LIMESTONE - A state water quality assessment meeting here Tuesday evening showed, as a similar meeting in Kingsport showed in September, that most local stream-quality problems appear to be related to agriculture.
About two dozen people attended a Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) watershed quality assessment meeting Tuesday concerning the Nolichucky River drainage area. Most of those attending stayed at least an hour.
The meeting was held at the Limestone Ruritan Club and was intended to inform the public on a five-year cycle of studies and remediation for the four-county area, said Andrew Tolley, manager of TDEC's Environmental Assistance Center in Johnson City. The center deals with water pollution control.
The Nolichucky River's watershed, or drainage area, includes parts of Washington, Unicoi and Cocke counties, and all of Greene County.
Tolley gave a short presentation at the beginning of the meeting, and then encouraged those present to take advantage of several information stations set up around the room.
He cautioned those present to remember that the data presented was "in draft form." TDEC has submitted the draft report on its assessment work to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which had been expected to approve it in October but as has not yet done so.
As previously reported in The Greeneville Sun, a large number of creeks and streams in Greene County - as well as the Nolichucky River into which they drain - remain at least partially polluted, according to the draft report.
Though 64 Greene County streams, or sections of streams, were listed as not meeting one or more state requirements for water quality, only four of them have sections that are considered "severely impacted" by pollution.
Most Common Pollution
According to the draft report, which is called a 303 (d) list, by far the most common pollution source in Greene County was cattle grazing near unprotected streams, though failing septic or sewer systems, silt erosion from construction or "urban runoff," were also listed as causes for some of the less impacted streams.
The 303 (d) list is a compilation of streams that violate one or more water quality standards.
Streams that are not on the list are either considered by TDEC to be unpolluted, or else the agency did not have enough information to assess them, a TDEC official has said.
Only four Greene County streams are considered to be severely impacted for most of their length.
According to the report, Carson Creek in Greene and Washington counties is considered to be polluted with nitrates, siltation and pathogens, with the cause listed as livestock grazing near streams.
Pigeon Creek in Greene County is considered polluted by pathogens over 8.8 miles, with the cause listed as pasture grazing.
Potter Creek is considered polluted over its 15.3-mile length by "siltation, other habitat alterations, and pathogens," with the cause listed as pasture grazing.
Puncheon Camp Creek is listed as polluted over its 11.5-mile length by nutrients, siltation and pathogens, with the cause listed as agriculture.
Hominy Creek in Washington County also was listed as impaired, with agriculture listed as the cause.
In addition to these five streams coded red on a TDEC map, indicating they do not support their designated use, a great many streams in all four counties were coded amber, which indicates that they are only "partially supporting" the uses that TDEC considers the streams' mission. In a great many cases, agriculture was identified as the cause of the pollution.
Testing For Fecal Bacteria
Jan Bowers, a TDEC information specialist, said the agency tests for total fecal coliform bacteria, and specifically for the e. coli species that is considered a "primary indicator" of other pathogens' being present.
Bowers said a second test, to show whether the fecal coliform comes from humans or animals, is available, but is very expensive and was not used for this study.
TDEC officials at a similar meeting in Kingsport in September said the agency lists a stream as having pathogen contamination if it has fecal coliform counts that average above 126 colonies per 100 milliliters of water in 10 or more samplings, or above 1,000 colonies per 100 milliliters in any one sample. The second method is "more likely" to be used, a TDEC official said.
Water quality assessment is on a five-year cycle, Tolley explained. The first year focuses on planning, the second on data collection, and the third year on assessment. The Nolichucky River study is now in the third-year assessment phase, he said.
Most of the 300 streams listed in the report were sampled only once, Tolley said. Samples usually involved a bacterial sample and what he called "a rapid bioassessment" by a field worker. He pointed out that not all of the samples were taken by TDEC itself, because a large number of them were done by another state agency called Laboratory Services.
Sampling in the report was done in 2000 and 2001, he said.
How To Make Improvements
In the next phase after assessment, TDEC officials must work on how to improve problems that have been identified.
If "point sources" such as industrial pollution were identified as culprits, Tolley said, TDEC's response would be to withhold required permits until conditions were corrected.
"We can't issue permits that would allow further habitat alteration," Tolley said.
So-called "non-point source" pollution from agriculture is not as easy to address, Tolley said.
But he said, "We're trying to encourage more farmers to understand that it's in their best interest" to reduce the amount of animal feces that gets into streams.
Tolley noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service has programs that make grant money available for stream bank improvements, and said he is hopeful that more local farmers will take advantage of them.
He also said he was pleased that representatives of the Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance and its upstream neighbor, the Erwin Watershed Alliance, attended the meeting. He said he would like to see more local farmers and individuals involved in such voluntary efforts to improve water quality.
In response to a question, Tolley said that the EPA will look closely at any streams that TDEC has recommended for improved status, to make sure adequate evaluation procedures and documentation support the change.
A computer slide show at an exhibit station showed how water samples are collected, another showed what TDEC looks for in terms of aquatic life when it takes a sample, and a third computer showed pictures of sites where samples were collected. In addition, several color maps were displayed, with various colors showing how streams were affected.
About two dozen people attended a Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) watershed quality assessment meeting Tuesday concerning the Nolichucky River drainage area. Most of those attending stayed at least an hour.
The meeting was held at the Limestone Ruritan Club and was intended to inform the public on a five-year cycle of studies and remediation for the four-county area, said Andrew Tolley, manager of TDEC's Environmental Assistance Center in Johnson City. The center deals with water pollution control.
The Nolichucky River's watershed, or drainage area, includes parts of Washington, Unicoi and Cocke counties, and all of Greene County.
Tolley gave a short presentation at the beginning of the meeting, and then encouraged those present to take advantage of several information stations set up around the room.
He cautioned those present to remember that the data presented was "in draft form." TDEC has submitted the draft report on its assessment work to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which had been expected to approve it in October but as has not yet done so.
As previously reported in The Greeneville Sun, a large number of creeks and streams in Greene County - as well as the Nolichucky River into which they drain - remain at least partially polluted, according to the draft report.
Though 64 Greene County streams, or sections of streams, were listed as not meeting one or more state requirements for water quality, only four of them have sections that are considered "severely impacted" by pollution.
Most Common Pollution
According to the draft report, which is called a 303 (d) list, by far the most common pollution source in Greene County was cattle grazing near unprotected streams, though failing septic or sewer systems, silt erosion from construction or "urban runoff," were also listed as causes for some of the less impacted streams.
The 303 (d) list is a compilation of streams that violate one or more water quality standards.
Streams that are not on the list are either considered by TDEC to be unpolluted, or else the agency did not have enough information to assess them, a TDEC official has said.
Only four Greene County streams are considered to be severely impacted for most of their length.
According to the report, Carson Creek in Greene and Washington counties is considered to be polluted with nitrates, siltation and pathogens, with the cause listed as livestock grazing near streams.
Pigeon Creek in Greene County is considered polluted by pathogens over 8.8 miles, with the cause listed as pasture grazing.
Potter Creek is considered polluted over its 15.3-mile length by "siltation, other habitat alterations, and pathogens," with the cause listed as pasture grazing.
Puncheon Camp Creek is listed as polluted over its 11.5-mile length by nutrients, siltation and pathogens, with the cause listed as agriculture.
Hominy Creek in Washington County also was listed as impaired, with agriculture listed as the cause.
In addition to these five streams coded red on a TDEC map, indicating they do not support their designated use, a great many streams in all four counties were coded amber, which indicates that they are only "partially supporting" the uses that TDEC considers the streams' mission. In a great many cases, agriculture was identified as the cause of the pollution.
Testing For Fecal Bacteria
Jan Bowers, a TDEC information specialist, said the agency tests for total fecal coliform bacteria, and specifically for the e. coli species that is considered a "primary indicator" of other pathogens' being present.
Bowers said a second test, to show whether the fecal coliform comes from humans or animals, is available, but is very expensive and was not used for this study.
TDEC officials at a similar meeting in Kingsport in September said the agency lists a stream as having pathogen contamination if it has fecal coliform counts that average above 126 colonies per 100 milliliters of water in 10 or more samplings, or above 1,000 colonies per 100 milliliters in any one sample. The second method is "more likely" to be used, a TDEC official said.
Water quality assessment is on a five-year cycle, Tolley explained. The first year focuses on planning, the second on data collection, and the third year on assessment. The Nolichucky River study is now in the third-year assessment phase, he said.
Most of the 300 streams listed in the report were sampled only once, Tolley said. Samples usually involved a bacterial sample and what he called "a rapid bioassessment" by a field worker. He pointed out that not all of the samples were taken by TDEC itself, because a large number of them were done by another state agency called Laboratory Services.
Sampling in the report was done in 2000 and 2001, he said.
How To Make Improvements
In the next phase after assessment, TDEC officials must work on how to improve problems that have been identified.
If "point sources" such as industrial pollution were identified as culprits, Tolley said, TDEC's response would be to withhold required permits until conditions were corrected.
"We can't issue permits that would allow further habitat alteration," Tolley said.
So-called "non-point source" pollution from agriculture is not as easy to address, Tolley said.
But he said, "We're trying to encourage more farmers to understand that it's in their best interest" to reduce the amount of animal feces that gets into streams.
Tolley noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service has programs that make grant money available for stream bank improvements, and said he is hopeful that more local farmers will take advantage of them.
He also said he was pleased that representatives of the Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance and its upstream neighbor, the Erwin Watershed Alliance, attended the meeting. He said he would like to see more local farmers and individuals involved in such voluntary efforts to improve water quality.
In response to a question, Tolley said that the EPA will look closely at any streams that TDEC has recommended for improved status, to make sure adequate evaluation procedures and documentation support the change.
A computer slide show at an exhibit station showed how water samples are collected, another showed what TDEC looks for in terms of aquatic life when it takes a sample, and a third computer showed pictures of sites where samples were collected. In addition, several color maps were displayed, with various colors showing how streams were affected.
For more information and stories, see The Greeneville Sun.
