Section 319
NONPOINT SOORGE PROGRAM SOGGESS STORY
Stakeholders' Watershed Approach Reduces Phosphorus Levels
\A/ato hnH'oc I n n oH Urban, forested and agricultural areas contributed nutrients and
VV9ie JVeC other pollutants to Oregon's Bear Creek, prompting the Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) to add 26.3 miles of Bear Creek and some of its main
tributaries to the state's Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 1998. To
address the problem, watershed stakeholders upgraded a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), edu-
cated landowners, and implemented numerous agricultural and urban best management practices
(BMPs). Phosphorus levels have dropped steadily over time in Bear Creek and in four tributaries, show-
ing that ongoing watershed-wide nonpoint source (NPS) pollution-reduction efforts are improving water
quality. Although the data indicate measurable progress toward achieving water quality goals, these
waterbodies do not yet meet water quality standards and remain on Oregon's list of impaired waters
for phosphorus and/or other pollutants.
Problem
Bear Creek (Figure 1) empties into the Rogue River
in southwest Oregon. The 362-square-mile Bear
Creek watershed includes approximately 290 miles
of streams. Another 250 miles of irrigation canals
transport water to farms across the watershed. Land
use in the watershed is approximately 18 percent
urban, 35 percent agriculture and 46 percent forest.
Pollutants from numerous sources have contributed
to problems in the Bear Creek watershed for
decades. NPS pollution (irrigation return flows
and runoff from agricultural and developed areas)
have contributed nutrients, sediment and fecal
coliform to surface waters. A WWTP along Ashland
Creek, a headwaters tributary of Bear Creek, also
contributed high levels of nutrients in its effluent.
A combination of point and NPS pollution sources
led to low pH, low dissolved oxygen levels, exces-
sive amounts of aquatic weeds, and high levels
of fecal coliform in numerous waterbodies in the
Bear Creek watershed. As a result, ODEQ added
26.3 miles of Bear Creek and numerous tributaries
to the state's CWA section 303(d) list of impaired
waters in 1998. The pollutants of concern for Bear
Creek include phosphorus, dissolved oxygen,
chlorophyll a, pH, ammonia, temperature and fecal
coliform. ODEQ listed Ashland Creek as impaired in
1998 because of fecal coliform, ammonia and phos-
phorus. Other tributaries were added to the state's
list of impaired waters the same year for a variety
of pollutants, including fecal coliform, temperature
and dissolved oxygen.
Figure 1. Southwest Oregon's Bear Creek watershed
includes a mix of urban, agricultural, rural residential
and forested areas.
Project Highlights
Many partners have cooperated to identify and
implement pollution-reduction efforts. ODEQ
developed total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for
Bear Creek in 1992 (for pH, dissolved oxygen and
aquatic weeds/algae) and in 2007 (for temperature,
sediment and fecal coliform). The Rogue Valley
Council of Governments (RVCOG) and the Bear
Creek Watershed Council completed a Watershed
Assessment and Action Plan for Bear Creek (in
1995) and for its tributaries (in 2001). In 2005 the
Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the
Bear Creek Local Advisory Committee developed an
agricultural water quality management area plan to
address agriculture-related water quality issues.
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The Medford and Talent irrigation districts reduced
sediment and nutrients from irrigated lands by
converting flood irrigation to sprinkler irrigation
and adding protective liners along canals or replac-
ing the canals with pipes to reduce erosion. The
Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District
(SWCD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) are helping farmers to implement agricul-
tural BMPs such as nutrient management, exclusion
fencing (typically to prevent livestock from access-
ing riparian areas), pesticide management, pasture
fencing and pasture management.
The RVCOG facilitates the local communities'
efforts to conduct regional stormwater manage-
ment planning; it also implements demonstration
projects, educates watershed residents about
water quality issues, and encourages participation
in corrective actions. In 2002 Ashland upgraded
its WWTP by adding a tertiary treatment phos-
phorus removal system that operates from May
until November each year. Municipalities installed
stormwater control practices, including adding a
large stormwater treatment wetland in Ashland.
Results
Water quality has measurably improved since 1996.
The 1992 Bear CreekTMDL established that the
in-stream concentration of total phosphorus must
be less than 0.08 milligram per liter (mg/L) from
May 1 through November 15 to meet water quality
standards. Although Bear Creek and its tributaries
do notyet meet this goal consistently, significant
progress had been made.
Data from monitoring stations in the Bear Creek
watershed (main stem and tributaries) show that
phosphorus levels are steadily declining. At Bear
Creek river mile 10 in Medford, for example, phos-
phorus levels have declined from an average high of
0.33 mg/L in July/August 1996-1998 to an average
low of 0.08 mg/L in September/October 2008-2009
(Figure 2). In Ashland Creek, upgrading the WWTP
contributed to large phosphorus decreases in
Ashland Creek and the upper main stem of Bear
Creek (Ashland Creek joins Bear Creek at river mile
24). Declines in phosphorus levels in other, NPS
pollution-dominated Bear Creek tributary water-
sheds such as Neil Creek (which joins Bear Creek
at river mile 27), indicate that efforts to reduce NPS
pollution are also contributing to lower phosphorus
levels seen in Bear Creek. Data show that Neil
Creek's phosphorus levels have declined from an
Bear Creek at Medford, River Mile 10
I 1996-98
I 1999-01
2002-04
I 2005-07
2008-09
0.08 Mg/L
Standard
May-June July-Aug Sept-Oct
Figure 2. Phosphorus levels in Bear Creek have
declined over time and almost meet water quality
standards.
average high of 0.23 mg/L in May/June 1996-1998
to an average low of 0.07 mg/L in September/
October 2008-2009. Other NPS-dominated Bear
Creek tributaries showing declining phosphorus
levels include Griffin Creek and Jackson Creek.
Partners and Funding
Many agencies and organizations, including the
RVCOG, the Bear Creek Watershed Council and
Local Advisory Committee, ODEQ, ODA, Oregon
Department of Forestry, Oregon State University,
USDA's NRCS and Farm Service Agency, Jackson
SWCD, local irrigation districts (Talent, Medford and
Rogue River Valley), Rogue Valley Sewer Services,
and local municipalities, are working to restore the
Bear Creek watershed. Jackson County and the
cities of Medford, Ashland, Phoenix, Central Point,
Jacksonville and Talent provide financial support to
the RVCOG for the ongoing Bear Creek water qual-
ity monitoring program.
Since 1997, stakeholders have spent more than
$39.5 million on water quality improvement proj-
ects within the Bear Creek watershed. Ashland
upgraded its WWTP for $33.6 million. The Oregon
Watershed Enhancement Board provided more than
$715,000 for restoration and watershed manage-
ment projects by the Jackson SWCD, the RVCOG
and the Bear Creek Watershed Council. Support
for irrigation system upgrades was provided by the
Bureau of Reclamation (more than $1.575 million)
and Talent and Medford irrigation districts (more than
$2.2 million). Landowners contributed more than
$1 million to support irrigation upgrades. ODEQ's
Water Resources Department provided more than
$430,000 in CWA section 319 funding to support a
variety of NPS pollution-reduction projects.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-11-001D
February 2011
For additional information contact:
Bill Meyers
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
541-776-6272 • meyers.bill@deq.state.or.us
HeatherTugaw
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
541-776-6091 • tugaw.heather@deq.state.or.us
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