Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Pasture Grazing Best Management Practices Result in Pathogen
(Fecal Coliform) Delisting
Watprbndv Imnrnvpd
from 9razin9 activities contributed to pathogen (fecal
coliform [FC]) impairments of Caney Branch in Baldwin
County, Alabama. Implementing best management practices (BMPs) including livestock
exclusion fencing, stream crossings, and riparian buffers helped Caney Branch meet its
designated water use classification of Fish 8- Wildlife. As a result, the Alabama Department
of Environmental Management (ADEM) removed the 5-mile impaired segment of Caney
Branch from the state's section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2002.
Problem
Caney Branch is a tributary of the Fish River,
which originates near the city of Stapleton
and flows south through Baldwin County
before emptying into Weeks Bay in southwest
Alabama (Figure 1). The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) designated Weeks
Bay as a National Estuarine Research Reserve
in 1986, and ADEM designated it as an
Outstanding National Resource Water in 1992.
Table 1. Geological Survey of Alabama
sample results (Site 8-A)
Year
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
Total
# of Samples
10
12
12
12
12
58
Exceedances
5
2
1
0
1
9
Figure 1. Location
Alabama of Caney Branch
in Baldwin County,
Alabama.
Caney
Branch
Land use/land cover in the Caney Branch
subwatershed is primarily cropland, pasture/
hayland, and forest lands. FC contamina-
tion problems associated with cattle grazing
practices, unrestricted stream access, and
trampling of riparian vegetation was well
documented in the watershed. The Geological
Survey of Alabama used section 319 funds
to collect 58 monthly FC samples between
1994 and 1998. The median FC count was 230
col/100 milliliters (ml) (range of 30 to 83,000
col/100 ml) with nine samples (15 percent)
exceeding the Fish & Wildlife single sample
criterion of 2,000 col/100 ml (Table 1). As a
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result, ADEM placed this 5-mile segment of
Caney Branch on the state's 1998 and 2000
303(d) lists of impaired waters. The impairment
cause was listed as pathogens, and the sourc-
es of impairment were identified as pasture
grazing/riparian.
Project Highlights
The Natural Resources Conservation Service,
ADEM, EPA-Gulf of Mexico Program, and
other stakeholders used a section 319 grant
to initiate the Fish River Watershed Project,
which was eventually expanded to become
the Weeks Bay Watershed Project. The project
focus was to holistically assess water qual-
ity, lessen cumulative effects of runoff, and
address threats to the Weeks Bay watershed.
The partners installed BMPs including live-
stock exclusion fencing, riparian buffers, and
stream crossings. They also conducted educa-
tion and outreach efforts throughout the Caney
Branch Watershed, including cleanups, field
days, workshops, and stakeholder meetings.
These efforts helped to achieve the goals of
the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve Management Plan and the Weeks Bay
Watershed Management Plan.
Results
In 2001 ADEM collected 22 samples at Caney
Branch Site CNYB-1 (Table 2). No single sample
value exceeded the Fish & Wildlife criterion
of 2,000 col/100 ml, and no geometric mean
value exceeded the October to May geometric
mean criterion of 1,000 col/100ml_.
Also, the Weeks Bay Project coordinator col-
lected two series of five FC samples near the
mouth of Caney Branch between August and
October 2001 for analyses by a private certified
laboratory. No single sample value exceeded
the single sample criterion, and no geometric
mean value exceeded the applicable geometric
mean criterion. Thus, ADEM removed this
segment of Caney Branch from the 303(d) list
in 2002.
Partners and Funding
ADEM provided $450,000 in section 319
funds to support a watershed coordinator,
BMP installation, and water quality monitor-
ing in the Weeks Bay Watershed. The Gulf of
Mexico Program, through the Baldwin County
Soil & Water Conservation District, provided
$157,600, and landowners provided $113,600
in matching funds for a total project cost of
$720,000. Partners involved in implement-
ing the Weeks Bay and Weeks Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve Management
Plans include Alabama Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources, the
Weeks Bay Reserve Foundation, the Baldwin
County Department of Public Health, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Dauphin Island
Sea Lab, the University of South Alabama, the
Alabama Clean Water Partnership, businesses,
and local citizens.
Table 2. ADEM final monitoring results
(Site CNYB-1)
Date
(2001)
April 25
May 01
May 02
May 09
May 16
Oct09
Oct 17
Oct24
Oct 31
Nov05
Fecal Coliform
(# col/100 ml)
48
100
140
120
130
70
110
56
38
34
Geometric Mean
(# col/100 ml)
101
56
I
55
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-07-001EE
Decmber 2007
For additional information contact:
Patti Hurley, Section 319 Project Coordinator,
Alabama Dept. of Environmental Management
334-394-4350 • pah@adem.state.al.us
Mike Shelton, Weeks Bay Watershed Coordinator,
Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
251-928-9792 • michael.shelton@dcnr.alabama.gov
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