•
*
Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
Implementing Best Management Practices Reduces Bacteria Levels
Fecal coliform (FC) bacteria from agricultural activities and
VVatei DOdy Imp OVe< leaking septic systems impaired shellfish harvesting and
primary contact recreation uses in western Washington's Willapa River watershed. As
a result, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) added 15 segments of the
river and its tributaries to the state's 2004 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of
impaired waters. To address the problems, farmers installed numerous agricultural best
management practices (BMPs), and local governments increased their efforts to identify
and upgrade septic systems. Bacteria levels have declined across the watershed. Eight
of the 15 segments now consistently meet FC water quality standards for bacteria, and
Ecology will propose removing them from Washington's impaired waters list in 2012.
Problem
The Willapa River drains a basin of about 260 square
miles before discharging into Willapa Bay along
the coast of southwestern Washington (Figure 1).
The primary land cover and activities in the Willapa
River watershed are forest (80 percent); agriculture
(8 percent); and non-forestland, developed land,
open water and wetlands (totaling 12 percent).
Agricultural land uses (including dairy operations and
numerous other livestock operations) are common
along the valley floor at lower elevations. Willapa Bay
supports an important shellfish industry.
Ongoing concerns about water quality prompted
Ecology to conduct a total maximum daily load
(TMDL) study in 2000, which showed that FC
bacteria levels at multiple water quality monitoring
sites exceeded water quality standards. As a result,
Washington added 15 segments in the Willapa
River watershed to the state's impaired waters
list in 2004. The TMDL identified the bacteria
sources as largely nonpoint in origin, entering
the watershed from recreational uses, failing
on-site sewage systems, and runoff from livestock
operations, hobby farms, urban areas and wildlife.
Existing permit limits for sewage treatment plants
discharges metTMDL requirements.
Project Highlights
For years, partners in the Willapa River watershed
have collaborated to improve water quality. They
have implemented numerous BMPs throughout
the watershed—planting riparian buffers, adding
Figure 1. Sunset over Willapa Bay, Washington.
livestock exclusion fencing and alternative water
sources, replacing and repairing septic systems,
adopting nutrient management plans, building
manure containment structures, removing invasive
weeds, restoring wetlands, adopting conservation
easements, controlling stormwater runoff, and
educating landowners and the public about water
quality issues.
All nine dairies in the Willapa River watershed
developed and implemented farm management
plans to comply with the state's Dairy Nutrient
Management Act (DNMA), enacted in April 1998. The
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) used
federal Environmental Quality Incentive Program
(EQIP) funds to help dairy farmers with the initial
costs of implementing the DNMA requirements.
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Grants paid for capital improvements such as
manure containment and dry-stacking, which allows
farmers to capture and use animal waste, decreasing
nutrient runoff into surface water.
Multiple landowners and agencies (NRCS, Ducks
Unlimited, Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife, and Washington
State Department of
Transportation) partnered
on an eight-year effort
(2000 to 2008) to remove a
dike and restore 300 acres
of estuary wetlands at
Potter Slough in the lower
Willapa River watershed
(Figure 2). This project area
provides wildlife habitat and
has improved water quality
by removing livestock from
tideland pastures.
consistently meet water quality standards (Table 1).
As a result, Ecology will propose removing the
eight restored segments (covering 7.2 miles) from
the state's impaired waters list in 2012 for bacteria
impairment.
Partners and Funding
Figure 2. Numerous stakeholders
partnered on the Potter Slough
Estuary restoration project, shown
here after completion.
Results
Data show that bacteria levels have declined in the
Willapa River watershed. All the shellfish harvest
areas in the Willapa River estuary are open for
harvest. Baseline data collected by Ecology in
1998 showed that only 4 of 24 Willapa River sites
sampled (approximately 16 percent) met FC bacteria
standards. Of the 15 river segments originally listed
as impaired for FC bacteria in 2004, eight now
The Pacific Conservation District (PCD) received
approximately $300,000 from the Centennial
Clean Water Fund (CCWF) and other Washington
state funding to help plan and implement efforts
to reduce nonpoint source bacteria levels in the
Willapa River watershed. More than $68,000 in
CWA section 319 funds from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency supported septic system
assessment and growth planning in the watershed.
The PCD and NRCS continue to work with
landowners to implement agricultural and riparian
BMPs using funds from EQIP, the Conservation
Reserve Program, the Wetland Reserve Program,
and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program.
The cities of Raymond and South Bend monitor
to identify and address bacteria in stormwater
runoff. Pacific County manages upgrades and
replacements of leaking or failing septic systems.
Local governments have committed more than
$10 million from the state revolving fund program,
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and
CCWF to upgrade or replace sewage treatment
plant infrastructure in the watershed to ensure
continued compliance with permit limits.
Table 1. Fecal coliform bacteria data summary (January-December 2006) for
restored Willapa River segments (in colony-forming units per 100 milliliters
[col/100 mL])
Impaired
Waters List ID
6688
9983
9989
9998
10002
10003
10004
10009
Monitoring Site:
Willapa River Mile
(Tributary) Address
3.0(0.3)
37.5
7.2(0.4)
6.4
17.5
21.4
25.2
12.0(0.1)
90lhPercentile
FC (col/100 ml)
64
156
108
59
154
157
121
99
WQS*
200
200
200
200
200
200
200
200
Geometric Mean
FC (col/100 ml)
12
20
25
14
39
37
31
16
WQS
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Meets WQS?
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
* WQS = water quality standard: The applicable FC water quality standard requires that FC organism levels not
exceed a geometric mean value of 100 col/100 ml; in addition, no more than 10 percent of all samples obtained for
calculating the geometric mean value may exceed 200 col/100 ml.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-11-001CC
June 2011
For additional information contact:
Dave Rountry
Water Quality Program
Washington Department of Ecology,
Southwest Regional Office
360-407-6276 • drou461@ecy.wa.gov
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