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Water quality assessments conducted in 2006 iden-
tified agricultural land uses as the major sources of
pollutants in the watershed. DENR finalized a TSS
total maximum daily load (TMDL) for Choteau Creek
in 2010. The TMDL identified upland erosion, as well
as streambed and stream bank erosion, as nonpoint
sources contributing to TSS impairment. The TMDL
noted that these and other factors, including poorly
designed road crossings and agricultural pres-
sures in and around the creek, likely contributed to
degraded channel stability conditions in the lower
portions of Choteau Creek.
Results
Project Highlights
in 2006 the Randall RC&D led the first phase of the
Lewis and Clark Lake Watershed Project to restore
the beneficial uses of watersheds surrounding
the lake (including Choteau Creek watershed) by
implementing BMPs to address sediment, nutrients
and fecal coliform bacteria. Project coordinators
were managed through an agreement between the
Randall RC&D and the South Dakota Association
of Conservation Districts. The coordinators, who
supervised the overall implementation of the
multiyear project, were supported by CWA sec-
tion 319 funds and worked out of the local U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCSj office. In 2007 project
partners formed a steering committee, composed
of representatives from 11 conservation districts and
federal and state sponsoring agencies, to help target
financial and technical assistance resources to guide
BMP implementation.
Project partners organized local agricultural produc-
er meetings and workshops, and they distributed
educational materials to promote project aware-
ness and to provide producers with information
on resources available to support BMP design and
installation. USDA NRCS staff partnered closely
with local conservation districts to provide technical
assistance for designing and installing BMPs,
Between 2006 and 2011, project partners worked
with local producers in Choteau Creek watershed
to implement a number of agricultural BMPs (see
Figure 1), including four animal waste manage-
ment systems, more than 1,500 acres of grazing
management, and 3,200 linear feet of livestock
exclusion and riparian restoration and protection
(Figure 2). Landowners also implemented more than
8,000 acres of cropland BMPs that help reduce soil
erosion, including critical area planting, cropland
filter strips, cropland conversion to permanent grass
cover, and grassed waterways (Figure 3),
DO sampling conducted in
Choteau Creek in 2006 and 2007
showed a high of 13,8 mg/L, a
low of 7.6 mg/L, and an average
of 10.2 mg/L, indicating that the
creek now meets the DO criterion
necessary to support its warm-
water, semi-permanent fish life
propagation designated use. TSS
sampling collected from 2009 to
2011 showed a high of 684 mg/L,
a low of 3 mg/L. and an average
of 84 mg/L. Less than 10 percent
of the TSS samples exceeded
158 mg/L, indicating that Choteau
Creek also meets the TSS criterion
to support its use. On the basis
of these data, DENR removed the
42-rnile-long segment of Choteau
Creek from its impaired waters list
for DO (2008) and TSS (2012).
Figure 2. Landowners
restored riparian areas to
filter runoff and prevent
erosion.
Figure 3. Landowners
installed grassed waterways
to filter runoff.
Modeling results indicate
that agricultural BMPs imple-
mented in the watershed should
yield the following annual loading reductions:
226,620 pounds of nitrogen, 37,407 pounds of
phosphorus and 22,453 tons of sediment. In the
next phase of the project, partners will continue
implementing BMPs throughout the watershed.
Partners and Funding
The project's success is largely attributed to
coordination between the local, state and federal
agencies and organizations, including the Randall
RC&D; Gregory, Hamiil, Clearfield/Keyapaha,
Todd, Aurora, Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Davison,
Douglas, Hutchinson, and Yankton conservation
districts; South Dakota Conservation Commission;
South Dakota Department of Agriculture; South
Dakota DENR, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks;
USDA NRCS; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A total of $1,699,800 in CWA section 319 funds
supported technical assistance and training for
water quality sampling, project management and
BMP implementation. South Dakota, the State
Conservation Commission, and watershed land-
owners provided cash and in-kind matching funds
totaling $1,671,872. USDA provided technical
and financial assistance (including $1,024,039 in
Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds) to
implement BMPs.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-13-001D
January 2013
For additional information contact:
Pete Jahraus, South Dakota Dept. of Natural Resources
pete.jahraus@state.sd.us • 605-773-5623
Alfred Basile, U.S. EPA Region 8
basile.alfred@epa.gov • 303-312-6551
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