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Section 319

NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
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Watershed Partnership Restores River
Montana
	——7
South 1
- Dakota
Wyoming

WotprhnHipc; Imnrnvprl Stream entrenchment and bank failure caused excess
"	sediment to enter the Belle Fourche River, prompting South
Dakota to add two segments of the river to its 2002 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of
impaired waters for elevated total suspended solids (TSS). The Belle Fourche River Watershed
Partnership led efforts to restore riparian grazing areas and reduce the volume of unused irriga-
tion water returning to the river, both of which reduced the amount of sediment entering the
river. Water quality has improved and standards are now being met. South Dakota removed both
segments of the Belle Fourche River from the 2008 CWA section 303(d) list for TSS.
Problem
The South Dakota portion of the Belle Fourche
River watershed (Figure 1) drains parts of Butte,
Lawrence and Meade counties. The river flows
eastward into the Cheyenne River and ultimately
to the Missouri River. Land use in the watershed
is primarily livestock grazing with some cropland
and a few urban and suburban areas. Data show
that elevated levels of sediment in the river were
causing TSS levels to exceed the water quality
standard of 158 milligrams per liter (mg/L) TSS daily
maximum. Therefore, South Dakota added two seg-
ments of the Belle Fourche River—a 23-mile-long
segment from near Fruitdale to Whitewood Creek
and a 17-mile-long segment from Whitewood Creek
to Willow Creek—to the 2002 CWA section 303(d)
list of impaired waters.
In April 2001, the Belle Fourche River Watershed
Partnership, a volunteer group of local people and
organizations dedicated to the enhancement of
the Belle Fourche River watershed, launched an
assessment project to determine the total maxi-
mum daily load (TMDL) for TSS in the Belle Fourche
River. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) approved the final TMDL in 2005.
The primary contributors of TSS, as identified in the
TMDL, included a large volume of unused irrigation
water that was discharged to the natural water-
ways, natural bank sloughing and impaired riparian
habitat. Most of the irrigation in the Belle Fourche
is done through surface application, which floods
the fields and can result in high volumes of unused
water returning to the river (runoff) carrying a large
amount of suspended solids (sediment).
The TMDL indicated that irrigation and the return
flow of unused irrigation water were responsible
I—r
-i—i—|—r
120 240
"i—i	1
480 Miles
Figure 1. The Belle Fourche River watershed drains
portions of northeastern Wyoming and western
South Dakota.
for approximately 20 percent of the TSS in the Belle
Fourche River system; stream entrenchment and
bank failure were responsible for another 75 percent
of the TSS. The TMDL attributed the remaining
5 percent of the TSS load to the river to rangeland
and riparian area erosion.
Project Highlights
In 2004 the Partnership adopted a watershed
approach to implement the Belle Fourche River
TMDL. To target the best management practices
(BMPs) recommended by the TMDL, the Partnership
developed the Ten-Year Belle Fourche River
Watershed Strategic Implementation Plan and the
Five-Year Belle Fourche Irrigation District Water
Conservation Plan. The plans focus on improving the
conveyance efficiency of irrigation, modifying on-
farm delivery of irrigation waters, restoring riparian
rangeland areas, and emphasizing public outreach.

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The Partnership worked with producers to com-
plete numerous projects within the near-Fruitdale
to Whitewood Creek portion of the Belle Fourche
River watershed, including rehabilitating 2,000
acres of riparian grazing land and improving
Irrigation efficiency. The partners implemented
canal automation, developed a canal operational
model, updated the water card/billing system, and
lined open cannels
and laterals within the
Belle Fourche Irrigation
District. These projects
increased irrigation
delivery efficiency
dramatically (estimated
at more than 10 per-
cent) and improved the
understanding of how
the system operates
as a whole. Partners
installed nine center-
pivot irrigation systems
Figure 2. Landowners installed center- to replace the existing
pivot irrigation systems such as this one flood irrigation prac-
in the Belle Fourche Irrigation District tices (Figure 2).
2008 Delistei
Segments
Legend
Whitewood Creek to Willow Creek
— Near Fruitdale to Whitewood Creek
Belle Fourche Reservior
C3 Belle Fourche Watershed
Belle Fourche River
Created by: J. Oswald
Date: 3/29/11
MXD: Totallmplementationl
Results
Improving the efficiency of irrigation systems has
significantly reduced the amount of sediment-
laden water returned to the river and its tributaries.
Providing off-stream water supply for iivestock and
managed grazing alternatives has also improved the
surface water quality by trapping sediments before
they can enter the stream.
Recent water quality monitoring data show that both
previously impaired segments of the Belle Fourche
River now meet the TSS water quality standard,
which requires that TSS levels be less than 158 mg/L
(Table 1). As a result, South Dakota removed the
segments from its CWA section 303(d) list in 2008
(Figure 3).
Table 1. Recent water quality monitoring
results for the Belle Fourche River
2005-2007)
Monitoring Station Location
Mean TSS
Level (mg/L)
Near Fruitdale to Whitewood Creek
29.0
Whitewood Creek to Willow Creek
18.3
Figure 3. Two segments are delisted within the South
Dakota portion of the Belle Fourche River watershed.
Partners and Funding
The success of the project is largely a result of
the participation of the following local, state and
federal agencies and organizations: Butte and
Lawrence County Conservation District, Elk Creek
Conservation District, South Dakota Conservation
Commission, South Dakota Department of
Agriculture, South Dakota Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, South Dakota
Game Fish and Parks, South Dakota Grassland
Coalition, South Dakota School of Mines and
Technology, South Dakota State University,
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, EPA, U.S. Geological
Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming
Department of Environmental Quality.
The Partnership and its collaborators are in their
sixth year of implementing projects in the South
Dakota portion of the watershed. To date, approxi-
mately $14.3 million from several local, state and
federal sources has supported watershed rehabilita-
tion efforts. Of that total amount, approximately
$3.7 million was granted from EPA CWA section
319 funds through the South Dakota Department
of Environment and Natural Resources, $6.0 million
came from local participants, and $4.6 million was
secured from other federal sources.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841 -F-11 -001Y
April 2011
For additional information contact:
Alfred Basile
U.S. EPA Region 8
303-312-6551 • basile.alfred@epa.gov
Pete Jahraus
South Dakota Dept. of Natural Resources
Pete.jahraus@state.sd.us • 605-773-5623

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