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Section 319
N««POINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOGGESS STORY
Reductions Upstream Put Lake on Path to Recovery
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Pennsylvania placed Stephen Foster Lake on the state's list
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VVdltJiUOUy I nprUVtJU of impaired waters due to excessive levels of total suspended solids
and nutrients, particularly phosphorus, from surrounding agricultural
areas. Restoration partners implemented several agricultural best management practices (BMPs),
such as planting riparian buffers, building waste management systems, and installing stream fencing
and crossings to reduce nonpoint runoff. These BMPs dramatically reduced the amount of sediment
and nutrients delivered to the lake. Computer models calculated that the BMPs reduced phosphorus
and sediment runoff loads by 52 and 59 percent, respectively, exceeding the TMDL-recommended
reductions. More work is needed to remove residual pollutants that are recycled in the lake itself, but
dramatically lower pollutant inputs coming from the surrounding watershed promise a clearer future for
Stephen Foster Lake.
Problem
Stephen Foster Lake is in Mt. Pisgah State Park in
the northern mountain region of Bradford County,
Pennsylvania. A trout-stocked fishery, the lake
encompasses 70 acres and has an average depth
of 10.5 feet. It was created in 1977 through the
construction of a 46-foot-high earth and rock hill
dam across Mill Creek.
The lake, which has 150,000 visitors annually, offers
numerous recreational opportunities. It is a popular
boating spot and has a reputation as one of the best
bass and panfish fisheries among the Pennsylvania
State Parks.
More than half of the surrounding 6,577-acre
watershed is used for agriculture; the remainder
is predominantly forested. Over time, Mill Creek,
the feeder stream, deposited excess sediment and
nutrient runoff in the lake, creating anoxic condi-
tions. Large, unsightly algae blooms reduced the
amount of oxygen available to aquatic organisms,
including the fish species that attracted visitors.
As a result, Pennsylvania added Stephen Foster
Lake to the state's list of impaired waters in 1996,
and subsequentyears, for nutrient and sediment
runoff due to agricultural activities. The lake will not
meet its recreational uses until the algae blooms no
longer manifest and the Trophic State Index values
are closer to 60 than to 70.
In 1996 Coastal Environmental Services completed
a Clean Lakes Study of Stephen Foster Lake. In the
spring of 2001, the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (PADEP) established a
Local efforts are restoring the health of beautiful
Stephen Foster Lake.
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the lake that
called for reductions of 49 percent for phosphorus
and 52 percent for sediment. All the information
used for the TMDL computations was taken from
the Clean Lakes Study.
Project Highlights
Bradford County Conservation District (BCCD) and
the farming community worked diligently to address
nonpoint source pollutant issues in the watershed.
In May 1993 EPA awarded BCCD a Clean Lakes
Program grant to study potential nonpoint source
controls and demonstrate the benefits of implement-
ing BMPs. By 2004, eleven of the thirteen farms in
the watershed had fully implemented agricultural
BMPs. Upstream of the lake, farmers and the BCCD
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Area residents enjoy the trout, bass, and panfish fishery.
installed 9 miles of stream fencing and an alterna-
tive water supply system to help prevent cattle from
wandering into waterways. They also constructed
agricultural crossings to swiftly move cattle across
streams and prevent the animals from grazing near
waterways and destroying streambanks.
Project partners also built 11 systems to store and
treat animal waste, planted riparian buffers, and
restored 2,500 feet of stream channel. Finally, they
stabilized a box culvert outlet to reduce further ero-
sion and sedimentation into the stream.
Following BMP implementation, PADEP conducted
biological monitoring and analysis of Mill Creek's
benthic communities. By 2005, data showed
improvements in biological conditions in the
stream. With the sources of pollution into the lake
effectively addressed, more attention could be paid
to the lake itself.
Results
Preliminary lake water quality data following BMP
implementation (Table 1) reflected slight decreases
in the levels of total phosphorus and total suspend-
Table 1. Trophic State Index (TSI) values
TSI
Chlorophyll a
Total phosphorus
Secchi depth
1994-1995
64
70
58
2005
62
57
55
Water
Quality Goal
59
59
59
ed solids. Trophic State Index (TSI) values are cal-
culated based on seasonal means of chlorophyll a,
total phosphorus, and Secchi disc transparency. TSI
values are used to compare lakes within a region
and to assess changes in the productivity level of a
lake over time.
Although Table 1 shows a decrease in TSI values,
representing improvements in water quality, more
substantial lake water quality improvements are
needed. Further improvements are expected to
emerge slowly, however, because of the large
residual amounts of legacy sediment that release
phosphorus during seasonal periods of low dis-
solved oxygen. Additional in-lake treatments are
being researched to treat the phosphorus-laden
sediment at the bottom of the lake. Recently,
additional section 319 funding was awarded to help
achieve water quality goals by implementing an
in-lake treatment, such as aeration or an alum treat-
ment, by 2009.
Partners and Funding
A collection of government and non-government
organizations concluded that in addition to the
upstream BMPs, in-lake treatment is necessary to
sufficiently reduce phosphorus and sediments and
remove the lake from the state's 303(d) list. The
method of withdrawing water from the lake bottom
in the spring and early summer (before thermal
stratification occurs) has been used to reduce
in-lake phosphorus concentrations. This withdrawal
delays lake stratification and the accompanying
resuspension of phosphorus, resulting in the reduc-
tion of algae growth. The technique could become
an annual BMP to improve the water quality in
Stephen Foster Lake.
Several agencies and interested parties have
worked together, and continue to do so, examining
in-lake treatments to further improve lake water
quality. BMP implementation was made possible
by $274,000 of section 319 funding and technical
assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. Recent, additional section 319 funding of
$99,000 was awarded to determine other potential
in-lake treatments. PADEP, BCCD, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Chesapeake Bay Foundation,
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Natural
Resources Conservation Service, and landowners
provided further funding for this project amounting
to a total of $1.2 million.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-07-001M
August 2007
For additional information contact:
Mike Lovegreen
Bradford County Conservation District
570-265-5539, ext. 120
mike.lovegreen@pa.nacdnet.net
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