Section 319
              NONPOINT SOORCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
 Implementing Agricultural Best Management Practices Reduces Bacteria

 Levels in the Cub Creek Watershed

Waterbodies Improved   No"point s,ource m^^T^^ a9ricultural
                                 land uses, livestock, and wildlife led to high counts
 of bacteria in Virginia's Cub Creek. Two segments failed to attain their primary contact
 recreation designated use due to violations of the state's water quality standard for
 bacteria. As a result, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) added two
 segments of Cub Creek to Virginia's Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list in 2006 and
 2008, respectively, for Escherichia coli bacteria. Landowners implemented agricultural best
 management practices (BMPs) in  the Cub Creek watershed, which significantly reduced
 bacterial loadings and allowed the creek to meet water quality standards and support its
 recreation designated use. As a result, DEQ removed the two segments of Cub Creek
 (14.07 miles total) from Virginia's 2012 list of impaired waters forE coli bacteria.
 Problem
 The Cub Creek watershed drains portions of
 Appomattox and Charlotte counties in south-central
 Virginia. Cub Creek empties into the Roanoke River
 (referred to locally as the Staunton River). The Cub
 Creek watershed area draining to the impaired
 segments consists of approximately 95,332 acres,
 primarily comprised of forested land (70 percent)
 and agricultural land (24 percent). Bacteria loadings
 from livestock, human sources (septic systems),
 agricultural and urban land uses, and wildlife led to
 high bacteria counts in Cub Creek.

 DEQ collected water quality samples on Cub Creek
 in 2003 and 2004. Approximately 24 percent of
 samples had E. coli bacteria levels that exceeded
 235 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters
 (cfu/100 ml). These results violated the state E. coli
 single sample maximum bacteria criterion, which
 requires that no more than 10 percent of samples
 (based on  a minimum of 12 samples) have E. coli
 levels exceeding 235 cfu/100 ml. As a result, DEQ
 added two segments of Cub Creek to Virginia's
 CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters for
 E. coli bacteria—an 8.35-mile segment (VAC-
 L37R _ CUB01AOO) in 2006 and a 5.72-mile segment
                    Cub Creek (VAC-L37R_CUB01AOO)
                    Cub Creek (VAC-L37R_CUB01B08)
                    Impaired River/Stream
                    River/Stream
                    US Highway
                 CH? County Boundary
                    Cub Creek Watershed
Figure 1. Two segments in Virginia's Cub Creek were
delisted as impaired for bacteria.
(VAC-L37R _ CUB01B08) in 2008 (Figure 1). In 2006
DEQ developed a bacteria total maximum daily load
(TMDL) for this watershed.

-------
 H
Figure 2. Installing livestock exclusion
fencing and adding alternative water
sources helped to reduce bacteria
loadings in the stream.
Project Highlights
After the Cub Creek
bacteria TMDL was
developed, watershed
stakeholders (i.e., state
and local government,
conservation organiza-
tions, and landowners)
developed and began
carrying out a structured
TMDL implementation
plan. Through these com-
bined efforts, landowners
installed numerous BMPs
             between 2006 and 2013, including 71,948 linear
             feet (13.6 miles) of livestock exclusion fencing with
             grazing management (Figure 2), 62 acres of refores-
             tation of erodible crop and pasture lands, 57 acres of
             continuous no-till, 35 acres of permanent vegetative
             cover on cropland, 21 acres of small-grain cover
             crop, 1,330 linear feet of stream protection and one
             loafing lot management system.

             State and local government agencies conducted
             a combination of outreach activities for landown-
             ers and farmers to encourage them to implement
             agricultural BMPs. Outreach efforts included
             farm tours, personal communications, publication
             of articles in local newspapers, and distribution
             of TMDL brochures explaining eligible BMPs
             and their benefits for Cub  Creek watershed
             stakeholders.
             Results
             Data calculations from the Virginia Department of
             Conservation and Recreation (OCR) BMP Tracking
             Database indicated that installing BMPs in the
             watershed significantly reduced nonpoint source
             pollutant loadings, including bacteria. DEQ col-
             lected 15 samples on Cub Creek during 2009 and
             2010. Of those, only one sample (6.7 percent of
             all samples collected) exceeded 235 cfu/100 mL
             E. co/i—meeting the state's bacteria water quality
             standard (Figure 3). As a result, DEQ removed the
             two Cub Creek segments (14.07 miles total) from
             the state's list of impaired waters for bacteria in
             2012. Both segments now support their primary
             contact recreation designated use.
Cub Creek Bacteria Levels
Sampling Site 4ACUB017.46

E
a
uj
o-
Jun
A A



•
*
iyu*, •*•<•

-03 Apr-04 Jan-05 Nov-05 Sep-06 Jul-07 May-08 Mar-09 Jan-10 Oct-10 Aug-11
Sampling Time (Month-Year)
                            Figure 3. Water quality data show that violations of the 235
                            cfu/100 mL E. co/i bacteria water quality criterion (denoted by red
                            dots) declined significantly after farmers installed BMPs.
                            Partners and Funding
                            The water quality improvement in Cub Creek has
                            largely been the result of partnerships between
                            the Southside and Robert E. Lee soil and water
                            conservation districts (SWCDs) and several federal
                            and state agencies, including the U.S. Department
                            of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation
                            Service (NRCS), OCR, DEQ, the Virginia Department
                            of Health and the Virginia Cooperative Extension
                            Service. The TMDL implementation project, admin-
                            istered by the Southside and Robert E. Lee SWCDs,
                            included agricultural cost-share funding, technical
                            assistance for landowners and outreach activities.
                            To  offset the costs of implementing BMPs, farmers
                            received $7,243 in NRCS Environmental Quality
                            Incentive Program funds and a combined $484,598
                            from the Virginia Water Quality Incentive Fund and
                            the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund.
                            The state of Virginia also provided $36,619 in the
                            form of tax credits issued to farmers implementing
                            BMPs. SWCD staff provided significant technical
                            assistance to farmers over the 5-year project peri-
                            od. Most of the staff time was supported through
                            OCR with approximately $125,000 from Virginia's
                            General  Fund ($25,000 per year for 5 years). Some
                            CWA section 319 funds supported OCR staff time
                            as they provided project oversight and guidance for
                            TMDL implementation. DEQ provided water quality
                            monitoring support.
UJ
O
                  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                  Office of Water
                  Washington, DC

                  EPA841-F-15-001D
                  January 2015
                            For additional information contact:
                            Charlie Lunsford, Virginia Department of
                              Environmental Quality
                            Charlie.Lunsford@deq.virginia.gov • 804-698-4172
                            David Sandman, Robert E. Lee SWCD
                            David.Sandman@Releeconservation.com • 434-352-2819

-------