Section 319
              NONPOINT SOORGE  PROGRAM  SOGGESS  STORY
Agricultural and Wastewater Treatment Best Management Practices
Improve Water Quality in Richland Creek
I           H
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                               Nonpoint source pollution, primarily from livestock and septic
                               straight pipeS; ,ed to increased levels of fecal coliform (FC) bacteria
and sedimentation in North Carolina's Richland Creek and several of its tributaries. As a result, in 2002
the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (NC DWQ) added more than 15 miles of Richland Creek
to the state's Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for failing to support the
aquatic life designated use, due to low biological  integrity. Using approximately $2.0 million in state
and federal funding, watershed  partners implemented agricultural best management practices (BMPs)
and wastewater treatment repairs. Water quality improved as a  result of those efforts,  and a portion
of Richland Creek now supports its aquatic life designated use.  NC DWQ removed a 1.6-mile segment
of Richland Creek from the state's list of impaired waters in 2010.
Problem
The 43,700-acre Richland Creek subwatershed
(Figure 1) lies within the French Broad Basin in
western North Carolina. Richland Creek flows
northeast through a heavily developed portion of
Haywood County, and it serves as the municipal
water supply for the Town of Waynesville. The
subwatershed provides significant economic value
to the county and the town: Richland Creek flows
into Lake Junaluska, a 200-acre reservoir that is a
popular recreational destination, generating more
than $40 million each year for the local economy.
Streams throughout the area also support trout pop-
ulations, attracting thousands of visitors annually.

According to NC DWQ's French Broad Basin  Plan,
nonpoint source runoff from agricultural, resi-
dential and urban areas contributed sediment to
Lake Junaluska, which then needed to be dredged
periodically. In addition, erosion throughout the
Richland Creek subwatershed  damaged valuable
agricultural land and the aesthetic, recreational and
habitat quality of downstream  waterbodies.

In 1999 the Haywood Waterways Association (HWA)
contracted with the Tennessee Valley Authority to
develop an Integrated Pollutant Source Identification
(IPSI) model for the Pigeon River watershed (which
includes Richland Creek). The IPSI analyzes infrared
aerial photography using a geographic information
system to estimate the amount of pollution entering
                               ^H Waynesville Reservoir
                               ^H Lake Junaluska
                               A/ U.S. Highways
                               C^ Town of Waynesville
                                  Streams
                             Figure 1. Richland Creek Subwatershed.
                             a stream. According to the 1999 IPSI, the primary
                             sources of sediment in the Pigeon River watershed
                             were erosion of streambanks (Figure 2), unpaved
                             roads and poor-quality pastures, and animals
                             accessing streams.

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Figure 2. Before restoration, an eroded streambank
in Haywood County contributed high levels of
sediment downstream.
Biological monitoring data for Richland Creek,
assessed according to the North Carolina Index
of Biological Integrity (NCIBI), indicated poor
biological health in the creek in 2002. The NCIBI
measures the structure and health of the fish
community; scores range from 12 (most degraded)
to 60 (excellent). Richland Creek received a score
of 32 (poor), which is considered impaired, during
sampling conducted in 2002. Based on data show-
ing biological impairment, that same year NC DWQ
added more than 15 miles of Richland Creek, includ-
ing a 1.6-mile segment from Lake Junaluska Dam
to Jones Cove Branch, to the state's  CWA section
303(d) list of impaired waters for failing to support
the aquatic life designated use. The HWA used the
IPSI modeling results to develop a Watershed Action
Plan (WAP) for the Pigeon River in 2002. Because the
WAP was in place, NC DWQ did not develop a sepa-
rate total maximum daily load (TMDL) to address the
biological impairment of Richland Creek.
Project Highlights
The HWA's March 2002 Pigeon River WAP identi-
fied causes and sources of impairments, as well
as potential projects to restore water quality. The
WAP identified the need to address sediment
loading by reducing livestock's access to the
stream. In 2005, the Southwestern North Carolina
Resource Conservation & Development Council
(NC RC&D), Haywood Soil  and Water Conservation
District (SWCD), and HWA obtained a CWA section
319 grant to begin implementing the action plan.
Through that project, the Southwestern  NC RC&D
                                                   implemented numerous BMPs in the Richland
                                                   Creek subwatershed. Project partners received a
                                                   second CWA section 319 grant in 2009 to create
                                                   a Richland Creek-specific WAP and implement
                                                   additional BMPs to restore biological integrity in
                                                   impaired segments of the creek and its tributaries.
                                                   BMPs implemented through 2011 include check
                                                   dams (1300 feet), critical area plantings (5375 feet),
                                                   diversions (250 feet), exclusion fencing (5055 feet),
                                                   riparian herbaceous cover (1120 feet), stream chan-
                                                   nel stabilization (1120 feet), a grazing plan system,
                                                   four heavy-use protection areas, a livestock stream
                                                   crossing  and four tanks/troughs.
                                                   Results
Water quality monitoring data collected after
BMP implementation in the Richland Creek
subwatershed indicates that biological integrity
(as measured by the NCIBI score) has improved
as a result of restoration efforts. The total num-
ber offish collected in the 1.6-mile segment of
Richland Creek (from Lake Junaluska to Jones Cove
Branch) increased from  116 in 2002 to 224 in 2007.
Monitoring conducted in 2007 also  marked the first
recording of darter species in the stream seg-
ment, along with  increased numbers of Northern
hogsucker and rock bass. The NCIBI score in the
Richland Creek segment improved from 32 (poor) in
2002 to 40 (good-fair) in 2007. NC DWQ indicates
that sediment loading reductions due to BMP
implementation throughout the subwatershed have
also contributed to the improved health of the bio-
logical  community. Based on these data, the state
removed the 1.6-mile segment of Richland Creek
from the 2010 list of impaired waters because it
now supports its  aquatic life designated use.
Partners and Funding
To date, project partners have received a total
of $515,212 in CWA section 319 grant funds to
implement restoration projects in Richland Creek
subwatershed. More than $1.4 million in matching
funds were leveraged from the following organi-
zations: HWA, Haywood SWCD, North Carolina
Clean Water Management Trust Fund, Pigeon
River Fund, Tennessee Valley Authority, North
Carolina Department of  Natural Resources (DENR)
Wastewater Discharge Elimination Program,
NC DENR Asheville Regional Office, Town of
Waynesville, North Carolina State University, USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service, and North
Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission.
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     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
     Office of Water
     Washington, DC

     EPA841-F-12-001EE
     August 2012
For additional information contact:
Eric Romaniszyn, Haywood Waterways Association
828-631-2823 • eric@haywoodwaterways.org
Duane Vanhook, Haywood County Soil and Water Conservation
828-452-2741, ext. 3 • duane.vanhook@nc.nacdnet.net
Heather Jennings, NC Division of Water Quality, Planning Section
919-807-6437 • heather.b.jennings@ncdenr.gov

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