Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
Reducing Bacteria in Nonpoint Source Runoff Restores the Etowah River
Watprbodv Imnrovpd Leakin9 septic tanks in residential areas and polluted
runoff from impervious surfaces caused abnormally high
fecal coliform (FC) bacteria levels in Georgia's Etowah River. As a result, the Georgia
Environmental Protection Division (GEPD) placed a 20-mile segment of the river on its
2004 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 305(b)/303(d) list of impaired waters. Using CWA
section 319 and third-party grant funding, stakeholders repaired septic systems, installed
best management practices (BMPs), and conducted outreach and education activities.
Water quality improved, prompting the GEPD to remove the 20-mile segment from the
state's 2010 CWA section 305(b)/303(d) list of impaired waters for FC bacteria.
Problem
The Etowah River flows through Cherokee County
and empties into Lake Allatoona in northwest
Georgia's Coosa River watershed (Figure 1). The river
is in the Blue Ridge ecoregion, one of the mostflo-
ristically diverse areas in the eastern United States.
The southern Blue Ridge is home to Appalachian oak
forests; shrub, grass and heath balds; and hemlocks,
cove hardwoods and oak-pine communities.
The Etowah River is designated for fishing use
(i.e., secondary contact recreational use). To
support that designated use, the FC bacteria
geometric means in the Etowah River must
remain below 200 colony-forming units (cfu) per
100 milliliters (ml) of water in the summer (May to
October) and below 1,000 cfu/100 ml in the winter
(November to April). A single-sample maximum
criterion of 4,000 cfu/100 ml for the winter months
also applies. Water quality data collected in the
Etowah River from 2001 to 2007 showed that two
of the four summertime FC geometric means
exceeded the state's bacteria water quality criteria
forfishing use (Table 1). As a result, GEPD added a
20-mile segment of the river to the 2004 CWA sec-
tion 305(b)/303(d) list of impaired waters for high
FC bacteria levels. GEPD identified urban runoff,
animal waste, sanitary sewer leaks and failing
septic systems as likely bacteria sources.
A Coosa River Basin total maximum daily
load (TMDL) study for pathogen loads in
29 stream segments, including the Etowah River,
Etowah River
Watershed
Georgia
Figure 1. The Etowah River is in northwest Georgia.
was established by the GEPD and approved by
EPA in 2009. GEPD cited runoff from failing septic
systems as the primary source of FC bacteria and
urban runoff as a secondary source. The TMDL
noted that bacteria levels would need to be reduced
by 56 percent to allow the Etowah River to meet
the water quality criterion necessary to support the
fishing designated use.
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Table 1. Etowah River seasonal monitoring
data3 (2001 and 2009)
Date
Feb/Mar2001
May/June 2001
Aug/Sep 2001
Oct2001
June 2001
Nov2009
Mar/Apr 2009
June 2009
Sept/0ct2009
FC Bacteria Geometric Mean (cfu/100 ml)
155 (W)
378 (S)
344 (S)
69 (S)
281 (S)
73 (W)
25 (S)
91 (S)
96 (S)
Bold values indicate exceedances of the applicable
seasonal standard:
• S = summer (May-Oct):
Must be less than 200 cfu/100 ml geometric mean
• W = winter (Nov-Apr):
Must be less than 1,000 cfu/100 ml geometric mean
Project Highlights
Using a combination of CWA section 319 funding
and additional funds obtained through Cherokee
County, The Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife
Fund, and the City of Canton, the Limestone Valley
Resource Conservation & Development Council
(RC&D) worked with local stakeholders from 2006
to 2011 to promote and install BMPs that would
reduce polluted runoff. First, partners installed a
rain garden (Figure 2), repaired two failing septic
systems (on Long Swap Creek and Buzzard Flapper
Creek) and constructed one manure stackhouse
(on Settingdown Creek). Project partners also
conducted outreach and education activities for
watershed residents (Figure 3). Then partners used
additional CWA section 319 funds to install four
rain gardens, repair seven failing septic systems,
add eight stormwater control improvements, install
one livestock exclusion and complete one stream-
bank restoration project. Stakeholders participated
voluntarily, providing partial labor and funds for the
BMPs. The BMPs continue to help meet the load
reduction allocations in the 2004 TMDL.
Results
In the most recent (2009) FC bacteria sampling of
the 20-mile segment of the Etowah River, state
scientists found that all four geometric means
complied with the state-established seasonal water
quality criteria (see Table 1). The FC data indicate
that the river now supports its fishing designated
use, prompting the GEPD to remove the segment
from the state's 2010 CWA section 305(b)/303(d) list
of impaired waters for FC bacteria.
Figure 2. Project partners installed rain gardens
along the walls of the Reinhardt College Funk
Heritage Center to collect and store roof drainage.
Figure 3. Students participate in a rain garden field
day activity at the Funk Heritage Center.
Partners and Funding
Almost $725,000 in CWA section 319 funds have
been invested in the larger Etowah River Basin
since 2000. Almost $48,000 of this amount has
directly benefitted the 20-mile-long improved seg-
ment of the Etowah River. Stakeholders provided
the funding for 40 percent of BMP costs along the
improved segment, for a total of $79,543 directed
toward BMP construction. Between 2004 and 2008,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided more
than $124,900 in Natural Resources Conservation
Service Environmental Quality Incentive Program
funds and $30,000 in Farm Service Agency funds
to farmers in Cherokee County. Key partners in this
effort include the Upper Etowah River Alliance, the
Limestone Valley RC&D, and the Cherokee County
Environmental Health Department. Agents of these
generous partners provided technical expertise and
labor. Landowners in the Coosa River watershed
contributed in-kind labor hours and some matching
funds to support improvement projects.
I
30
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-13-001E
January 2013
For additional information contact:
Jeff Linzer II
Georgia Environmental Protection Division
404-675-1643 • Jeffrey_Linzer@dnr.state.ga.us
Diane Minick
Limestone Valley RC&D
706-625-7044 • dianeminick@msn.com
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