\ Section 319
USSy MNPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Adding Agricultural Best Management Practices and Repairing Onsite
Wastewater Treatment Systems Improves Water Quality
Urban and
WaterbodieS Improved
bacteria and nutrients to the Fishing Creek watershed,
causing violations of the water quality standard. As a result. South Carolina's Department of
Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) placed 11 sites in the Fishing Creek watershed
on the 1998 and 2002 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) lists of impaired waters for fecal
coliform. Stakeholders installed agricultural best management practices (BMPs) and repaired
onsite wastewater treatment systems to reduce fecal coliform and nutrient levels. Based upon
an assessment in the year following implementation of the project, two of the eleven sites now
meet South Carolina's water quality standards for fecal coliform.
Problem
The Fishing Creek watershed (Figure 1) drains
approximately 288 square miles in the Piedmont
region of South Carolina's York and Chester coun-
ties. The creek empties into the Catawba River
downstream of Fishing Creek Hydroelectric Station
and the Fishing Creek Reservoir near Great Falls,
South Carolina. Land use in the watershed is pre-
dominantly forest (65 percent); other uses include
cropland (13 percent), pastureland (14 percent) and
urban land (5.3 percent).
Urban and agricultural runoff contributed fecal coli-
form bacteria to the Fishing Creek watershed, caus-
ing more than 10 percent of samples collected to
exceed the instantaneous 400 colony-forming units
(cfu) per 100 milliliters (ml) component of South
Carolina's fecal coliform water quality standard. As a
result, SCDHEC placed 11 sites in the Fishing Creek
watershed on the 1998 and 2002 CWA section
303(d) lists of impaired waters for fecal coliform.
SCDHEC developed a total maximum daily
load (TMDL) for these sites, which the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved
in June 2002. In the TMDL, SCDHEC determined
that that nonpoint source pollution was primar-
ily responsible for Fishing Creek's water quality
impairments. SCDHEC identified the top three fecal
coliform sources as runoff from cattle-grazing pas-
tures, direct deposition of manure into streams and
ponds by livestock, and failing onsite wastewater
Figure 1. The
Fishing Creek
watershed is in
north-central
South Carolina.
treatment systems. All the houses in the watershed use
onsite wastewater treatment, and the systems were cal-
culated to have a failure rate of five percent, or approxi-
mately seven systems in the drainage area. Project
partners developed a watershed-based implementation
plan for all 11 sites, with each site serving as the basis for
a separate subwatershed management unit.
Project Highlights
To meet the designated water quality standard and the
load allocation outlined in the TMDL, project partners
sought to identify and significantly lower fecal coliform
pollutants in the Fishing Creek watershed. To address
these pollutants, project partners provided local landown-
ers with information on sources of fecal coliform loading
and helped them to implement BMPs within the target
areas. Project partners evaluated and prioritized proposed
BMPs based on which would offer the most cost-effec-
tive benefit to water quality.
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As part of this project, landowners implemented
several BMPs, including 182 acres of vegetative
riparian buffers, more than 17,000 square feet of
heavy-use area protection, 10 onsite wastewater
treatment systems, 12 alternative water source
units (Figure 2), five structures for water control, and
104,000 feet of fencing that excluded 675 cattle and
42 horses from streams in the watershed. In addi-
tion, one constructed wetland was built to alleviate
issues associated with a failing septic system. To
encourage additional members of the community to
install and use BMPs, project partners hosted field
days and farm tours on properties where BMPs
had been installed.
At each farm site
the landowner
explained the BMPs
and their added
benefits for the
farming operation,
including improved
herd health and
better grazing man-
agement. Overall,
11 agricultural
landowners (cover-
ing 13 farms) and
10 landowners with
septic repair issues
participated in the
project.
Partners and Funding
Figure 2. Agricultural BMPs such as
reinforced creek crossings and alternative
water sources (wells and troughs) limit
livestock access to streams and provide
clean drinking water.
Results
Water quality has improved as a result of the
restoration efforts in the watershed. Based upon
an assessment in the year following implementa-
tion of the project, two (CW-005 and CW-006) of
the eleven sites now meet South Carolina's water
quality standards for fecal coliform (Table 1). At
site CW-005, all water samples collected after
December 2008 (when the active implementation
effort ended) meet the water quality standard.
Similarly, the most recent water samples collected
for site CW-006 also meet the standard.
Data also show that fecal coliform levels at seven of
the remaining Fishing Creek monitoring sites have
declined (but do not yet meet standards), indicating
that progress is being made.
The project was supported by $383,498 in EPA
CWA section 319 funding and a non-federal match
of $256,000 provided by landowners and other
project partners. Participating partners included
SCDHEC; Research Planning, Inc.; the conservation
district, Natural Resource Conservation Service and
Cattleman's Associations of Chester and York coun-
ties; Clemson University Extension; York County
Engineering; and local residents.
Table 1. Fecal coliform data for CW-005
and CW-006* from 2002, 2007 and 2009
(bold values show fecal coliform levels that
exceeded the water quality standard)
Date
2002
(Before Project
2007
(During Project)
+
o
0)
11
" IS
+
M
<
January 2002
February 2002
March 2002
April 2002
May 2002
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
Fecal Coliform Bacteria
(cfu/lOOmL)
SiteCW-005
8000
860
90
840
60
250
130
3200
320
220
390
97
120
82
3100
500
110
310
270
360
110
160
180
260
270
400
370
140
150
SiteCW-006
1900
780
450
300
900
740
120
180
460
520
3700
340
170
160
90
150
41
52
200
40
*N/A
*Data beyond 2007 are not available for CW-006.
I
UJ
Ğr
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-10-001X
September 2010
For additional information contact:
Meredith Murphy
Nonpoint Source Coordinator
SCDHEC Bureau of Water
murphymb@dhec.sc.gov 803-898-4222
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