Biological and Water Quality Study of Mill Creek 2016

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Biological and Water Quality Study of Mill Creek 2016 Biological and Water Quality Study of Mill Creek 2016 Mill Creek upstream from Mill Creek Rd. (MC 73) Peter A. Precario, Executive Director James Lane, Board President Report citation: Midwest Biodiversity Institute (MBI). 2016. Biological and Water Quality Assessment of Mill Creek 2016. Hamilton County, Ohio. Technical Report MBI/2017-6-8. Columbus, OH 43221- 0561. 73 pp. + appendices. http://www.msdgc.org/initiatives/water_quality/index.html. MBI/2017-6-8 Mill Creek Bioassessment 2016 June 30, 2017 Biological and Water Quality Study of Mill Creek 2016 Hamilton County, Ohio Technical Report MBI/2017-6-8 June 30, 2017 Prepared for: Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati 1081 Woodrow Street Cincinnati, OH 45204 Submitted by: Midwest Biodiversity Institute P.O. Box 21561 Columbus, Ohio 43221-0561 Chris O. Yoder, Research Director [email protected] i MBI/2017-6-8 Mill Creek Bioassessment 2016 June 30, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................. vii FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................1 What is a Biological and Water Quality Survey? .....................................................................1 Scope of the 2016 Mill Creek Biological and Water Quality Assessment ................................1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................2 Scope and Purpose .................................................................................................................2 Highlighted Findings ...............................................................................................................2 General Conditions in Mill Creek .........................................................................................2 Aquatic Life Use Attainability and Use Attainment Status .................................................3 Recreational Use Status ......................................................................................................4 Causes and Sources of Non-attainment ..............................................................................4 Trajectories in Key Indicators .................................................................................................4 CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................9 Mill Creek Watershed Designated Use Attainment Status .....................................................9 Aquatic Life Use Recommendations ...................................................................................9 Aquatic Life Use Attainment Status ....................................................................................9 Recreational Use Status ....................................................................................................11 Linking Impairments to Sources and Reductions in Pollution Required to Meet WQS .........11 BIOLOGICAL AND WATER QUALITY STUDY OF MILL CREEK 2016 .............................................13 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................13 MSDGC Watershed Bioassessment Scope and Purpose .......................................................14 METHODS .................................................................................................................................16 Monitoring Design ................................................................................................................16 Biological and Water Quality Surveys ...............................................................................16 Biological Methods ...............................................................................................................19 Fish Assemblage Methods ................................................................................................19 Macroinvertebrate Assemblage Methods ........................................................................20 Area of Degradation and Attainment Values ...................................................................20 Habitat Assessment ..............................................................................................................21 ii MBI/2017-6-8 Mill Creek Bioassessment 2016 June 30, 2017 Chemical/Physical Methods .................................................................................................22 Water Column Chemical Quality .......................................................................................22 Sediment Chemical Quality ...............................................................................................23 Determining Use Attainment Status .....................................................................................23 Aquatic Life .......................................................................................................................23 Recreation.........................................................................................................................24 Determining Use Attainability ..............................................................................................25 Determining Causal Associations ..........................................................................................26 Hierarchy of Water Indicators...........................................................................................26 STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION .......................................................................................................29 General Setting .....................................................................................................................29 Subecoregion Characteristics ............................................................................................29 Description of Pollution Sources and Other Stressors .......................................................29 Point Sources ....................................................................................................................30 Wet Weather Sources .......................................................................................................31 Riparian and Stream Habitat ................................................................................................31 RESULTS and DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................32 Chemical/Physical Water Quality .........................................................................................32 Flow Regime .....................................................................................................................32 Water Column Chemistry ..................................................................................................32 Water Quality Criteria Exceedances .................................................................................34 Exceedances of Biological Effect Thresholds .....................................................................34 Sediment Chemistry ..........................................................................................................46 Biological Assemblages .........................................................................................................61 Fish Assemblage Results ...................................................................................................61 Macroinvertebrate Assemblage Results ...........................................................................61 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................70 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Aquatic life use attainment status in the 2016 Mill Creek study area with associated causes and sources of impairment listed for sites in partial and non-attainment. ........................5 Table 2. List of sampling locations in the 2016 Mill Creek study area with site code, stream name, proximity to CSO, SSO, WWTP, and industrial point sources, and the biological, habitat, and chemical parameters collected at each site. .......................................................................17 iii MBI/2017-6-8 Mill Creek Bioassessment 2016 June 30, 2017 Table 3. Level IV subregions of the Mill Creek watershed and their key attributes (from Woods et al. 1995). ...............................................................................................................................30 Table 4. Exceedances of water quality criteria for aquatic life based on grab sampling and continuous monitoring in the 2016 Mill Creek study area. .........................................................35 Table 5. Exceedances of the E. coli criteria for the applicable recreational use at each site in the 2016 Mill Creek study area. Green highlighted values attain the geometric mean and Statistical Threshold Value criteria and orange highlighted values are exceedances. The status is expressed as Attains or Impaired. ..............................................................................................................36
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