Section 319
              NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
 Revegetation and Streambank Restoration Reduce Siltation and Improve

 Water Quality

WatPrhndv  Imnrnvpd   P°"u1:ec' runoff from non-irrigated crop production resulted
                              in excess sediment in Lick Creek. This resulted in a loss of
 biological integrity and physical substrate habitat alterations due to siltation, which led to
 the listing of a  20-mile segment of Lick Creek as impaired in 2002 and 2004. Using section
 319 funding, McNairy County Soil Conservation District planted pasture  and hay to reveg-
 etate the pasture and protect the streambank. These efforts resulted in the removal of the
 impaired 20-mile segment of Lick Creek from the 2006 303(d) list of impaired waters.
 Problem
 This 20-mile segment of Lick Creek extends
 from Snake Creek to the headwaters in the
 Snake Creek Watershed, McNairy County
 in Ecoregion 65e. Lick Creek was listed as
 impaired due to siltation and habitat altera-
 tion, resulting in a loss of biological integrity.
 Polluted runoff carrying sediment from non-
 irrigated crop production was the source of
 this pollution and prevented Lick Creek from
 meeting state water quality standards to fully
 support its designated beneficial use for fish
 and aquatic life. The standard states that there
 shall be no distinctly visible solids, scum,
 foam, oily  slick, or the formation of slimes, bot-
 tom deposits or sludge banks of such size or
 character that may be detrimental to fish and
 aquatic life.
to plant pasture and hay to act as a covercrop
and reduce erosion of non-irrigated croplands,
as well as provide streambank protection to
reduce siltation and improve the habitat of Lick
Creek (Figure 1).
Results
 Project Highlights
 The local Soil and Water Conservation District
 office in McNairy County administered the
 funding for this project. Using a combination
 of section 319 matched funding and state
 funds through the Agricultural Resources
 Conservation Fund (ARCF), the Conservation
 District offices worked with local landowners
Lick Creek was reassessed in 2004 using the
biological reconnaissance (biorecon) survey,
which is used to measure water quality compli-
ance for the beneficial use of fish and aquatic
life. Biorecon is one tool used to recognize
stream impairment as judged by species rich-
ness measures, emphasizing the presence or
absence of indicator organisms without regard
to relative abundance. The biorecon index is
scored on a scale from 1 - 15. A score less
than 5 is regarded as very poor. A score over
10 is considered good. The principal metrics
used are the total macroinvertebrate families
(or genera), the number of families (or genera)
of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies (EPT),
and the number of pollution  intolerant families
(or genera) found in a stream. The biorecon
results for Lick Creek indicated 4 EPT genera, 2
pollutant intolerant genera, and 15 total genera.

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The resulting score of 11 for this subecoregion
(65e) is within the "non-impaired" range. In
addition, Lick Creek met the narrative criteria
for turbidity and total suspended solids of no
observed presence of solids, floating materials
and deposits of such a size or character that
may be detrimental to fish and aquatic life.
Therefore, 20 total previously-impaired  miles
were delisted from the 2006 303(d) list.
Partners and Funding
Since 2004, Lick Creek has benefited from
$7,805.97 provided through cost-share from
section 319 Grant Pool Projects. In addition,
$3,121.71 was provided by the Tennessee
State ARCF. Additional matching funds (state
and local) amounted to a total of $10,237.03.
Another key partner in this effort was the
Chickasaw-Shiloh Resource Conservation and
Development Council.
 Lick Creek, McNairy County in the Snake Creek
 Watershed, 060400010201
      McNairy County
   2004 fish & aquatic
   life stream attainment
         Fully Supports
         Not Supporting
                                    Little Snake Creek
                                                          BMPs Installed 1999-2005

                                                          Snake Creek Watershed. 060400010201
     Tennessee Department of Agriculture, August 2006
Figure 1. Location of Implemented Best Management Practices (BMPs)
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
     Off ice of Water
     Washington, DC

     EPA841-F-07-001T
     September 2007
For additional information contact:
Sam Marshall, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
615-837-5306
Sa m. Marsha II @state.tn. us

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