Chester Creek, University Lake, and Westchester Lagoon, Anchorage, Alaska
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Total Maximum Daily Load for Fecal Coliform in Chester Creek, University Lake, and Westchester Lagoon, Anchorage, Alaska FINAL Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation 555 Cordova Street Anchorage , Alaska 99501 May 2005 This page is intentionally left blank Fecal Coliform TMDL Chester Creek Watershed CONTENTS Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................ix 1.0 Description of the Watershed and Waterbodies................................................................................1 1.1 Location.......................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Population....................................................................................................................................3 1.3 Topography..................................................................................................................................4 1.4 Land Cover..................................................................................................................................4 1.5 Climate ........................................................................................................................................8 1.6 Hydrology....................................................................................................................................9 2.0 Water Quality Standards, TMDL Target and Area of Coverage ....................................................11 2.1 Applicable Water Quality Standards .........................................................................................11 2.2 Designated Use Impacts ............................................................................................................12 2.3 Area of Coverage.......................................................................................................................12 3.0 Data Analysis..................................................................................................................................13 3.1 Previous Studies........................................................................................................................13 3.2 Data Inventory...........................................................................................................................14 3.3 Data Analysis.............................................................................................................................14 3.3.1 Station CH11, South Fork Chester Creek, Upper Chester Creek Subwatershed ..................17 3.3.2 Station CH9, South Fork Chester Creek, Upper Chester Creek Subwatershed ....................18 3.3.3 Station ULI (inlet to University Lake), South Fork Chester Creek, Upper Chester Creek Subwatershed ........................................................................................................................20 3.3.4 Station ULO (outlet of University Lake), South Fork Chester Creek, Upper Chester Creek Subwatershed ........................................................................................................................21 3.3.5 Station CH6, Downstream of Station ULO, South Fork Chester Creek, Upper Chester Creek Subwatershed ........................................................................................................................23 3.3.6 Station CH7A, Middle Fork Chester Creek, Upper Chester Creek Subwatershed ...............24 3.3.7 Station CH7, Downstream of Station CH7A, Middle Fork Chester Creek, Upper Chester Creek Subwatershed..............................................................................................................26 3.3.8 Station CH10, North Fork Chester Creek, Lower Chester Creek Subwatershed..................27 3.3.9 Station CH2, Chester Creek, Lower Chester Creek Subwatershed.......................................29 3.3.10 Station CL3, Near Inlet from Chester Creek to Westchester Lagoon...................................30 3.3.11 Station CL2, Near Outlet into Cook Inlet .............................................................................32 4.0 Pollutant Sources ............................................................................................................................35 4.1 Point Sources, Nonpoint Sources, and Natural Sources ............................................................35 5.0 Technical Approach ........................................................................................................................37 5.1 Modeling Approach...................................................................................................................37 5.2 Model Configuration .................................................................................................................38 5.2.1 Watershed Subdivision..........................................................................................................38 5.2.2 Watershed Parameters...........................................................................................................38 5.2.3 Meteorological Data..............................................................................................................43 5.3 Model Calibration......................................................................................................................43 5.3.1 Hydrologic Calibration..........................................................................................................43 5.3.2 Water Quality Calibration .....................................................................................................43 5.4 Model Application.....................................................................................................................44 6.0 Chester Creek Allocation Analysis.................................................................................................46 6.1 Identification of Loading Capacity............................................................................................46 6.2 Load Allocation.........................................................................................................................53 6.3 Wasteload Allocation................................................................................................................53 6.4 Margin of Safety........................................................................................................................56 6.5 Seasonal Variation.....................................................................................................................56 Final i Chester Creek Watershed Fecal Coliform TMDL 6.6 Implementation Scenarios.........................................................................................................56 7.0 University Lake Allocation Analysis..............................................................................................73 7.1 Identification of Allowable Loads.............................................................................................73 7.2 Load Allocation.........................................................................................................................76 7.3 Wasteload Allocation................................................................................................................76 7.4 Implementation Scenarios.........................................................................................................78 8.0 Westchester Lagoons Allocation Analysis......................................................................................85 8.1 Identification of Allowable Loads.............................................................................................85 8.2 Load Allocation.........................................................................................................................88 8.3 Wasteload Allocation................................................................................................................88 8.4 Implementation Scenarios.........................................................................................................90 9.0 Implementation ...............................................................................................................................97 10.0 Monitoring ....................................................................................................................................100 11.0 Public Comments and Responsiveness Summary.........................................................................101 12.0 References.....................................................................................................................................103 Appendix A: SWMM Calibration.............................................................................................................A-1 Appendix B: Annual Average Subbasin Fecal Coliform Loads ..............................................................B-1 ii Final Fecal Coliform TMDL Chester Creek Watershed TABLES Table 1-1. Major subwatersheds and drainage within the Chester Creek watershed. ..............................2 Table 1-2. The Municipality of Anchorage land cover classification system ..........................................5 Table 1-3. Land cover within the Chester Creek watershed.....................................................................5 Table 1-4. Land cover within the major subwatersheds