Yellow Breeches Creek Watershed Assessment DRAFT Cumberland, York and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania April 2005 HRG Project No. 0243.180 369 East Park Drive Subconsultant: Harrisburg, PA 17111 (717) 564-1121 (717) 564-1158 (FAX) www.hrg-inc.com R E V I S E D D R A F T YELLOW BREECHES CREEK WATERSHED ASSESSMENT CUMBERLAND, YORK AND ADAMS COUNTIES PENNSYLVANIA APRIL 2005 FUNDED BY GROWING GREENER GRANTS PROVIDED BY PA DEP AND PA DCNR HRG Project No. 0243.180 369 East Park Drive Harrisburg, PA 17111 (717) 564-1121 www.hrg-inc.com ©Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc., 2005 YELLOW BREECHES CREEK WATERSHED ASSESSMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE TAB PREFACE ..................................................................................................................... A-1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................ A-3 STATEMENT OF NEED...................................................................................... A-3 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES................................................................................. A-3 PROJECT PARTNERS .................................................................................................... A-4 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... A-6 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS ...................................................................................... B-1 LOCATION....................................................................................................... B-1 SIZE ............................................................................................................ B-1 TOPOGRAPHY.................................................................................................. B-1 LAND RESOURCES....................................................................................................... B-3 SOILS ............................................................................................................ B-3 HYDRIC SOILS................................................................................................. B-4 AGRICULTURAL CAPABILITY .......................................................................... B-5 STEEP SLOPES ................................................................................................. B-7 EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION....................................................................... B-7 GEOLOGY........................................................................................................ B-9 FORMATIONS .................................................................................................. B-9 KARST TOPOGRAPHY ...................................................................................... B-12 FREESTONE VERSUS LIMESTONE ..................................................................... B-13 GEOLOGICAL FEATURES ................................................................................. B-13 WATER RESOURCES.................................................................................................... B-16 CHAPTER 93 CRITERIA.................................................................................... B-16 2004 PA INTEGRATED WATER QUALITY MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT REPORT ....................................................................... B-18 WETLANDS ..................................................................................................... B-19 FLOODPLAINS ................................................................................................. B-20 LAKES AND PONDS.......................................................................................... B-21 WATER SUPPLY .............................................................................................. B-21 GROUNDWATER .............................................................................................. B-21 PERMITTED DAMS........................................................................................... B-23 i TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT’D.) BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................ B-24 HABITAT ......................................................................................................... B-24 VEGETATION................................................................................................... B-25 WILDLIFE........................................................................................................ B-26 THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES...................................................... B-33 WATERSHED CONCERNS ............................................................................................. B-38 COLLECTION & ANALYSIS OF NEW DATA .................................................................. C-1 METHODS ....................................................................................................... C-2 SITE SELECTION.................................................................................. C-2 FIELD METHODS ................................................................................. C-2 BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSESSMENT LABORATORY METHODS................................................................. C-3 DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................. C-4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.............................................................................. C-5 SAMPLING SITE SELECTION ................................................................ C-5 BIOLOGICAL METRICS ........................................................................ C-6 HABITAT ASSESSMENT ....................................................................... C-14 REFERENCE SITE SELECTION AND CONDITION CATEGORY DETERMINATION .......................................................... C-17 INDIVIDUAL SITE ASSESSMENT........................................................... C-21 COMPARATIVE HISTORICAL DATA REVIEW ........................................ C-56 SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................ D-1 WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT .................................................................................. D-2 FIELD PARAMETERS........................................................................................ D-2 LABORATORY PARAMETERS ........................................................................... D-3 ANALYSIS AND RESULTS................................................................................. D-4 STREAMFLOW MEASUREMENT DISCREPANCY ................................................ D-18 EASI ............................................................................................................ D-20 CHESAPEAKE BAY STRATEGY......................................................................... D-20 ANALYSIS OF EXTERNAL DATA ...................................................................... D-20 EXCEEDANCES ................................................................................................ D-25 ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS .............................................................................................. D-27 IDENTIFICATION & RANKING OF WATERSHED NEEDS AND PROBLEM AREAS............. E-1 BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP)..................................................................... E-3 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... F-1 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT’D.) APPENDICES A – WATER CHEMISTRY RESULTS B – RAW BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE DATA C – BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE BENCH SHEETS D – HABITAT ASSESSMENT FIELD SHEETS E – HABITAT ASSESSMENT SCORES & CONDITION CATEGORY DETERMINATION F – BIOLOGICAL METRIC SCORING & CONDITION CATEGORY DETERMINATION G – SITE CHARACTERIZATION FIELD DATA SHEETS H – BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES I – NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMITTEES J – KNOWN FLOODING AND STORMWATER PROBLEM AREAS K – PENNSYLVANIA FISH AND BOAT COMMISSION STREAM SURVEYS iii ACRONYMS ACCD – Adams County Conservation District ACPC – Adams County Planning Commission CAPSEC- Capital Region Senior Environment Corps CCCD – Cumberland County Conservation District CCPC – Cumberland County Planning Commission CREP – Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program CSREES – Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service DER – Department of Environmental Resources EASI –Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency HQ-CWF – High Quality–Cold Water Fishes NRCS – Natural Resources Conservation Service NAWQA – National Water Quality Assessment NPDES – National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NWI – National Wetlands Inventory PA DCNR – Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources PA DEP – Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection PAWC – Pennsylvania American Water Company PCB – Polychlorinated Biphenyl PEC – Pennsylvania Environmental Council PENNDOT – Pennsylvania Department of Transportation PFBC – Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission PGC – Pennsylvania Game Commission PIMAR – Pennsylvania Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report PNDI – Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Index RBP – Rapid Bioassessment Protocols SCS – Soil Conservation Service SRBC – Susquehanna River Basin Commission US EPA – United States Environmental Protection Agency USACE – United States Army