budget the dollars and "sense" of watershed protection.
The Center for Watershed Protection is "a nonprofit organization devoted "to better protection
for streams, lakes and estuaries through improved stewardship of the land."
[For more information, contact Whitney Brown at the Center for Watershed Protection. Phone: (301)
589-1890; fax: (301) 589-8745; email: mrrunoff@usa.pipeline.com.]
24 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
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Datebook
DATEBOOK is prepared with the cooperation of our readers. If you would like a meeting or event
placed in the DATEBOOK, contact the NPS NEWS-NOTES editors. Notices should be in our
hands at least two months in advance to ensure timely publication, this listing is available online
at www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS/events.html. A more complete listing is available on the NPS
Information Exchange World Wide Web Site (see the NPS Information Exchange box in this
issue for directions on how to get on).
Meetings and Events
1997
October
9
19-23
19-24
22-24
26-31
27-31
November
2-5
3-5
4
5-7
16-19
22-24
December
Sources, Transformation, and Fate of Trace Metals in Puget Sound, New York, NY. Sponsored by the
Hudson River Foundation, in Cooperation with the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program. Contact the
Hudson River Foundation at (212) 924-8290.
Hydrology of Wetlands, Tranquility, NJ. Contact Army Corps of Engineers at (908) 932-9271.
Annual Conference and Symposium on Conjunctive Use of Water Resources: Aquifer Storage and Recovery,
Long Beach, CA. Sponsored by the American Water Resources Association (AWRA). Contact AWRA,
950 Herndon Pkwy., Ste. 300, Herndon, VA 20170-5531. (703) 904-1225. Fax: (703) 904-1228; email:
awrahq@aol.com. WWW Home Page: http://www.awra.org/~awra.
Application ofGIS, Remote Sensing, Geostatistics and Solute Transport Modeling to the Assessment of
Nonpoint Source Pollutants in the Vadose Zone, Riverside, CA. Contact Ellyn Grossman, American
Geophysical Union, (202) 462-6910, ext. 242; fax: (202) 328-0566; email: Egrossman@Kosmos.agu.org.
42nd Annual Midwest Groundwater Conference, Coralville, IA. Contact Paul VanDorpe at (319) 335-1580;
fax: (319) 335-2754; email: pvandorpe@gsbth-po.igsb.uiowa.edu.
http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/htmls/related/mwgwc.htm.
Watersheds '97, Anchorage, AK. Contact Gregory Kellogg at (907) 271-6328; email:
kellogg.greg@epamail.epa.gov.
Indian Agriculture: Roots of our Destiny and Sovereignty, 1997 National Indian Agricultural Symposium,
Chandler, AZ. Contact the Intertribal Agricultural Council at (406) 259-3525.
National Urban and Community Conservation Conference, Columbus, OH. For registration and exhibit
information contact NACD, 9150 West Jewell Avenue, Suite 102, Lakewood, CO 80232-6469, (303)
988-1810.
Region 10 Tribal Environmental Conference, Seattle, WA. Contact Kathy Hill at (206) 553-6220.
An Update on the System-Wide Eutrophication Model (SWEM)for the NY/N] Harbor Estuary, New York,
NY. Sponsored by the Hudson River Foundation, in Cooperation with the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary
Program. Contact the Hudson River Foundation at (212) 924-8290.
Facilitating and Mediating Effective Environmental Agreements, Berkeley, CA. Cost: $795. Contact
CONCUR at (510)649-8008; fax: (510)649-1980; email: concur@igc.apc.org.
International Conference on Advances in Ground-Water Hydrology A Decade of Progress, Tampa, FL.
Organized by the American Institute of Hydrology (AIH). Contact: AIH, 2499 Rice St., Ste. 135, St.
Paul, MN 55113. (612) 484-8169. Fax: (612) 484-8357; email: AIHydro@aol.com.
Priming the PumpJoining Forces: Education and Action for Groundwater. Water Educators Workshop
and Groundwater Guardian Designation Conference. Sponsored by The Groundwater Foundation
McDonald's Corporate Campus. For more information, contact Cindy Kreifels or Amy Killham at
1-800-858-4844. Web: http:/www.groundwater.org.
Barriers to Anadromous Fish Migration in the Hudson River, New York, NY. Sponsored by the Hudson
River Foundation, in Cooperation with the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program. Contact the Hudson
River Foundation at (212) 924-8290.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997, ISSUE #49
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 25
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Datebook (Continued)
December
3-6
1998
January
9-10
February
10-12
April
May
6-7
15-17
29-5/3
3-6
17th International Symposium of the North American Lake Management Society, Houston, TX. Organized
by the North American Lake Management Society. Special sessions on NAFTA, restoration of littoral
zones, integrated management of rivers and reservoirs, maintaining estuarine health, and
flood/drought management will be presented. Contact Dr. Robert Doyle at (972) 436-2215; email:
loyler@EXl .wes.army.mil or Dr. Alan Groeger at (512) 245-2284; email: AGll@swt.edu.
Establishing Direction and Embracing Change: Environmental Education in New Jersey, Trenton, NJ.
Contact Tanya Oznowich, NJ DEP, Environmental Education Unit, P.O. Box 402, Trenton, NJ
08625-0402. Phone: (609) 984-9802.
Managing Manure in Harmony with the Environment and Society, Ames, IA. Contact Bob Ball, NRCS,
Parkade Center, Suite 250,601 Business Loop 70 West, Columbia, MO 65203. Phone: (573) 284-4370;
email: bobb@mo.nrcs.usda.gov.
first National Mitigation Banking Conference, Washington, DC. Learn from others' successes and
mistakes at the nation's first "how-to" conference on mitigation banking. Meet the nation's leading
bankers and restorationists as you exchange experiences and work out problems in interactive,
hands-on sessions. Contact the Terrene Institute at (703) 548-5473; email: terrinst@aol.com.
TEAM WETLANDS: 101 Ways to Win for Wetlands, Arlington VA. The American Wetlands Month
Communities Celebration emphasizes interactive sessions on how to build community wetlands
programs and projects. Contact the Terrene Institute at (703) 548-5473; email: terrinst@aol.com.
Rivers: The Future Frontier, Anchorage, AK. Contact the River Management Society at (406) 549-0514;
email: rms@igc.apc.org.
Watershed'98 Watershed Management: Moving from Theory to Implementation, Denver, CO. Sponsored
by the Water Environment Federation. Contact WEF at (703) 684-2400; email: confinfo@wef.org.
Call for Papers
1997
April
15-17, 1998
Call for Papers Submission Due November 7,1997. TEAM WETLANDS: 101 Ways to Win for
Wetlands, Arlington VA. The American Wetlands Month Communities Celebration emphasizes
interactive sessions on how to build community wetlands programs and projects. Contact the Terrene
Institute at (703) 548-5473; email: terrinst@aol.com.
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Include the following information in your message: subscribe NPSINFO yourfirstname
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After you subscribe, you will receive a welcome message explaining the discussion list and
how to post messages to it.
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