Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
Agricultural Best Management Practices Reduce Fecal Coliform Bacteria
Waterbodv ImDrOVed Runoff from PoultrV operations and other agricultural areas
' ''" carried high levels of fecal coliform (FC) bacteria into the
Little Ochlockonee River, preventing a nine-mile segment of the river from achieving
its designated use for fishing. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR)
added the segment to its Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list in 2000. Landowners
constructed agricultural best management practices (BMPs) that reduced FC bacteria
runoff from farms. As a result, the river segment meets its designated use and is no longer
impaired by FC. In 2006 GDNR removed the nine-mile portion of the Little Ochlockonee
River from Georgia's list of impaired waters.
Problem
The Little Ochlockonee River (Figure 1) is in a region
of Georgia which has a rolling, hilly topography with
a mosaic of agriculture, pasture and mixed pine/
hardwood forests. Soils are well-drained, brownish,
and loamy, often with iron-rich layers. The area has
bluffs and deep ravines with cool microclimates
that support several rare plants and animals, as well
as species with more northern affinities.
The 82 poultry operations in the six counties sur-
rounding the Little Ochlockonee River watershed
produce more than 66 million birds annually. The
amount of chicken litter produced in the project
area exceeds 100,000 tons annually. Poultry produc-
ers must also dispose of the carcasses of numerous
birds that do not survive the growing period. Poultry
litter and other waste is commonly stored on the
ground until it can be spread over pasturelands.
Producers often store waste uncovered and some-
times near streams, wetlands or sinkholes, where
leaching of nitrates and bacteria can readily occur.
The total maximum daily load (TMDL) assessment
developed for the nine-mile segment of the Little
Ochlockonee River in 2000 reports that the geo-
metric mean for FC levels exceeded 200 counts per
100 milliliters (mL) for May through October and
1,000 counts per 100 mL for November through
April. Georgia's water quality standards state that
FC bacteria levels should not exceed a geometric
Figure 1. Georgia's Little Ochlockonee River.
mean of 200 counts per 100 mL (or 500 counts per
100 mL if proved to be from nonhuman sources) for
the months of May through October. For November
through April, FC bacteria counts should not exceed
1,000 counts per 100 mL (or 4,000 counts for any
one sample).
GDNR cited runoff from farming and livestock
operations as the primary source of the pollution.
Failing septic systems were identified as a second-
ary source of FC contamination. The TMDL calls for
FC levels to be reduced by 75 percent for the river
segment to attain the water quality criterion neces-
sary to support the fishing designated use.
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Project Highlights
Results
To accomplish the necessary 75 percent FC reduc-
tion, the Golden Triangle Resource Conservation
and Development Council worked with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource
Conservation Service (NRCS) to install poultry
incinerators (Figure 2) in the Little Ochlockonee River
watershed. Incinerators provide for effective disposal
of poultry waste (bird carcasses and litter), reducing
the water contamination that often occurs when
rain falls on uncovered waste piles. These BMPs
are a component of a larger water quality protection
project in several neighboring counties. BMPs for
the larger project include other poultry incinerators,
a pesticide mixing station, and covered poultry litter
storage areas, also known as poultry stack houses.
Figure 2. Ochlockonee River watershed poultry producers
installed poultry incinerators such as this one.
Other agricultural BMPs were installed in the area
through the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP), which annually provides financial
assistance to agricultural producers. To ensure
continued water quality benefits, this program also
included three BMP demonstration field days, five
informational workshops targeting small farmers and
school children, and three educational training ses-
sions to demonstrate the benefits and importance of
agricultural nonpoint source protection efforts. More
than 200 people attended these education sessions.
While there is no acceptable format for estimat-
ing FC load reductions, installing the incinerators
prevented targeted pollutants from draining directly
into the watershed. State monitoring results from
2003 show that the geometric mean for FC was
81 counts per 100 ml for November through
April—a 92 percent decrease from 2000. Because
the river attains water quality criteria for FC bac-
teria, GDNR removed the nine-mile portion of the
Little Ochlockonee River (from Big Creek to the
Ochlockonee River) from Georgia's CWA section
303(d) list of impaired waters in 2006.
Partners and Funding
State partners involved in the effort include the
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
Service, which provided office space, technical
assistance and educational outreach help; the Flint
River Soil and Water Conservation District, which
helped promote the project and implement BMPs;
and the Southwest Georgia Regional Development
Center, which provided geographical informa-
tion system support and data as well as technical
assistance. Federal agencies also supported the
project, including the NRCS, which provided direct
technical assistance to agricultural producers and
helped develop conservation plans and design
and approve BMPs; and the Farm Service Agency,
which provided planning and technical support and
data collection. Regional and local governments—
including the Boards of Commissioners for Mitchell,
Calhoun, Baker, Grady, and Decatur counties—also
supported the project.
In total, the partners spent $13,455 of FY02 CWA
section 319 funds on BMPs installed in the Little
Ochlockonee River watershed. The funds supported
constructing and installing BMPs and provided
60 percent of total costs up to a $6,000 maximum
for each BMP. Producers provided the remaining
40 percent of BMP costs. EQIP funding was also
made available to producers at a 50-50 cost share
ratio.
I
5
PR
. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"fc Office of Water
g Washington, DC
EPA841-F-09-001J
June 2009
For additional information contact:
Julie Walden
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
404-675-1640 • Julie.Walden@dnr.state.ga.us
Frank Yancey
Golden Triangle Resource Conservation
and Development Council, Inc.
229-723-3841 • Frank.Yancey@ga.usda.gov
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