OMAHA DISTRICT

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Water Quality Data

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Data collected by the Omaha District

The Omaha District has collected water quality data at Corps projects in the District since the late 1970's. The data have been assessed and summarized in water quality reports prepared by the District. The data collected are stored in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's national STORET and WQX water quality database. The data can be accessed and downloaded online from the STORET/WQX website at www.epa.gov/storet.

Recent water quality data collected by the District may not have been entered into STORET/WQX and can be obtained by contacing the District.

US Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey collects water quality data throughout the United States. Water quality data have been collected at Corps project areas in the District. These data can be accessed online through the U.S. Geological Survey's website "Surface-Water Data for the Nation" at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/sw.

State water quality agencies

State environmental agencies responsible for surface water quality management routinely collect surface water quality data within their State. Water quality data have been collected by the States at Corps projects in the District. This information may be stored and accessible through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's STORET/WQX database. State water quality agency websites may publish water quality information on their web sites. The State of Nebraska, during the recreation season, publishes weekly bacteria and cyanobacteria toxin levels at District reservoirs with swimming beaches.

Local water quality agencies

Local Watershed Management Authorities have been established to protect and improve water quality at the three Colorado Tributary Projects in the District: Bear Creek, Chatfield, and Cherry Creek Reservoirs. Each of these Watershed Authorities has adopted local water quality regulations and water quality management plans to protect and manage water quality at the respective reservoirs. As part of these water quality management plans, the Watershed Authorities are implementing comprehensive water quality monitoring programs. For efficiency purposes, the Corps ceased its water quality monitoring activities at the three Colorado Tributary Projects in 2002, and now defers to the respective Watershed Authorities for assessment of water quality conditions at Bear Creek, Chatfield, and Cherry Creek Reservoirs. Persons interested in water quality conditions at the three Colorado tributary projects can visit the websites maintained by the following groups:

Bear Creek Watershed Association (http://www.bearcreekwatershed.org/)
Chatfield Watershed Authority(http://www.chatfieldwatershedauthority.org/)
Cherry Creek Basin Watershed Authority (http://www.cherrycreekbasin.org/cc_home.asp)

Section 303d Listed Waters

Under Section 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act, Tribes and States, with the delegated authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are required to prepare a periodic listing of impaired waters. Impaired waters refer to those water bodies where it has been determined that technology-based effluent limitations required by Section 301 of the CWA are not stringent enough to attain and maintain applicable water quality standards. Tribes and States, as appropriate, are required to establish and implement Total Maximum Daily Loads for water bodies on their 303(d) lists.

District Projects Listed on State Section 303(d) Lists as of January 1, 2012
Waterbody	Listing Agency	Impaired Use	Parameters of Concern	TMDL Status
Colorado:
Bear Creek Reservoir	CO Dept. of Public Health and Environment	Aquatic Life - Cold	Chlorophyll-a Phosphorus	To Be Developed(2)
Bear Creek Reservoir	CO Dept. of Public Health and Environment	Aquatic Life - Cold	Dissolved Oxygen(1)	To Be Monitored
Cherry Creek Reservoir	CO Dept. of Public Health and Environment	Aquatic Life - Warm	Dissolved Oxygen(1)	To Be Monitored
Iowa:
Missouri River (From water supply intake at Council Bluffs, IA to Boyer River)	IA Dept. of Natural Resources	Drinking Water Supply	Arsenic	To Be Developed
Montana:
Fort Peck Reservoir (Fort Peck Lake)	MT Dept. of Environmental Quality	Drinking Water Supply	Lead, Mercury	To Be Developed
Fort Peck Reservoir (Fort Peck Lake)	MT Dept. of Environmental Quality	Recreation	Aquatic Plants - Native	NA(3)
Missouri River (Fort Peck Dam to the Milk River)	MT Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life Cold Water Fishery	Water Temperature	To Be Developed
Missouri River (Fort Peck Dam to the Milk River)	MT Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life Cold Water Fishery	Degraded Riparian Conditions Other Flow Regime Alterations	NA(3)
Missouri River (Milk River to the Poplar River)	MT Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life Warm Water Fishery	Water Temperature	To Be Developed
Missouri River (Milk River to the Poplar River)	MT Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life Warm Water Fishery	Degraded Riparian Conditions Other Flow Regime Alterations	NA(3)
Missouri River (Poplar River to Montana-North Dakota Stateline)	MT Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life Warm Water Fishery	Water Temperature	To Be Developed
	MT Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life Warm Water Fishery	Other Flow Regime Alterations	NA(3)
Nebraska:
Bluestem Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life, Aesthetics	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus) Sediment	To Be Developed
Branched Oak Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus)	To Be Developed
Conestoga Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Recreation, Aquatic Life, Aesthetics	Algae Toxins Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus) Sediment	To Be Developed
East Twin Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aesthetics	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus)	To Be Developed
Ed Zorinsky Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus)	Completed (Sep-2002)
Ed Zorinsky Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Hazard Index Compounds (Mercury – Fish Tissue)	To Be Developed
Gavins Point Reservoir (Lewis and Clark Lake)	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus)	To Be Developed
Glenn Cunningham Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus)	Lake Recently Renovated(4)
Holmes Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus) High pH	Lake Recently Renovated(4)
Missouri River (Big Sioux River to Platte River)	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Cancer Risk and Hazard Index Compounds (Dieldrin and PCBs in fish tissue)	To Be Developed
Missouri River (Platte River to Nebraska-Kansas Stateline)	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Cancer Risk and Hazard Index Compounds (Dieldrin and PCBs in fish tissue)	To Be Developed
Missouri River (Platte River to Nebraska-Kansas Stateline)	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Recreation	Bacteria (E. coli)	Completed (Sep-2007)
Olive Creek Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus)	Completed (Sep-2002)
Olive Creek Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Ammonia, Arsenic, High pH, Low Dissolved Oxygen	To Be Developed
Pawnee Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life, Recreation, Aesthetics	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus), Algae Toxins, Arsenic, Sediment	To Be Developed
Stagecoach Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life, Aesthetics	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus), Sediment	To Be Developed
Standing Bear Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus), Sediment	Completed (Jul-2003)
Standing Bear Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Hazard Index Compounds (Mercury – Fish Tissue)	To Be Developed
Wagon Train Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus)	Lake Recently Renovated(4)
Wagon Train Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Hazard Index Compounds (Mercury – Fish Tissue)	To Be Developed
Wehrspann Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus), Hazard Index Compounds (Mercury – Fish Tissue)	To Be Developed
West Twin Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	Nutrients (Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus), Ammonia	To Be Developed
Yankee Hill Reservoir	NE Dept. of Environmental Quality	Aquatic Life	High pH	Lake Recently Renovated(4)
North Dakota:
Garrison Reservoir (Lake Sakakawea)	ND Dept. of Health	Fish Consumption	Methyl-Mercury	To Be Developed
Pipestem Reservoir	ND Dept. of Health	Recreation	Nutrients/Eutrophication, Biological Indicators	To Be Developed
South Dakota:
Big Bend Reservoir (Lake Sharpe)	SD Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources	Coldwater Permanent Fish Life	Accumulated Sediment	Completed (Feb-2001)
Big Bend Reservoir (Lake Sharpe)	SD Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources	Coldwater Permanent Fish Life	Water Temperature	To Be Developed
Cold Brook Reservoir	SD Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources	Coldwater Permanent Fish Life	Water Temperature	To Be Developed
Lake Pocasse	SD Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources	Immersion Recreation	E. coli, Chlorophyll-a	To Be Developed
Lake Pocasse	SD Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources	Limited Contact Recreation Warmwater Permanent Fish Life	Chlorophyll-a	To Be Developed
(1) Identified on Colorado’s Monitoring and Evaluation List. Water quality problem suspected, but uncertainty exists based on the available data. (2) A phased Total Maximum Annual Load (TMAL) has been developed. A TMDL is to be developed. (3) Impairment identified in Montana’s integrated water quality report, but not on 303(d) list for development of a TMDL. (4) Category 4R – Waterbody data exceeds the impairment threshold however a TMDL may not be needed. The category will only be used for nutrient assessments in new or renovated lakes and reservoirs. Newly filled reservoirs usually go through a period of trophic instability – a trophic upsurge followed by the trophic decline. Erroneous water quality assessments are likely to occur during this period. To account for this, all new or renovated reservoirs will be placed in this category for a period not to exceed eight years following the fill or re-fill process. After the eighth year monitoring data will be assessed and the waterbody will be appropriately placed into category 1, 2, or 5.

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