State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency

January 2008 Leading Creek Watershed TMDL Report

What are the essential facts? • Ohio EPA and other groups studied the Leading Creek watershed and found water quality problems at several of the locations measured. • The watershed can make progress towards restoration with practical, economical actions. • Improving the streams depends on the participation of the watershed’s residents.

What is the significance of this report? The Leading Creek Watershed TMDL Report is a tool that includes local ideas from the endorsed watershed management plan and the improvement plan to help improve and maintain water quality and habitat in the watershed.

What is a watershed? A watershed is the land area from which surface runoff drains into a specific body of water.

Where is the Leading Creek Overall, the land use in the The Leading Creek watershed watershed? Leading Creek watershed is 76 has a long history of coal mining, percent deciduous forest, 20 both underground and at the The Leading Creek watershed percent pasture and hay, 1 percent surface. Over 2,000 acres of is located in southeastern Ohio in row crops, and 1 percent surface mines have been portions of Meigs, Athens and residential. abandoned and left unreclaimed Gallia counties. Leading Creek within the Leading Creek empties into the Ohio River near Recreational opportunities in watershed. In a few of these Middleport. the watershed include camping, areas, the stream hydrology has fishing, boating and hunting. been disrupted and water loss has The watershed drains about 150 square miles and lies within the unglaciated Western Allegheny Plateau ecoregion. The ecoregion is characterized by extensively forested rolling hills with small pockets of dairy, livestock, farming, and residential development. Its underlying bedrock primarily consists of sandstones, shales, limestones, and coal.

An estimated 7,000 to 7,500 citizens reside in the Leading Creek watershed. The largest community entirely within the watershed is Rutland, which has a population of approximately 400 people. The communities of Albany and Middleport are located in the headwaters and at the mouth, respectively. Leading Creek about 10 miles upstream from its mouth.

Division of Surface Water, 50 West Town Street, Suite 700, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 644-2001 www.epa.state.oh.us

Leading Creek Watershed TMDL Report occurred. In 1993, an emergency discharge of contaminated water from the Meigs #31 Mine destroyed habitat and caused a large fish kill in Parker Run and downstream into segments of Leading Creek.

This report builds on several previous studies of the Leading Creek watershed, including the Watershed Management Plan, the Acid Mine Drainage Abatement and Treatment (AMDAT) Plan, and the Leading Creek Improvement Plan. Data collected by the Leading Creek Improvement Committee (2003-2006) and for the Leading Creek Improvement Plan (1996, 1997) were used for analyses in the TMDL report.

How does Ohio EPA measure water quality?

Ohio is one of the few states that measures the health of its streams by examining the number and types of fish and aquatic insects in the water. An abundance of fish and insects that tolerate pollution is an indicator of an What is the condition of the unhealthy stream. A large number Leading Creek watershed? There are acidity impairments of insects and fish that are in Mud Fork, Grass Run, Lasher sensitive to pollution indicates a Results from 25 sites on 18 Run, Little Leading Creek, Titus healthy stream. Such samples streams in the watershed indicate Run, Paulins Hill Run, and Thomas were collected by the Improvement that load reductions are needed in Fork. These impairments primarily Committee from 2003 through total dissolved solids (TDS), total result from acid mine drainage. 2006 and by a group from the suspended solids (TSS), and Virginia Polytechnic Institute in chlorides at numerous locations Unrestricted livestock access, 1996 and 1997. throughout the watershed. For poor grazing land management fecal coliform, pH, and nutrients, and acid mine effects have The watershed’s conditions not enough data were available to degraded the streams. Practices were compared with state water calculate load reductions, but a such as allowing livestock animals quality goals to determine which qualitative analysis and discussion to walk through the stream and stream segments are impaired, is included. poor grazing land management, and how much needs to be done increase erosion and contribute to restore good stream habitat and Many small streams such as excess soil to the stream. Excess water quality. The results were Sisson Run, Ogden Run, Mud soil in the stream destroys the published in the Leading Creek Fork, Prairie, Little Leading Creek, habitat that fish and other aquatic Watershed Management Plan, the Titus and Parker Runs and life need to remain healthy and to AMDAT Plan, and the Leading Thomas Fork, which drain into reproduce. Creek Improvement Plan. Those Leading Creek, and Leading Creek results were then used for downstream of Ogden Run, are Natural vegetation along calculations in the TMDL report. impaired because of physical stream banks acts as a filter to changes to the land. nutrients and sediments flowing

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Leading Creek Watershed TMDL Report toward the water. When trees and acid mine drainage and improving communities. The basic principles taller grasses along the stream home sewage systems, will be up of providing floodplain connectivity, banks are removed, sediment and to local residents and local, state stable stream morphology and nutrients flow freely into the and federal agencies. watershed hydrology that streams. approximates natural conditions What actions are needed to are applicable to all areas of the While agricultural practices improve water quality? watershed. Likewise, stream can contribute to sediment buffers are appropriate for all land pollution in some of the Leading Because there are many use types in the watershed. Other Creek subwatersheds, Little reasons why streams in the actions include the following: Leading Creek and Leading Creek Leading Creek watershed fail to (downstream of Little Leading meet water quality goals, several ¾ It is highly recommended that Creek) are impaired by large actions are required to improve the the Meigs Mine #31 facility sample sediment loads that likely result current condition and protect the their wastewater for chlorides to from strip mining practices in the watershed in the future. The confirm load concentrations and Little Leading Creek recommendations should focus on allow for the calculation of an subwatershed. reducing pollutant loads and/or appropriate reduction amount. increasing the capacity of the Cows in the streams and streams to handle the remaining ¾ The amount of total dissolved untreated sewage flowing from pollutant loads. solids behing discharged from the failing home septic systems and Meigs Mine #31 facility should be small communities without any Maintaining a natural flow reduced, especially during periods wastewater collection or treatment regime is important for protecting of low stream flow. contribute elevated fecal coliform water quality and aquatic biological to the stream system.

How will water quality get better?

The Leading Creek watershed is included on Ohio’s list of impaired waters. Under the Clean Water Act, a cleanup plan is required for each impaired watershed. This cleanup plan, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report, calculates the maximum amount of pollutants a water body can receive and still meet standards (goals). The TMDL report specifies how much pollution must be reduced from various sources and recommends specific actions to achieve these reductions.

The TMDL report provides specific numeric goals for reducing pollutants, including pathogens, phosphorus, sediment, and for improving habitat. Ohio EPA can address some of the Leading Creek problems directly through regulatory actions, such as permits for dischargers. Other actions, Measuring water quality in a tributary to Leading Creek. The “yellow boy” such as reducing the impacts of sediments are common in areas affected by acid mine drainage.

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Leading Creek Watershed TMDL Report

¾ Failing home sewage cattle increases the erosion and Are any actions already treatment systems (HSTSs) should therefore the sediment in the underway? be addressed in rural and streams, and also provides a direct developing areas by the county source of nutrient input to the In addition to the watershed health departments. streams. action plans discussed above, several factors indicate a high ¾ Sediment flowing into streams Who is responsible for taking likelihood that water quality in the is a concern in both agricultural action? watershed can improve: and former mining areas. Controls include reducing erosion with Implementation of this report’s ƒ Throughout the work that has cover crops or conservation tillage; recommendations will be been done in the watershed, the providing buffers along stream accomplished by state and local Leading Creek Improvement banks; managing grazing lands to partners, including the voluntary Committee has involved local prevent severe erosion and efforts of landowners. stakeholders through public implementing site-specific meetings and discussions. practices to reduce sources of Locally, discussion of actions sediment and nutrient load, and to restore the watershed has ƒ The Leading Creek adopting measures that maintain occurred as diverse partners have Improvement Committee is stream stability during land worked to develop watershed applying for funding to install a disturbance activities such as action plans. The Leading Creek limestone doser at the tributary construction. Improvement Committee has most impaired for pH due to acid written and received state mine drainage. ¾ Further investigation of nutrient endorsement for a Leading Creek loading in the watershed is Watershed Management Plan and ƒ Through the development of recommended. Loading from an AMDAT Plan. This various planning documents, a livestock operations and endorsement, as well as the TMDL variety of restoration actions were agriculture chemicals would be when approved, enhance the considered and prioritized for abated by conservation and likelihood of grants or other funding. management practices promoted funding being approved for by the USDA Natural Resource projects that improve water quality. ƒ Natural Resources Damage Conservation Service. Grazing Assessment Funds, managed by land protection, conservation The Leading Creek Improvement the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, tillage, and fencing livestock out of Committee and its partners in are available to “restore, streams would all reduce the three counties are serving as rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the amount of nutrients in streams. community advocates for the equivalent” of natural resources watershed, and have become damaged in the 1993 Meigs #31 ¾ Livestock producers are important forces to maintain Mine release. encouraged to provide improved momentum and sponsor fencing to keep cattle out of the improvement efforts. streams. Unrestricted access of

Where can I learn more? Several of the reports referred to in this study are being made available at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/index.html. General information on TMDLs, water quality standards, permitting and other Ohio EPA programs is also available on this site.

The draft Leading Creek TMDL report was available for public comment from July 12 through August 13, 2007. The final TMDL report was approved by the U.S. EPA on January 9, 2008. The final report is available at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/tmdl/LeadingCreekTMDL.html.

For further information please contact Beth Risley, Ohio EPA, Division of Surface Water, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio, 43216, or e-mail at [email protected], or call Ohio EPA’s Southeast District Office at 1-800-686-7330.

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