Stratford H. Kay, Ph.D. Environmental Senior Specialist Watershed Assessment Team

1. Existing Water Quality in the Indian/Howard’s Creek LWP Areaand theDevelopment of the Watershed Monitoring Plan Stratford H. Kay, Ph.D. Environmental Senior Specialist Watershed Assessment Team NC Division of Water Quality, Raleigh,NC

2. Permits • Impaired stream segment • Biological monitoring stations • Ambient monitoring stations 303 (d)

3. Existing Water Quality Data • Laboratory Water Analyses: turbidity, residues, metals, nutrients, etc. • Biological Monitoring: benthos and fish • Field Measurements: water temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, pH • Habitat Assessments: habitat quality of the stream channel and riparian zone conditions • Flow Data: USGS gage on Indian Creek

4. Existing Water Quality Data Highlights • Very little data for entire LWP area • No clearly definable water quality issues in Indian Creek • Occasional elevated nutrients and fecal coliforms • Pollutant sources not clearly defined • Two WWTPs, cattle operations and livestock access to streams, the Lincoln County landfill, sewage sludge land application site, agriculture, and stormwater runoff possible pollutant sources • Source(s) and specific cause(s) of biological impairment in Indian Creek unknown and need to be determined

5. Watershed Monitoring Plan Development • Preliminary Site Selection and Reconnaissance (completed in April 2008) • Become familiar with watershed • Find potential monitoring sites • Reconnaissance Monitoring (in progress) • Locate potential problem areas • Determine which areas need more detailed examination and which may be dropped • Refinement of Monitoring Plan • Reduce monitoring costs to a reasonable level • Focus future monitoring on issues that have emerged

6. Preliminary Site Selection and Reconnaissance • Visual evaluation of potential monitoring sites • Accessibility • Surrounding land uses • Possible pollutant sources • Suitability for benthos assessments • Field measurements at potential monitoring sites • Water temperature • Dissolved oxygen • Specific conductance • pH • Water samples at limited number of sites • Chemistry (primarily nutrients and metals) • Fecal coliforms

8. Reconnaissance Monitoring • Water sampling at 18 locations across LWP • Two months maximum • Chemistry, fecal coliforms, turbidity, residues • Named streams and major unnamed tributaries • Habitat assessments conducted once at all water sampling locations • Field measurements taken on each date at all 18 water sampling locations • Benthos at selected sites throughout watershed • Selected from the 18 water sampling sites • Determination of appropriate reference stream for the LWP

9. Reconnaissance Monitoring Results (as of 17 June 2008) • Water samples collected from 10 sites • Nutrients and fecal coliforms at many sites • Low pH problem in Mill Creek • High sulfate concentrations, source uncertain • No apparently suitable reference stream in LWP area • Leepers Creek most likely reference area • Preliminary benthos collections at 6 sites • Insects small, suggesting late recovery from drought of winter 2007-2008 • Poor benthos habitat at all sites • Extreme drought across western NC • Includes entire Indian/Howard’s Creek LWP area • May impact water sampling and biological assessments

10. Drought Conditions in NC10 June 2008(data from NC Drought Management Advisory Council http://www.ncdrought.org/)

11. Stream Flow at USGS Gage on Indian Creek Near Laboratory

12. Refinement of Monitoring Plan • Reduce monitoring costs to a reasonable level • Personnel time • Travel costs • Analytical costs • Redirect monitoring to address specific issues • Determine cause(s) of biological impairment of lower section of Indian Cr. • Determine sources of pollutants throughout LWP area • Identify sites for preservation, enhancement, and/or restoration

13. WAT Contacts Raleigh Steve Kroeger: (919) 733-9726, steve.kroeger@ncmail.net Stratford Kay: (919) 733-9716, stratford.kay@ncmail.net Susan Gale: (919) 715-3477, susan.gale@ncmail.net Larry Eaton: (919) 715-3471, larry.eaton@ncmail.net Winston-Salem Tom Yocum: (336) 771-4953, tom.yocum@ncmail.net Dave Wanucha: (336) 771-4951, dave.wanucha@ncmail.net Asheville Cathy Tyndall: (828) 296-4655, cathy.tyndall@ncmail.net