Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
Installing Best Management Practices Leads to Increased Dissolved
Oxygen Levels in Tepee Creek
Waterbodv Improved Low dissolved oxY9en (D°). attributed in part to practices
"J '"'' ''"' • - associated with wheat and cattle production, resulted in
impairment of Tepee Creek. As a result, Oklahoma added the creek to the Clean Water
Act (CWA) section 303(d) list in 2006. Implementing best management practices (BMPs)
improved cropland and grazing lands, and decreased sediment and nutrient runoff into
the creek. DO levels improved, prompting Oklahoma to recommend that Tepee Creek be
removed from the 2012 CWA section 303(d) list for low DO.
Problem
Tepee Creek (Figure 1) flows for 21 miles through
Kiowa County in southwest Oklahoma, an area of
high wheat and cattle production. Poor manage-
ment of cropland and grazing lands contributed
to excess sedimentation and nutrient runoff in
the watershed. Excess nutrients can lead to the
overgrowth of nuisance algae, and the subsequent
breakdown of the algae can then cause DO levels
to decrease. Water quality assessment in 2006
showed that 33 percent of the water samples
were below (i.e., failed to meet) the state criteria
for DO for warm-water aquatic communities. A
waterbody is considered impaired for DO if more
than 10 percent of samples (based on no more than
5 years of data before the assessment year) fall
below 6.0 milligrams per liter (mg/L) from April 1
through June 15 or below 5.0 mg/L during the
remainder of the year. On the basis of these assess-
ment results, Oklahoma added Tepee Creek to the
2006 and subsequent CWA section 303(d) lists for
failing to support the fish and wildlife propagation
designated use because of DO impairment.
Project Highlights
Landowners implemented BMPs with assis-
tance from Oklahoma's locally led cost-share
program and through the local Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental
Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Reserve
Program, Conservation Stewardship Program
and general technical assistance program. These
projects focused on reducing erosion by improving
cropland and grazing lands. From 2006 to 2012,
Figure 1. Tepee Creek flows through Kiowa County
in southwest Oklahoma.
landowners implemented integrated pest man-
agement on 892 acres and installed 9,950 feet of
diversions; 43,300 feet of terraces; one acre of
grassed waterways; 3,750 acres of field border and
106 acres of critical area planting. To improve the
condition of pasture and rangeland, landowners
installed 4,740 feet of livestock fencing, implement-
ed prescribed grazing on 1,086 acres, practiced
range planting on 95 acres, conducted rotation of
supplement and feeding areas on 49 acres, and
applied nutrient management plans on 788 acres.
Producers planted forage on 214 acres and man-
aged brush on 245 acres.
Current NRCS initiatives in Kiowa County are aimed
at controlling soil erosion on cropland, convert-
ing marginal cropland to permanent vegetation,
implementing chemical brush control for mesquite,
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providing reliable and clean livestock water, manag-
ing waste from animal feeding operations, closing
failing animal waste lagoons and implementing
no-till farming. Active volunteer monitoring and
education efforts continue in the area.
Results
The OCC's Rotating Basin Monitoring Program,
a statewide nonpoint source ambient monitoring
program, documented improved water quality in
Stinking Creek after restoration efforts. To meet
state DO criteria for warm-water aquatic communi-
ties, Tepee Creek samples may not fall below critical
DO levels (5.0 or 6.0 mg/L, depending on the sea-
son) more than 10 percent of the time. Monitoring
data examined for the 2006 assessment showed
that 30 percent of samples fell below the critical
DO levels and failed to meet state DO criteria.
Implementing practices and educating landowners
helped reduce nutrients entering the stream, which
in turn allowed DO levels to improve because algae
were less likely to be overgrown and die off. During
the 2012 assessment, only eight percent of samples
fell below the critical DO level, which met the state
DO criteria (Figure 2). As a result, Oklahoma has
recommended Stinking Creek for removal from the
state's 2012 CWA section 303(d) list for dissolved
oxygen impairment.
Partners and Funding
The Rotating Basin Monitoring Program, which
includes both fixed and probabilistic components,
is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) CWA section 319 funds at an aver-
age annual cost of $1 million. Monitoring costs
Tepee Creek
15-
30%
exceedance
23%
exceedance
exceedance'
2006
2012
2008
Assessment Year
* Meets DO criteria (No more than 10 percent of samples fall below critical DO levels)
Figure 2. Data show that DO levels in Tepee Creek met state
criteria for warm-water aquatic communities in 2012.
include personnel, supplies and lab analysis for
19 parameters from samples collected every five
weeks at about 100 sites. In-stream habitat, fish
and macroinvertebrate samples are also collected.
Approximately $600,000 in EPA section 319 funds
support statewide education, outreach and moni-
toring efforts through the Blue Thumb program.
Over the past decade, the Oklahoma cost-share
program has provided $4,500 in state funding for
BMPs in this watershed through the Kiowa County
Conservation District. The NRCS has spent approxi-
mately $40,000 to implement BMPs in the water-
shed from 2006 through 2012. Landowners have
provided a significant percentage of the cost toward
BMP implementation.
UJ
(9
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-12-001Y
August 2012
For additional information contact:
Shanon Phillips, Director
Water Quality Division
Oklahoma Conservation Commission
shanon.phillips@conservation.ok.gov
405-522-4500
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