LOWER GALLATIN TMDL PLANNING AREA home
NUTRIENTS SEDIMENT E.COLI OUTREACH
The Lower Gallatin TMDL Planning Area
BACKGROUND
Congress passed the Water Pollution Control Act, more commonly known as the Clean Water Act, in 1972. The goal of this act is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” The Clean Water Act requires each state to set water quality standards to protect designated beneficial water uses and to monitor the attainment of those uses. Fish and aquatic life, wildlife, recreation, agriculture, industrial, and drinking water are all types of beneficial uses designated in Montana. Streams and lakes not meeting the established water quality standards are called impaired water bodies. Impaired water bodies and their associated impairment causes are identified within a biennial integrated water quality report developed by DEQ. Both Montana state law (Section 75-5-701 of the Montana Water Quality Act) and section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act require the development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for impaired waters where a measurable pollutant (for example, sediment, nutrients, metals, etc) is the cause of the impairment. A TMDL refers to the maximum amount of a pollutant a stream or lake can receive and still meet water quality standards.
The development of TMDLs in Montana includes several steps that must be completed for each impaired water body and for each contributing pollutant (or “pollutant/water body combination”). These steps include:
- Characterizing the existing water body conditions and comparing these conditions to water quality standards. During this step, measurable target values are set to help evaluate the stream’s condition in relation to the applicable water quality standards.
- Quantifying the magnitude of pollutant contribution from the pollutant sources
- Determining the TMDL for each pollutant, based on the allowable loading limits (or loading capacity) for each pollutant/water body combination.
- Allocating the total allowable pollutant load (TMDL) into individual loads for each source (referred to as the load allocations and/or waste load allocations).
TMDL developmenent occurs within 105 different TMDL Planning Areas (TPAs) in the state. For full information about the DEQ TMDL program, including an overview of the TMDL process, contacts, public comment & public meeting information, and final TMDL documents, please see the DEQ TMDL Web Page. Understanding TMDLs Pamphlet also provides information on how TMDLs are developed in Montana.
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OVERVIEW
The Lower Gallatin TMDL planning area (LGTPA) encompasses approximately 996 square miles (637,570 acres) in Southwestern Montana, and includes streams within the West Gallatin River and East Gallatin River watersheds. The cities of Bozeman and Belgrade are located near the center of the planning area.
Map 1.1 Lower Gallatin TPA
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has identified 14 streams with water quality pollutant impairments in the LGTPA. Impairments include nutrients, e.coli/fecal coliform, and sediment. The TMDL planning process for this TPA incorporates a combination of water quality sampling and hydrologic modeling to further evaluate exisitng impairment listings and to identify and quantify pollutant contributions from pollutant sources contributing to water quality problems.
This site is intended to provide information on TMDL development in the Lower Gallatin TMDL Planning Area and is organized into Technical Pages and Outreach Pages. Technical Pages provide information in the form of maps, technical assessments, planning documents, raw water quality data, data reports, photos, and other resources or products generated in support of TMDL development. Outreach Pages provide information on advisory group involvement, items for comment and review, and applicable meetings and dates.
Map 1.1 shows the Lower Gallatin TMDL Planning Area. Table 1.1 below identifies which streams have nutrients, e.coli/fecal coliform, and/or sediment listed impairments as identified on the State's 2010 list of impaired water bodies. See also the Montana's Clean Water Act Information Center to query information on impaired water bodies. TMDLS for nutrients, e.coli and sediment in the LGTPA are scheduled to be completed by December, 2011. For a detailed description of impairment listings, technical approaches to TMDL development and public involvement processes in the Lower Gallatin TPA, refer to the Lower Gallatin TMDL Project Plan.
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Table 1.1: Pollutant-impaired Streams in the Lower Gallatin TMDL Planning Area
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Water Body
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Pollutant Impairments (2010)
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Waterbody
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Pollutant Impairments (2010)
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East Gallatin River
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Nitrogen (total)
Phosphorus (total)
pH
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Jackson Creek
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Phosphorus (total)
Sedimentation/Siltation
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Sourdough (Bozeman) Creek (lower)
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Phosphorus (total)
Total Kjehldahl Nitrogen (TKN)
Escherichia Coli
Sedimentation/Siltation
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Smith Creek
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Nitrates
Sedimentation/Siltation
Fecal Coliform
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Bridger Creek
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Phosphorus (total)
Total Kjehldahl Nitrogen
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Thompson Spring Creek
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Sedimentation/Siltation
Nitrogen (total)
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Hyalite Creek (upper)
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Phosphorus (total)
Total Kjehldahl Nitrogen
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Reese Creek
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Nitrates
Fecal Coliform
Solids (suspended/bedload)
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Rocky Creek
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Sedimentation/Siltation
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Dry Creek
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Nitrogen (total)
Phosphorus (total)
Sedimentation/Siltation
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Bear Creek
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Phosphorus (total)
Sedimentation/Siltation
Solids (suspended/bedload)
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Camp Creek
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Nitrogen (total)
Fecal Coliform
Sedimentation/Siltation
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Stone Creek
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Sedimentation/Siltation
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Godfrey Creek
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Nitrogen (total)
Phosphorus (total)
Fecal Coliform
Sedimentation/Siltation
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TECHNICAL PAGES
Technical pages contain information specifc to nutrient, e.coli and sediment assessments. Here you will find technical information that includes: Sampling and Analysis Plans (SAPs), Quality Assurance (QA) documentation, water quality data, reports and photographs. Information in these pages has been collected specific to TMDL development and provides technical infomation in support of TMDL document preparation (see TMDL Document Page).
Technical pages are divided into:
OUTREACH PAGES
Outreach pages include information on public and stakeholder outreach. Here you will find information that includes: TMDL public invovlement strategy, TMDL advisory groups, documents, meetings, presentations, and announcements.
TMDL DOCUMENT PAGE
The TMDL Document page contains selected draft and final TMDL document sections for inclusion in the final Lower Gallatin Total Maximum Daily Load document. Draft sections of the TMDL document will be posted here for comment and review as drafts are completed.
CONTACT INFORMATION
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