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Recreational Use Attained By Implementing Best Management
Practices and Targeted Technical Assistance in the Thirty Mile
Creek Watershed
yVqfprhnrk/ ImnrnvpH A 20-07-mile segment of Thirty Mile Creek was first listed in
North Dakota's 2002 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of
impaired waters for recreational use due to fecal coliform bacteria. With the implementation of a
watershed/water quality improvement project, best management practices (BMPs) were installed to
improve livestock manure management. Subsequently, bacteria levels declined in the listed segment
(ND-10130204-017-S_00) of Thirty Mile Creek, prompting the North Dakota Department of Health
(NDDoH) to remove it from the impaired waters list in the 2016 Integrated Report.
Problem
The Thirty Mile Creek watershed is a 164,899-acre
watershed in Stark, Hettinger and Grant counties in
southwestern North Dakota. It is a subwatershed
of the larger Lower Missouri River watershed. The
listed segment of concern stretches from Tributary
Watershed (ND-10130204-019-S_00) downstream to
its confluence with Spring Creek in Hettinger County
(Figure 1).
In 2001 the Slope-Hettinger Soil Conservation District
(SCD), along with the NDDoH, initiated a project to
assess water quality and land use conditions within the
Upper Cannonball Watershed, which includes Thirty
Mile Creek. Throughout the recreation season, the
Slope-Hettinger SCD collected samples at the STORET
monitoring site below the listed segment throughout
the recreation season and analyzed them for fecal
coliform bacteria.
Water quality results indicated elevated total fecal
coliform bacteria levels, prompting NDDoH to include
a 20.07-mile segment of Thirty Mile Creek on North
Dakota's 2002 Clean Water Act section 303(d) list of
impaired waters for recreational use. From the water
quality data analyses, the SCD determined that the
land use practices and potential sources of NPS pol-
lution include pasture/rangeland, degraded riparian
areas, and livestock concentration areas in close
proximity to the river. The SCD's analyses also indi-
cated that water quality degradation could be slowed
1050
Thirty Mile Creek
	 Thirty Mile Creek and its Tributaries
I I 12-Digit HUC 101302040503
Figure 1. The Thirty Mile Creek watershed is in
southwestern North Dakota.
or reversed through positive changes in land manage-
ment and by implementing BMPs.
Project Highlights
In 2006 the Slope-Hettinger SCD developed a water-
shed project implementation plan. The plan identified
beneficial use improvement and pollutant reduction
goals, specific activities for accomplishing these goals,
and a method for evaluating progress. The plan tar-
geted conservation planning assistance and voluntary
implementation of BMPs in the riparian corridor.
The Slope-Hettinger SCD and its partners established
a long-term project goal to restore the recreational

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Table 1. 2011E. coli bacteria geometric mean data for Thirty
Mile Creek sampling site 385050.
Sampling Date
May 2011
Jun 2011
Jul 2011
Aug 2011
Number of samples
10
9
8
9
Geometric mean
29
66
62
51
Percent exceeding
409 CFU/100 mL*
0%
0%
0%
0%
Use attainment
Full support
Fuii support
Fuil support
Full support
Figure 2. Livestock alternative water source.
The E. coli bacteria water quality standard require that geometric mean
concentrations must remain less than 126 CFU/100 mL, and no more than 10 percent
of the samples may exceed 409 CFU/100 ml_.
uses of the impaired reach of the Thirty Miie Creek to
fuiiy supporting status. To support recreational use,
fecal coliform bacteria concentrations at established
monitoring sites must be reduced to an annual geo-
metric mean of less than 200 colony-forming units per
100 milliliters of water (CFU/100 mL), with less than
10 percent of the samples exceeding 400 CFU/100
mL. Approximately midway through the project, the
NDDoH transitioned to Escherichia coli bacteria sam-
pling. The standards for E. coli bacteria require that
geometric mean concentrations must remain less than
126 CFU/100 mL, and no more than 10 percent of the
samples may exceed 409 CFU/100 mL.
Objectives created to effectively deliver and imple-
ment the project included informing and educating all
residents within the Upper Cannonball Watershed on
water quality topics related to manure management.
Specific CWA section 319 practices implemented in
the Thirty Mile Creek watershed as part of this project
effort included 5,700 linear feet (ft) of fencing; 28,651
linear ft of pipeline; 1,545 acres of prescribed grazing;
17 acres of use exclusion; two wells; and two full-
containment livestock waste management systems
(Figure 2).
In addition to the practices implemented through the
watershed project, numerous practices were planned
and installed in cooperation with the local district
conservationist using Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP) funding. These Included 5 acres of
critical area planting; 480 cubic yards (cu yds) of dike;
2,361 cu yds of diversion; 1,140 linear ft of fencing;
15,738 cu yds of heavy use protection; 450 linear ft
of manure transfer; 600,000 gallons of manure for
nutrient management (liquid); 2,918 tons of manure
for nutrient management (solid); three obstruction
removals; 50 linear ft of pipeline; 5,634 cu yds of pond
seaiing/lining/clay; 181 iinear ft of roof runoff struc-
ture; 15 cu yds of solid waste separator facility; 940
linear ft of tree planting; 17,074 of underground outlet;
10,552 cu yds waste storage facility; and 5,100 tons
waste utilization.
Results
As a result of BMP implementation, water quality has
improved in the Thirty Mile Creek listed segment.
Water quality data (Table 1) show improved E. coli bac-
teria results that allowed the NDDoH to delist segment
ND-10130204-017-S_00 in the 2016 Integrated Report.
Partners and Funding
The Slope-Hettinger SCD led the watershed assess-
ment and the development of the Thirty Mile Creek
watershed project implementation plan. The SCD
hired staff to assist producers in the watershed with
the development of contracts and delivery of techni-
cal assistance for BMP implementation. In addition,
project staff worked closely with partners at the
federal, state and local levels to achieve the goal of the
watershed Implementation project.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted
$380,622 in CWA section 319 funds, which were
matched by $253,748 in local funds. Most of the local
nonfederal match ($175,050) was provided by agri-
cultural producers participating in the project. The
NDDoH provided oversight for project management,
developed the quality assurance project pian, conduct-
ed training for proper water quality sample collection,
and helped develop and implement information and
education activities.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
W .1
^ EPA 841-F-17-001DD
pRo*t^° December 2017
For additional information contact:
Jim Collins, 701-328-5161 • jcollins@nd.gov
Pam Meier, 701-824-3218 • pamela.meier@nd.nacdnet.net
Eric Steinhaus, 303-312-6837 • steinhaus.eric@epa.gov

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