Biological and Water Quality Study of the Raccoon Creek Watershed, 2016 Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Meigs, and Vinton Counties Raccoon Creek, 2016 Ohio EPA Technical Report AMS/2016‐RACCO‐2 Division of Surface Water Assessment and Modeling Section Draft January 2020 TMDL DEVELOPMENT | AMS/2016‐RACCO‐2 Draft Biological and Water Quality Study of the Raccoon Creek Watershed, 2016 January 2020 Table of Contents List of Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Components of an Ohio EPA Biological and Water Quality Survey .................................................................................. 10 What is a Biological and Water Quality Survey? .................................................................................................................. 10 Hierarchy of Indicators .................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Ohio Water Quality Standards: Designated Aquatic Life Use ......................................................................................... 12 Ohio Water Quality Standards: Non-Aquatic Life Uses ..................................................................................................... 13 Mechanisms for Water Quality Impairment .......................................................................................................................... 14 Habitat and Flow Alterations .................................................................................................................................................. 14 Siltation and Sedimentation .................................................................................................................................................... 15 Nutrient Enrichment .................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Organic Enrichment and Low Dissolved Oxygen ........................................................................................................... 16 Ammonia ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Metals ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Bacteria ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Sediment Contamination .......................................................................................................................................................... 18 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Determining Use Attainment Status .................................................................................................................................... 19 Habitat Assessment .................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Sediment and Surface Water Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 19 Recreation Use Assessment ..................................................................................................................................................... 20 Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment .................................................................................................................... 20 Fish Community Assessment .................................................................................................................................................. 20 Causal Associations ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Overview: Raccoon Creek Watershed ........................................................................................................................................... 21 Study Area Description ....................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Ecoregion, Geology, and Soils ...................................................................................................................................................... 28 Wastewater Discharge Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 30 Mineral Extraction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 31 Underground Coal Mining ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 Surface Coal Mining .................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Iron .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Oil and Gas ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Beneficial Use Results and Discussion .......................................................................................................................................... 36 Aquatic Life Use ................................................................................................................................................................................. 36 Water Chemistry Results .......................................................................................................................................................... 36 Sediment Quality .......................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Physical Habitat ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 0 Fish Community Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 57 Macroinvertebrate Community Results ............................................................................................................................. 66 Aquatic Life Use Discussion, Impairment Linkage, and Trends ............................................................................... 72 I AMS/2016‐RACCO‐2 Draft Biological and Water Quality Study of the Raccoon Creek Watershed, 2016 January 2020 Recreation Use ................................................................................................................................................................................ 109 Public Drinking Water Supplies ............................................................................................................................................... 113 City of Wellston ......................................................................................................................................................................... 113 Human Health ................................................................................................................................................................................. 115 Fish Tissue Contamination ................................................................................................................................................... 115 Beneficial Use Designations and Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 119 Aquatic Life Use Status ................................................................................................................................................................ 119 Stream Improvements ................................................................................................................................................................. 120 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................................................... 128 References