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(&z) NONPOINT SOIREE SICEESS STORY
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Implementing Agricultural Conservation Practices Improves jrbidity
Levels in Canadian Sandy Creek
Waterbody Improved Hrgh turbidity resulted in	of Canadian Sandy
'	Creek and placement on Oklahoma s Clean Water Act (CWA)
section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2008. Stormwater runoff, grazing and crop production
contributed to the impairments. Implementing conservation practice systems (CPs) to promote
better quality grazing land and cropland decreased sediment loading into the creek. As a result,
the entire length of Canadian Sandy Creek was removed from Oklahoma's 2010 CWA 303(d) list
for turbidity impairment. Canadian Sandy Creek is now in full attainment of its fish and wildlife
propagation beneficial use.
Problem
Canadian Sandy Creek is a 37.7-mile stream in Pontotoc
and Garvm counties in south-central Oklahoma (Figure
1). Land use in the 145,000-acre watershed is primarily
pasture and grasslands for cattle and hay produc-
tion. About a third of the watershed is forested, and
less than 5 percent is cropland for corn, soybeans
and wheat production. The town of Ada (population
17,000) is bisected by the watershed boundary in the
northeast corner of the watershed.
Development and poor grassland and cropland
management contributed to excess sedimentation in
Canadian Sandy Creek. It was listed as impaired for
turbidity in 2008 when 13 percent of samples col-
lected at seasonal baseflow exceeded the criterion
of 50 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). A stream
is considered impaired by turbidity if more than 10
percent of the seasonal base flow water samples
exceed 50 NTU (based on 5 years of data before the
assessment year).
On the basis of these assessment results, Oklahoma
added the entire length of Canadian Sandy Creek
(OK520600030010_00) to the 2008 CWA section
303(d) list for nonattainment of the fish and wildlife
propagation designated use due to turbidity impair-
ment. Canadian Sandy Creek was also listed in 2008 for
impairments to its primary body contact beneficial use
based on excessive Escherichia c.oii and Enterococcus
bacteria concentrations.
Figure 1. Canadian Sandy Creek is in southern Oklahoma.
Project Highlights
Landowners implemented CPs with assistance from
Oklahoma's Locally Led Cost-Share Program (LLCP) and
through Oklahoma's U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Environmental Quality incentives Program (EQIP) and
general conservation technical assistance program.
From 2007 to 2010, landowners installed CPs Includ-
ing 12,370 acres of prescribed grazing, 74.5 acres of
forage and biomass planting, 3,241 acres of nutrient
management, 4,742 acres of integrated pest manage-
ment (IPM), four grade stabilization structures, 315
acres of brush management, 25 ponds, one water well,
84 acres of wetland creation, 106 acres of wetland
restoration, 219 acres of wetland wildlife habitat

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Canadian Sandy Creek, Turbidity
13%	7%	0%	0%
exceedance exceedance	exceedance exceedance
70
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2008 2010	2014 2016
Figure 2. Monitoring data indicate that base flow
turbidity levels in Canadian Sandy Creek have declined.
management, 219 acres of access control, 219 acres
of riparian herbaceous cover, 11 acres of critical area
planting, 27,851 linear feet of cross-fencing, 209 acres
of prescribed burning, and 1,131 acres of upland
wildlife habitat management.
Landowners also implemented cropland CPs including
478.6 acres of residue and tillage management, 271
acres of irrigation water management, 263 acres of
prescribed grazing, 96 acres of nutrient management,
73 acres of IPM, 25.5 acres of forage and biomass
planting, 254.5 acres of forage harvest management,
and 25 acres of brush management.
Conservation work continues in the watershed
through EQIP, general technical assistance and the
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). CPs imple-
mented on cropland since 2010 include residue and
tillage management/reduced tillage on 442 acres,
7,622 linear feet of fencing on cropland, forage harvest
management on 140 acres, IPM on 11 acres, 21 acres
of nutrient management, two ponds, and improved
irrigation on 88 acres.
Additional CPs since 2010 on pasture and rangeland
include four grade stabilization structures, 23 acres of
forage and biomass planting, 124.1 acres of forage har-
vest management, 19,512 linear feet of cross-fencing,
14 acres of access control, 59 acres of heavy use area
protection, 251 acres of brush management, 3.6 acres
of critical area planting, 247 acres of herbaceous
weed control, 1,670 acres of IPM, 1,805 linear feet of
livestock pipeline, 61 acres of nutrient management,
516 acres of on-farm forage-based grazing systems, 12
ponds, 2,006 acres of supplement/feeding area rota-
tion, 1,517 acres of upland wildlife management, 1,271
acres of improved irrigation efficiency, one watering
well, 15 watering facilities, 22 acres of prescribed
burning, and 2,537 acres of prescribed grazing.
Results
Through its statewide nonpoint source ambient
monitoring program, the Oklahoma Conservation
Commission (OCC) documented improved water
quality in Canadian Sandy Creek due to landowners
implementing CPs. In the 2008 assessment, 13 percent
of seasonal base flow water samples exceeded the
turbidity criteria of 50 NTU. This exceedance was
reduced to 7 percent in the 2010 assessment (Figure
2). On the basis of these data, Canadian Sandy Creek
was removed from the Oklahoma CWA section 303(d)
list for turbidity in 2010, resulting in the full attain-
ment of its fish and wildlife propagation designated
use. Bacteria concentrations have also improved in
Canadian Sandy Creek. In 2016 the OCC is recommend-
ing that Canadian Sandy Creek be delisted for bacteria
impairments based on decreased concentrations of
indicator bacteria. Monitoring will continue to hope-
fully allow for documenting additional success in the
watershed.
Partners and Funding
The Rotating Basin Monitoring Program is supported
by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CWA
section 319 funds in part at a statewide average
annual cost of $1 million. Monitoring costs include
personnel, supplies and lab analysis for 18 param-
eters from samples collected every 5 weeks at about
100 sites, for a total of 20 episodes per 5-year cycle.
In-stream habitat, fish and macroinvertebrate samples
are also collected. Approximately $500,000 in EPA
CWA section 319 funding supports statewide educa-
tion, outreach and monitoring efforts through the Blue
Thumb program. The OCC LLCP provided $45,464 in
state funding for CPs in this watershed through the
Pontotoc and Garvin county conservation districts;
landowners contributed $81,616 in match. NRCS spent
approximately $650,000 to implement CPs in the
watershed through NRCS EQIP and CSP. Landowners
provided a significant percentage of funding toward CP
implementation in these programs as well.
^edsj^ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
0** Office of Water
^ Washington, DC
WJ
EPA 841-F-16-001N
pro^° August 2016
For additional information contact:
Shanon Phillips
Oklahoma Conservation Commission

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