Proposal drafted to take Talking Rock Creek off federal list of contaminated streams
By Michael Moore
The Pickens County Water Quality Advisory Committee met Wednesday to approve a proposal to improve the water quality on a 19-mile stretch of Talking Rock Creek.
Known as the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plan, the proposal is required by the state EPD (Environmental Protection Division) to prevent further deterioration of waterways on a federal list of impaired stream segments. Talking Rock Creek is the only waterway in Pickens County that is on the federal list, known as the 303-D list, according to county planning director and committee member Norman Pope.
The proposal approved by the local board, which includes county government representatives, and the Rural Development Commission (RDC) will now go to the EPD for approval before the county can begin work on implementing it, Pope said.
In 2002, the stretch of Talking Rock Creek from Highway 515 to the Gilmer County line was found to contain high levels of fecal colliform bacteria, or e. colli, placing it on the impaired list. Gilmer County's stretch of the same creek was also placed on the list, and officials there are required to draft a similar TMDL plan.
Such bacteria comes from human and animal waste, and can reach a stream from livestock along the water, manure used as fertilizer, residential septic systems, or wildlife, according to several committee members.
"Any kind of animal can contribute," said Larry Vandenbosch of the RDC, who was at the meeting.
Pope said only four percent of the land on Pickens' stretch of Talking Rock Creek is residential, and the majority of the land is "raw undeveloped" or agricultural, specifically with livestock and poultry operations.
The creek is not a source of any drinking water in Pickens County, but Pope said it has been discussed as a potential intake for the county water system if they ever need to acquire a withdrawal permit.
"No decision has been reached, but it would be one of the logical places to look for county water if we can get it off the 303-D list," said Pope.
Vandenbosch said inhibiting further impairment of Talking Rock Creek is a "general environmental quality concern."
He said the TMDL implementation plan recommends using federal funding to work with farmers along the creek to establish buffers, and help homeowners determine if their septic system is failing, and make repairs if necessary. They currently have funding to make up to $1,400 of repairs for each failing septic tank, Vandenbosch said.
He said those who have monitored Talking Rock Creek have been unable to pinpoint a single, exact source of the contamination, and it likely came from a combination of the typical causes. The implementation plan is designed to address all the likely sources in hopes the next testing will show improved water quality.
Pope said he is confident the Pickens County health department has done a "good job" determining where older and potentially failing septic systems are throughout the county.
He added the assistance contained in the plan will be provided to property owners only on a voluntary basis.
If the proposal does not satisfy the EPD, Pope said the state office could impose further restrictions on the county, such as limiting development along the impaired stream.
Vandenbosch said Talking Rock Creek was placed on the impaired list based on "fairly old" data, and suggested a retesting would de-list the stream segment. But until it is officially de-listed, the county is required to focus on the implementation plan.
Another Water Quality Advisory Committee member, Robert Keller of the Mountain Conservation Trust, said the creek was tested only once. He said the sampling that put Talking Rock Creek on the impaired list may have been "anamolous," and it may need to be resampled.
He said the implementation plan presents an "opportunity" to the county and its citizens to become more involved in protecting local natural resources. Specifically, he said the creek should be resampled, but by volunteers who would be enlisted and instructed on how to conduct such water samples, perhaps through the Adopt-A-Stream program.
"We need to adopt that stream, and be more rigorous in testing water samples," said Keller. He added that more testing could identify the predominant source of e. colli in Talking Rock Creek.
Other members of the committee are Jan Stephens, Rodney Buckingham, Joshua Johns, Tom Page, and Rick Jasperse. Pope said the committee was set up by the RDC and commissioner Robert Jones specifically to draft and propose the implementation plan for Talking Rock Creek.
If the EPD approves the proposed plan, it will be the county's responsibility to carry it out, Pope said.