Nonpoint Source Success Story Kentucky Implementing Management Practices Reduces Bacteria in Dix River

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ggi NONPOINT SOURCE SUCCESS STURY

Implementing Management Practices Reduces Bacteria in Dix Rivei
U/afprhnrh' ImnrnvpH A 3"mi'e se§ment Of the Dix River was listed on the 2008 Clean
Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list/Integrated Report as impaired
for primary contact recreation due to Escherichia coli bacteria. The Dix River Watershed Council
developed a watershed plan for the Dix River/Hanging Fork Creek watersheds in 2009, which led to
the hiring of a watershed coordinator, cooperation between partners and implementation of best
management practices (BMPs). Due to positive agency relationships and effective on-the-ground
projects, the ambient water quality improved. Monitoring data from 2010-2013 indicated that the
Dix River segment was meeting its water quality standards (WQS) for primary contact recreation use
for bacteria; therefore, it was removed from the impaired waters list in 2016.
Problem
The Dix River watershed, which drains portions of
Garrard, Lincoln, and Boyle counties, is a primary
tributary of the Kentucky River (Figure 1). it contains
two HUC12s that are the focus of this project: Boone
Creek-Dix River (051002050504) and Lower Hanging
Fork Creek (051002050503). The watershed is part of
the Outer Bluegrass physiographic region of central
Kentucky, which is characterized by rolling hills,
moderate-to-rapid surface runoff, and moderate rates
of subsurface drainage. This watershed is dominated
by agricultural land and includes fragmented forest
along stream and river corridors. Rural residences
are primarily served by septic systems that are often
situated in soils that are not best suited for on-site
wastewater treatment systems.
Data collected on the Dix River in 2006 showed that
E. coli bacteria levels exceeded the WQS and therefore
did not support the river's primary contact recreation
designated use. Monitoring for total maximum daily
load (TMDL) development in 2006 also lent evidence
that the Dix River segment was impaired for primary
contact recreation due to high levels of E. coli. As a
result, the Kentucky Division of Water (DOW) added
the segment (river miles 33.1 to 36.1) to the 2008 CWA
section 303(d) list. An inventory of the watershed indi-
cated that sources of the impairment included animal
feeding operations, livestock grazing, unrestricted
cattle access and on-site treatment systems. A TMDL
was completed in 2010 for this impaired segment of
the Dix River.
Backwaters of Herrignton Lake
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Dix River
Hanging Fork
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Delisted Segment GNIS Name HUC Name
Streams Dix River Boone Creek-Dix River
I 1 County Boundaries Han9in9 Fotk Creek C3 Lower Han9in9 Fork Creek
Figure 1. The Dix River and Hanging Fork Creek
watersheds are in central Kentucky.
Story Highlights
The 77-square-miie project area includes the Lower
Hanging Fork Creek and Dix River watersheds. The
Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the
Kentucky Division of Water (DOW) identified the need
for a water quality Clean Water Action Plan in the Dix
River watershed. A watershed plan was developed in
2009 for the Hanging Fork Creek watershed (a tribu-
tary to the Dix River). The Dix River Watershed Council

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E. coli Concentrations in Dix River
•WQS
130 MPN 100/mL
Sample Event
Figure 2. Partners installed stream fencing in the
watershed to restrict livestock access.
drove much of the planning and implementation of
the watershed plan, provided input into the TMDL
development, helped to identify funding opportunities
to install BMPs, and encouraged implementation of
remediation efforts identified in the watershed plan.
A CWA section 319(h) grant was awarded in 2011 to
the Lincoln County Conservation District to imple-
ment agriculture BMPs in the Hanging Fork watershed
and to promote educational activities to inform local
citizens and governments of the importance of water
quality. The partners installed winter feeding areas,
prepared new and revised nutrient management plans
for farm management, excluded cattle from streams
and planted riparian corridors along stream banks
(Figure 2). These grant funds were also used to hire a
watershed coordinator to serve as a project technical
adviser and to coordinate farm field days highlighting
effective BMPs throughout the watershed.
In 2012 a CWA section 319(h) grant was awarded
to Bluegrass Greensource to install and repair on-
site wastewater systems, and to hold workshops to
educate school managers and homeowners about
the relationship between septic systems and water
quality. Bacterial source tracking was conducted that
identified human waste from wastewater contribu-
tions. Targeted activities included educating septic
system owners about maintaining and replacing septic
systems as needed. Over the course of the restoration
effort, partners completed 17 heavy use area protec-
tion projects, 7,920 feet of fencing, and multiple onsite
wastewater treatment system projects (18 pump-outs,
325 repairs/maintenance, and 1,250 units converted to
centralized systems).
Figure 3. Ambient monitoring results for E. coli in
2010-2013 shows improvement.
Results
Water quality improved due to bacteria loading reduc-
tions achieved through implementation of agricultural,
onsite wastewater management, and educational
practices. Water quality results collected from the
ambient monitoring station from 2010-2013 (Figure 3)
showed full support of the designated use over four
consecutive years, with a geometric mean below the
standard of 130 most probable number per 100 mil-
liliters. Based on water quality assessments of E. coli
from 2010 to 2013, the Dix River segment downstream
of Hanging Fork Creek now fully supports its desig-
nated use for primary contact recreation; as a result,
DOW removed it from the impaired waters list in the
2016 Integrated Report.
Partners and Funding
Key partners in this watershed effort included the
NRCS, the Dix River Watershed Council, the city of
Danville, Bluegrass Greensource, the Kentucky Water
Resources Research Institute, Third Rock Consultants,
the Lincoln and Boyle county health departments
and conservation districts, the Herrington Lake
Conservation League, the Kentucky Division of
Conservation, and local producers and farmers.
Grants were awarded in 2011 and 2012 for proj-
ect work in the Dix River Watershed for a total of
$556,035 in CWA section 319(h) funds. Other funding
provided by partners totaled $247,757. From 2009 to
2016, the NRCS provided cost assistance through the
Environmental Quality incentives Program to farm-
ers for implementing agricultural BMPs for a total of
$192,779 in the two project watersheds.
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©
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-18-Q01QQ
November 2018
For additional information contact:
Lisa Hicks
Kentucky Division of Water
502-782-6972 • lisa.hicks@ky.gov

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