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Implementing Conservation Practices Reduced Polluted Runoff,
Restoring the Biological Integrity of Caney Creek
Watprhnrlv Imnrnx/prl Sedimentation and organic enrichment from silvicultural
and agricultural activities impacted water quality in
Mississippi's Caney Creek. As a result, the Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ) placed Caney Creek on the state's 2002 Clean Water Act (CWA)
section 303(d) list of impaired waters for aquatic life use impairment. Implementing
best management practices (BMPs) as part of the Pickwick Reservoir Tributaries
Restoration and Protection Project significantly reduced sediment and nutrients
entering Caney Creek. As a result, a 4.99-mile segment of Caney Creek was assessed
as attaining the aquatic life use in the state's 2014 CWA section 305(b) report.
Problem
Caney Creek is in the Coke Creek-Caney Creek
Watershed (HUC 060300051104) in northern
Mississippi's Tishomingo County. The watershed
spans approximately 22,202 acres, and is comprised
primarily of agricultural land, timberland and pas-
tureland (Figure 1). Pollution sources in Caney Creek
included sedimentation from silviculture and agricul-
tural practices, organic enrichment from agricultural
processes, and habitat alterations.
Biological community data are routinely used by
MDEQ to determine if streams are healthy enough to
support a balanced aquatic community. Caney Creek
(Waterbody ID: MS700312) was monitored in 2001
as part of Mississippi's biological monitoring pro-
gram. Using MDEQ's index of biological integrity, the
Mississippi Benthic Index of Stream Quality (M-BISQ),
Caney Creek scored 48.14, less than the assessment
threshold of 57.71 required to attain aquatic life use
support for this region. Therefore, Caney Creek was
placed on the 2002 CWA section 303(d) list for aquatic
life use impairment; it was subsequently selected as a
priority watershed for restoration activities by MDEQ.
Coke Creek-Caney Creek Subwatershed
060300051104
Project Highlights
In 2007 MDEQ partnered with the Mississippi Soil
and Water Conservation Commission, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Tishomingo
County Soil and Water Conservation District to
Figure 1. The 22,202-acre Coke Creek-Caney Creek
subwatershed is in northern Mississippi.
implement the Pickwick Reservoir Tributaries
Restoration and Protection Project. BMP installa-
tions within the Coke Creek-Caney Creek watershed
as part of this project began in 2009 and were com-
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Figure 2. Grade stabilization structures in Caney
Creek were used to prevent erosion and enhance the
environmental quality of the creek.
pleted by the end of that year. The BMPs supported
with CWA section 319 funds included over 40 acres
of nutrient management, eight grade stabilization
structures (Figure 2), one pond and one critical
planting area (Figure 3) within the Caney Creek
subwatershed. In addition, conservation practice
systems were installed by NRCS in coordination
with the watershed project ongoing in the Coke
Creek-Caney Creek watershed, including four grade
stabilization structures, 128 acres of prescribed
grazing, 99 acres of nutrient management, 55 acres
of tree/shrub establishment and one animal water-
ing facility.
Results
In 2011 MDEQ returned to the original sampling
location in Caney Creek to collect biological commu-
nity data. The score was 87.92, above the threshold
for attainment in this region. Using this 2011 data, a
4.99-mile segment of Caney Creek was assessed as
attaining the aquatic life use in the 2014 CWA section
305(b) report.
Figure 3. Critical area planting along Caney Creek
was necessary to establish permanent vegetation on
sites that had high erosion rates.
Partners and Funding
The restoration of Caney Creek was a collective effort
between the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation
Commission, MDEQ, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, NRCS and the Tishomingo County Soil and
Water Conservation District. The total cost of the
overall Pickwick Reservoir Tributaries Restoration
and Protection Project was $1,219,228, of which
$720,900 was comprised of CWA section 319 funds.
Section 319 funds were expended in the following
way: $139,006 for technical assistance, $42,417 for
education and information outreach, and $540,477
for BMP installation. Participating state and local
stakeholders contributed a total of $498,328 towards
the implementation of the watershed project.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-15-001YY
November 2015
For additional information contact:
Ann Porter
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Ann_Porter@deq.state.ms. us
601-961-5394
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