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NONPOINT SOURCE SUCCESS STORY
Agricultural Best Management Practice Implementation Reduces
Bacteria in Bayou de Chien
Waterbody Improved Bacteria concentrations exceeded water quality standards in
a segment of the Bayou de Chien (river miles 8.8 to 14.3), As a
result, the bayou segment was added to the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list as impaired
for primary contact recreation (PCR) due to fecal coliform bacteria. The source of the impairment
was listed as agricultural practices. Over 361 agricultural best management practices (BMPs) were
installed in the watershed immediately upstream of Bayou de Chien (in the Cane Creek watershed)
beginning in 2006. Monitoring data collected in 2007-2010 showed the stream met water quality
standards for bacteria; as a result, the impaired segment of Bayou de Chien was removed from the
CWA section 303(d) list in 2012.
Problem
The Bayou de Chien is in far western Kentucky and
flows into Obion Creek 1.3 miles above its confluence
with the Mississippi River (Figure 1). The watershed of
the Bayou de Chien covers nearly 210 square miles,
and contains five 12-digit hydrologic units (HUC 12s).
Two of these HUC 12s, the Middle Bayou de Chien
watershed (HUC 080102010404) and the Cane Creek
watershed (HUC 080102010402), contribute to the
bacteria loading in Bayou de Chien. Cane Creek is a
major tributary to Bayou de Chien, and merges with it
at river mile 14.3.
Kentucky's water quality standard for meeting primary
contact recreational use has two parts: the Escherichia
coli concentration as a geometric mean based on at
least five samples collected during a 30-day period
during PCR season must not exceed 130 colonies
per 100 milliliters of water (col/100 ml_); additionally,
E. coli concentrations cannot exceed 240 col/100 mL
in 20 percent or more of all samples taken during the
30-day period.
Kentucky has an ambient surface water monitor-
ing network. Data collected in 2006 at the ambient
station on Bayou de Chien showed an exceedance of
the water quality standard for fecal coliform bacteria.
As a result, Bayou de Chien was added to the 2006
CWA section 303(d) list for not meeting water quality
standards for PCR due to high levels of fecal coliform
bacteria. The suspected source identified by the
Figure 1. The Bayou de Chien and Cane Creek watersheds
are in western Kentucky.
section 303(d) list was agriculture. The 2008 water-
shed plan for Bayou de Chien and Cane Creek further
identified pollutants of eutrophication, siltation and
sedimentation due to agricultural runoff and the
removal/absence of streamside vegetation.
Project Highlights
The main focus of this project was in the Cane Creek
watershed (upstream of Bayou de Chien). Local
watershed group capacity and available funding from
the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) for
Cane Creek provided the resources to demonstrate
the improved water quality downstream in Bayou de
Chien.
enJProject Waters Ne*d$
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Bayou de Chien
Cane Creek
Legend
Restored Segment
¦ Not Surpporting

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E. Coli Concentrations in Bayou de Chien
_ 1200
o 1000
WQS
200
	 2005
2010
Figure 2. £. coli concentrations in Bayou de Chien met
t he water q ua I ity sta nd a rd i n 2010.
In 2005 a CVVA section 319(h) grant to develop a Cane
Creek and Bayou de Chien watershed plan was awarded
to the Jackson Purchase Resource Conservation and
Development (RC&D) Foundation, a nonprofit orga-
nization directed by key local community leaders and
focused on issues involving land conservation, water
management, environmental enhancement and com-
munity development. The RC&D also led the implemen-
tation of the watershed plan. The goal of the project
was to identify significant sources of pollution, develop
practical solutions, and prioritize projects for future
implementation for both impaired stream reaches and
also the unlisted sections of this watershed.
Over 361 agricultural practices were implemented
in the Cane Creek watershed. Practices that focused
on reducing the amount of bacteria in the water and
improving aquatic habitat included installing waste
storage facilities for livestock, installing grassed filter
strips and waterways, managing grazing and access
to streams for watering livestock, restoring wetlands
and planting cover crops, and adopting no-till residue
management on fields. These BMPs were implemented
through several voluntary NRCS programs.
The upper mile of Bayou de Chien on the impaired
segment is now managed as an Outstanding State
Resource Water (OSRW) in Kentucky. The entire Cane
Creek watershed is also designated as an OSRW. An
OSRW includes certain unique waters, including those
with federally threatened or endangered species. The
watershed's OSRW designation states that biological
collections have identified a federally endangered
species, the relict darter (endemic to Kentucky and
fo u nd o n ly i n th e Bayo u d e Ch ie n wate rsh ed). OSRWs
can have additional measures from water resource
uses that include more protective water quality
criteria. Although the Cane Creek and Bayou de Chien
watersheds are not currently targeted for additional
watershed improvement work, the OSRW designation
should offer more protection to both watersheds in
future management planning.
Results
Due to successes in reducing bacteria loadingthrough
implementation of on-the-ground practices in the
Cane Creek watershed, the Kentucky Division of Water
was a ble to delist the impa ired segment of Bayou
de Chien immediately below Cane Creek. Based on
a water quality data assessment of E. coli bacteria in
2010, the Bayou de Chien segment (river miles 8.8 to
14.3) now fully supports its designated use for PCR
(Figure 2). It was delisted in Kentucky's 2012 Integrated
Report to Congress.
Partners and Funding
Key partners included the NRCS, the Jackson Purchase
RC&D and the Four Rivers Watershed Basin Team. The
NRCS was the driving agency in the organization and
implementation of the agricultural BMPs, usingfund-
ing and technical resources from the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Reserve
Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, the
Conservation Technical Assistance Program, and the
Wetlands Reserve Program. The Jackson Purchase
RC&D is the facilitating group that employs the Four
Rivers Watershed Basin Team Coordinator. The coor-
dinator works on watershed wide initiatives, including
the grant that developed the Cane Creek and Bayou de
Chien watershed plan.
The CWA section 319(h) grant that supported the
watershed plan was $59,868; the match in nonfederal
dollars was $39,912. This includes the total amount
ove r t he co u rse of the proj ect fo r deve Iopme nt of the
watershed plan and coordinating with NRCS and the
Jackson Purchase RC&D.
&>*TAi

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-17-001P
September 2017
For additional information contact:
Lisa Hicks
Kentucky Division of Water
502-782-6972 • lisa.hicks@ky.gov

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