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NONPOINT SOIREE SICCESS STORY
InditkWK
Planning, Partnerships and Implementation Restores Fish Community
in Stump Ditch and Kilmore Creek
Waterbody Improved
Stump Ditch arid Kilmore Creek account for approximately 11.6
miles of stream in the South Fork Wildcat Creek (SFWC) watershed
in Clinton and Tipton counties, Indiana. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management
(IDEM) listed Kilmore Creek and Stump Ditch on its Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(d) list of
impaired waters in 2006 due to impaired biotic communities. Following years of best management
practice (BMP) implementation paired with education and outreach in the watershed, follow up
sampling by IDEM in 2019 on Kilmore Creek and Stump Ditch showed that both segments are now
fully supportive of aquatic life. IDEM will propose to remove both biotic community impairments
from its impaired waters list in 2022.
Problem
Kilmore Creek (assessment unit INB0732_03) and
Stump Ditch (assessment unit iNB0733_T1003) are
within the SFWC watershed in Clinton and Tipton
counties in central Indiana (Figure 1). Land use
throughout the watershed is primarily cultivated crops
(>80%) and includes minor land uses of grasslands and
wooded areas that are heavily fragmented.
In 2004, IDEM conducted a biological study on the
SFWC watershed. Monitoring sites on Kilmore Creek
and Stump Ditch had failing index of biotic integrity
(IBI) scores (i.e., scores less than 36 in Indiana), which
indicates that the streams were not supporting a
well-balanced aquatic community. The fish community
scores on Kilmore Creek and Stump Ditch were 34 and
32, respectively. This caused IDEM to list both streams
on its 2006 CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters
for impaired biotic communities. The impaired reach
of Kilmore Creek is at the headwaters of the stream
in the Shanty Creek subwatershed. Stump Ditch
drains directly into a portion of Kilmore Creek in the
subwatershed directly downstream.
To address impairments, IDEM developed a total
maximum daily load (TMDL.) for Escherichia coli, totai
suspended solids, totai phosphorus, and nitrate-nitrite
in 2008 for the SFWC watershed. The TMDL Identified
rural runoff as the most significant source of total sus-
pended solids, total phosphorus, and nitrate + nitrite
due to the majority of land use being agricultural.
Figure 1. Kilmore Creek and Stump Ditch are within the
South Fork Wildcat Creek watershed.
Streambank erosion was also reported as a potentially
significant source of sediment loads. According to the
2012 SFWC Watershed Management Plan (WMP),
surveys indicated that 90% or more of streambanks
were unbuffered along Kilmore Creek, and Stump
Ditch lacks riparian buffers aimost entirely.
Story Highlights
For over two decades, stakeholders have been working
to improve the health of the SFWC watershed. With
funding provided by the Indiana Association of Soil
and Water Conservation Districts, the Wildcat Creek
Watershed Network (now known as the Wildcat Creek
Stream
CO Shanty Creek (OS 1201070302)
C3 Stump Oitcn |05i20l07030a>
Kilmore Creek & Stump Ditch

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Watershed Alliance) hired an executive director/water-
shed coordinator to develop a long-term strategic plan
for the Wildcat Creek watershed. This served as the
foundation for future planning and implementation
efforts within the watershed.
The Clinton County Soii and Water Conservation
District received a CWA section 205(j) grant In 2009
to draft an extended nine-element SFWC WMP which
it began Implementing in 2012. Along with education
and outreach efforts throughout the watershed,
landowners implemented a range of BMPs in the
Shanty Creek and Stump Ditch subwatersheds such
as cover crops (3,220 acres), nutrient and pesticide
management (39,567 acres), riparian buffers (9 acres),
and 3,780 feet of two-stage ditch on Stump Ditch
(Figure 2). The combination of these practices reduced
harmful pollutants (e.g., nutrients, sediment) from
entering the streams, thereby improving the streams'
overall quality and health.
Annual surveys conducted on the local communities
indicated some notable changes from 2012 to 2014
relating to personal beliefs on water quality. Results
showed an increase from 26% (in 2012) to 55% (in
2014) of respondents who strongly agreed that they
had a personal responsibility to help protect water
quality. Additionally, 55% of respondents in 2014
(compared to only 21% in 2012) strongly agreed that
the way they take care of their property can influence
water quality in local streams and lakes.
Results
In 2019, IDEM conducted follow-up monitoring, which
showed an improved fish IBI score of 42 on Kilmore
Creek and scores ranging from 36-38 on Stump Ditch.
These are notable improvements from the scores of
34 and 32 in 2004 on Kilmore Creek and Stump Ditch,
respectively. Additionally, habitat showed improve-
ments (e.g., deeper pools, higher quality riffles) during
the timeframe. Habitat scores on both Kilmore Creek
and Stump Ditch showed improvements in categories
such as less bank erosion, silt cover, and embedded-
ness in the streams, which indicates less sediment
entering from surrounding landscapes. Due to fish IBI
scores indicating a well-balanced aquatic community,
IDEM is proposing to remove the IBC impairments
from these segments on its 2022 impaired waters list.
Figure 2. Before (left) and after (right) showing BMP
implementation on Stump Ditch. The two-stage ditch
increases bank stability while improving drainage and
ecological functions.
Partners and Funding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural
Resource Conservation Service provided techni-
cal assistance and funding from various programs
for BMP installations in 2004-2019 in the Shanty
Creek and Stump Ditch subwatersheds (totaling
$261,628). Additionally, USDA's Farm Service Agency
provided $16,974 for BMP installations through their
Conservation Reserve Program and Conservation
Reserve Enhancement Program. The Indiana State
Department of Agriculture provided approximately
$415 in funding through Clean Water Indiana for
cover crop installations within the Stump Ditch
subwatershed during the 2004 to 2019 period. In
2009, Clinton County was awarded $166,000 from
IDEM's 205(j) program to develop a WMP for the
SFWC watershed. Additional funding of $320,950 in
2012 and $158,000 in 2017 was provided to Clinton
County through IDEM's CWA section 319 program for
implementing the plan. Approximately $63,403 of this
funding was used for BMP installations directly within
the Stump Ditch and Shanty Creek subwatersheds in
2013-2015. Finally, Clinton and Tipton counties pro-
vided $34,402 and $9,912, respectively, for installation
of cover crops within their jurisdictions, which includes
Kilmore Creek and Stump Ditch.
&
*L PRO^°
2
o
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-21-0010
September 2021
For additional information contact:
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Caleb Rennaker • 317-308-3119 • crennake@idem.in.gov
Angie Brown • 317-308-3102 • abrown@idem.in.gov

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