Central Mississippi Planning and Development District
Project Title: Landcare Mississippi
Name of Council: Central Mississippi Planning and Development District (CMPDD)
State/Region Incorporated: Mississippi
Project Manager: Scott Burge
Link to Website: www.cmpdd.org
The Landcare initiative is currently being used in Mississippi as part of an ongoing process to reduce the amount of pollutants found in the Mississippi River. The Bogue Chitto Creek watershed was selected as the demo site for the project. The creek flows into the Big Black River, which is a tributary of the Mississippi River. This watershed was identified as being impaired due to organic enrichment/low dissolved oxygen and biological impairment. One of the objectives of Landcare is to reduce these impairments and restore the watersheds Fish and Wildlife support designation.
The Bogue Chitto Creek watershed flows in a northwestern direction from its headwaters in Clinton, MS to its confluence with the Big Black River. The watershed is located in both Madison and Hinds counties. The 103,833 acre drainage area of Bogue Chitto Creek contains several land use types, with agricultural being the most prevalent. Agricultural activities are likely to be a significant source of organic material in the watershed, however they do not account for a significant portion of the data collected for the Phase 1 TMDL report. This is due to the fact that the Phase 1 TMDL was calculated for low-flow conditions, when runoff from nonpoint source contributors such as agricultural areas is minimal.
The Bogue Chitto Creek Watershed is currently listed as impaired due to organic enrichment/low dissolved oxygen and biological impairment. Two total maximum daily load studies (TMDL’s) were conducted in the watershed. One study addressed the organic enrichment/low dissolved oxygen and biological impairment issue, while the other dealt with low pH levels. The low pH study showed that the pH in the watershed was within acceptable limits. The data collected from the other study showed that the biological impairment was a result of the low dissolved oxygen conditions. The target TMDL for Bogue Chitto Creek is approximately 88 tons of organic load per year. Negotiations are currently underway to close down a wastewater treatment plant in the Metro-Jackson area that discharges into the watershed. Once the plant has been shut down the wastewater will be re-routed to a different watershed. The discharge from this plant produces a significant amount of poorly treated wastewater that has caused the watershed to be above its allowable limit.
The watershed implementation plan for the Bogue Chitto Creek Watershed lists several management action strategies that are needed in the watershed to reduce the amount of oxygen demanding loads. The plan proposes to locate failing septic systems within the watershed, repair those failing systems, install agricultural Best Management Practices (BMP’s) and inventory silviculture BMP’s. Once these tasks have been completed a re-assessment of the area shall be made. The re-assessment will determine the level of effectiveness the proposed action strategies had on reducing the amount of oxygen demanding loads to the watershed.
Applications for 319 cost sharing for BMP installation have recently been received and are being reviewed for approval. Once the applications have been approved the agricultural BMP installation process can begin. The landowners submitting applications for 319 cost sharing shall be contacted and provided information concerning Landcare. Watershed monitoring training sessions and educational materials will be made available to individuals interested in becoming members of the Landcare team. Meetings will be held allowing landowners the opportunity to voice any concerns they have concerning the condition of their watershed.
The Landcare team in Mississippi plans to expand the project throughout the central region of the state in the upcoming year. All of the information collected for the project during the previous year will be used in designing a template that can be replicated in other impaired watersheds throughout the region. The following year our team plans to present the Landcare model as a statewide initiative.