National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Assessment of Water Resources and Watershed Conditions in Ocmulgee National MMonument, Georgia Natural Resource Report NPS/SECN/NRR—2010/276 ON THE COVER Late autumn, Ocmulgee National Monument’s largest wetland, viewed from atop the Great Temple Mound Photograph by: Michael Mallin Assessment of Water Resources and Watershed Conditions in Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia Natural Resource Report NPS/SECN/NRR—2010/276 JoAnn M. Burkholder, Elle H. Allen, and Carol A. Kinder Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology North Carolina State University 620 Hutton Street, Suite 104 Raleigh, NC 27606 December 2010 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available in the Reports and Publications section of the Southeast Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network webpage (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/secn/) and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM). Please cite this publication as: Burkholder, J. M., E. H. Allen, and C. A. Kinder. 2010. Assessment of water resources and watershed conditions in Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia. Natural Resource Report NPS/SECN/NRR—2010/276. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 363/106238, December 2010 ii Contents Page Figures........................................................................................................................................... vii Tables ............................................................................................................................................. ix Plates .............................................................................................................................................. xi Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xiii Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... xv Water Quality ......................................................................................................................... xv Ecosystem and Community Health ....................................................................................... xv Groundwater ........................................................................................................................ xvii Education Outreach ............................................................................................................. xvii Other Actions ....................................................................................................................... xvii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................ xix Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... xxi Park Description.............................................................................................................................. 1 Background .............................................................................................................................. 1 Location, Size, and Boundaries .......................................................................................... 1 History of OCMU ............................................................................................................... 2 Creation of OCMU ............................................................................................................. 4 Land Use / Land Cover in the Ocmulgee Watershed .............................................................. 4 Hydrologic Information ........................................................................................................... 7 The OCMU Area................................................................................................................. 7 Surface Waters .................................................................................................................... 7 Wetlands and Ponds .......................................................................................................... 14 Groundwater Resources .................................................................................................... 16 iii Biological Resources ............................................................................................................. 16 Microalgae ........................................................................................................................ 16 Wetland and Aquatic Macrophytes ................................................................................... 17 Terrestrial Vegetation ....................................................................................................... 18 Aquatic Macroinvertebrates .............................................................................................. 21 Fish .................................................................................................................................... 21 Amphibians and Reptiles .................................................................................................. 22 Birds .................................................................................................................................. 25 Mammals........................................................................................................................... 25 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species ...................................................................... 28 Exotic/Invasive Species .................................................................................................... 29 Assessment of OCMU Water and Air Resources .................................................................. 30 Surface Water Quality ....................................................................................................... 30 Drinking Water ................................................................................................................. 39 Groundwater Quality ........................................................................................................ 39 Sources of Pollutants ............................................................................................................. 39 Point Sources .................................................................................................................... 39 Nonpoint Sources .............................................................................................................. 40 Assessment of Biological Resources With Respect To Water and Air Quality .................... 43 Water Quality Standards ................................................................................................... 43 Impaired Surface Water Quality and Habitat .................................................................... 47 Air Quality Standards ....................................................................................................... 48 Air Resources .................................................................................................................... 50 Surface Water Quantity ..................................................................................................... 52 Drinking Water ................................................................................................................. 52 iv Groundwater ..................................................................................................................... 53 Ecosystem Effects ............................................................................................................. 53 Human Health Issues .......................................................................................................