Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCF PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Conservation Efforts Improve Water Quality
Waterbodv Improved A9ricultural Practices alon9 DeMoss Creek contributed
y ^ to silt runoff that degraded water quality. The Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) added the creek to the state's
2002 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters because of siltation.
Landowners implemented numerous best management practices (BMPs), including sedi-
ment control basins and conservation plantings. Water quality improved, prompting TDEC
to remove DeMoss Creek from Tennessee's list of impaired waters in 2008.
Problem
DeMoss Creek is part of the South Fork Obion River
watershed. It flows west of the town of Trezevant in
Carroll County, Tennessee. DeMoss Creek did not
support its designated uses of fish and aquatic life,
prompting TDEC to add a 24.2-mile segment of the
creek to the state's 2002 CWA section 303(d) list
of impaired waters for sedimentation and siltation.
TDEC attributed the loss of biological integrity to
sediment from eroding, non-irrigated cropland and
riparian areas.
Project Highlights
Landowners installed agricultural BMPs along
DeMoss Creek with support from Tennessee's
Agricultural Resources Conservation Fund (ARCF)
(Figure 1). BMPs included two water and sediment
control basins and one acre of critical area plantings
(see Figures 2 and 3). The practices helped reduce
the amount of sediment entering the creek.
Results
In 2005 TDEC conducted a biological reconnais-
sance (biorecon) survey of DeMoss Creek using
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rapid
bioassessment protocol III. A biorecon survey is a
tool used to evaluate stream impairment as deter-
mined by species richness measures, emphasizing
the presence or absence of indicator organisms
without regard to relative abundance. The biorecon
survey score is used as a measure of compliance
with water quality standards for the beneficial use
offish and aquatic life. The principal metrics used
DeMoss Creek, TN08010203001-1200
in the South Fork Obion River WS in Carroll County, Tennessee
0 0.5 1
TN Dept of Agriculture
8/14/08
Figure 1. This map shows the location and types of BMPs
installed in the DeMoss Creek watershed.
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Figures 2 and 3. Examples of water and sediment control basins implemented in western Tennessee.
are the total macroinvertebrate families (or genera);
the number of families (or genera) of mayflies,
stoneflies, and caddisflies (collectively referred to
as EPT—short for the order names Ephemeroptera,
Plecoptera and Trichoptera); and the number of
pollution-intolerant families (or genera) found in a
stream. The biorecon index is scored on a scale
from 1 to 15. A score of less than 5 is regarded as
very poor. A score of more than 10 is considered
good. The 2005 biorecon survey score for DeMoss
Creek was 11. The survey documented four EPT
families, one intolerant family and 18 total fami-
lies—yielding an overall habitat score of 93. Those
results indicate that the water quality in DeMoss
Creek has improved and now supports the creek's
fish and aquatic life designated use. Therefore,
TDEC removed a 24.2-mile segment of DeMoss
Creek from the state's CWA section 303(d) list of
impaired waters in 2008.
Partners and Funding
This project was funded through cost-sharing from
CWA section 319 grant pool projects. From 2003
to 2008, ARCF provided $10,938 in funding with
an additional match of $4,538 from landowners.
Other key partners include the Carroll County Soil
Conservation District, which helped landowners
implement BMPs, and landowners, who contributed
the majority of the in-kind match.
I
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-09-001Q
August 2009
For additional information contact:
Sam Marshall
Tennessee Department of Agriculture
615-837-5306 • Sam.Marshall@tn.gov
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