LAKE WALLENPAUPACK WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN December 2006 PREPARED FOR: Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District PREPARED BY: F. X. Browne, Inc. Engineers - Planners - Scientists Lansdale, Pennsylvania Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management Plan December 2006 Prepared for: Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District P. O. Box 205 Paupack, PA 18451 Prepared by: F. X. Browne, Inc. P.O. Box 401 Lansdale, PA 19446 Project Director Dr. Frank X. Browne, P.E. Project Participants Marlene R. Martin, P.E. Rebecca Buerkett FXB File No. PA1012-52-004 F. X. Browne, Inc. Table of Contents Executive Summary......................................................................................................................... i 1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District Accomplishments............ 1 1.2 Goals and Objectives .............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Characteristics.................................................... 5 1.3.1 Land Use..................................................................................................... 6 1.3.2 Topography, Geology and Soils ................................................................. 6 1.3.3 Climate and Rainfall ................................................................................. 10 1.3.4 Population Trends and Socio-Economic Structure................................... 12 1.3.5 Lake Access and Lake Use ....................................................................... 16 2.0 Existing Conditions – Lake Wallenpaupack Water Quality............................................. 18 2.1 Lake Characteristics and Impairments.................................................................. 18 2.2 Lake Operations.................................................................................................... 18 2.3 Lake Monitoring Program and Methodology ....................................................... 19 2.4 Lake Water Quality Trends................................................................................... 21 2.4.1 Nutrients (Phosphorus and Nitrogen) ....................................................... 22 2.4.2 Secchi Disk............................................................................................... 24 2.4.3 Chlorophyll a ............................................................................................ 25 2.4.4 Phytoplankton ........................................................................................... 26 2.4.5 Zooplankton.............................................................................................. 27 2.4.6 Trophic State Index................................................................................... 28 2.4.7 Dissolved Oxygen..................................................................................... 29 2.4.8 Fisheries.................................................................................................... 30 2.4.9 Macrophytes.............................................................................................. 31 2.4.10 Lake Sediment Sampling.......................................................................... 31 2.5 Algal Assay........................................................................................................... 33 2.6 Watershed Education Surveys .............................................................................. 34 3.0 Pollution Sources in the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed ............................................... 35 3.1 Nonpoint Source Pollution.................................................................................... 35 3.1.1 Watershed Investigations.......................................................................... 35 3.1.2 Success Stories – Existing Nonpoint Source BMPs ................................. 38 3.1.3 Effectiveness of BMP Controls Study...................................................... 40 3.2 Point Sources........................................................................................................ 45 3.3 Hydrologic and Pollutant Budgets........................................................................ 49 3.3.1 Tributary Monitoring Program ................................................................. 49 3.3.2 Atmospheric Monitoring........................................................................... 50 3.3.3 Hydrologic Budget.................................................................................... 52 3.3.4 Pollutant Budget....................................................................................... 53 F. 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Table of Contents, continued 4.0 Lake and Watershed Management Plan............................................................................ 56 4.1 Wastewater Management...................................................................................... 57 4.1.1 Act 537 Wastewater Planning................................................................... 57 4.1.2 Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Disposal ................................. 59 4.1.3 Management of Existing Centralized Wastewater Facilities.................... 60 4.2 Developed Land Management .............................................................................. 61 4.2.1 Management of Existing Development .................................................... 61 4.2.2 Management of New Development .......................................................... 65 4.2.3 Environmental Planning........................................................................... 69 4.3 Agriculture Management ...................................................................................... 71 4.4 Silviculture Management...................................................................................... 72 4.5 Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration ............................................................................ 72 4.5.1 Streambank Restoration............................................................................ 73 4.5.2 Shoreline Restoration................................................................................ 74 4.5.3 Wetlands Protection and Restoration........................................................ 75 4.6 In-Lake Management............................................................................................ 76 4.6.1 Lake and Watershed Monitoring .............................................................. 76 4.6.2 Macrophyte Survey................................................................................... 76 4.6.3 Fisheries Survey........................................................................................ 76 4.6.4 Lake Operation......................................................................................... 77 4.7 Public Education and Outreach............................................................................. 77 5.0 Implementation Strategies................................................................................................ 79 5.1 LWWMD Capacity Building and Organizational Development.......................... 79 5.2 Fundraising ........................................................................................................... 80 5.2.1 User Fees................................................................................................... 80 5.2.2 Grant Programs......................................................................................... 80 5.3 Priority Action Plan .............................................................................................. 82 6.0 References......................................................................................................................... 86 Appendices A Lake Ecology and Watershed Management Primer B Nonpoint Source Pollution Problem Areas C Map 1 – Nonpoint Source Pollution Problem Areas and BMPs Installed in the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed D BMPs Installed in the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed F. 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Table of Figures Figure Page 1.1 Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed......................................................................................... 3 1.2 Land Use in the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed ............................................................. 8 1.3 Topography in the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed.......................................................... 9 1.4 Population Growth in the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed............................................. 13 2.1 Location of Sampling Stations at Lake Wallenpaupack................................................... 20 2.2 Trends in Seasonal Average Epilimnetic Total Phosphorus Concentrations at Station 3 in Lake Wallenpaupack ................................................................................. 23 2.3 Trends in Seasonal Average Total Nitrogen Concentrations at Station 3 in Lake Wallenpaupack..................................................................................................... 24 2.4 Trends in Seasonal Average Secchi Disk Transparency at Station 3 in Lake Wallenpaupack..................................................................................................... 25 2.5 Trends in Seasonal Average Chlorophyll a Concentrations at Station 3 in Lake Wallenpaupack....................................................................................................