Section 319
NONPOINT SOORCE PROGRAM SOCCESS STORY
Local Watershed Management Efforts Restore Water Quality
Waterbodv ImDrOVed Bacteria in runoff from cattle 9razin9 areas caused Clarks
Creek to violate water quality standards. As a result, the
Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) added Clarks Creek to its Clean
Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 1998. In cooperation with local,
state and federal agencies, the conservation district offices of Geary and Morris counties
used outreach and education efforts, coupled with cost-share incentives, to promote
implementation of rangeland best management practices (BMPs). Water quality improved
as a result. Monitoring in 2008 indicated that bacteria levels in Clarks Creek had declined to
acceptable levels, allowing KDHE to remove the creek from Kansas' CWA section 303(d) list
of impaired waters in 2010.
Problem
Clarks Creek drains a 247-square-mile watershed
southeast of Junction City, Kansas. Part of the
Kansas-Lower Republican River watershed, the
Clarks Creek watershed is nearly evenly split north-
south by Geary and Morris counties. Approximately
69 percent (107,984 acres) of the watershed is cov-
ered by permanent grass, most of which is native
tall grass prairie. The upland areas of the watershed
are used as grazing lands for cattle during the grow-
ing season. In the winter, landowners typically move
cattle from the range to the valley, where the cattle
feed on grazing crop residue or winter pasture grass
while the yearling calves are weaned and fed in dry
lots. Landowners maintain an estimated 80 dry lots
throughout the watershed, approximately 75 percent
of which are within one mile of a stream. The dry lot
winter feeding facilities typically hold between 20
and 200 cattle for 60 to 120 days.
KDHE listed 136 miles of Clarks Creek and its
tributaries on the 1998 CWA section 303(d) list for
excessive bacteria and failing to attain standards for
primary recreation. Sampling conducted from 1990
to 1998 showed that levels of fecal coliform bacteria
exceeded the state criterion for Kansas primary con-
tact recreation of 200 fecal coliform colony-forming
units (cfu) per 100 milliliters (ml). Data also showed
that spring and summer nutrient and sediment
concentrations generally exceeded desirable levels,
including high springtime phosphorus levels. KDHE
developed a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for
bacteria in the Clarks Creek watershed in 2000.
Figure 1. This new alternative water supply tank keeps
cattle away from the creek.
Project Highlights
In 2006 the Clarks Creek Watershed Restoration
and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) Stakeholder
Leadership Team (SLT) partnered with staff from
the Geary and Morris county conservation district
offices to help landowners implement BMPs to
reduce bacteria in runoff. The BMPs included
installing 12 alternative livestock water supply tanks
(Figure 1) to keep cattle away from creek watering
areas, installing five check dams in a 60-acre pasture
gully, upgrading or replacing 21 septic systems,
establishing 8,518 feet of riparian and cross fencing,
converting 41 acres of cropland to native grass and
planting 38 acres of wildlife buffers.
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The conservation districts and WRAPS SLT also
promoted the Water Quality Buffer Initiative, a cost-
share program that helped landowners establish
more than 150 acres of native-grass streamside buf-
fer strips in the water-
shed (Figure 2). Buffer
strips are vegetated
sections of land that are
flat or have low slopes
designed to reduce
the runoff volume.
Dense vegetative cover
removes pollutants by
detaining and filtering
runoff and encouraging
the water to infiltrate
into the soil. Buffers can
reduce bacteria by an
estimated 43 percent to
1990-2002 Fecal Coliform & 2008 E coli Bacteria on Clarks Creek
Figure 2. A Clarks Creek landowner
planted 1,175 trees and shrubs on
7.5 acres of riparian forest buffer.
57 percent, especially in
agricultural watersheds.
To educate local landowners about the project,
partners held workshops focusing on rangeland
BMPs and management of winter feeding sites. The
success of the BMP implementation effort can be
attributed to the positive attitudes and actions of the
landowners and their ability to encourage neighbors
and other farmers to participate.
Results
Stakeholders' efforts to reduce bacteria in runoff
have improved water quality. Prior to project imple-
mentation, fecal coliform bacteria levels on Clarks
Creek frequently exceeded the nominal criterion
value deemed supportive of primary recreation.
High bacteria concentrations were typically associ-
ated with times of rain and increased runoff volume.
State bacteria standards underwent changes in
2003. Escherichia coli replaced fecal coliform as
the indicator bacteria, and impairment was deter-
mined by the geometric mean of five samples taken
over a 30-day period. The criterion value changed
from 200 fecal coliform cfu/100 ml to 427 E. coli
cfu/100 ml for Clarks Creek. Intensive sampling in
the manner prescribed by the new regulations was
conducted four times during the primary recreation
season (April through October) in 2008, a notably
wet year. All four resulting geometric means met
the water quality criterion (Figure 3). As a result,
2 2000
..III.
FecalColi ^•Ecoli ^—WQS
Figure 3. Water quality data from Clarks Creek show that bacteria
levels have declined since the early 1990s.
KDHE removed Clarks Creek from Kansas's 2010
CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters for
bacteria. Ongoing routine sampling on Clarks Creek
has confirmed that bacteria levels have consistently
remained lower than those found during past
primary recreation seasons.
Partners and Funding
Funding for these restoration efforts included
a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
education grant of $8,700 and a total of $163,960
in EPA CWA section 319 funding. The State
Conservation Commission also provided Kansas
Water Plan Funds, and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's (USDA) Environmental Quality
Incentive Program and Conservation Reserve
Program contributed additional funding for BMP
implementation. Additional partners included the
conservation districts of Geary and Morris coun-
ties, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service, the USDA Farm Service Agency, Geary
County Commission, Morris County Commission,
KDHE Bureau of Waste Management, KDHE
Bureau of Water, Morris County Rural Water
District #1, Flint Hills Resource Conservation &
Development Council, Kansas Forest Service,
Kansas Association on Conservation and
Environmental Education, City of White City,
Ft. Riley Environmental Division, Unified School
District 481, Unified School District 475, Clarks
Creek and Middle Kansas WRAPS SLT, and the
Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams.
I
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-10-001Y
September 2010
For additional information contact:
Ann D'Alfonso
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
785-296-3015 • AD'Alfonso@kdheks.gov
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