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Section 319
PINPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Dcuth & fire hn d
Implementing Best Management Practices and Upgrading Wastewater
Infrastructure Improves Water Quality
Waterbodies Improved
In the Cane Creek and Little Cane Creek watersheds, urban
and agricultural runoff and aging wastewater infrastructure
had increased levels of fecal coliform bacteria, prompting the state to add two sites to
the 1998 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for fecal coliform.
Project partners worked to reduce fecal coliform counts in the two watersheds by installing
agricultural best management practices (BMPs), repairing on-site wastewater treatment
systems, and inspecting and replacing the wastewater infrastructure. According to an
assessment in the year after implementing the project, two sites in the watersheds now
meet South Carolina's water quality standards for fecal coliform.
Problem
The watersheds of Cane and Little Cane Creeks
are in Oconee County, in the foothills of the Blue
Ridge Mountains of northwestern South Carolina.
Little Cane Creek is a tributary of Cane Creek, which
;lows into Lake Keowee. Most of Walhalla and
West Union fall in the Cane Creek watershed. The
15.3-square-mile Cane Creek watershed is largely
forested (76 percent), but it has some urban area
(11 percent) and pasture and cropland (11 percent),
The 13.9-square-mile Little Cane Creek watershed
is even more forested (90 percent), with some
pasture and cropland (9 percent).
Nonpoint source pollutants were determined to be
the predominant cause for the fecai coliform impair-
ment in both watersheds. The most probable sources
of fecal coliform bacteria common to both creeks
were runoff from agricultural lands, failing septic
systems and wild animals. However, in Cane Creek,
local residents helped identify urban runoff along with
sewer overflows and leaks from an aging wastewater
system (Figures 1 and 2) as contributors to the fecal
coliform load.
Monitoring data revealed that fecal coliform counts
violated the portion of the water quality standard
that requires that no more than 10 percent of sam-
ples exceed an instantaneous 400 colony-forming
units (cfu) per 100 m i 11L iters (mL). As a result, the
state placed two sites in the Cane and Little Cane
Creek watersheds on the 1998 CWA section 303(d)
Project Highlights
To meet the designated water quality standard
and the load allocation in the approved TMDL,
the goal of this project was to significantly lower
fecal coliform bacteria levels in the Cane and Little
Cane Creek watersheds. FOLKS worked with the
local agricultural extension agent, Cattlemen's
Association and local septic contractors to provide
landowners with information on fecal coiiform
Figures 1 and 2. Manholes
like this one in a park
adjacent to Cane Creek
would routinely overflow
and spill raw sewage during
rain events.
list of impaired waters for
fecal coliform. A total maxi-
mum daily load (TMDL) for
fecal coliform was approved
in May 2005 for the two
water quality monitoring
sites and their associated
watersheds. In February 2006, CWA section 319
funding was awarded to the Friends of Lake Keowee
Society (FOLKS) to lead a three-year effort to imple-
ment watershed-based plans for both creeks.

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Cane Creek SV-342
Little Cane Creek SV-343
Before and
during project
After project
Before and
during project
After project
Number of
samples
129
48
90
91
Number of
samples >
400 cfu/100 mL
(# exceeding)
21
4
31
5
Percent of
samples >
400 cfu/100 mL
(% exceedinq)
16.28%
8:33%
34.44%
9.80%
Results
SCDHEC monitored the fecal coliform bacteria
levels in Cane and Little Cane creeks for the life
of the implementation project, plus one additional
year. Monitoring data at two sites in the watersheds
indicate that water quality standards for fecal
coliform (no more than 10 percent of samples may
exceed an instantaneous 400 cfu/100 mL) are now
being met as a result of the project.
At SV-342 (Cane Creek), of the 48 samples collected
in the year after the project ended, only 4 exceeded
the water quality standard. That represents 8.33
percent of the samples. At SV-343 (Little Cane
Creek), only 5 of 51 samples, or 9,80 percent,
exceeded the standard (Table 1). On the basis of
the data collected the year after implementing the
project, two sites in Cane and Little Cane Creek
watersheds now meet South Carolina's water qual-
ity standards for fecal coliform.
Table 1. SCDHEC fecal coliform bacteria data
summary for Cane arid Little Cane creeks
Figure 4. A local
Boy Scout troop
coordinated an
effort to identify
and stencil the
storm drains with a
picture of a fish and
the words "Dump
No Waste. Drains
to Cane Creek and
Lake Keowee."
bacteria and BMPs that could help improve water
quality. Cost-share assistance was provided to
participating landowners for all BMPs.
BMPs implemented as a result of this project
include 17 alternate watering sources (Figure
3), 2,680 feet of pipeline to supply water to the
alternative watering sources, 15 protected heavy
use areas, 18 on-site wastewater treatment sys-
tems and 6,933 feet of exclusion fencing (excluding
65 cattle and 85 goats). In addition, FOLKS worked
with a local Boy Scout Troop to mark storm drains in
the urbanized portion of the watersheds (Figure 4).
Figure 3.
Landowners
installed 17 alternate
water sources like
this one to provide
clean, fresh water
for cattle excluded
from Cane Creek.
In addition to implementing BMPs using CWA sec-
tion 319 grant funds, FOLKS worked with Walhalla
to identify and repair problems with its wastewater
collection system. Local residents notified FOLKS
about manhole covers that allowed sewer overflows
during severe storms. FOLKS worked with city
and the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (SCDHEC) staff to identify
and correct the problems. Extensive investigation
uncovered broken sewer iines and missing or over-
flowing manholes that were, in some cases, putting
untreated wastewater directly into Cane Creek.
Thanks to the effort, project partners replaced
500 feet of damaged collection line and installed
12 bolted-down manhole covers.
Partners and Funding
The project received $266,495 in U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency section 319
funding and a nonfederal match of $174,009
provided by landowners and project partners.
Participating partners included SCDHEC; FOLKS;
Oconee County Soil and Water District; Oconee
County Natural Resource Conservation Service;
Clemson University; Oconee County Cattlemen's
Association; Oconee County; Keep Oconee
Beautiful Association; Walhaila Police Department;
ENTFilX, Inc.; Walhalla; and local residents.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841 -F-11 -001A
February 2011
For additional information contact:
Meredith Murphy
South Carolina Nonpoint Source Coordinator
DHEC Bureau of Water
murphyrnb@dhec.sc.gov • 803-898-4222

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