/a\ Section319
NONPMNT SOURCE PRIGUM "SUCCESS STORY
mquMM,
Using a Watershed Approach Reduces Creeks Bacteria Levels
Waterbody Improved Higl?.level®of bacte,ria'ivest0,°k manura!ef,in9 an^f(a,iling
7 r	septic systems, ana wildlife caused a segment of lower Clifty
Creek to violate water quality standards. As a result, the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM) added an 8.12-mile-long segment of lower Clifty Creek to Indiana's 2002
Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for Escherichia coii bacteria.
Using CWA section 319 funds, project partners educated stakeholders about sound agricultural
management and installed best management practices (BMPs) throughout the watershed.
Data show that the lower Clifty Creek segment now meets water quality standards for bacteria,
prompting IDEM to propose removing the segment from the state's 2010 CWA section 303(d)
list of impaired waters.
Problem
Lower Clifty Creek (Figure 1) flows through south-
central Indiana in Bartholomew County, just south-
east of Columbus. Agriculture is the watershed's
primary land use. Two small streams, Sloan Branch
and an unnamed tributary from Suhre Lake, contrib-
ute flow to Clifty Creek, which in turn empties into
the East Fork White River.
In 2002 IDEM assessed waterbodies in south-
central Indiana to identify which were impaired for
bacteria and would require a total maximum daily
load (TMDL) report. Samples collected on lower
Clifty Creek had levels of £ coli that exceeded both
the single sample and geometric mean water qual-
ity standards for bacteria, prompting iDEM to add
an 8.12-mile-long segment to the 2002 CWA section
303(d) list of impaired waters.
IDEM identified nonpoint source runoff as the main
contributor of E. coli Key bacteria sources in the
watershed include manure spread on pastures and
crops, livestock, leaking and failing septic systems,
and wildlife. Potential point sources of E. coli in
the basins include three small community waste-
water treatment plants; however, the plants have
no history of violations, further supporting IDEM's
assertion that nonpoint sources caused the E. coli
impairments in lower Clifty Creek.
Project Highlights
IDEM used CWA section 319 funds to support
three projects in the greater Clifty Creek watershed
between 2003 and 2009. Watershed stakeholders
worked with local and state agencies to develop a
Figure 1. Clifty Creek is in south-central Indiana.
comprehensive watershed management plan, iden-
tify critical areas and needed actions, and target
resources necessary to install BMPs designed to
improve water quality.
Landowners implemented BMPs on almost 10 per-
cent of the surface area of the Lower Clifty Creek
subwatershed (Figure 2). BMPs include adopting
prescribed grazing, planting pasture and hayland
areas, adding heavy use area protection for live-
stock, adopting residue management using no-till
and green manure crop cover, installing alternate
watering facilities, and excluding livestock from
stream using fencing and stream crossings. In addi-
tion, several farmers developed and implemented
nutrient management plans for their operations.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),
working with SWCDs and the watershed project,

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I I Cliftv Creek
I IHUC 12 Sub-V\fetersheds
2002 E. coli Listing
CLIFTY CREEK WATERSHED
I I County Boundaries
Shelby
HUC 0512020601
X 319 Project QAPP Sites
A 03364650 USGS1
AIMS E. coli Sampling Site
Single Sample >235
Figure 2. Monitoring stations and CWA section-319 funded BMPs
in the Clifty Creek watershed.
provided general technical support to produc-
ers managing more than 106,000 acres in the
larger Clifty Creek watershed from 2003 through
2009. Additionally, NRCS's Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP) supported water qual-
ity improvement projects on 46,729 acres, which
included nutrient management plans covering 15,562
acres, pest management plans for 13,701 acres, and
8,745 acres of residue management. Also, farmers
used NRCS's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
to create 54 acres of riparian zones, 185 acres of
grassed waterways, and 152 acres in filter strips.
Results
IDEM reassessed the water quality in the larger
Clifty Creek watershed in 2007. Data show that
bacteria levels dropped in the creek and that a
TMDL was no longer needed. The geometric mean
of five samples collected in 2007 was 67.58 most
probable number (MPN) E. coli colonies per 100 mil-
liliters—well below the water quality standard,
which requires E. coli levels to be less than 125
M PN. The 2007 data show that E. coli levels have
dropped by 67 percent when compared to data
collected in 2002 (the geometric mean in 2002
was 205 MPN). Furthermore, data collected by the
U.S. Geological Survey at a fixed station site in the
watershed in 2007 support the conclusion that the
lower creek segment meets the bacteria water qual-
ity standard On the basis of that information, IDEM
has proposed to remove the 8.12-mile segment of
Clifty Creek from the 2010 CWA section 303(d) list
of impaired waters.
Partners and Funding
The Bartholomew County Soil and Water
Conservation District (SWCD) worked closely with
the Decatur County SWCD, the NRCS regional
conservation staff, and a number of local and state
partners including the Indiana Department of Natural
Resources; Indiana State Department of Agriculture;
Hope Hardwoods; Bartholomew County Cattleman's
Association; Strand Associates; Bartholomew
County and Decatur County health departments;
kidsCommons Children's Museum; Hoosier River
Watch; Indiana Project WET; Southside, Rockcreek
and LF Smith Elementary Schools; Columbus East
High School; Sand Creek Watershed Project; Friends
of the Muscatatuck River Society; Indiana-Purdue
University Columbus; and Columbus City Utilities.
Partners contributed resources to support education
and outreach to stakeholders, water quality monitor-
ing, and technical support for installing BMPs.
Considerable funds and technical resources
have been focused within the larger Clifty Creek
watershed. The Bartholomew County SWCD used
$1,088,175 In CWA section 319 grant funds (with
an additional $532,742 contributed as local match)
to support the 2003 project to develop the Clifty
Creek Watershed Plan. These funds also supported
projects in 2005 and 2007 to implement the plan by
installing BMPs, coordinating with other partners'
water quality improvement activities, and perform-
ing outreach and education activities.
The Decatur County SWCD received $70,000 in
Clean Water Indiana grants and approximately
$18,000 in Emergency Conservation Assistance
Program grants from the Indiana State Department
of Agriculture for water quality improvement
projects. The Bartholomew County SWCD received
$70,000 in Clean Water Indiana grants and
approximately $87,400 in Emergency Conservation
Assistance Program grants for similar projects. The
NRCS worked with the SWCDs and other partners
to help landowners implement BMPs using EQiP
and CRP funds.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841 F 11 0011
February 2011
For additional information contact:
Andrew Pelloso
Chief, NPS/TMDL Section, Office of Water Quality
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
317-233-2481 • apelloso@idem.in.gov

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