Section 319
NONPOINT SOORGE PROGRAM SOGGESS STORY
Innovative Community Wastewater System Restores Windmill Gap Creek
and Protects Citizens' Health *
I H
I ~l proved
Failing household septic systems in McDowell County contributed to
water qua|jty impairments in West Virginia's Windmill Gap Creek. As
a result, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP) added a 2.8-mile segment
of the stream to the state's 2006 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for fecal
coliform (FC). The Wastewater Treatment Coalition of McDowell County (WTCMC) worked with partner
agencies and community residents to install a decentralized community wastewater system, which signifi-
cantly improved water quality. The stream now meets the state's water quality standard for FC, and West
Virginia will propose removing the segment from the CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2012.
Problem
Windmill Gap Creek is a small (2.8-mile) headwater
stream in McDowell County, West Virginia. It flows
through the community of Ashland (a former coal
mining camp) to the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek,
which eventually flows to the Ohio River. A desig-
nated trout stream with naturally reproducing trout,
Windmill Gap Creek is a popular destination for
anglers.
Many houses in the coal-mining community of
Ashland were built in the early 1900s and had lim-
ited wastewater treatment. Homes and businesses
were built on small lots, very close to Windmill Gap
Creek, and over the years malfunctioning septic
tanks began to contribute wastewater to the creek
(Figure 1). The wastewater caused putrid odors,
dramatic discoloration of the streambed, compro-
mised biological communities and high FC loads.
Monitoring data in 2005 showed violations of the
state's water quality standard for FC bacteria; as
a result, in 2006 West Virginia added the 2.8-mile
segment of Windmill Gap Creek to the state's CWA
section 303(d) list. The FC standard states that
water samples are not to exceed 200 colonies (col)
per 100 milliliters (ml) as a monthly mean based
on at leastfive samples per month. In addition, no
more than 10 percent of all samples taken during
the month may exceed 400 col/100 ml. With little
to no agricultural activity in this watershed, no
municipal wastewater treatment system, and no
permitted wastewater treatment for 90 percent of
the homes, the primary source of FC was identified
as failing onsite wastewater treatment systems.
Figure 1. Homes in the coal-mining community of Ashland
were built on small lots, directly next to Windmill Gap Creek.
Project Highlights
In 2001 and 2002, devastating floods increased local
awareness of wastewater-related health hazards
as drinking wells became contaminated with raw
sewage throughout the county. In 2004 the WTCMC
developed a countywide plan to provide wastewater
treatment service to every household in the county,
through a combination of traditional and alternative
wastewater treatment systems. The WTCMC initially
targeted wastewater treatment efforts in the Ashland
community to improve water quality in the headwa-
ters of the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek. In 2007 the
WTCMC and partners developed a watershed-based
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plan (WBP) for the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek, and
CWA section 319 funding was later provided to sup-
port project design and construction.
Because of the rough terrain, small lot sizes and
close proximity to the stream, a traditional sewer
system could not be developed for the Ashland com-
munity. Therefore, the Canaan Valley Institute (CVI),
a nonprofit organization that specializes in address-
ing polluted-water issues caused by inadequate
wastewater treatment, designed an alternative
decentralized wastewater treatment system in which
sewage from the houses and two small businesses
is collected and transported in a septic tank efflu-
ent gravity sewer line via gravity to a pump system
and holding tank. The pump transports the effluent
approximately 400 feet up the mountain to wetland
cells for secondary treatment, reducing biochemical
oxygen demand and nitrogen before the waste-
water enters a drainfield through a low-pressure
pipe drainfield system. Today, this project provides
wastewater treatment for 23 homes and a renovated
company store and cafe in the Ashland community.
This project was supported entirely by grant fund-
ing and was backed by community residents, all
of whom attended public meetings and signed a
statement that they were willing to connect to the
system. This project provides a model for other
communities trying to address infrastructure needs
through a nontraditional approach. It also demon-
strates how stakeholders—including community
members and outside agencies—can work together
to improve water quality. The WTCMC continues
to implement the WBP by promoting the repair or
installation of septic systems where feasible down-
stream from the Ashland community.
Results
Following installation of the Ashland community
decentralized wastewater treatment system, moni-
toring data have shown significant improvements
in water quality. FC levels dropped by more than
98 percent (Figure 2). Post-project water samples
collected during low-flow events in fall 2010
comply with the state's FC water quality standards.
Samples collected before and six months after the
project show that the stream condition index score
has improved from 54.4 (marginal) to 67.7 (subopti-
mal), reflecting improvements in macroinvertebrate
diversity and abundance. On the basis of these
data, WV DEP will propose to remove the 2.8-mile
segment of Windmill Gap Creek from the state's
CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2012.
12000
Ashland Project
Fecal Coliform Monitoring Data
Monitoring Data
Water Quality Standard
Note: data points indicate monthly averages.
Figure 2. Monthly average fecal coliform levels dropped
dramatically in Windmill Gap Creek after installation of
Ashland's decentralized wastewater treatment system.
Partners and Funding
This project's success is the result of the collab-
orative efforts of many different partners, includ-
ing WTCMC; WV DEP; CVI; SAFE Housing and
Economic Development; West Virginia Ministry
of Advocacy and Workcamps Inc.; West Virginia
Stream Restoration Fund; McDavid Foundation;
Change Happens in Honolulu Hawaii; West Virginia
Affordable Housing Trust Fund; West Virginia Stream
Partner's Program; Versa Con; Southern Department
of Transportation; Mountain Resource Conservation
and Development Council; McDowell County
F.A.C.E.S.; McDowell County Health Department;
Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia;
Stafford Consultants, Inc.; First Presbyterian Church;
McDowell County Commission; West Virginia
Division of Natural Resources; Travel Beautiful
Appalachia, Inc.; and local Rotary clubs.
Ashland Community Utilities, Inc., which provides
drinking water to the community, operates and
maintains the wastewater treatment system at an
affordable level, with an annual estimated budget of
$7,000 and monthly rates of $27. The cost to install
Ashland's community decentralized wastewater
treatment system was $770,970, of which $231,650
was provided by CWA section 319 funds. Matching
funds for the project were provided by private,
nonprofit and foundation donations, as well as state
funds (West Virginia Stream Restoration Fund and
West Virginia Stream Partners Program funds).
I
UJ
O
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-11-001QQ
October 2011
For additional information contact:
Jennifer D. Liddle
WVDEP's Nonpoint Source Program
304-465-1938 Ext. 1370
jennifer.d.liddle@wv.gov
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