The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking comment on a water quality document and plan for the Bitterroot River and a number of its tributaries. A public meeting is planned in Hamilton later this month to answer questions and to discuss the document.
The “Bitterroot Watershed Total Maximum Daily Loads and Water Quality Improvement Plan” describes water quality problems in the river and several of its tributaries, including Ambrose Creek, Bass Creek, Lick Creek, Mill Creek, Muddy Spring Creek, North Burnt Fork Creek, North Fork Rye Creek, Rye Creek, Sweathouse Creek, Threemile Creek, and portions of the main Bitterroot River. The document provides total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for these waterbodies to help address nutrient, metals, and temperature problems and outlines a strategy for improving water quality in order to meet Montana’s surface water quality standards. According to the draft plan, most of the streams listed are impaired due to nutrient loads, Lick Creek is impaired by aluminum content, chlorophyll-a and phosphorous and the Bitterroot River main stem from Eightmile Creek to its confluence with the Clark Fork is impaired by lead content. Temperature was listed as impairing aquatic life in Mill Creek.
TheMontanaDepartmentof EnvironmentalQuality(DEQ) developsTMDLs andsubmitsthemtothe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval. TheMontanaWater QualityActrequiresDEQtodevelop TMDLsforstreams and lakesthatdonotmeet,orarenotexpectedto meet,Montana waterqualitystandards. ATMDL is themaximumamountofapollutantawaterbodycan receiveandstillmeetwaterqualitystandards. TMDLs providean approachtoimprovewater qualitysothatstreams and lakescan supportandmaintaintheir state-designatedbeneficial uses.
Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) were listed as impairing aquatic life and primary contact recreation in Ambrose Creek, Bass Creek, Lick Creek, Muddy Spring Creek, North Burnt Fork Creek, North Fork Rye Creek, Rye Creek, Sweathouse Creek, and Threemile Creek. According to the draft document,theBitterrootwatershedTotal Nitrogen TMDLs indicatethatreductions inloads ranging from 17%-60%willsatisfythewater qualityrestoration goals, TotalPhosphorus TMDLs indicate thatreductions in loads ranging from19%-80%will satisfy thewater quality restoration goals, and Nitrate/NitriteTMDLs indicatethatreductions inNO3+NO2loads rangingfrom 19%-80%will satisfythewater qualityrestoration goals. Probable sources of the nutrients is identified as coming from agricultural activities and septics.
The source of the high levels of lead detected in the lower part of Bitterroot River has not been determined. Plausible sources include past mining activity, old car bodies used as riprap, past contamination by lead-containing substances such as gasoline, etc. but none of these was identified as being a “significant” contributor. The source of aluminum in Lick Creek may have to do with naturally occurring aluminum in the bed rock that gets washed into the creek through erosion.
The Bitterroot River lead TMDLs indicate that reductions in lead loads of 77% will satisfy the water quality restoration goals. The Lick Creek aluminum TMDLs indicate that reductions in aluminum ranging from 67% at low flow conditions to 88% at high flow conditions will satisfy the water quality restoration goals.
The source of the temperature impairment in Mill Creek is most probably a non-polluting source such as the removal of stream bank vegetation combined with low water flows. The Mill Creek temperature TMDLs indicate that reductions ranging from 2.6% at the mouth to 16% at River Mile (RM) 4.6 will satisfy the water quality restoration goals.
Recommended strategies for achieving the reduction goals arealsopresented in the plan. Implementationofmostwater qualityimprovementmeasures described in theplan is basedonvoluntaryactionsofwatershed stakeholders.
“Ideally,localwatershed groups and/orotherwatershedstakeholderswill usethisTMDLdocument, and associated information, as atooltoguidelocalwaterqualityimprovementactivities. Such activities canbedocumentedwithin awatershed restoration planconsistentwith DEQ andEPA recommendations,” it states in the document. “A flexibleapproachto mostnonpointsourceTMDL implementationactivitiesmaybenecessaryas moreknowledgeis gainedthrough implementation and futuremonitoring.” Theplan includes a monitoringstrategydesignedto trackprogress inmeetingTMDL objectives and goals and to help refinetheplanduring its implementation.
A public informational meeting will be held on Monday, September 22 at 5:30 p.m., at the Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors building, 224 N. 4th Street in Hamilton. DEQ staff will provide information, answer questions, and accept written comments on the plan.
The draft document is available on the DEQ website at: http://deq.mt.gov/pubcom.mcpx. Copies are available at the Hamilton, Stevensville, Lolo, and Missoula public libraries, and at the State Library in Helena. Public comments will be accepted until 5 p.m., October 6, 2014. Comments may be mailed to Montana Department of Environmental Quality, PPA/WQPB, P.O. Box 200901, Helena MT 59620-0901, or submitted electronically at: http://comment.cwaic.mt.gov/
For more information, contact Jordan Tollefson at (406) 444-5341, or by email at: jtollefson@mt.gov