B4N BMW TMDL MIRL. CLRMA Annual Fall Conference. Barr Lake & Milton Reservoir Watershed Association

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "B4N BMW TMDL MIRL. CLRMA Annual Fall Conference. Barr Lake & Milton Reservoir Watershed Association"

Transcription

1 B4N BMW TMDL MIRL CLRMA Annual Fall Conference Nov. 16th, 2011 Barr Lake & Milton Reservoir Watershed Association

2 History

3 Watershed (datashed) Population: o 2.5 Million (1 in 2 Coloradoans) 850 Sq. Miles Including 6 Front Range Counties 90% Privately Owned 35% Residential, Industrial, and Commercial BMW 49% Agricultural 500 Miles of Streams and 550 Miles of Canals

4 Creeks, Streams, and Reservoirs Milton Res. Big Dry Creek Barr Lake Barr Lake Standley Res. 1 st st, 2 nd, & 3rd Creek Clear Creek Sand Creek Aurora Res. Bear Cr. Res. S. Platte River Cherry Creek Bear Creek Marston Lake Cherry Cr. Res. Chatfield Res.

5 BTW

6 Barr Lake Owned by FRICO (Farmer s Reservoir and Irrigation Company) Historic Uses - Agricultural Irrigation, Recreation, Aquatic Life Habitat New Uses Drinking Water (2004) State Park management Source water S. Platte at Burlington headgate (94%) 30,071 AF volume 1,833 surface acres 34 feet max. depth 225 day residence time

7 Milton Reservoir Owned by FRICO Historic Uses - Agricultural Irrigation, Recreation, Aquatic Life Habitat New Uses Drinking Water (2004) Source water S S. Platte at Platte Valley headgate (54%) and Beebe Canal (37%) 24,029 AF volume 082 surface f 2 2,082 acres 26 feet max. depth 192 day residence time

8 Residence Time Trivia Lake Erie? 3 Years

9 Residence Time Trivia Lake Michigan? 100 Years

10 Residence Time Trivia Blue Mesa 0.6 years

11 Residence Time Trivia Cherry Creek Reservoir 1-2 years

12 Association History S.P. Triennial Hearing WQCC directed Division to assist in formation of a Barr/Milton stakeholder process 2002 Initial series of outreach meetings organized by Division 2002 Phase I 319 grant to fund organizational development, facilitation, and development of initial database 2005 Incorporated BMW Association as 501(c) Phase II 319 grant to fund technical studies and development of watershed plan and TMDL

13 Regulatory Drivers 2002 State 303(d) listing for ph impairment (both Barr and Milton) exceedences above 9.0 ph units 2010 listings for ammonia, D.O. Total Allowable Load Nonpoint/ Background Loads Margin of Safety Point Source Loads A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources.

14 Challenges

15 BFF s

16 Image credit: Joseph J Luczkovich The use of ecological and Image credit: Joseph J. Luczkovich, The use of ecological and social network analysis to study food webs and nutrient cycles in ecological systems that include humans, Department of Biology, Institute for Coastal and Marine Resources

17 Association Board Wastewater Mgmt Agencies Cities/Counties Drinking Water Providers Regulatory and Planning Recreation Agencies Interests Raw Water Providers City of Aurora City & County of Denver City of Thornton Denver Water East Cherry Creek Valley Water & Sanitation SAd S. Adams County Water Wt &Sanitation itti District Ditit United Water & Sanitation District Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant Metro Wastewater t Reclamation District i t S. Platte Coalition for Urban River Evaluation Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company Barr Lake State t Park Steven Janssen

18 UDMLUSC

19 Nutrient Problem Problem Excessive Nutrients (Phosphorus Nitrogen) Symptoms Low Oxygen High ph Poor Clarity Taste/Odor Algae Blooms Aesthetics Fish Kills Barr and Milton are classified as hypereutrophic

20 geology & other natural sources agriculture urban development mining & resource extraction industry forestry & silviculture channel alteration land cover alteration N or P in soil N or P in subsurface waters N or P in wet or dry deposition N or P in surface runoff N or P in discharged waters delivery of N or P to stream LEGEN D human activity dissolved organic N or P light dissolved inorganic N or P particulate N or P source modifying factor macrophytes periphyton phytoplankton additional step in causal pathway interacting stressor proximate stressor mode of action biotic response microbes benthic organic matter Δ dissolved oxygen ph algal toxins food resources plant assemblage structure N:P ratio habitat structure suspended organic matter biologically impaired invertebrate assemblages Simple conceptual model diagram for NUTRIENTS Developed 7/2007 by Kate Schofield; modified 7/2010 biologically impaired fish other biological impairments assemblages

21 OMG

22 Modeling (Uncertainty) t Milton Reservoir Summer Avg ph vs. TP mg/l 10 Barr Lake Summer Avg ph vs. TP mg/l ph (SU U) U) ph (S TP (mg/l) TP (mg/l)? Uncertainty What is background ph? Will chl-a drop if TP is reduced? What TP level will drop ph below 9.0?

23 Advancement

24 Modeling (Facts) Phosphorus is the critical nutrient to control Phosphorus h load to Barr is ~ 70, kg/yr Phosphorus load to Milton is ~ 90% 40, kg/yr Phosphorus loads to Barr and Milton need to be ~ 4,000 kg/yr/reservoir Chl-a explains about 54% of the variation in ph No linkage between Phosphorus and No linkage between Phosphorus and ph Barr Lake 4% 6% Point Sources Background Loads Internal Load

25 TMI

26 Modeling (conclusions) ( ) Best estimate: In-reservoir Phosphorus needs to be 100 ug/l to keep chl-a below 25 ug/l and ph below 9.0 It will take a >95% reduction in both external and internal loading to see major water quality improvements Wastewater t Treatment t Plants will have to treat t for Phosphorus Internal Phosphorus loading will have to be treated Any source to which more than about 0.6% of the total load can be attributed will require some attention, as the load reduction necessary to guarantee compliance is so extreme

27 ph TMDL Submitted to State Public noticed in May Met with State about changes Currently in State s hands B4N BMW TMDL MIRL

28 Adaptive Implementation Plan Submitted with the phased ph TMDL Provides roadmap for implementation of phosphorus controls to reach targets defined in the TMDL Includes a schedule for installation and evaluation of source control measures, data collection, and assessment of water quality standards attainment Details technical studies to reduce/resolve uncertainty, the study schedule, and milestones for when TMDL loads/allocations will be revisited

29 SLLM

30 Limnocorral and other Studies

31 ASAP

32 Future

33 LOL

34 Potential Solutions Potential Strategies to Examine $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Point Source Construction/operation phosphorus treatment facilities at wastewater plants Permitted Stormwater Management Re-examination of current controls, their effectiveness, ability to retrofit, and more stringent permit requirements Nonpoint Source Evaluation of contribution, current practices and their effectiveness, ability to implement additional BMPs $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

35 Potential Solutions Potential Strategies to Examine $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Regional Treatment Opportunities Other Construction of regional treatment systems (wetland, stormwater, alum) In-reservoir modifications to mitigate the effects of nutrient loading Water management techniques to offset loading effects Watershed-wide growth and development Regulatory options for implementation (phased TMDL, control regulation, etc.) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

36 Timeline to 2020 TMDL Long-Term Schedule Limnocorral Studies Additional WQ Regulations Point Source Reductions & (e.g., Temp Mod., UAA, & Nut. Stds.) Treat Internal Loading Approve TMDL & Implementation Plan Special Studies Revisit ph TMDL

37 Questions and Comments