Section 319
NONPOINT
RDGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Successful Collaboration and Agricultural BMPs Improved 80 Miles of
Sun River
\A/citprhnrl\/ Imnrnx/prl ~'~'ie ma'nstem of the Sun River is split into upper and lower seg-
y ^ ments for management purposes. The Upper Sun River was listed
as impaired on Montana's 2000 and 2002 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies because of excess
nutrients. Landowners; local watershed organizations; and many federal, state, and local govern-
ment agencies collaborated to implement agricultural best management practices (BMPs) in the
Upper Sun River and its tributaries. Water quality improved as a result, allowing the Montana
Department of Environmental Quality to remove the Upper Sun River from the 303(d) list for
nutrients in 2006. The Sun River watershed project is a classic example of using the watershed
approach to address nonpoint source pollution.
Problem
The Upper Sun River is in central Montana on the
Rocky Mountain Front. The previously impaired
segment is approximately 80 miles long and runs
from Gibson Dam to Muddy Creek. The Montana
Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) added
the Upper Sun River to the 2000 and 2002 303(d)
impaired waters list because high levels of nutrients
caused the river to not meet state water quality stan-
dards for aquatic life and cold water fishery uses.
Montana's nutrient standard prohibits "conditions
[that] produce undesirable aquatic life," which, in this
case, refers to excess growth of benthic algae that
interferes with aquatic life uses. Agricultural prac-
tices were largely to blame for the Upper Sun River's
elevated nutrient levels. Irrigation and stormwater
runoff carried excess nutrients from over-fertilized
fields and poorly managed livestock production areas
into the river.
Project Highlights
Early community-planning efforts produced initial
watershed plans that identified key action items
for restoration. This led to the development of the
TMDL/WatershedRestoration Plan, coordinated by
MDEQ in partnership with the Sun River Watershed
Group. As part of this plan, Montana set nutrient tar-
gets (39 micrograms per liter [jug/L] total phosphorus
and 350 jug/L total nitrogen) for the Upper Sun River.
If nutrient concentrations could be reduced to below
the stated targets, excess growth of benthic algae
would not occur under typical conditions. The plan
also included restoration strategies for the impaired
segments in the watershed.
Responding to the plan, partners have helped
implement numerous water quality improvement
projects in the Upper Sun River watershed. Farmers
implemented nutrient management BMPs in the
Ford/Elk Creek and Adobe Creek watersheds to
minimize fertilizer applications and thus reduce the
amount of nutrients transported to streams via run-
off. Farmers improved irrigation water management
practices by (1) lining irrigation canals to minimize
and stabilize irrigation return flows and (2) using
AgriMet—a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation satellite-
based network of automated agricultural weather
stations that provides weather, crop-water use,
and other information to help support irrigation and
agriculture management (for more information, see
www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet). In addition, landowners
implemented riparian area grazing management
BMPs such as fencing, stream bank stabilization
techniques, and fishery improvement projects in the
Ford/Elk Creek and Adobe Creek watersheds and
along Willow Creek, Big Coulee, and the mainstem
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Legend
303 (d) Streams/Lakes 2002
• 319 Implementation ProjectAreas
8-digitHUCs
I I Priority 12 digit HUCs
Completed TMDL Planning Areas
Sun River Watershed
Montana
Sun River Watershed
Muddy Cr. Water Quality
improvement 319 Project Area
Big Coulee 319
Project Area
Adobe Cr./Ft. Shaw
Sun River Watershed TMDL
And Water Quality Restoration
319 Project Area
Ford Creek/E k Creek
Restoration Project
Other projects not noted on map include
multiple "Future Fisheries" and NRCS
EQIP projects.
Map of Sun River Watershed Restoration and Water Quality Improvements.
of the Sun River. Streambank stabilization included
using non-riprap techniques such as sloping banks;
planting vegetation; and installing erosion matting,
root wads, and rock barbs.
Partners and Funding
Results
The cumulative effects of these on-the-ground
efforts, combined with outreach and education
activities that have led to better land-use
practices by landowners, resulted in 20 miles
of stabilized Streambank, four miles of restored
primary fishery and spawning habitat, 800 feet
of lined irrigation canal, and the implementation
of grazing management practices on 50,000
acres of rangeland. In 2005 and 2006, MDEQ
collected water quality samples from the Upper
Sun River. They indicated that phosphorus and
nitrogen concentrations had dropped and were
consistently below target levels of 39/jg/L and
350/jg/L, respectively, as identified in the TMDL/
Water Quality Restoration Plan. As a result, MDEQ
removed the 80-mile long impaired segment of the
Upper Sun River from the 303(d) list for nutrients
in 2006.
Many partners were involved with this project,
including seven federal agencies, eight state
agencies, ten local governments, four community
groups, and many landowners. From 1994 to 2006,
MDEQ administered $623,430 of Clean Water
Act section 319 grant funding for implementing
the variety of BMPs previously mentioned. In
addition, $2,484,926 of nonfederal and another
$1,988,793 in federal funds were used to restore
the Sun River watershed through programs such
as Montana's Future Fisheries program, and the
Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS's)
EQIP program. The Fort Shaw Irrigation District,
Greenfields Irrigation District, Milan, and Sun River
Ditch Company worked together to improve irriga-
tion efficiencies in the watershed by 10 percent.
The NRCS Conservation Reserve Program helped
to reduce salinity by converting dry cropping lands
to rangeland. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
the Lewis & Clark Conservation District; and the
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks
are working on the Hogan irrigation diversion to
improve fish passage.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
£ Washington, DC
UJ
O
EPA841-F-07-001Y
October 2007
For additional information contact:
Alan Rollo, Sun River Watershed Group
406-727-4437 • arollo@mcn.net
Taylor Greenup, Montana DEQ
406-444-3527 • tgreenup@mt.gov
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