B4N BMW TMDL MIRL

B4N BMW TMDL MIRL
CLRMA Annual Fall Conference
Nov. 16th, 2011
Barr Lake & Milton Reservoir Watershed Association
Hi t
History
Watershed
(datashed)
•
Population:
opu at o 2.5
5 Million
o
(1 in 2 Coloradoans)
•
850 Sq. Miles Including 6
Front Range Counties
•
90% Privately Owned
BMW
•
35% Residential, Industrial,
and Commercial
•
49% Agricultural
•
500 Miles of Streams and
550 Miles of Canals
Creeks, Streams, and Reservoirs
Big
Bi Dry
D C
Creek
k
Milton Res.
Barr Lake
1st, 2nd, & 3rd Creek
Standley Res.
Clear Creek
Sand Creek
Aurora Res.
Res
S. Platte River
Bear Cr. Res.
Cherry Creek
Bear Creek
Marston Lake
Chatfield Res.
Cherry Cr. Res.
BTW
Barr Lake
s Reservoir and Irrigation Company)
• Owned by FRICO (Farmer
(Farmer’s
• 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
5 day residence
es de ce ttime
e
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
Residence Time Trivia
Lake
Erie?
3 Years
Residence Time Trivia
Lake
Michigan?
100
Years
Residence Time Trivia
Blue
Mesa
0.6 years
Residence Time Trivia
Cherry
Creek
Reservoir
1-2 years
Association
History
• 2000 - 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)6
• 2005 – Phase II 319 grant to fund technical studies
and development of watershed plan and TMDL
Regulatory
Drivers
• 2002 State 303(d) listing for pH impairment (both
Barr and Milton) – exceedences above 9.0 pH units
• 2010 listings for ammonia
ammonia, D
D.O.
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.
Challenges
BFF’s
Image credit: Joseph JJ. Luczkovich
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
Association
Board
Wastewater Mgmt
Agencies
Cities/Counties
Drinking Water
Providers
Regulatory and
Planning
Agencies
g
Recreation
Interests
Raw Water
Providers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
City of Aurora
City & County of Denver
Cit off Thornton
City
Th t
Denver Water
East Cherry Creek Valley Water & Sanitation
S Adams
S.
Ad
County
C
t Water
W t & Sanitation
S it ti District
Di t i t
United Water & Sanitation District
Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant
M t Wastewater
Metro
W t
t Reclamation
R l
ti District
Di t i t
S. Platte Coalition for Urban River Evaluation
Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company
B L
Barr
Lake
k St
State
t Park
P k
Steven Janssen
UDMLUSC
Nutrient Problem
Symptoms
Problem
Low Oxygen
Excessive
Nutrients
High pH
Poor
Clarity
Al
Algae
Bl
Blooms
(Phosphorus
Nitrogen)
Taste/Odor
Aesthetics
Barr and Milton are classified as hypereutrophic
Fish Kills
agriculture
urban
development
mining &
resource
extraction
geology & other
natural sources
land cover alteration
industry
↑ N or P in wet or
dry deposition
↑ N or P in
soil
channel
alteration
↑ N or P in
subsurface
b f
waters
forestry &
silviculture
↑ N or P in
discharged
waters
↑ N or P in
surface
f
runoff
ff
↑ delivery of N or P to
stream
↑ dissolved organic N or
P
LEGEN
D
human
activity
↑ dissolved inorganic N or
P
↑ particulate N or
P
light
source
↑ macrophytes
modifying
factor
additional step
in causal
pathway
↑
microbes
interacting
stressor
proximate
stressor
mode of
action
∆ benthic
organic
matter
↑
periphyton
↑
phytoplankton
∆ N:P
ratio
↑ pH
∆ plant assemblage
structure
↑ algal
toxins
Δ dissolved
oxygen
∆ food
resources
∆ habitat
structure
biotic response
biologically impaired invertebrate assemblages
Simple conceptual model diagram for
NUTRIENTS
Developed 7/2007 by Kate Schofield; modified
7/2010
biologically impaired fish
assemblages
other biological impairments
↑ suspended
organic
matter
OMG
Modeling
(U
t i t )
(Uncertainty)
10
9.50
9.5
9.00
9
8.5
8.50
8.00
8
7.50
7.5
7.00
0.00
Barr Lake Summer Avg pH vs. TP mg/L
pH (SU)
pH (SU
U)
Milton Reservoir Summer Avg pH vs. TP mg/L
10.00
7
0.20
0.40
0.60
TP (mg/L)
0.80
1.00
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
TP (mg/L)
?
Uncertainty
Wh t is
What
i background
b k
d pH?
H?
Will chl-a drop if TP is reduced?
What TP level will drop pH below 9.0?
0.8
1
Advancement
Modeling
(Facts)
•
•
•
Phosphorus is the critical nutrient to
control
Phosphorus
Ph
h
load
l d to
t Barr
B
is
i ~ 70,000
70 000
kg/yr
Barr
a Lake
a e
4%
Phosphorus load to Milton is ~
40 000 k
40,000
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
pH
6%
90%
Point Sources
Background Loads
Internal Load
TMI
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
W
t
t Treatment
T
t
t Plants
Pl t will
ill have
h
to
t treat
t
t for
f
Phosphorus
•
Internal Phosphorus
p
loading
g 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
pH TMDL
•
•
•
•
Submitted to State
Public noticed in May
Met with State about changes
Currently in State’s hands
B4N BMW TMDL MIRL
Adaptive
Implementation
p
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
SLLM
Limnocorral and other Studies
ASAP
F t
Future
LOL
Potential
Solutions
Potential Strategies to Examine
• Point Source
• Construction/operation phosphorus treatment facilities at wastewater
plants
• Permitted Stormwater Management
g
• 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
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Potential
Solutions
Potential Strategies to Examine
• Regional Treatment Opportunities
• Construction of regional treatment systems (wetland, stormwater,
alum)
• In-reservoir modifications to mitigate
g
the effects of nutrient loading
g
• Water management techniques to offset loading effects
• Other
• Watershed-wide growth and development
• Regulatory options for implementation (phased TMDL, control
regulation, etc.)
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Timeline to 2020
TMDL Long-Term Schedule
Limnocorral
Studies
2010
Approve TMDL &
Implementation
Plan
Additional WQ Regulations
Point Source Reductions &
(e.g., Temp Mod., UAA, & Nut. Stds.) Treat Internal Loading
2012
2014
Special Studies
2016
2018
Revisit pH TMDL
2020
Questions
and
C
Comments
t