Section 319
NONPOINT SOORCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Watershed Management Improves Lake Water Quality
\A/citprhnrl\/ Imnrnx/prl Excessive nutrients from agricultural fields and residential
"' activity resulted in eutrophication of Banner Creek Reservoir.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) added the reservoir to the state's
2002 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters. In conjunction with local,
state and federal agencies, the Jackson County Conservation District used education and
information efforts and cost share incentives to promote management practices to reduce
loading of bacteria, nutrients and sediment. Subsequent monitoring in 2003 and 2007
indicated that phosphorus and chlorophyll in the lake had declined to acceptable levels,
allowing KDHE to remove the lake from Kansas' 2008 303(d) list of impaired waters.
Problem
Banner Creek Reservoir in northeast Kansas was
constructed as a multipurpose, small lake serving
as the water supply for the city of Holton and rural
Jackson County. Banner Creek Reservoir encom-
passes 535 acres and was built during 1994-1997
to supply water to Holton and Jackson County, as
well as to provide recreation opportunities for north-
east Kansas. The 12,000-acre watershed draining
to the reservoir is 88 percent grass and woodland
with the balance being chiefly cropland. Livestock
production, principally cattle, is prevalent over a
third of the watershed.
Sampling in 1998 and 1999 indicated that chlo-
rophyll and phosphorus levels were above the
state guidelines for Kansas water supply reser-
voirs—12 parts per billion (ppb) for chlorophyll a
and 22 ppb for phosphorus. Algae blooms, induced
by excessive nutrients such as phosphorus from
agricultural and residential lands, impair water sup-
ply with taste and odor problems, degrade aquatic
life integrity and hamper recreation use on the lake.
Kansas added the lake to its 2002 CWA section
303(d) list because of the 1998-1999 conditions.
Project Highlights
As part of its small lake program, Jackson County
Conservation District developed and implemented
a nonpoint source management plan for the
Banner Creek watershed. The Conservation District
promoted a diverse suite of practices applied in the
Figure 1. Cattle at
feeder bale in the
foreground and an
alternative water
supply pond in the
background.
Figure 2.
Snow-covered
alternative water
source pond and
perimeter fencing
in a tributary to
Banner Creek
Reservoir.
watershed from 1997 to 2007, relying on an aggres-
sive education and information program to increase
awareness of the impacts of agricultural and
residential activity on the quality of the lake. Failing
septic systems were repaired or replaced above the
lake, and livestock access to the streams flowing
to the reservoir was managed by providing alterna-
tive water supplies (ponds and tanks) (Figure 1),
cross-fencing (Figure 2), and a portable windbreak
to provide loafing areas for cattle away from riparian
areas.
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Landowners developed nutrient management plans
for 132 acres of grazing land and 37 acres of crop-
land, and converted 36 acres of cropland to native
grass. They restored additional acres of brome
grassland through reseeding. Using CWA section
319 funds, the project partners hired a water quality
coordinator to promote agricultural producers'
participation in the available cost-share programs.
Results
Lake sampling in 2003 and 2007 showed lower
chlorophyll levels. Average chlorophyll a con-
centrations were below 12 ppb and near the
newly proposed water quality standard of 10 ppb.
Phosphorus levels in the lake also declined, lending
confidence that the initial watershed management
efforts are reducing the phosphorus loadings that
affect the trophic state of the lake. The 2003-2007
average total phosphorus concentration of 22 ppb
lies below suggested guideline of 25-30 ppb for
lakes in the Western Corn Belt ecoregion (Figure 3).
Consequently, KDHE removed Banner Creek
Reservoir from the 2008 CWA section 303(d) list,
offsetting the need to develop a nutrient total maxi-
mum daily load for the lake and its watershed.
Banner Creek Lake Quality
Chla
TotalP
Parameter
1998-99 12003-07
Figure 3. Chlorophyll and phosphorus levels before and after
watershed management.
Partners and Funding
The Jackson County Conservation District part-
nered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA's) Natural Resources Conservation Service,
KDHE, U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Public
Wholesale Water Supply District #18, Northeast
Kansas Environmental Services and Kansas State
University, State Conservation Commission, Kansas
Corporation Commission, the city of Holton,
Jackson County Commissioners, and Glacial Hills
Resource Conservation and Development Program
to develop and implement this watershed manage-
ment plan. An initial CWA section 319 program
grant of $102,145 supported the water quality
coordinator position and outreach programs and
demonstration projects, such as the portable
windbreak.
A subsequent CWA section 319 grant of $48,362
further supported watershed plan implementation
efforts. These funds were matched with county
in-kind funds and cost-share funds from the Kansas
Water Plan Fund, totaling more than $155,000.
Additionally, USDA's Environmental Quality
Incentive Program funded implementation of best
management practices. Because only a fraction of
the watershed has been treated and the lake is on
the threshold between good quality and deteriora-
tion, ongoing implementation will continue in order
to maintain the integrity of the lake. Five-year pro-
jections of implementation costs totaling $584,000
are needed to further reduce nutrient and sediment
loads.
\
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-09-001D
June 2009
For additional information contact:
Amanda Reed
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
785-296-7165
akreed@kdheks.gov
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