Section 319
NONPOINT SOORGE PROGRAM SOGGESS STORY
Implementing Agricultural Best Management Practices Decreases
Turbidity in Bird Creek
Waterbody Improved H'gh turb'dity'due in Partto Prices associated with
wheat and cattle production, resulted in impairment of Bird
Creek and placement on Oklahoma's Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list in 2008.
Implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to promote better quality grazing
land and cropland decreased sediment loading into the creek. As a result, the entire length
of 8-mile-long Bird Creek was removed from Oklahoma's 2012 CWA section 303(d) list
for turbidity impairment. Bird Creek is now in partial attainment of its fish and wildlife
propagation designated use.
Problem
Bird Creek is an 8-mile-long stream in Choctaw
County in southeastern Oklahoma (Figure 1). Land
use in the 9,046-acre watershed is primarily wheat
and pasture for cattle production, with some corn
production as well. Poor grazing land and cropland
management contributed to excess sedimenta-
tion in the watershed. In the 2008 water quality
assessment, monitoring showed that 17 percent
of Bird Creek's seasonal base flow 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 5 years of data
before the assessment year). On the basis of these
assessment results, Oklahoma added the entire
length of Bird Creek (OK410300010100_00) to the
2008 and subsequent CWA section 303(d) lists for
nonattainment of the fish and wildlife propagation
designated use due to turbidity impairment.
Project Highlights
Landowners implemented BMPs with assis-
tance from Oklahoma's locally led cost-share
program and through the local U.S. Department
of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP) and general conservation technical
assistance program. From 2008 to 2011, landown-
ers addressed erosion from pastures by improving
pasture condition with 909 acres of prescribed
grazing, 4,362 linear feet of cross-fencing, 25 acres
of forage planting, and installation of one water
* Monitoring Site
Bird Creek Watershed
Figure 1. The Bird Creek watershed is in southeastern Oklahoma.
tank and two ponds for alternative water sources.
Reduced cropland erosion was achieved by imple-
menting conservation cover crops on 548 acres and
no-till/residue management on 280 acres. Proper
nutrient management on 450 acres and integrated
pest management on 697 acres also improved
cropland condition and reduced erosion potential.
Landowners also planted 16 acres of trees/shrubs in
the watershed.
Conservation work continues in the watershed.
An additional 644 acres of prescribed grazing was
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implemented through EQIP in 2012, along with fur-
ther nutrient management and supplemental plant-
ing, which will prolong reduced erosion potential.
In 2013 an additional 83 acres of no-till, 419 acres
of rotational grazing, and 113 acres of nutrient
management were implemented through the NRCS
Conservation Stewardship Program.
Results
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission's Rotating
Basin Monitoring Program, a statewide nonpoint
source ambient monitoring program, documented
improved water quality in Bird Creek due to land-
owners implementing BMPs. In the 2008 assess-
ment, 17 percent of seasonal base flow water
samples exceeded the turbidity criteria of 50 NTU.
This exceedance was reduced to zero percent in
2012 (Figure 2). Hence, Bird Creek was removed
from Oklahoma's CWA section 303(d) list for turbid-
ity impairment in 2012 and is now in partial attain-
ment of the fish and wildlife propagation designated
use (Figure 3).
Partners and Funding
The Rotating Basin Monitoring Program is support-
ed by EPA's CWA section 319 funds at an average
annual cost of $1 million. Monitoring costs include
personnel, supplies, and lab analysis for 18 parame-
ters from samples collected every 5 weeks at about
100 sites around the state, for a total of 20 episodes
per 5-year cycle per basin. In-stream habitat, fish,
and macroinvertebrate samples are also collected.
Approximately $600,000 in EPA CWA section
319 supports statewide education, outreach, and
monitoring efforts through the Blue Thumb pro-
gram. The Oklahoma cost-share program provided
$4,892 in state funding for BMPs in this watershed
through the Kiamichi Conservation District. NRCS
spent approximately $1.36 million for implementa-
tion of BMPs in Choctaw County from 2008 to 2011
through NRCS EQIP and general technical assis-
tance funds. Landowners provided a significant
percentage of funding toward BMP implementation
in these programs as well.
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2008 2012
Assessment Year
Figure 2. Monitoring data indicate that base flow
turbidity levels in Bird Creek have declined.
Figure 3. Bird Creek is now in partial attainment of the fish
and wildlife propagation designated use.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841.-F-14-OQ1.il
June 2014
For additional information contact:
Shanon Phillips
Oklahoma Conservation Commission
405-522-4500 • shanon.phillips@conservation.ok.gov
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