Watershed Implementation Plan Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Prepared by: Quittapahilla Watershed Association May 2013 Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan Table of Contents Background of Quittapahilla Creek Watershed.................................................................... 1 Historic and Current Impairments ............................................................................................ 2 Total Maximum DailyLoads ......................................................................................................... 3 Watershed Modeling of Total Maximum Daily Loads ........................................................................ 4 Loading Targets and Reductions ............................................................................................... 5 Existing and Future BMP .............................................................................................................. 9 Prioritization .................................................................................................................................. 35 Technical and Financial Assistance ....................................................................................... 31 Accomplishments of Quittapahilla Watershed Association ......................................... 37 Implementation Schedule .......................................................................................................... 38 Funding Sources ............................................................................................................................ 39 Public Information and Participation ................................................................................... 44 Water Quality Monitoring .......................................................................................................... 45 Monitoring Implementation ...................................................................................................................... 47 Remedial Actions .......................................................................................................................... 47 References ....................................................................................................................................... 48 Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan Background of Quittapahilla Creek Watershed The Quittapahilla Creek Watershed is located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. This area falls in the Susquehanna River Basin in the Great Ridge and Valley physiographic region. On average, this area receives about 120 cm of precipitation annually in the form of rain and snow. Average temperatures range from about -3 to 0 degrees C in winter to between 20- 22 degrees C in summer. The main body of water is the Quittapahilla Creek, flowing east to west with seven named tributaries, including Brandywine Creek, which flows from North to South, Snitz Creek, Beck Creek, Bachman Run, Killinger Creek, Ginrich Run and Buckholder Run all of which flow south to north. The Quittapahilla Creek and its tributaries are shown in Figure 1. The Quittapahilla Creek flows into the Swatara Creek and then to the Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna River empties in the Chesapeake Bay and is the Bay’s greatest contributor of freshwater. Therefore, the area of impact for this watershed extends not only through parts of Pennsylvania, but also through parts of Maryland and Virginia as well. The limestone type soil is nutrient rich and has supported a long agrarian heritage. Land use in this area is predominantly agricultural (~ 68%). Other areas are considered either developed (~13%) or declared open space such as forested or water bodies. Open space accounts for approximately 19% of the land. State Game lands account for much of the forested space and is dominated by deciduous trees and some coniferous and mixed species. Figure 1. Map of the Quittapahilla Creek Watershed including the Quittapahilla Creek and named tributaries. (Adapted from: Powell, 2006). 1 | P a g e Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan Historic and Current Impairments Originally, this area was inhabited by Native Americans. The word Quittapahilla is a Native American word meaning snake-harboring or eel-bearing. European settlers started to colonize this area in the early 1700’s and acquired the land from Native Americans in 1732. After colonization, land use included grist and saw mills, logging, quarries and agriculture that directly affected the Quittapahilla Creek in the form of channel alterations and water quality impairments. In the 1700s and 1800s over 50 gristmills were present along the Quittapahilla Creek and several saw mills along the tributaries. Dams, used to construct millponds, were built for both the grist and saw mills. While the dams have been removed, some of the mill sites still remain adding to aggradation and creating barriers to fish movement. Severe flooding in the 1800s led to the construction of the Hazel Dike in 1889 to protect the city of Lebanon from flood events. Hazel Dike converted much of the Upper Quittapahilla Creek to concrete flumes. Hurricane Agnes in 1972 spawned construction of more channel alterations in the form of concrete flumes and piping. Irrigation for farmlands also added to channel alterations. Currently, the Quittapahilla Creek and its tributaries have all experienced channel alterations from about 17% at Killinger Creek to about 66% at Brandywine Creek. The main stem Quittapahilla has experienced approximately 20% alteration in its historic stream flow. Historic land use patterns have influenced current land use in this watershed. As mentioned earlier, abandoned mills and dams are a source of impairment and restrict fish movement. Urban and storm water runoff and also the increase of impervious surfaces due to development are also a great concern. Urban and storm water runoff are regulated by the Federal Clean Water Act and the Pennsylvania Clean Streams law which requires permits for pollutant limits, monitoring, and reporting for wastewater discharges. However, the activity that has had the most severe impact is nonpoint source pollution due to agriculture. Unrestricted livestock grazing along the tributaries has resulted in trampling of banks and vegetation leading to widening of channels via erosion. The focus of this plan is on the increase of sedimentation and nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, and agricultural management strategies to restore water quality in the Quittapahilla Creek Watershed. Early investigations by the PADEP and PA Fish Commission throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s reported that the waters were unable to support aquatic life, and stocking of trout was ceased. A Fish Commission report went so far as to call the Quittapahilla an “open sewer”. After the Clean Water Act, regulations helped to improve conditions so that stocking could begin again in the late 1980s. The Clean Water Act of 1972 regulates pollutant discharges and water quality standards for the United States. Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act states that impaired waters must be listed and that states, territories or tribes must set water quality standards based on the water’s designated use (for example recreation or public drinking). The designated use of waters in the Quittapahilla Watershed is for aquatic life. Section 303(d) also requires that Total Maximum Daily Loads or TMDLs must be calculated for each impaired water body. Total Maximum Daily Loads is a “calculation of the maximum amount of a specific pollutant that a waterbody can receive and be able to meet water quality standards”. 2 | P a g e Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan The Quittapahilla and its tributaries were listed as impaired waterbodies on both the 1996 and 1998 303(d) lists and also in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s 305(b) report to Congress in 2000. In 2000, the PADEP conducted an assessment of the Quittapahilla Creek watershed and found that out of 143 km of stream, only 2% or about 3 km were considered to be unimpaired waterways. And about 80% of those impaired streams were found to be affected by agriculture. Descriptions of impairments for each sub-watershed are described in depth in “Volume 2—Restoration and Management Plan” (Powell, 2006, p. 71-103 hardcopy, p. 81-116, electronic copy). Total Maximum Daily Loads The Quittapahilla Creek watershed as described in the TMDL Report as noted in the PA DEP report dated November 9, 2000 includes 8 sub-watersheds. However, the watershed was divided into 21 sub-watersheds for analysis in the Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment dated September 2006 prepared by Clear Creeks Consulting and Skelly and Loy. The watersheds were subdivided in the later study to further refine the sources of impairments and update the load predictions based on newer landuse information. This updated model was then calibrated based on sampling data as described in “Volume 2— Restoration and Management Plan” (Powell, 2006) The Figure 2 below is included to illustrate the comparison of the sub-watershed layout shown in both reports. Numbers 1 through 8 (black) represent the watersheds shown in the DEP TMDL Report; numbers 1 through 21 (red) illustrate the watersheds used for the Watershed Assessment. Table 1 summarizes the subwatershed comparisons. Figure 2. Comparison of subwatershed breakdown in PA DEP TMDL Report (2000) and Quittapahilla Watershed Assessment (2006) 3 | P a g e Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation