FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Division of Water Resource Management SOUTH AND CENTRAL DISTRICTS • GROUP 4 BASIN • 2006 Water Quality Assessment Report Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Division of Water Resource Management 2006 Water Quality Assessment Report Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Water Quality Assessment Report: Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek 5 Acknowledgments The Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Basins Water Quality Assess- ment Report was prepared by the Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Basins Team, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as part of a fi ve-year cycle to restore and protect Florida’s water quality. Team members and contributors include the following: Pat Fricano, Basin Coordinator Xueqing Gao, Watershed Assessment Team Leader Richard Hicks, Ground Water Protection Section Ann Stansel, Watershed Assessment Section (formerly) David Tyler, Watershed Assessment Section Tricia McClenahan, Geographic Information Systems Rachel McDonnough, STORET Terry Frohm, STORET Janet Klemm, Outstanding Florida Waters Barbara Bess, Central District Gordon Romeis, South District Karen Bickford, South District (formerly) Editorial and writing assistance provided by Linda Lord, Watershed Planning and Coordination Production assistance provided by Center for Information, Training, and Evaluation Services Florida State University 210 Sliger Building 2035 E. Dirac Dr. Tallahassee, FL 32306-2800 Map production assistance provided by Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center Florida State University University Center, C2200 Tallahassee, FL 32306-2641 For additional information on the watershed management approach and impaired waters in the Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Basins, contact Pat Fricano Florida Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Watershed Management, Watershed Planning and Coordination Section 2600 Blair Stone Road, Mail Station 3565 Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400 [email protected].fl .us 6 Water Quality Assessment Report: Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Phone: (850) 245-8559; SunCom: 205-8559 Fax: (850) 245-8434 Access to all data used in the development of this report can be obtained by contacting Xueqing Gao Florida Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Watershed Management, Watershed Assessment Section 2600 Blair Stone Road, Mail Station 3555 Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400 [email protected].fl .us Phone: (850) 245-8464; SunCom: 205-8464 Fax: (850) 245-8536 Web Sites Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Watershed Management TMDL Program http://www.dep.state.fl .us/water/tmdl/index.htm Identifi cation of Impaired Surface Waters Rule http://www.dep.state.fl .us/water/tmdl/docs/AmendedIWR.pdf STORET Program http://www.dep.state.fl .us/water/storet/index.htm 2004 305(b) Report http://www.dep.state.fl .us/water/docs/2004_Integrated_Report.pdf Criteria for Surface Water Quality Classifi cations http://www.dep.state.fl .us/legal/rules/shared/62-302.pdf Status/Assessment Reports http://www.dep.state.fl .us/water/tmdl/stat_rep.htm Allocation Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) Report http://www.dep.state.fl .us/water/tmdl/docs/Allocation.pdf U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4: Total Maximum Daily Loads in Florida http://www.epa.gov/region4/water/tmdl/fl orida/ National STORET Program http://www.epa.gov/storet/ Water Quality Assessment Report: Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek 7 Preface Content Features • Executive Summary: Appears at the beginning of every report and provides an overview of the watershed management, its implementa- tion, and how this approach will be used to identify impaired waters. • Sidebar: Appears throughout the report and provides additional information pertinent to the text on that page. • Noteworthy: Appears on pages near text that needs additional information but is too lengthy to fi t in a sidebar. • Defi nitions: Appear where scientifi c terms occur that may not be familiar to all readers. The word being defi ned is bold-faced in the text. • References: Appear immediately before the Appendices and provide a complete listing of all sources used in the text. • Appendices: Appear at the end of the report and provide additional information on a range of subjects such as bioassessment methodolo- gy, rainfall and stream fl ow, types of natural communities, STORET stations, water quality statistics, land use, and permitted facilities. Water Quality Assessment Report: Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek 9 Executive Summary The Water Quality Assessment Report for the Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Basins is part of the implementation of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (Department’s) watershed management approach for restoring and protecting water resources and addressing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program requirements. A TMDL represents the maximum amount of a given pollutant that a waterbody can assimilate and still meet the waterbody’s designated uses. A waterbody that does not meet its designated uses is defi ned as impaired. The watershed approach, which is implemented using a cyclical manage- ment process, provides a framework for implementing the requirements of the 1972 federal Clean Water Act and the 1999 Florida Watershed Restora- tion Act (Chapter 99-223, Laws of Florida). A Status Report, published during Phase 1 of the watershed manage- ment cycle, provided a Planning List, or preliminary identifi cation, of potentially impaired waterbodies in the Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Basins. This Assessment Report presents the results of additional data gathered during Phase 2 of the cycle. The report contains a Verifi ed List of impaired waters (Table 5.2 in Chapter 5) that has been adopted by Secretarial Order and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). TMDLs must be developed and implemented for these waters, unless the impairment is documented to be a naturally occurring condition that cannot be abated by a TMDL, or unless a management plan already in place is expected to correct the problem. The Verifi ed List also constitutes the Group 4 basin-specifi c 303(d) list of impaired waters, so called because it is required under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The report also provides the results of a preliminary ground water qual- ity assessment and discusses ground water–surface water issues for further evaluation and resource priorities. See Noteworthy in Chapter 1 for a description of the contents of this report, by chapter. In the Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Basins, state, federal, regional, and local agencies and organizations are making progress towards identifying problems and improving water quality. Through its watershed management activities, the Department works with these entities to support programs that are improving water quality and restoring and protecting ecological resources. The Department’s TMDL Program objectives will be carried out in the basin through close coordination with key stake holders and initiatives such as the cities of Orlando, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Lake Wales, Avon Park, Sebring, and Lake Placid; Orange, Polk, Osceola, Highlands, Okeechobee, and Glades Counties; Reedy Creek Improve- ment District (RCID); Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD); and South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). Coordination with the many other initiatives in the basin is essential to the success of the TMDL efforts. These initiatives include the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the Kissimmee River Restoration Project. 10 Water Quality Assessment Report: Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Not only do stakeholders in the basin share responsibilities in achiev- ing water quality improvement objectives, they also play a crucial role in providing the Department with important monitoring data and informa- tion on management activities. Signifi cant data providers in the basin include SFWMD, SWFWMD, the Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the city of Orlando, RCID, Polk and Orange Counties, Avon Park Air Force (Bombing) Range, and the U.S. Geological Survey. During the next few years, considerable data analysis will be done to establish TMDLs for impaired waters in the Kissimmee River and Fish eating Creek Basins, establish the initial allocations of pollutant load reductions needed to meet those TMDLs, and produce a Basin Manage- ment Action Plan to reduce the amount of pollutants that cause impair- ments. These activities depend heavily on the active participation of the water management district, local governments, businesses, and other stake- holders. The Department will work with these organizations and individu- als to undertake or continue reductions in the discharge of pollutants and achieve the established TMDLs for impaired waterbodies. Summary of Findings The Department’s assessment shows that 49 waterbodies or waterbody segments in the Kissimmee River and Fisheating Creek Basins are impaired per the IWR methodology and require the development of TMDLs. The following summarizes, by planning unit, impairments by waterbody types and the primary pollutants. Planning units are smaller areas in the basin that provide a more detailed geographic basis for identifying and assessing water quality improvement activities. Upper Kissimmee Planning Unit Of the 144 waterbody segments in the Upper Kissimmee Planning Unit, 90 segments have suffi cient data for assessment. Of these, 30 are verifi ed impaired