Why we’re here today CONSERVATION DISTRICT LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY: W.S. 11-16-103(b): It’s our...
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The Clean Water Act Water Quality Processes Pollutants & Effects
Why we’re here today CONSERVATION DISTRICT LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY: W.S. 11-16-103(b): It’s our jobs to: Provide for the conservation of the soil, and soil
Why were here today CONSERVATION DISTRICT LEGISLATIVE
AUTHORITY: W.S. 11-16-103(b): Its our jobs to: Provide for the
conservation of the soil, and soil and water resources of this
state, Provide for the control and prevention of soil erosion and
for flood prevention Provide for the conservation, development,
utilization, and disposal of water, and thereby to stabilize
ranching and farming operations, To preserve natural resources,
protect the tax base, control floods, prevent impairment of dams
and reservoirs, preserve wildlife, protect public lands, and
Protect and promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the
people of this state.
Slide 3
Why were here today Gain an understanding of: 1. chemical,
physical and biological processes & how they influence the
water quality which influences implementation. 2. the different
types of Best Management Practices that can be used. 3. what Best
Management Practices work best for the conservation of soil and
water within our areas. 4. how Best Management Practices are
important on the national, state and local levels.
Slide 4
Clean Water Act - 1972 Basic structure for regulating
discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States Gave
EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs (NPDES)
Requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in
surface waters Unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant
from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was
obtained
Slide 5
Goals: reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways,
finance municipal wastewater treatment facilities, and manage
polluted runoff restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and
biological integrity of the nation's waters so that they can
support "the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and
wildlife and recreation in and on the water."
Slide 6
Delegated Authority The US Environmental Protection Agency can
delegate authority Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
exercises Authority in Wyoming If DEQ fails to enact necessary
actions, EPA can assume control
Slide 7
Water Quality Standards Water quality standards are the
foundation of the water quality-based pollution control program
mandated by the Clean Water Act. Water Quality Standards define the
goals for a water body by designating its uses, setting criteria to
protect those uses, and establishing antidegradation policies to
protect water bodies from pollutants. Water quality standards serve
as the basis for water quality-based limits in NPDES permits, as
the measure to assess and list impaired waters, and as the target
in a TMDL.
Slide 8
Water Quality Standards Water quality standards for Wyoming are
listed in the States Chapter 1 Water Quality Rules &
Regulations document The CWA requires that waters of the state are
assessed and reported on every two years (known as the 305(b)
report) Requires a report on the elimination of pollutants that
would be necessary to provide for designated use support. States
identify waters not meeting designated uses, recommend strategies
to achieve these objectives and to estimate the environmental
impacts, economic and social costs and benefits, and the predicted
timeline for project completion. Lastly, Section 305(b) requires
that the sources and extent of non-point source pollution in each
state be estimated
Slide 9
Designated (beneficial) Uses 1. Agriculture irrigation and
livestock watering 2. Fisheries includes water quality, habitat,
etc. 3. Industry maintaining water quality useful for industrial
purposes 4. Drinking water quality that is suitable for potable
water or suitable after receiving conventional water treatment. 5.
Recreation water quality for human contact. 6. Scenic Value no
objectionable odor, color, taste, settleable solids, floating
solids, suspended solids, or solid waste 7. Aquatic life other than
fish . 8. Wildlife safe consumption and contact by avian and
terrestrial wildlife species. 9. Fish consumption prevent any
unpalatable flavor and/or accumulation of harmful substances in
fish tissues.
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Water Quality Standards, cont. Waters that do not meet criteria
in the 305(b) report 303(d) list Impaired List of waters requiring
the Development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
Slide 11
What is a TMDL? A TMDL or Total Maximum Daily Load is a
calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody
can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an
allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources.
Slide 12
TMDL A TMDL is the sum of allocated loads of pollutants set at
a level necessary to implement the applicable water quality
standards, including: Wasteload allocations from point sources Load
allocations from nonpoint sources Natural background conditions
Margin of safety and consideration of seasonal variations Point
Sources + Non Point Sources + Margin of Safety = TMDL Example:
Waste Water Plant + Septics & Agriculture + 10% = TMDL
Slide 13
Q: What role does the Wyoming Association of Conservation
Districts, and local District play in assisting with water quality
issues? Planning Sampling and Analysis Implementation
Activities
Slide 14
Watershed Planning in Wyoming Locally led public process in
Wyoming developed with the purpose of identifying: issues and
concerns, (including water quality issues) developing goals and
objectives to address those concerns and creating voluntary and
incentive based means for addressing those issues.
Slide 15
Watershed Planning TMDLs identify problems Letter of the law
(CWA) Identifies specific issues and targets Watershed Planning
fixes problems Spirit of the law (CWA) Covers multiple resource
concerns, improving the entire resource while working with local
individuals Seeks to address and remove current impaired
listings
Slide 16
What Can an Individual Do? Implement Best Management Practices
in good faith
Slide 17
Best Management Practice In General: -Best Management Practices
(BMPs) are effective, practical, conservation practices and methods
which prevent or reduce erosion, and therefore the movement of
sediment, nutrients, pesticides and other pollutants, or that
manage their depositional environment in a favorable manner. -They
also may include practices which improve a given resource or that
move it in a desired management direction.
Slide 18
BMPs and the CWA Intent Protect - restore and maintain the
chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters
so that they can support "the protection and propagation of fish,
shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water."
Chemical Solutes, N, P, K, NaCl, Pesticides Physical Sediment
Biological Bacteria Fish Other Biota
Slide 19
Chemical Pollutants Salts, Fertilizers, etc. C, B, H, O, P, K,
I, N, S, Cu, Zn, Mo, Mn, Na, Cl, Fe, Mg, Some = good a lot = bad
Complex Organics C 6 H 12 O 6 Pesticides Petroleum based
products
Slide 20
Solubility The ability of a substance to dissolve. In the
process of dissolving, the substance which is being dissolved is
called solute and the substance in which the solute is dissolved is
called a solvent. A mixture of solute and solvent is called a
solution.
Slide 21
H 2 O The Universal Solvent
Slide 22
Time In Solution Until solute is depleted Until more soluble
material replacement Basically, until water no longer has the
ability (or wants) to carry the chemical constituent (Dissolved
Load) The heavier the chemical (solute), the sooner is will be
dropped.
Slide 23
Selenium Selenium poisoning of water systems may result
whenever new agricultural runoff courses through normally dry,
undeveloped lands. This process leaches natural soluble selenium
compounds (such as selenates) into the water, which may then be
concentrated in new "wetlands" as the water evaporates. High
selenium levels produced in this fashion have been found to have
caused certain congenital disorders in wetland birds. In fish and
other wildlife, low levels of selenium cause deficiency while high
levels cause toxicity.
Slide 24
Chemical weathering due to acid rain (C02 in rainwater)
Slide 25
Physical: Transport in Suspension (Suspended load) Smaller
particles such as clay, silt and fine sand are carried along
without contact with the river bed. Materials carried in suspension
usually forms the greatest part of the total river bed.
Slide 26
Physical: Transport in Saltation (Bed load) Large particles
such as gravel and coarse sand are lifted and dropped along the
river, so they bounce along the river bed.
Slide 27
Larger particles like pebbles and boulders roll and slide along
the river bed. Physical: Transport in Traction (Bed load)
Slide 28
Transport Energy The size of sediment being transported is
dependent on the energy of the stream
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Toklat River, East Fork, Polychrome overlook, Denali National
Park, Alaska
Slide 32
Physical Pollutants: Often Related to Excess Sediment
Slide 33
Biological: Biological organism can be indicators of water
quality: Fish (trout, sunfish, perch, salmon) Benthic
macroinvertebrates (insects, snails, crayfish, worms) Periphyton
(algae) Amphibians (frogs, salamanders) Macrophytes (aquatic
plants) Birds (residential or migratory) Vegetation The presence,
absence, and makeup of biological components can often be related
to chemical and physical properties of the waterbody
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Managing Streams: Controlling What They Look Like, and What
They Carry Managing Detachment How constituents, chemicals, huge
boulders, whatever, enter the stream Transport Who, what, when,
where, how far, and with whom it will travel Deposition What is the
desired depositional environment, how will we encourage the end of
transport at that point
Slide 38
Best Management Practices For the purposes of this course, we
will be looking at how the stream systems work, and what practices
we can implement to manage that system towards a desired
state.