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Agricultural Best Management Practices Reduce Bacteria Transport in
the Little Cub Creek Watershed

Waterbody Improved Nonpoint source runoff from agricultural and residential land uses,
livestock and wildlife led to increased bacteria loading in Virginia's
Little Cub Creek. A 9.21-mile-long segment failed to attain the primary contact recreation designated
use due to violations of the state's water quality standard for bacteria. As a result, the Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) placed the segment of Little Cub Creek on Virginia's 2006
Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for Escherichia coli bacteria. Landowners
implemented agricultural best management practices (BMPs) in the Little Cub Creek watershed and its
upstream areas, which significantly reduced bacterial loadings and allowed the impaired segment to
meet water quality standards and support its recreation designated use. As a result, DEQ removed
the Little Cub Creek segment (9,21 miles) from the state's impaired waters list in 2016.
Problem
Little Cub Creek flows into Cub Creek, which drains
portions of Appomattox and Charlotte counties in
south-central Virginia. Cub Creek ultimately empties
into the Roanoke River (referred to as the Staunton
River locally). The two primary land uses in the 95,332-
acre Cub Creek watershed include forested land
(70 percent) and agricultural land (24 percent). The
remaining 6 percent of land uses include open water
and residential and open lands.
DEQ collected water quality data on Little Cub Creek
during the 2000-2004 assessment period. Out of 12
samples total, four samples (33 percent) had E. coli
levels that exceeded 235 colony-forming units per
100 milliliters (cfu/100 mL). These results violated
the state E. coli single sample maximum bacteria
criterion, which requires that no more than 10 percent
of samples (based on a minimum of 12 samples) have
E. coli levels exceeding 235 cfu/100 mL. As a result,
DEQ placed a 9.21-mile-long segment of Little Cub
Creek (VAW-L37R_LUB1A06) on Virginia's 2006 CWA
section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters for E. coli
bacteria (Figure 1). A total maximum daily load (TMDL)
developed in 2006 identified livestock, human (failing
septic systems), pet, agricultural and urban land uses,
and wildlife as primary sources contributing to bacteria Rgure L De|jsted segment and bactena monitoring station
loadings in the watershed.	jn the Little Cub Creek watershed.
-^ppomattax Co iinty.
4ALUB000.12.
sTumi
iGhmifm^o.untv >
Monitoring Station
DELIST 2016 -VAW-L37R_LUB01 A06 - 9.21 Mi.
River/Stream
fb Cub, Turnip, and Buffalo Creek Implementation Area
£3 6th Order Hydrologic Unit
, Campbell County
Halifax County \
Prince Edward County

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Figure 2. Stream fencing reduced bacteria loading.
Story Highlights
in 2009, Virginia Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR) developed an implementation plan
for the Cub Creek watershed with the support of local
stakeholders and state agencies. BMP implementation
projects started soon after. State and local govern-
ment agencies conducted outreach activities with
landowners and farmers to enhance water quality
awareness and encourage them to implement agri-
cultural BMPs. Outreach efforts included farm tours,
personal communications, publication of articles in
local newspapers, and distribution of TMDL brochures
explaining eligible BMPs, cost-share programs and
their benefits for watershed stakeholders.
Through these combined efforts, landowners installed
numerous BMPs in the watershed. Approximately
53,340 iinear feet (10 miles) of stream exclusion
fencing with grazing management and riparian buffers
were installed, which prevented 240 beef cattle from
accessing the water (Figure 2). Other BMPs added in
2005-2014 Include 47 acres of afforestation of crop,
hay and pasture iands; 25 acres of long-term continu-
ous no-tiii plantings; 35 acres of iong-term vegetative
cover on cropland; and 32 acres of continuous high-
residue, minlmal-soii-disturbance tillage practices. One
loafing lot management system was installed to reduce
bacteria transport in surface runoff.
Results
DEQ's monitoring staff collected 12 water samples
on Little Cub Creek during the 2009-2014 assess-
ment period. Of those, only one sample (8 percent)
exceeded 235 cfu/100 ml_ £ coli—meeting the state's
bacteria water quality standard (Figure 3) and fully
Little Cub Creek Watershed
(Bacteria Monitoring Station: 4ALUB000.12)


33%
State Exceedanee

\ 8%


Water Quality Assessment Period
Figure 3. Bacteria violation rates declined in the creek.
supporting its primary contact recreation designated
use. As a result, DEQ removed the impaired segment
(9.21 miles) from the 2016 CVVA sections 305(b)/303(d)
Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report.
Partners and Funding
Water quality improvements are largely due to
partnerships between the Southside and Robert E.
Lee soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs)
and several federal and state agencies, including the
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources
Conservation Service, DCR, DEQ, and the Virginia
Cooperative Extension Service. The TMDL implemen-
tation project, administered by the Southside and
Robert E. Lee SWCDs, included agricultural cost-share
funding, technical assistance for landowners and
outreach activities. To offset the costs of implement-
ing BMPs, farmers received $400,215 in cost-share
funds from the Virginia Water Quality Improvement
Fund (WQIF) for the Virginia Agricultural Cost-Share
Program ($170,873), and from WQIF for the Southern
Rivers Targeted TMDL Program ($229,342) for BMP
installation. Farmers and other entities contributed
$118,896 for BMP installation. The SWCD staff
provided significant staff time and assistance to
farmers over the implementation project period. Most
of the SWCD technical assistance funding was provided
by DCR; each SWCD received approximately $125,000
from Virginia's WQIF ($25,000 per year for 5 years) to
administer the targeted TMDL program. Each SWCD
also received state general funds to help administer
cost-share programs (about $75,000/year per SWCD).
CWA section 319 funds supported DCR and DEQ
staff time to oversee the TMDL project and provide
Implementation guidance ($10,000/year for 5 years).
DEQ also supported water quality monitoring.
&
*L PRO^°
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-20-001G
April 2020
For additional information contact:
Ram Gupta
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
804-698-4184 • Ram.Gupta@deq.virginia.gov
Jonathan Wooldridge
Robert Lee Soil & Water Conservation District
434-352-2819 • Jonathan.Wooldridge@Fteleeconservation.com

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