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Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Restoration Efforts Revive Riparian Vegetation and Improve Water Quality
Waterbody Improved
Livestock grazing and a wastewater treatment plant discharge
contributed to water quality impairments in New Mexico's
lower Santa Fe River. As a result. New Mexico added a 12.7-mile-long segment of the
river to the state's 1998 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list for pH, sedimentation
and dissolved oxygen (DO). Implementing best management practices (BMPs), including
restoring riparian vegetation, removing levees, and constructing wetlands, significantly
improved water quality. Therefore, New Mexico removed the pH (2008) and sedimentation
(2010) impairments from a segment of the lower Santa Fe River. Based on recent data.
New Mexico is also proposing to remove the segment's DO impairment in 2012.
Problem
The Santa Fe River originates in the Sangre de
Cristo Mountains and flows into two municipal
reservoirs that supply drinking water for the
City of Santa Fe. Below the reservoirs the river
flows intermittently through urban Santa Fe and
eventually to Cochiti Reservoir on the Rio Grande
River. The Santa Fe River Preserve is in the lower
portion of the Santa Fe River, downstream of the
city of Santa Fe. That section of the river flows
perennially through the preserve as a result of its
proximity to the Santa Fe wastewater treatment
plant (WWTP) outfall, which provides the primary
source of flow (Figure 1).
In 1998 New Mexico added a 12.7-mile-long
segment of the Santa Fe River (from the Cochiti
Pueblo to the Santa Fe WWTP) to the state's
CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters for
not supporting the designated uses of marginal
coldwater fishery, warmwater fishery and livestock
watering. The water quality parameters of concern
noted at the time were pH, stream bottom deposits
(sedimentation), DO, chlorine and total ammonia.
The probable sources of pollution were listed as
municipal point sources and agriculture (cattle with
access to streams).
Upgrades to the Santa Fe WWTP in 1996 and
1997 led to the removal of ammonia and chlorine
as pollutants of concern in 2000 and 2002,
respectively. However, cattle grazing and eroding
riparian areas continued to contribute nonpoint
source pollution to this reach of the Sante Fe River.
Poor riparian condition exacerbated effects of
nutrients present in the WWTP discharge.
Legend
/«\ Monitoring Stations
^^™ Santa Fe River
^^ SFR Project Reach
Figure 1. The impaired reach of the Santa Fe River extends
below the Santa Fe wastewater treatment plant (SF WWTP).
In 2000 New Mexico completed total maximum daily
load (TMDL) studies for the lower Sante Fe River.
The studies set goals for four pollutants: pH (6.6 to
9.0), DO (5 milligrams per liter [mg/L] as a 24-hour
average), residual chlorine (0.78 pound per day), and
sedimentation (20 percent fines).
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Project Highlights
Restoration efforts transformed the impaired reach
of the Santa Fe River from an erosion-prone, barren
area (Figure 2) into a lush preserve with abundant
riparian vegetation and wildlife (Figure 3). In 1997 the
WildEarth Guardians collaborated with the Santa Fe
Municipal Airport to install fencing to keep grazing
livestock away from riparian areas and prevent
them from roaming onto airport runways. Initial
project funding came from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Partners Grant. In 2000 WildEarth Guardians
received a CWA section 319 grant to expand the
project onto lands owned by the city of Santa Fe.
The partners implemented a number of BMPs,
including removing exotic vegetation and planting
native vegetation—more than 5,000 cottonwood
trees and 15,000 willow trees. The BMPs also
included additional fencing, levee removal to allow
high flows to reach the floodplain, wetland creation,
and outreach and education activities.
Figure 2. The Santa Fe
River, below the wastewater
treatment plant, in 1997
(before restoration).
Figure 3. The Santa Fe River
in 2004 (same location
shown in Figure 2,
after restoration).
In 2002 the Santa Fe Watershed Association
developed the Santa Fe River Watershed
Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS), providing
a planning basis on which restoration activities
were developed and funded. The restoration work
addressed several WRAS goals, including planting
the riparian corridor with native vegetation to
increase shading, stabilizing banks and improving
water quality. The Santa Fe City Council also
passed a resolution that recognized the ecological
significance of the river segment and encouraged
its protection and restoration.
In 2004 another CWA section 319 grant provided
funding to extend the project farther downstream
on Santa Fe County open space and private
lands. This second phase of the project installed
additional cattle fencing, removed berms and exotic
vegetation, and planted native cottonwoods and
willows to reestablish the riparian corridor.
Results
Water quality has improved. Following restoration,
pH samples remained within the acceptable water
quality target range of 6.6 to 9.0 standard units.
Samples showed no pH standard exceedances,
compared to 82 exceedances before restoration. A
2009 sediment survey indicated that the percent of
sediment fines had dropped to 5 percent, well below
the 20 percent target. On the basis of these data,
New Mexico removed pH (2008) and sedimentation
(2010) from the segment's list of impairments.
Additional samples collected after restoration
show that DO levels consistently remain between
5 mg/L and 9 mg/L and comply with the target
of greater than 5 mg/L as a 24-hour average.
Therefore, New Mexico is proposing to remove the
segment's DO impairment in 2012.
Partners and Funding
Primary partners include WildEarth Guardians
(formerly Forest Guardians), the City of Santa Fe, the
County of Santa Fe, private landowners, the Santa
Fe Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD),
and the Surface Water Quality Bureau of the New
Mexico Environment Department. Approximately
70 volunteers planted native vegetation and learned
about riparian systems during a Santa Fe River
Stream Team event. Other planting programs were
carried out by about a dozen Santa Fe area schools,
another dozen volunteer groups and the state's
inmate work program.
Initial funding came from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service grant. The Santa Fe River Restoration
Project (2000 to 2004) was funded by $143,650 in
CWA section 319 funds and $155,750 in matching
funds. The La Cieneguilla Open Spaces/Santa
Fe River Restoration Project (2005 to 2009) was
funded by $114,275 in CWA section 319 funds
and $124,231 in matching funds. Finally, the
Santa Fe-Pojoaque SWCD provided a $48,000 grant
to remove nonnative vegetation, in cooperation with
the Santa Fe County Open Space Division and local
community members.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-11-001DD
July 2011
For additional information contact:
Daniel Guevara
New Mexico Environment Department
Surface Water Quality Bureau
505-476-3086 • daniel.guevara@state.nm.us
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