Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Implementing Innovative Best Management Practices and
Targeting Technical Assistance Restored Recreational Uses
u ^i I ^i Uncontrolled livestock grazing and poor cropland management con-
VV3t6rDOCly IrnprOVGO tributed high levels of bacteria to the uppermost segment of Lower
Pipestem Creek, prompting North Dakota to include the creek on its
2004 Clean Water Act section 303(d) list of impaired waters. Landowners implemented various agricul-
tural best management practices (BMPs) to reduce bacteria levels, including keeping livestock out of
the creek, establishing riparian area easements, and better management of manure, crop residues and
nutrients. Bacteria levels declined, and the creek now meets fecal coliform standards for recreation,
allowing North Dakota to remove this portion of Lower Pipestem Creek from the 2008 section 303(d)
list for fecal coliform.
Problem
Project Highlights
A segment of Lower Pipestem Creek flows
through Wells County and extends from
Sykeston Dam downstream to a small impound-
ment known as Pipestem Dam #3, located
just south of the Wells County/Foster County
line (Figure 1). In 1999 the Stutsman, Wells
and Foster County Soil Conservation Districts
(SCDs), in cooperation with the North Dakota
Department of Health (NDDH) and the Natural
Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), initi-
ated a Lower Pipestem Creek Water Quality
Assessment project. The primary goal of the
two-year assessment was to determine the sta-
tus of the stream's beneficial uses and identify
the sources of pollutants impairing those uses.
Water quality monitoring data collected dur-
ing the two-year assessment showed high
levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, suspended
solids and fecal coliform bacteria in the creek.
Additionally, other monitoring data from 1994
to 2005 showed that more than 10 percent of
monthly samples collected from May 1 through
September 30 exceeded a density of 400
colony forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliters
(mL), violating the state standard to protect rec-
reational uses. Therefore, North Dakota includ-
ed this 10.53-mile upper segment of Lower
Pipestem Creek on the 2004 section 303(d) list
of impaired waters for total fecal coliform.
The Lower Pipestem Creek Water Quality
Assessment project gave watershed partners
a head start in the effort to fix the problem.
The assessment had already concluded that
improper land management and lack of soil
conservation measures in the watershed led
to the nonpoint source pollution problems.
The assessment recommended that partners
could restore the creek by helping landowners
to better manage manure within concentrated
Pipestem Creek, North Dakota
Figure 1. This location map for Lower Pipestem Creek includes
shaded areas that indicate where landowners implemented BMPs.
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livestock feeding areas and implement BMPs
that improve cropland and grazing land man-
agement.
Given the assessment findings, the local SCDs
launched the Lower Pipestem Creek Watershed
Project in April 2002—even before the stream
was officially included on the state's 303(d) list
of impaired waters. This project delivered finan-
cial and technical assistance to agricultural pro-
ducers to implement various BMPs addressing
livestock grazing, manure management, riparian
restoration and cropland management. Clean
Water Act section 319-funded practices include
improving manure management at two animal
feeding operations. For example, landowners
installed additional wells and water tanks and
began spreading out livestock winter feeding
locations across cropland and hayland, thereby
eliminating areas that generated concentrated
runoff (Figure 2). Landowners also converted
550 acres of cropland to hayland (including
mildly saline areas using saline-tolerant vegeta-
tion), implemented nutrient management on
1,300 acres, applied residue management to
800 acres and prescribed grazing management
for 340 acres. In addition, they established ripar-
ian area easements on 41 acres and erected
livestock exclusion fencing on an animal feeding
operation near the riparian area.
Results
The project successfully reduced the amount
of bacteria reaching the creek. Data from a set
of 54 fecal coliform bacteria samples collected
in 2006 and 2007 show that the upper segment
of Lower Pipestem Creek met North Dakota
water quality standards. The standards require
that the geometric mean of the samples be
below 200 CFU/100 mL and that no more than
10 percent of samples exceed 400 CFU/100 mL.
Because the upper segment's recreational uses
are now fully supported, North Dakota removed
it from the 2008 section 303(d) list for fecal
coliform. The Lower Pipestem Creek Watershed
project will remain active until June 2010. These
ongoing efforts will likely result in additional
BMPs being applied in the watershed.
Figure 2. This
is a temporary
winter feeding
and watering
area on cropland.
The landowner
insulated the
water tank to
keep it from
freezing and
created a
windbreak with
hay bales.
Partners and Funding
The NRCS coordinated with the Stutsman,
Foster and Wells County SCDs and watershed
project staff to provide technical assistance
for conservation planning and financial assis-
tance for installing BMPs through the NRCS
Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
granted $82,049 in section 319 funds ($46,925
in producer match) through NDDH to the SCDs'
alliance, which provided agricultural produc-
ers (farmers, ranchers and other landowners)
with one-on-one planning assistance and
cost-sharing to implement BMPs and con-
servation plans. The North Dakota Game and
Fish Department's Save Our Lakes Program
provided $23,578 for riparian easements and
restoration practices. In addition to the finan-
cial support, the partners provided approxi-
mately 400 hours of technical assistance to
agricultural producers in the watershed to help
plan and install the BMPs.
NDDH oversaw project management, devel-
oped the quality assurance project plan, con-
ducted water quality sample collection training
and helped to develop and implement informa-
tion and education activities. The North Dakota
Extension Service also provided technical
support for education activities and materials.
The partners encouraged and maintained public
involvement by holding workshops, creating
newsletters, maintaining a project Web site, and
presenting information to community groups.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
z Washington, DC
o
EPA841-F-08-001EE
November 2008
For additional information contact:
Ryan Odenbach, Watershed Coordinator
Stutsman County Soil Conservation District
701-252-2521 • ryan.odenbach@nd.usda.gov
Greg Sandness, North Dakota Department of Health
701-328-5232 • gsandnes@nd.gov
Eric Steinhaus, North Dakota Watershed Coordinator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 8
303-312-6837 • steinhaus.eric@epa.gov
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