Section 319
NONPOINT
M SUCCESS STORY
Implementing Best Management Practices and Education Efforts
Restores Lake
\A/citorhnH\/ ImnrnvoH P°'nt source and nonpoint source pollution from agricultural and
y ^ suburban land sources affected water quality in Fellows Lake,
prompting the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) to add the lake to Missouri's
1994 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for mercury and nutrients.
The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks (WCO) launched outreach and education activities,
worked with landowners to implement best management practices (BMPs) and conducted
water quality monitoring. Water quality improved, and MDNR removed Fellows Lake from the
state's 2004/2006 CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters.
Problem
Fellows Lake (Figure 1) is an 826-acre lake in south-
west Missouri's Greene County. It was formed
when a dam was constructed on the upper Little
Sac River in 1957. The lake serves as a drinking
water supply for the city of Springfield, along with
McDaniel Lake, Stockton Lake, James River and
Fulbright Spring. Fellows Lake and McDaniel Lake
provided the city of Springfield with approximately
52 percent of its annual raw water in 2000.
Elevated nutrients in Fellows Lake supported excess
algal production, which caused odor and taste prob-
lems in the finished drinking water. Mercury levels
in fish tissue also showed mean values higher than
the national tissue criterion of 0.3 milligrams (mg)
per kilogram (kg). Further water quality concerns
included potential pollution introduced via fissures
and spaces in the underlying bedrock (characteristic
of the region's karst geology), the large number of
livestock in the watershed and possible biological
impairment. Because of those problems, MDNR
added Fellows Lake to the 1994 CWA section 303(d)
list of impaired waters for nutrients and mercury.
The listing attributes the impairments to agricultural
inputs from livestock, fertilizer, other farm practices
and wildlife (e.g., geese).
McDaniel Lake Watershed
Project Highlights
The WCO conducted outreach and education
activities, monitored water quality and worked
with landowners to implement BMPs. Water qual-
ity monitoring focused on determining pollutant
contributions and measured BMP success with
a cost-share program. Over a three-year period,
Figure 1. Fellows Lake is in the McDaniel Lake watershed.
sampling sites were monitored following a WCO-
developed Quality Assurance Project Plan. The
data show that the sources of phosphorus inputs
were animal and human waste, fertilizers, and
certain insecticides.
Landowner cost-share practices were a major
component of the project addressing pollution in
the Fellows Lake watershed. WCO worked with
landowners to restore riparian corridors and restrict
livestock access to the waterbody, reducing soil
erosion. The practices also reduced the chances of
water being contaminated with sediment, nutrients
and bacteria. The project educated livestock manag-
ers about management-intensive grazing systems,
which involve rotating livestock between pastures.
The systems increase grazing efficiency, reduce ero-
sion by allowing minimal groundcover exposure, and
spread the animal waste across the pasture instead
of concentrating it near water sources. One dairy
farmer implemented an animal waste containment
-------
system. Before that, unroofed concrete lots and
holding areas collected manure, which then washed
off during rain events. Cost-share programs allowed
the livestock producer to add roofs over the lots and
improve manure holding areas. As a result, manure
was not exposed to precipitation, decomposition
could occur and manure-laden runoff was greatly
reduced.
Other WCO projects included outreach and educa-
tion targeting landowners, local schools and Stream
Team volunteers. Water quality monitoring increased
the awareness of problems connected to Fellows
Lake and its tributaries and streams. Each landown-
er participating in the cost-share program learned
more about nonpoint source pollution and BMPs
that could improve water quality in local streams and
lakes. The WCO also conducted agricultural field
days, watershed festivals, greenway activities and
other efforts to educate watershed citizens.
Fellows Lake is in the 1,981-square-mile Sac River
watershed. Many CWA section 319-funded projects
in the Sac River watershed helped to improve the
lake's water quality. For example, the Polk County
Soil and Water Conservation District conducted a
series of grazing school classes north of Fellows
Lake. Also, the WCO administered several projects
that educated citizens in Springfield and surround-
ing areas, including the Show-Me Yards program
and Neighborhood Eco-Tips radio broadcasts. WCO
also helped Springfield develop a comprehensive,
watershed-based management strategy for protect-
ing Fulbright Spring, another public drinking water
source.
Results
Stakeholders' efforts in the Fellows Lake watershed
and the larger Sac River watershed combined to
restore water quality in Fellows Lake. Data collected
by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC),
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
MDNR in 2002 and 2006 show that mean mercury
levels in fish tissue have declined and now fall below
the national tissue criteria of 0.3 mg/kg (Table 1).
Therefore, MDNR removed Fellows Lake from the
2004/2006 CWA section 303(d) list of impaired
waters for mercury. It also removed Fellows Lake
from the 2004/2006 list of impaired waters for nutri-
ents on the basis of a time trend analysis showing
very slight reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus.
Moreover, Springfield's utilities recorded virtually no
taste or odor complaints for several years before the
delisting.
Partners and Funding
The WCO has managed several CWA section
319-funded projects in the watershed and surround-
ing areas, including one for $276,500 that sup-
ported the main project responsible for restoring
Fellows Lake. It has received technical assistance
through partnerships with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation
Service, soil and water conservation districts, and
MDC professionals. It continues to work to improve
water quality in the watershed and reduce nonpoint
source pollution.
Table 1. Fish tissue (fillet) data in Fellows Lake, 1993-2006
Monitoring organization
MDC
MDC
MDC
MDC
MDC
EPA/MDNR
Year
1993
1994
1994
2001
2002
2006
Species
walleye
largemouth bass
walleye
largemouth bass
largemouth bass
largemouth bass
# in sample
4
5
5
15
15
5
Weight (Ibs)
2.1
2.2
2.6
1.7
0.8
2.3
Mean mercury levels (mg/kg)
0.272
0.404
0.425
0.348
0.115
0.190
Average 0.292*
* EPA's guideline for mercury in fish tissue is 0.3 mg/kg (Water Quality Criterion for Protection of
Human Health: Methylmercury. EPA-823-R-01-001, January 2001). The document states that this is
a concentration that "should not be exceeded" based on a total consumption of 17.5 grams of fish
per person per day. The 0.3 mg/kg criterion is also based on the assumption that the fish diet is
composed of a mixture of fish from different trophic levels.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-09-001HH
September 2009
For additional information contact:
Greg Anderson
Nonpoint Source Coordinator
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
573-751-7144 • greg.anderson@dnr.mo.gov
------- |