Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan August 2018 Updated January 27, 2021 Prepared for Quittapahilla Watershed Association Prepared by Clear Creeks Consulting Funded by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Growing Greener Grant Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan Prepared for Quittapahilla Watershed Association Prepared by Clear Creeks Consulting Funded by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Growing Greener Grant August 2018 Updated January 27, 2021 Acknowledgements The Quittapahilla Watershed Association would like to acknowledge our partners and the following individuals and organization who provided technical and financial support in producing the Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan. Contributing Individuals: • Bill Beck, Project Identification & Prioritization Committee, QWA • Russell Collins, President, Doc Fritchey Chapter Trout Unlimited • Kelly Cottingham, Public Education, Participation & Outreach Committee, QWA • Kent Crawford, Quittapahilla Watershed Association • Sean Droms, PhD., Mathematics Professor, Lebanon Valley College, Board of Directors, QWA • Karen Feather, Public Education, Participation & Outreach Committee, QWA • Edward Gibble, Lebanon Valley Conservancy • Lynette Gelsinger, District Manager, Lebanon County Conservation District • Stephanie Harman, Watershed Specialist, Lebanon County Conservation District • Bryan Hoffman, Cleona Borough Authority, Landowner Participation Committee, QWA • Michael Hoffman, Office of State and Watershed Partnerships, Water Protection Division, USEPA • Lee Irwin, Aquatic Resource Restoration Company • David Lasky, Founder and Former President, Quittapahilla Watershed Association • Anne Lasky, Quittapahilla Watershed Association • Rocky O. Powell, Clear Creeks Consulting • Michael Schroeder, PhD., History Professor, Lebanon Valley College, President and Board of Directors, QWA • Mike Snyder, Supervisory District Conservationist, USDA-NRCS • Fred L. Suffian, Non-Point Source Program Manager, Office of State and Watershed Programs, USEPA • Rebecca Urban PhD., Biology Professor, Lebanon Valley College, Board of Directors QWA • Stephan Vegoe, Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited, Project Identification & Prioritization Committee, QWA • Gary Walters, Division of Water Quality, Monitoring Section, PADEP • Aaron Ward, Chief, Watershed Support Section, Office of Water Resources Planning, PADEP • Alan Wood, Project Identification & Prioritization Committee, QWA Quittapahilla Watershed Association and Restoration Partners: • Aquatic Resource Restoration Company • Clear Creeks Consulting • Cornwall Borough • Doc Fritchey Chapter Trout Unlimited • Lebanon County Clean Water Alliance • Lebanon County Conservation District • Lebanon County Planning Commission • Lebanon Valley Conservancy • Natural Resource Conservation Service - USDA • Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Project Background and Introduction 1 II. Identification of Causes & Sources of Impairment 4 A. Watershed Assessment Methodology 4 1. Watershed Characterization 4 a. Climate 4 b. Basin Morphometry 5 c. Geology 5 d. Soils 5 e. Land Use and Land Cover 5 f. Hydrology 6 1) U.S. Geological Survey Stream Gage Record Analysis 6 2) Field Calibration of Bankfull Discharge 6 3) U.S. Geological Survey Regional Regressions 6 4) Hydrologic Modeling and Analysis 7 5) Mapping 100-Year Floodplains 7 2. Morphological Stream Assessment 8 a. Field Calibration of Bankfull Channel Field Indicators 8 b. Geomorphic Mapping of Quittapahilla Creek 8 c. Morphological Description and Assessment of Stream Condition 9 d. Stream Stability Validation Monitoring 9 3. Subwatershed Analysis 10 a. Level I - Geomorphic Characterization of the Major Tributaries 10 b. Field Reconnaissance 10 4. Ecological Assessment 10 a. Historic Biological Communities 11 b. Evaluation of Existing In-Stream Habitat 11 c. Existing Biological Communities 11 5. Water Quality Assessment 12 a. Historic Water Quality Conditions 12 b. Water Quality Monitoring 12 c. Evaluation of Sediment Discharge 12 d. Water Quality Modeling and Analysis 13 e. Point Source Discharges 13 B. Watershed Assessment Findings 14 1. Watershed Characterization 14 a. Physiography 14 b. Climate 14 c. Basin Morphometry 15 d. Geology and Soils 15 e. Land Use and Land Cover 16 f. Hydrology 22 1) U.S. Geological Survey Stream Gage Record Analysis 22 2) Field Calibration of Bankfull Discharge 22 3) U.S. Geological Survey Regional Regressions 23 4) 100 Year Floodplains 23 5) Hydrologic Modeling and Analysis 23 a) Modeling Points 25 b) Precipitation Inputs 26 c) Procedures and Parameters 26 d) Model Results 27 e) Comparison of Peak Flow Estimates 28 2. Morphologic Stream Assessment 29 a. Introduction 29 b. Field Calibration to Verify Bankfull Channel Field Indicators 29 c. U.S. Geological Survey Regional Regressions 29 d. Geomorphic Mapping of Quittapahilla Creek 30 e. Morphological Description and Assessment of Stream Condition 31 f. Stream Stability Validation Monitoring 35 g. Findings of Channel Morphology and Stability Assessment 36 1) General Overview of Stream Conditions 36 2) Detailed Descriptions of Main Stem Segments 36 Segment 1 37 Segment 2 38 Segment 3 40 Segment 4 42 Segment 5 46 Segment 6 48 3. Subwatershed Analyses 51 a. Introduction 51 b. Field Reconnaissance Findings 51 1) General Comments 51 2) Channel Stability 51 3) Agricultural Activities 52 4) Stream Bank Fencing Program 52 5) Other Streamside Agricultural Best Mgmt. Practices 53 6) Logging and Lumber Mills 55 7) Quarries 55 8) Development 55 9) Channel Alterations 55 10) Flow Diversions 56 11) Fish Barriers 57 12) Fish Habitat Structures 57 4. Ecological Assessment 57 a. Introduction 57 b. Historical Biological Communities 58 c. Trout Stocking in the Quittapahilla Creek Watershed 58 d. Evaluation of Existing In-Stream Habitat 59 1) Rationale 59 2) Detailed Description of Main Stem Segments 60 Segment 1 60 Segment 2 61 Segment 3 62 Segment 4 63 Segment 5 64 Segment 6 65 e. Existing Biological Communities 66 1) Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities 67 2) Fish Communities 76 3) Station by Station Summary of Existing Biological Communities 78 Station Q1 78 Station Q2 82 Station Q3 82 Station Q4 83 Station Q5 84 Station Q6 84 Snitz Creek 85 Beck Creek 86 Bachman Run 87 Killinger Creek 88 4) Ecological Assessment Summary 89 5. Water Quality Assessment 91 a. Introduction 91 b. Historic Water Quality Conditions 92 c. Existing Water Quality Conditions 92 1) Baseflow Water Quality Monitoring 93 2) Storm Flow Water Quality Monitoring 93 3) Findings of the Water Quality Monitoring Program 94 4) Evaluation of Sediment Discharge 98 5) Water Quality Modeling and Analysis 101 a) General Overview Rationale and Methodology 101 b) Refinements to Modeling Approach 102 c) Substitution of More Detailed Data 102 d) Model Calibration 105 e) Model Application and Results 107 d. Point Source Discharges 115 III. Expected Load Reductions 117 A. Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) 117 B. Modeling Pollutant Loadings in Quittapahilla Creek Watershed 118 C. Pollutant Loading Reductions 121 IV. Proposed Management Measures 135 A. Introduction 135 B. Restoration Approach 136 1. Traditional Approaches 136 2. Fluvial Geomorphologic (FGM) Approach 137 3. Level of Intervention 138 4. Designing the Stable Channel Form 141 a. Empirical Relations 141 b. Reference Reach Concept 141 c. Design Objectives 141 5. Channel Stabilization Techniques 141 a. Streambank Stabilization 141 b. Streambed Stabilization 144 c. Flow Diverting Techniques 149 6. Floodplain and Wetland Restoration 151 C. The Restoration and Management Plan 154 1. Identification of Potential Restoration and Management Measures 154 2. Evaluation of the Feasibility of Site Specific Measures 154 3. Prioritization of Site Specific Measures 154 D. Restoration and Management Measures Proposed for the WIP 155 1. The Current WIP Planning Process 155 2. Prioritized Projects 156 V. Schedule and Milestones 188 A. General 188 B. Subwatershed Restoration Projects 190 1. Phase 1 – Snitz Creek 190 2. Phase 2 – Killinger Creek 192 3. Phase 3 – Beck Creek 194 4. Phase 4 – Bachman Run 196 C. Mainstem Restoration Projects 198 1. Phase 1 – Upper Mainstem 198 2. Phase 2 – Lower Mainstem 200 3. Phase 3 – Unnamed Tributary 202 VI. Load Reduction Evaluation Criteria 204 A. Quantitative Measures of Implementation Progress and Pollution Reduction 204 B. Qualitative Measures of Overall Program Success 205 C. Water Quality Indicator Milestone 206 1. Baseline Conditions 206 2. Incremental Improvements 206 a. General 206 b. Biological 207 c. Physical In-Stream Habitat 207 d. Temperature 207 e. Dissolved Oxygen 207 D. Adaptive Management Approach 207 VII. Monitoring Program 210 A. Monitoring of Restoration Projects 210 B. Monitoring within Subwatersheds (Tributaries) 212 C. Monitoring at Fixed Stations 212 1. Geomorphic and In-Stream Habitat Assessment 214 2. Biological Monitoring 214 3. Water Quality Monitoring 215 a. Water Quality Monitoring Objectives 215 b. Water Quality Monitoring Plan 216 c. Water Quality Monitoring Schedule 216 VIII. Information, Education, and Public Participation 219 I. Project Background and Introduction The Quittapahilla Creek Watershed is situated in the Ridge and Valley physiographic region in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Quittapahilla Creek is a tributary to Swatara Creek and is part of the Susquehanna River Basin. Its headwaters begin just southeast of Lebanon, Pennsylvania