Stevens-Wells-Waits-Ompompanoosuc River Basin Water Quality Management Plan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
STEVENS-WELLS-WAITS-OMPOMPANOOSUC RIVER BASIN WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN MAY, 1976 AGENCY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES •.:1· ·, Prepared pursuant to Section 303(e) of P.L. 92-500 and the State of Vermont Continuing Water Quality Planning Process. i TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DEFINITIONS ii 1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE 1-1 2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BASIN 2-1 3 WATER QUALITY STANDARDS 3-1 4 EXISTING WATER QUALITY 4-1 5 FISHERIES s�1 6 DESIGNATION AND RANKING OF WATER QUALITY 6-1 AND EFFLUENT LIMITATION SEGMENTS 7 NON�POINT SOURCES 7-1 8 DAMS AND IMPOUNDMENTS 8-1 9 GROUNDWATER 9-1 10 PERMITS AND DISCHARGE INVENTORY 10-1 11 ASSESSMENT OF MUNICIPAL NEEDS AND 11-1 INDUSTRIAL DISCHARGES 12 RESIDUAL WASTES 12-1 13 CONDITION OF LAKES AND PONDS 13-1 14 MONITORING AND SURVEILLANCE 14-1 15 PLANS AND STUDIES RELATED TO WATER QUALITY 15-1 MANAGEMENT 16 PROCEDURES FOR PLAN REVISION 16-1 17 SUMMARY OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 17-1 18 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 18-1 19 REFERENCES 19-1 ii TABLES PAGE TABLE 1 METALS CONCENTRATIONS AND pH IN WATERS NEAR THE ELIZABETH MINE TABLE 2 METALS CONCENTRATIONS AND pH IN WATERS NEAR THE 4-4 ELY MINE TABLE ·3 ALLOWABLE METALS CONCENTRATIONS IN POTABLE WATER 4-5 TABLE 4 SEGMENT RANKING 6 4 TABLE 5 DAMS AND IMPOUNDMENTS ON THE STEVENS RIVER AND 8-2 TRIBUTARIES 8-3 TABLE 6 DAMS AND IMPOUNDMENTS ON THE WELLS RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES TABLE 7 DAMS AND IMPOUNDMENTS ON THE WAITS RIVER AND TRIB 8-4 UTARIES TABLE 8 DAMS AND IMPOUNDMENTS ON THE OMPOMPANOOSUC RIVER 8-5 AND TRIBUTARIES 10-3 TABLE 9 PERMITS AND DISCHARGE INVENTORY TABLE 10 ASSESSMENT OF MUNICIPAL NEEDS 11-5 13-3 TABLE 11 LAKES AND PONDS GREATER THAN 20 ACRES IN THE STEVENS WELLS-WAITS-OMPOMPANOOSUC RIVER BASIN DESIGNATED AS EUTROPHIC TABLE 12 LAKES AND PONDS GREATER THAN 20 ACRES IN THE STEVENS 13-4 WELLS-WAITS-OMPOMPANOOSUC RIVER BASIN DESIGNATED AS OLIGOTROPHIC, TENTATIVE, OR UNDESIGNATED TABLE 13 WATER QUALITY SURVEYS IN THE STEVENS-WELLS-WAITS 14-1 OMPOMPANOOSUC RIVER BASIN APPENDICES I.. REGULATIONS GOVERNING WATER CLASS.IFICATION AND I-1 CONTROL OF QUALITY II. MAP OF WATER QUALITY SAMPLING STATIONS AND. WASTE II-1 DISCHARGE LOCATIONS (INCLUDING A LIST OF SAMPLING STATION LOCATION DESCRIPTIONS) FIGURES FIGURE 1 LOCATION MAP, STEVENS-WELLS-WAITS-OMPOMPANOOSUC RIVER 2-2 BASIN i DEFINITIONS Terms and abbreviations used in this plan are defined below: BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD) - A measure of the oxygen required to oxidize organic material u�able as a source of food by aerobic organisms. BODs is a measure of the oxygen required for this process a period of five days at 2ooc. Ultimate oxygen demand (UOD) is the amount of oxygen required to take the process of degradation through both the carbonaceous and nitrogenous phases of degradation to completion, usually in about 30 .days. CLASSIFICATION - A method (defined in 10 V.S .A. , Chap.ter 47) of designating the waters of the state into categories suitable for different uses. (See also WATER CLASS). CONTINUING WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROCESS - A document which governs the development and contents of River Basin Water Quality Management Plans. DISCHARGE PERMIT - A permit issued by the Secretary of the Agency of Environmental Conservation to dischargers to waters of the state when it is determined that such discharges will not reduce the quality of receiving waters below established classification and will not violate any applicable provisions of state or federal laws and regulations. DISSOLVED OXYGEN (D.O.) - A measure of the dissolved oxygen content of water, usually expressed as milligrams per liter. Dissolved oxygen is necessary for sustaining fish and other aquatic life and is one of the most important indicators of water quality. iv EFFLUENT LIMITATION SEGMENT - Designated portions of rivers, streams and lakes which will meet �pplicable water quality standards when waste discharge effluent limitations are applied to all dischargers. EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS - Restrictions on the quantities, rates and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological and other constituents which are discharged to waters of the state. EUTROPHIC - Condition of a lake characterized by shallow depths, high primary productivity, abundance of littoral plants, high plankton density, presence of plankton blooms, depleti.on of oxygen in deeper parts of the lake below the thermocline, high concentrations of dissolved and suspended solids, and absence of cold water fishes. Eutrophication is a lake aging process whereby its enrichment with inorganic nutrients (most notably phosphorus and nitrogen) from waste discharges and land runoff provide adequate nutrients for increasingly abundant plant growth. In this process the lake is gradually filled in with sediments and organic matter. Eutrophication occurs naturally due to natural runoff of nutrients and sediments into the lake from its watershed, but may be accelerated by acti�ities in the watershed such as logging, construction, agriculture, and waste discharges from municipalities and industries. This acceleration is often termed "cultural eutrophication" .. FECAL COLIFORM (Fecal Coli) - Bacteria present in the lower digestive tract and feces of warm-blooded animals which may indicate the presence of pathogenic organisms. Specific laboratory tests results indicate·the amount of fecal coliform in water samples as number of organisms per 100 milliliters. v MESOTROPHIC Condition of a lake which exhibits characte stcs falling between the two extremes of lake primary productivity. (See eutrophic and oligotrophic). NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) - A federal permit system for controlling and abating discharge of pollutants to the nation's waters. (The State of Vermont has taken the responsibility of administering this system in Vermont). NITROGEN - A chemical element of significance both as a nutrient for aquatic plant growth and as a component of the oxidation process of organic nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen to nitrite nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen, which results in a demand on the dissolved oxygen in water. The stage of this oxidation process can be determined from the relative amounts of these four forms of nitrogen. NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION - Pollution resulting not from a point source, such as an outfall pipe of a sewage treatment plant, but rather from diffuse sources such as overland runoff from construction areas, agricultural lands,. forest lands, or groundwater-borne pollutants, such as leachate from sanitary landfills. OLIGOTROPHIC - Condition of a lake characterized by deep water low primary productivity, scarcity of littoral plants, low plankton density, absence of plankton blooms, little, if any, oxygen depletion in the �ypolimnion, and presence of cold water fishes. PHOSPHORUS - A chemical element which, when in the form of phosphate, acts as a nutrient for aquatic plant growth and is often the limiting nutrient, which determines whether rapid vi aquatic growth will occur. In excess amounts, phosphorus may contribute to acceleration of the lake eutrophication process. PRIMARY TREATMENT - Removes the material that floats or will settle in sewage by the use of physical processes. PUBLIC LAW 92-500 - The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendemnts of 1972. E!:!_ -l\ measure· of the hydrogen ion concentration in water on an inverse logarithmic scale ranging from Oto 14.· A pH of under 7 indicates more hydrogen ions and, therefore, more acidic solutions. A pH greater than. 7 indicates a more alkaline solution. A pH of 7.0 is considered neutral, neither acidic nor alkaline. SECONDARY TREATMENT - Removes the orgqnic parts of sewage wastes by biological processes. SEVEN-DAY LOW FLOW, TEN-YEAR RETURN PERIOD - (7Ql0) - A statistical measure of the magnitude and frequency of low flqw in a river often used as the lowest mean discharge for seven consecutive days, which has a 10% chance of occurring in any given year. Stated another way, actual flow in the river exceeds the 7Ql0 flow ab6ut 98% to 99% of the time. SIGNIFICANT NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION - Pollution which causes impairment of designated water uses, causes violations of water quality, either directly or indirectly, or is of a magnitude comparable to a point source causing such impairment or violations. SUSPENDED SOLIDS - Solids which can be removed by passing a water sample through a filter. 'I.1EMPORARY POLLUTION PERMIT - A permit issued to dischargers which do not qualify for a discharge permit and which specifies vii necessary action to be taken by the discharger to abate pollution of the discharge. TERTIARY TREATMENT - A level of treatment beyond secondary, which employs chemical or physical processes_. TOTAL COLIFORM (Total Coli} - Bacteriological organisms used as indicators of pathogenic organisms, but which include not only bacteria present in the lower digestive tract and feces of lYarm-blooded animals, but also bacteria present in soil, on plants and in insects. TOTAL SOLIDS - A measure o'f all solids in water, including those suspended (TSS) or dissolved (TDS}, organic or inorganic. TURBIDITY - (Turb.) - The capacity of materials suspended in water to scatter light usually measured in Jackson Turbidity Units (JTU). Highly turbid watersI appear dark and "muddy". ULTIMATE OXYGEN DEMAND (UOD) - See BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND. WATER QUALITY SEGMENT - A designated portion of rivers, streams, and lakes, where applicable water quality standards are not now and will not be met, or where it is uncertain whether they will be met even after all discharges in the segment meet effluent standards based on best practicable treatment by private discharges and secondary treatment by municip�lities. WATER QUALITY STANDARDS - The minimum or maximum limits specified for certain water q uality parameters at specific locations for the purpose of managing waters to realize �heir most beneficial uses. In Vermont, Water Quality Standards include both Water Classification Orders and the Regulations Governing Water Classification and Control of Quality. viii WATER CLASS .- One of three classes (A, B, o.r C) used to designate the actual or intended use of waters.