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i&i) NONPOINTSOIREESRCEESSSTORY
North Csfrrvlind
Diverse Efforts Reduced Bacteria in the Bald Creek Watershed
Wgterbody Improved Bacteria from nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, including livestock
waste and human sewage, impaired five waterbodies in the Bald
Creek watershed. The North Carolina (NC) Division of Water Resources (DWR) added the 6,5-mile
Bald Creek and its four major tributaries to the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired
waters in 2010 for fecal coliform bacteria impairment. Following a 2006 local watershed plan for
Bald Creek, state and local agencies implemented numerous agricultural best management practices
(BMPs) and conducted stream restorations in the watershed. These efforts have reduced bacterial
loading to the streams, which contributed to the removal of all impaired stream segments in the
Bald Creek watershed from the state's list of impaired waters in 2018.
Problem
The 17.5-square-miie Baid Creek watershed, located
in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, drains
into the middie portion of the Cane River, part of the
Nolichucky River watershed and the French Broad
River Basin (Figure 1). This sparsely populated area of
western Yancey County is mostly forested with some
agricultural and residential development. Pastureland,
which constitutes roughly 14 percent of the water-
shed, is primarily in the flat, productive land found
along the lower stream reaches. Unrestricted cattle
access to the streams and the loss of riparian buffers,
as weil as residential sewage issues, contributed to
bacterial issues in the watershed. A 1999 survey found
that almost a third of households in the watershed had
inadequate sewage systems, including failing septic
systems and the use of straight pipes feeding bacteria
into the streams.
In 2004, fecal coliform bacteria concentrations at all
five sampling stations in the Bald Creek watershed
exceeded the state recreational fresh water quality
standard, which requires that fecal coliforms: (1) not
exceed a geometric mean of 200 colonies (col) per
100 milliliters (mL), based on at least five consecutive
samples examined during any 30-day period and (2)
not exceed 400 col/100 mL in more than 20 percent of
the samples examined during that period. Follow-up
monitoring confirmed high fecal levels, and in 2010,
the 6.5-mile Bald Creek (assessment unit 7-3-22) and
four of its tributaries—Elk Wallow Creek, Fox Creek,
Uckskillet Branch, and Possumtrot Creek—were added
to the CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters.
Figure 1. The Bald Creek watershed and its tributaries are
in western North Carolina.
Story Highlights
In 2006, the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program,
now the Division of Mitigation Services (DMS),
developed the Bald Creek Local Watershed Plan,
which identified areas for compensatory mitigation
and addressed water quality issues through targeted
restoration and enhancement. Along with this effort,
DMS worked with the NC Cooperative Extension
Service to sponsor training workshops designed to
teach local contractors about stream restoration and
enhancement. In 2007, DMS implemented one of the
projects identified in the plan along two unnamed
tributaries to Bald Creek. The project included 1,335
linear feet (If) of stream restoration and an additional
Elkwallow
Lickskiliet
Rocky
Knob
Knob
Shepard
Branch
Possumtrot
Legend
Bald Creek Watershed
~ Subwatersheds
f Streams
J Roads
Bald Creek Watershed
Subwatersheds

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3,144 If of stream enhancement, including riparian
buffer planting, invasive species removal and flood-
plain restoration (Figure 2). The project also included
the creation of a half-acre wetland, wetland plantings,
installation of livestock exclusion fencing, and removal
of a small dam.
NC Agricultural Cost Share Program (ACSP) projects
have also addressed bacterial contamination from
livestock in the watershed. This voluntary program,
funded by the NC Department of Agriculture &
Consumer Services (NCDACS) and administered by
local soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs),
provides partial funding for farmers to install BMPs
on their properties. DWR has used U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency section 319(h) grant funding since
1995 to support a NPS planning coordinator to assist
SWCDs with the implementation of ACSP projects.
Since July 2000, ACSP has funded numerous BMPs
in the Bald Creek watershed, including 22,316 If of
livestock exclusion fencing, one stream crossing, and
four cisterns. Since July 2012, Yancey County SWCD
has used $70,555 of ACSP funds to implement BMPs
around Bald Creek and its tributaries, with $23,518 of
match provided by landowners. Finally, in an effort to
address human sources of bacterial contamination,
the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund funded at
least 15 septic repairs in the watershed before 2009.
Results
DWR conducted a special study on the Bald Creek
watershed in 2016 to determine if fecal coliform
concentrations were still elevated. The geometric
mean of the five samples taken from each of the five
sites in a 30-day period were below the state limit
of 200 col/mL (Table 1). As a result. DWR removed
every stream segment in the Bald Creek watershed
from the CWA section 303(d) list in 2018, including
2.2-mile Fox Creek, 3.1-mile Elk Wallow Creek, 3.4-mile
Lickskjllet Branch, 3.4-mile Possumtrot Creek, along
with Bald Creek. This means each segment is meeting
state water quality standards for recreational use.
Additionally, Elk Wallow Creek, Lickskillet Branch, and
Possumtrot Creek are meeting their designated use
as trout waters. Monitoring from 2003-2004 showed
that the benthic and fish communities were meeting
state standards for abundance and diversity, but many
Figure 2. A DMS stream restoration site in an unnamed
tributaryto Bald Creek.
Table 1. Fecal coliform monitoring results in the Bald
Creek watershed.
Stream segment
Mean fecal coliform
concentration (col/lOOmL)
2004
2016
Bald Creek (7-3-22)
1276
174
Fox Creek (7-3-22-1)
328
145
Elk Wallow Creek (7-3-22-4)
615
165
LickskiMet Creek (7-3-22-5)
916
151
Possumtrot Creek (7-3-22-7)
458
152
Note: NC's Class C waters fecal coliform limit is 200 col/lOOmL.
of the lower reaches of the stream have poor ripar-
ian and aquatic habitat. Continued efforts to reduce
bacterial contamination (both human and animal),
expand riparian buffer, and improve stream habitat
will help ensure the Bald Creek watershed continues
to meet water quality standards and the needs of the
community.
Partners and Funding
DMS created the Bald Creek Local Watershed Plan to
guide and implement a stream and wetland restora-
tion project. The Yancey County SWCD Implemented
numerous BMPs funded through the NCDACS. Section
319(h) grant funding is used to support an NPS plan-
ning coordinator in the NCDACS to work with SWCDs
on NPS projects.
&
*L PRO^°
2
o
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-20-0Q1AA
October 2020
For additional information contact:
Rishi Bastakoti, PhD
NC Division of Water Resources
919-707-3623 • rishi.bastakoti@ncdenr.gov
Kelsey Rowland
NC Division of Water Resources
919-707-3679 • kelsey.rowland@ncdenr.gov

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