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Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCCESS STORY
Implementing Agricultural Conservation Practices Improves Dissolved
Oxygen, Turbidity and Bacteria Levels in Pond Creek
A/ t h H I H High turbidity, bacteria and low dissolved oxygen resulted in
VaterDOay improved the impairment of Pond Creek and placement on Oklahoma's
Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2004 and subsequent years. Corn,
wheat and cattle production contributed to these impairments, and implementation of a system of
conservation practices (CPs) to promote better quality grazingland and cropland decreased sediment
and bacteria loading into the creek and improved dissolved oxygen levels. As a result, the entire
length of Pond Creek was removed from Oklahoma's 2010 CWA 303(d) list for turbidity and dissolved
oxygen impairments and from the 2014 list for Escherichia coli (E. coli} impairment. Pond Creek is
now in full attainment of its fish and wildlife propagation designated use and in partial attainment of
its primary body contact recreation use.
Problem
Pond Creek is a 60-mile-long stream in Grant County
in north central Oklahoma (Figure 1). Land use in
the 198,000-acre watershed is primarily cultivated
cropland with corn, wheat, sorghum and soybean
production. About a third of the watershed is pasture
for cattle production.
Poor grazingland and cropland management contrib-
uted to excess sedimentation, high levels of bacteria
and low dissolved oxygen in Pond Creek. It was listed
as impaired for £ coli bacteria in 2004 when the
geometric mean was 162 colony forming units/100
milliliters (CPU), higher than the criterion of 126 CPU.
In the 2006 water quality assessment, monitoring
showed that 50 percent of Pond Creek's seasonal
baseflow water samples exceeded 50 nephelometric
turbidity units (NTU). A stream is considered impaired
by turbidity if more than 10 percent of the seasonal
base flow water samples exceed 50 NTU (based on
five years of data before the assessment year). In
addition, 14 percent of dissolved oxygen values in the
2006 assessment were below the seasonal criteria
for warm water aquatic communities; impairment
results if more than 10 percent of samples (based
on five 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 the entire length of
Pond Creek (OK621000050010 _ 00) to the 2004 CWA
section 303(d) list for nonattainment of the primary
body contact recreation designated use, and to the
2006 303(d) list for nonattainment of the fish and
Pond Creek
Watershed
Figure 1. Pond Creek is in Grant County in northern Oklahoma.
wildlife propagation designated use due to turbidity
and dissolved oxygen impairments. In 2011 Oklahoma
completed TMDLs for turbidity and bacteria.
Project Highlights
Landowners implemented CPs with assistance
from Oklahoma's Locally Led Cost Share (LLCP)
program and through the local U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program
(EQIP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP),
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Conservation
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Dissolved Oxygen Data, Pond Creek
2010
Assessment Year
Turbidity Data, Pond Creek
s
^ 400-
•5 300-
_0 200-
jjj
m 100-
o-
45% exceedance 0% exceedance 0% exceedance
ft ''.•'.
2006 2010 2014
Assessment Year
Bacteria Data, Pond Creek
•^ 1500-
^
•£ 1000-
_o
v.
Q 500-
uj
0-
Geometrc Geometric
mean = 206 mean= 190
*
Geometric
* mean =156
1 — ' — 1 Geometric
mean = 53
- P db
i i — i
2006 2008 2010 2014
Assessment Year
Figure 2. Monitoring data indicate that dissolved oxygen levels and base flow turbidity levels in Pond Creek have met water quality
criteria since 2010. Levels of E. coli have steadily declined since 2006, and met the criterion in 2014.
Stewardship Program (CSP), and general conserva-
tion technical assistance program. From 2005 to
2009, landowners improved many acres of pastures
and rangeland, which reduced runoff of bacteria,
nutrients and sediment. CPs installed to accomplish
this improvement included 9,226 acres of prescribed
grazing, 327 acres of forage planting, 911 acres of
nutrient management, 1,732 acres of integrated
pest management, 565 acres of brush management,
15 ponds, 8,770 feet of pipeline, eight water tanks for
alternative water sources and 16,474 acres of upland
wildlife habitat management.
To reduce erosion of soil and the runoff of nutrients
from cropland, landowners also implemented conser-
vation cover crops on 3,774 acres and no-till/reduced
till/mulch till/residue management on 4,069 acres.
Range planting occurred on 6,765 acres, which helps
stabilize soils by converting croplands or degraded
range to perennial vegetation. Contour farming
was implemented on 685 acres, which included
more than 75,000 linear feet of terraces, and more
than 140 acres of critical area planting and grassed
waterways. Three acres of filter strips and two grade
stabilization structures further reduced erosion
potential from croplands. Proper nutrient manage-
ment on 9,755 acres and integrated pest manage-
ment on 13,936 acres improved cropland condition
and reduced excess nutrient runoff and erosion.
Through the CRP, landowners restored 2,175 acres of
"rare and declining habitat" that had been cropland
and enrolled 16,474 acres into "upland wildlife habitat
management." In addition, 100 acres had wetland
restoration and enhancement. These practices return
degraded land to a more natural, less-erosive state.
Conservation work continues in the watershed. Since
2010, an additional 40,049 acres of cropland have
no-till, reduced till, cover crop and conservation crop
rotations. Landowners installed seven more grade
stabilization structures, 71,796 linear feet of terraces,
79 acres of grassed waterways, and 21 new ponds,
and implemented prescribed grazing on 9,864 acres
of pasture and range.
Results
Through its statewide nonpoint source ambient
monitoring program, the OCC documented improved
water quality in Pond Creek due to landowners
implementing CPs. Data showed that turbidity and
dissolved oxygen have met applicable criteria since
2010, and E. coli met criterion in 2014 (Figure 2). On
the basis of these data, Pond Creek was removed
from Oklahoma's CWA section 303(d) list for turbidity
and dissolved oxygen impairments in 2010, resulting
in the full attainment of its fish and wildlife propaga-
tion designated use. Pond Creek's £ coli impairment
was removed in 2014.
Partners and Funding
The Rotating Basin Monitoring Program is supported
by EPA CWA section 319 funds at an average annual
cost of $1 million. Monitoring costs include person-
nel, supplies and lab analyses for 18 parameters from
samples collected every five weeks at about 100 sites,
for a total of 20 episodes per five-year cycle. Instream
habitat, fish and macroinvertebrate samples are also
collected. Approximately $600,000 in EPA CWA sec-
tion 319 supports statewide education, outreach and
monitoring efforts through the Blue Thumb program.
The OCC LLCS program provided $158,833 in state
funding for CPs in this watershed through the Grant
County Conservation District, and landowners con-
tributed $76,256 in match. NRCS spent approximately
$1.23 million for implementation of CPs in Grant
County from 2005 to 2009 through NRCS EQIP, CSP,
WRP, CRP and general technical assistance funds, and
another $2.74 million from 2010 to 2014. Landowners
provided a significant percentage of funding toward
CP implementation in these programs as well.
S
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-15-001HH
August 2015
For additional information contact:
Shanon Phillips
Oklahoma Conservation Commission
shanon.phillips@conservation.ok.gov
405-522-4500
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