Section 319
              NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM  SUCCESS STORY
 Improved Management of Farm Drainage Restores Taft Brook

WatPrbndv  Imnrnvpd   Silage and milkhouse waste from a nearby farm degraded
                              biological communities in a 0.1-mile section of Taft Brook. As
 a result, Vermont placed the stream on its 303(d) list for aquatic life use impairments due
 to excessive nutrients. Cooperation among the farm owner and other partners resulted in
 the construction of a waste storage system, which eliminated the cause of impairment.
 The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC)  expects to remove Taft
 Brook from its  303(d) list in 2006.
 Problem
 Taft Brook, a 6-mile stream in the northern
 Vermont town of Westfield, is a tributary
 within the Missisquoi River watershed. VT DEC
 classifies Taft Brook as a Class B water—a
 designation defined  as "suitable for bath-
 ing and  recreation, irrigation and agricultural
 uses; good fish habitat; good aesthetic value;
 acceptable for public water supply with filtra-
 tion and disinfection."

 In 1999, VT  DEC monitored macroinvertebrates
 in Taft Brook using several different measures,
 including the EPT index—a measure of pol-
 lution-sensitive, aquatic insects inhabiting a
 waterbody. Streams showing high EPT rich-
 ness are less likely to be polluted than streams
 showing low richness in the same geographic
 region.  In addition, VT DEC evaluated Taft
 Brook's biotic integrity (Bl), which measures
 the presence of pollution-tolerant species.
 High Bl  values characterize streams with poor
 water quality and  dominated by pollution-toler-
 ant species.

 Biomonitoring revealed that a 0.1-mile segment
 of Taft Brook had  low EPT richness and high Bl.
 These findings, along with other biomonitoring
 results,  put the segment in noncompliance
 with Vermont Class B water quality standards
 for aquatic life support. As a result, Vermont
placed Taft Brook on its 303(d) list of impaired
waters in 2000. VT DEC identified the drainage
of nutrient-rich milkhouse and silage wastes
from an adjacent farm as the likely cause of
impairment.
Project Highlights
Technical assistance staff from the Winooski
Natural Resources Conservation District con-
tacted the owner and operator of the nearby
farm in 1999. The farm owner then applied for
and received cost-share assistance from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the
Vermont Agency of Agriculture to construct
a waste storage system. The concrete stor-
age lagoon was installed later that same year,
accommodating drainage from the milkhouse
and silo areas as well as manure wastes. This
eliminated the source of nutrients contaminat-
ing Taft Brook.
Results
In 2004, macroinvertebrate sampling found
a decrease in pollution-tolerant species and
an increase in sensitive species. The accom-
panying table shows the improvement in Taft
Brook's biomonitoring results and compares
them with Class B water guidelines for aquatic

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life support. Data highlighted in bold indicate
the waterbody's failure to meet the Class
B guidelines. As data from 2004 show, Bl
improved from 6.88 to 4.40, and EPT rose from
9.0 to 18.0—both within the guidelines for
Vermont's Class B waters. Primarily because of
the improvements to these key measures, VT
DEC gave Taft Brook an overall assessment rat-
ing of "good," a passing grade under Vermont's
water quality standards.

With the segment in compliance with aquatic
life support criteria, VT DEC expects to delist
Taft Brook in 2006. The waterbody is sched-
uled to be monitored again in 2009.
Partners and Funding
Entities contributing to the design and
construction of the waste storage facility
included the USDA, which provided $40,000
in cost-share funding; the Vermont Agency of
Agriculture, which provided $26,000 in cost-
share assistance; and the farm owner, who
contributed $12,000. The Winooski Natural
Resources Conservation District used $500 in
section 319 funding to provide outreach and
technical assistance to the farmer. In  addition,
approximately $2,000 in section 319 funding
supported stream monitoring by VT DEC staff.
Taft Brook Biomonitoring Results
Sampling site
0.1
0.1
9/9/1999
10/26/2004
Assessment rating
Poor
Good
Class B Guideline
EPT
9.0
18.0
> 16.0
Bl
6.88
4.40
< 4.50
I
55
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
     Off ice of Water
     Washington, DC

     EPA841-F-06-003J
     September 2006
For additional information contact:
Eric Perkins
EPA Region 1
617-918-1602
perkins.eric@epa.gov
Steve Fiske
Vermont Department of Environmental
Conservation
802-242-1378
sieve.fiske@state.vt.us
Pamela Stefanek
Otter Creek Natural Resource Conservation District
802-388-6746
pam.stefanek@vt.nacdnet.net

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