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NONPOINT SOURCE SUCCESS STORY
Tennessee
Habitat Restoration and Agricultural Best Management Practices Aid
in Returning Rutherford Creek to Fully Supporting Status
Waterbody Improved
Rutherford Creek was added to Tennessee's 1996 Clean Water
Act (CWA) section 303(d) list for impairment from inorganics and
siltation due to major industrial point source and surface mining. In 2012, the causes and sources
of pollution in Rutherford Creek was amended to loss of biological integrity due to siltation,
nitrate+nitrate, and total phosphorus from pasture grazing and discharges from municipal separate
storm sewer (MS4) areas. From 2002 to 2018, partners implemented habitat restoration practices
and agricultural best management practices (BMPs), which improved water quality. As a result,
a 12.5-mile segment of Rutherford Creek was removed from the 2016 impaired waters list for all
sources and causes.
Problem
Rutherford Creek (TN06040003034 - 3000; for-
merly listed as TN06040003034 - 2000 and 3000,
TN06040003034 - 2000, and TN06040003034)
is within the Rutherford Creek Lower watershed
(060400030201), in Maury and Williamson counties,
Tennessee (Figure 1). Recreational paddlers enjoy
Rutherford Creek's Class II and III rapids. The primary
land cover in the Rutherford Creek Lower watershed is
pasture and hay; however, both Maury and Williamson
counties experienced significant population growth
between 2010 and 2017 (13.9 percent and 23.5
percent, respectively), resulting in increased pressure
from urbanization.
On Tennessee's 1996 CWA section 303(d) list,
Rutherford Creek was identified as impacted by
inorganics and siltation from major industrial point
sources and surface mining sources. By 2012, TDEC
had amended the causes and sources of pollution on
Rutherford Creek to be a loss of biological integrity
due to siltation, nitrate+nitrite, and total phospho-
rus due to pasture grazing and discharges from an
MS4 area. In 1999 the Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation (TDEC) conducted a
habitat assessment of Rutherford Creek and recorded
a habitat score of 111 (114 being the minimum allow-
able score for meeting state criteria in ecoregion 71i).
During 2003 sampling, the habitat score had fallen to
95. In 2005 TDEC completed a total maximum daily
load (TMDL) for siltation and habitat alteration for
Figure 1. Map of Rutherford Creek (TN06040003034 - 3000)
within the Rutherford Creek Lower watershed.
the Lower Duck River watershed (06030001), which
includes Rutherford Creek. A goal of the TMDL was to
reduce the overall siltation ioad on Rutherford Creek
by 32.7 percent to improve aquatic habitat.
Story Highlights
In 2004 the Tennessee Scenic River Association (TSRA)
was awarded a CWA section 319 grant for restoration
efforts along Rutherford and McCutcheon creeks and
their tributaries (see Figure 2). The TSRA assisted with
the implementation of six riparian forest buffers and
one streambank protection project. The Tennessee
Legend
f I County Boundaries
Rutherford Creek
I ! Lower Rutherford Creek Basin/
HUC12
*	319 BMPs*	^
•	ARCF BMPs*
Impaired
Supporting
Not Assessed
Total Expenditures (Cost-Share)
for Best Management Practices
Section 319
$125,272

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Habitat Score in Rutherford Creek
Figure 2. Partners established a riparian forest buffer
in Jerry Erwin Park (left bank) along McCutcheon
Creek, a tributary to Rutherford Creek.
Environmental Council (TEC) was awarded three CWA
section 319 grants between 2006 and 2013 to imple-
ment BMPs along Rutherford Creek and its headwa-
ters. Practices implemented by TEC include three rain
gardens, two channel bank stabilizations, 19 riparian
forest buffers, one stream habitat improvement and
management project, 20 streambank protection
projects, and two tree plantings.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture's (TDA's)
Agricultural Resources Conservation Fund (ARCF)
program has supported the implementation of 29 agri-
cultural BMPs along Rutherford Creek and its tributar-
ies, including fencing, heavy use areas, and cropland
conversion, among others.
Results
Habitat assessments performed by TDEC in 1999 and
2003 indicated that Rutherford Creek was failing to
meet water quality standards (habitat scores of 111
and 95, respectively, with 114 being the minimum
allowable score for meeting state criteria). Sampling
was performed in September 2014 and October 2015
by Development & Environmental Planning Associates,
LLC (DEPA) on behalf of the city of Spring Hill as a per-
mit requirement for the Spring Hill Sewage Treatment
Plant. During the September 2014 sampling event,
DEPA recorded that Rutherford Creek had a habitat
score of 137 and 142; DEPA's October 2015 sampling
event indicated a habitat score of 138.
As a result of the 2014 and 2015 habitat assessments,
Rutherford Creek in the Lower Rutherford Creek
watershed was removed from the impaired waters list

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1999
2004	2009
Sampling Year
2014
Habitat Score*
• Target Habitat
Score
Linear (Habitat
Score*)
* Habitat scores noted may differ from DEPA report due to TDEC corrections
upon review.
Figure 3. The habitat score in Rutherford Creek has
improved over time.
in 2016. This portion of Rutherford Creek now fully
supports all designated uses (Figure 3).
Partners and Funding
The TSRA was awarded a CWA section 319 grant total-
ing $22,500 in fiscal year (FY) 2003, with approximately
$9,317 provided as cost-share for projects within
the Lower Rutherford Creek watershed. The TEC has
received three CWA section 319 grants in phases in
FY2006, FY2010 and FY2013 for $150,000, $50,000
and $105,000, respectively. In total, TEC provided
$115,955 in cost-share assistance for practices along
Rutherford Creek and its tributaries. Key partners
with TSRA and TEC included the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service
(USDA NRCS), the soil conservation districts (SCDs) in
Maury and Williamson counties; Saturn Corporation
(now General Motors Company); Tennessee Wildlife
Resources Agency, and the city of Spring Hill.
Partners that worked with TDA to install BMPs
through ARCF Included USDA NRCS and the Maury
and Williamson county SCDs. To date, the Tennessee's
ARCF has contributed $31,588 in cost-share assistance
to implement agricultural BMPs in this watershed.
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PRO^°
s
©
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-18-001X
October 2018
For additional information contact:
Sam Marshall
Tennessee Department of Agriculture
615-837-5306 • Sam.Marshall@tn.gov

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