Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
Installing Best Management Practices Improves Dissolved Oxygen Levels
in Turkey Creek
Waterbodv Improved Low dissolved oxY9en (D°). attributed in part to practices
"J '"' ' ''"' • - associated with cattle and wheat production, resulted in
impairment of Turkey Creek. As a result, Oklahoma placed the creek on the state's Clean
Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list in 2004. Implementing best management practices
(BMPs) improved the quality of grazing lands and cropland, thereby decreasing sediment
and nutrient runoff into the creek. Water quality improved, prompting Oklahoma to remove
Turkey Creek from the state's 2010 CWA section 303(d) list for DO impairment. Turkey
Creek now fully supports its fish and wildlife propagation designated use.
Problem
Turkey Creek (Figure 1) flows for more than 20 miles
through Woods County in western Oklahoma, an
area with high rates of cattle and wheat production.
Poor management of grazing lands and cropland
contributed to excess sedimentation and nutri-
ent 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 decline. Water quality assessments
conducted between 2004 and 2008 showed that
DO levels were below (i.e., not meeting) state
criteria 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 Turkey Creek to the
2004 and subsequent CWA section 303(d) lists for
failing to support the fish and wildlife propagation
designated use due to 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
Stewardship Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentive
Figure 1. Turkey Creek flows through Woods County
in western Oklahoma.
Program and general technical assistance pro-
gram. These projects focused on reducing erosion
by improving cropland and grazing lands. Since
nutrients are often bound to soil particles, reduc-
ing soil erosion also reduces nutrient loading in
streams and can then lead to improved DO levels.
From 2004 to 2010, landowners implemented
no-till and mulch-till practices on 253 acres, with
conservation crop rotations on 213 acres. In
contrast to traditional tillage, these "conservation
tillage" methods retain soil moisture and reduce
soil erosion by decreasing the amount of soil
exposed to wind and rain. To improve the condition
of pasture and rangeland, and thus reduce erosion
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and runoff, landowners implemented prescribed
grazing on 1,860 acres, adopted nutrient manage-
ment plans on 271 acres, and rotated supplement
and feeding areas on 134 acres. Landowners
adopted integrated pest management practices
on 733 acres and installed a combination of
10,872 linear feet of fencing, four new ponds, two
water wells and three watering facilities, which
keep livestock out of the creek and provide them
with alternative water supplies. Producers planted
supplemental grass on 333 acres, replanted
range vegetation on nine acres, and improved
upland wildlife habitat management on 554 acres.
Brush management occurred on 197 acres, and
prescribed burning took place on 925 acres to
improve the quality of grazing lands.
Results
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission's Rotating
Basin Monitoring Program, a statewide nonpoint
source ambient monitoring program, documented
improved water quality in Turkey Creek after
landowners implemented BMPs. 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.
To meet state DO criteria for warm-water aquatic
communities, Turkey Creek samples may not fall
below critical DO levels (5.0 or 6.0 mg/L, depend-
ing on the season) more than 10 percent of the
time. Monitoring data show that 29 percent of
samples examined for the 2008 assessment fell
below the critical DO levels and failed to meet
state DO criteria. During the 2010 assessment only
5 percent of samples fell below the critical DO
level, which met the state DO criteria. As a result,
Oklahoma removed Turkey Creek from the state's
CWA section 303(d) list in 2010 for DO. In 2012,
all samples remained above the critical DO levels
(Figure 2). The creek now fully attains its fish and
wildlife propagation designated use.
Turkey Creek
15-
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13%
exceedance
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9o
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on QD u o
*. **.
19% 29% 5% 0%
exceedance exceedance exceedance* exceedance*
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Assessment Year
* Meets DO criteria (No more than 1 0 percent of samples fall below critical DO levels)
Figure 2. Data show that DO levels in Turkey Creek have met
state criteria for warm-water aquatic communities since 2010.
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's) CWA section 319 funds at an
average annual cost of $1 million. Monitoring costs
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.
Since 2004, the Oklahoma cost-share program has
provided $9,100 in state funding for BMPs in this
watershed through the Woods County Conservation
District. NRCS spent approximately $50,000 to
implement BMPs in the watershed between 2004
and 2010. Landowners have provided a significant
percentage toward BMP implementation in these
programs as well, usually contributing between
40 and 60 percent of the cost of a practice.
UJ
(9
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-12-001Z
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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