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Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Indifrnd
Implementing Best Management Practices and Conducting Education and
Outreach Restores Jenkins Ditch
Waterbody Improved
Agricultural activities related to crop cultivation and hydrological
modification contributed nonpoint source pollution to Jenkins
Ditch, causing the waterbody to fail to support its aquatic life designated use. As a result, the Indiana
Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) added Jenkins Ditch (a 2.13-mile segment) to
Indiana's Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2006 for poor fish community
biological integrity. Stakeholders implemented best management practices (BMPs) in the watershed
and conducted education and outreach activities to raise community awareness, resulting in improved
water quality. The waterbody now supports its aquatic life designated use. As a result, IDEM removed
Jenkins Ditch from Indiana's list of impaired waters in 2012.
Problem
Jenkins Ditch is a 2.13-miie-long headwater tribu-
tary of the Jenkins Ditch-South Fork Wildcat Creek
(SFWC) subwatershed in Clinton County, Indiana.
It is in the eastern portion of the SFWC watershed
and is classified as a legal drain. The SFWC water-
shed covers approximately 250 square miles,
including more than 60 miles of streams (Figure 1),
About 36 miles of these streams are iisted as
Outstanding Rivers by the Indiana Natural Resource
Commission. Row-crop agriculture (mostly corn and
soybeans) accounts for 78 percent of the land use
in the Jenkins Ditch-SFWC subwatershed. Some
of the natural SFWC headwaters, including Jenkins
Ditch, have been classified as open drainage chan-
nels and have been modified through channelization
and dredging to help drain agricultural areas. In the
past, crop-related agricultural activities and hydro-
logical modification contributed sediment and other
nonpoint source pollutants to Jenkins Ditch.
The biological integrity of a stream is measured
using the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), a tool used to
assess the effect of anthropogenic disturbances on
a stream based on its biota. In Indiana, streams that
have IBI scores of equal to or greater than 36 are con-
sidered to be supportive of the biological integrity,
as derived from the state's narrative water quality
standard. Biological fish community data collected
by IDEM in 2004 showed that Jenkins Ditch received
an IBI score of 30, indicating that it failed to support
its aquatic life designated use. Consequently, in 2006
IDEM added the entire 2.13-mile segment of Jenkins
Ditch (assessment unit INB0742 _ F1001) to Indiana's
Figure 1. Map of Jenkins Ditch-South Fork Wildcat Creek
subwatershed with IDEM sampling sites.
CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters for poor
biological integrity for fish communities. In 2008
IDEM developed a total maximum daily load (TMDL)
for Escherichia coli, total suspended solids, and
nitrate-nitrite in the SFWC subwatershed.
Project Highlights
Landowners have implemented BMPs on more
than 20 percent of the land area of the Jenkins
Ditch-SFWC subwatershed. The BMPs include
conservation crop rotation, residue and tillage
management, pest and nutrient management plans,
Indiana
0	10 20 Miles
1	I—	I
0 10 20 Kilometers
• 2011 Monitoring
¦ 2004 Monitoring
— Impaired Water
Stream
£ Lake/Pond
—	USHwy
—	State Route
Local Road
Populated Area
Jenkins Ditch
Wildcat Creek
Watershed
—South Fork Wildcat Creek
12-HUC Subwatershed
South Fork Wildcat
Creek Watershed

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waste management practices, filter and buffer
strips, and habitat management practices. From
1999 to 2003, the Indiana Association of Soil and
Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD) used grants
to fund two technical assistant positions to help
reduce the backlog of conservation practices within
the larger Wildcat Creek watershed. The technical
assistants helped landowners design, survey, and
implement conservation practices, placing priority
on practices that could address the identified water
quality concerns. Using funds provided through the
IASWCD, the Wildcat Creek Watershed Network
(now known as the Wildcat Creek Watershed
Alliance) hired an executive director/watershed
coordinator to develop a long-term strategic plan
for the larger Wildcat Creek watershed, which
includes SFWC and Jenkins Ditch. Although these
grant-funded activities occurred before Jenkins
Creek was officially listed as impaired, they built the
foundations for future planning and implementation
efforts that improved Jenkins Ditch
From 2005 to 2012, watershed partners conducted
education and outreach through stakeholder meet-
ings, public workshops, field days, newsletters,
and community cleanups to raise awareness and
prompt behavior changes in community members
within the entire SFWC watershed community.
Workshop topics included information on BMPs
such as the use of cover crops, proper septic sys-
tem management, and soil health maintenance.
Results
Biological fish community data collected by IDEM in
2011 indicated that water quality in Jenkins Ditch has
improved, thanks to watershed restoration efforts.
Jenkins Ditch earned an IBI score of 38, meeting
Indiana's water quality standards. Jenkins Ditch now
fully supports its aquatic life designated use. On the
basis of these data, IDEM removed Jenkins Ditch
from Indiana's list of impaired waters in 2012.
Partners and Funding
Among the many partners involved in these
activities were the Clinton, Howard, Tipton, and
Tippecanoe County Soil and Water Conservation
Districts (SWCDs); the Greater Wabash River
Resource Conservation and Development Council;
Purdue Cooperative Extension; Hoosier Riverwatch;
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Figure 2. Jenkins Ditch in 2011
Partners used $729,000 in CWA section 319 funds
to implement restoration projects throughout the
SFWC watershed. Another $462,000 in CWA sec-
tion 319 matching funds supported the work of a
variety of project partners: (1)The Ciinton County
SWCD served as a project leader, facilitating water
quality data management, developing watershed
management plans, and organizing education and
outreach events (efforts that were also supported
by $116,700 in CWA section 205 matching funds);
(2) Commonwealth Biomonitoring performed chemi-
cal and biological watershed monitoring from 2010
to 2011; (3) local participants in cost-share programs
implemented and installed various water quality
conservation practices; (4) IASWCD provided two
technical assistants in 1999 to focus on conservation
practices that address water quality concerns within
the greater Wildcat Creek watershed; and (5) mem-
bers of the Wildcat Creek Watershed Alliance
developed the Wildcat Creek Long-term Strategic
Plan Partners used another $113,000 in CWA section
205 funds to develop a watershed management plan
for critical areas throughout the SFWC watershed.
IDEM also used CWA section 106 funding to
conduct field sampling in 2004 and 2011. USDA's
Farm Service Agency provided at least $1.11 million
in Conservation Reserve Program and Conservation
Reserve Enhancement Program funds to implement
BMPs in Clinton County. NRCS provided at least
$ 1.54 million in Conservation Stewardship Program,
Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and
Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program funds to
install an animal mortality facility structure, enroll
371 acres in comprehensive nutrient management
programs, plant 32 acres in pasture/hay, and install
2,500 feet of fencing in the Jenkins Ditch area.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-14-001J
March 2014
For additional information oontact:
Bonny Elifritz
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
317-308-3082
belifrit@idem.in.gov

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