Wyoming Nutrient Strategy May 2017 Update 1
Wyoming Nutrient Strategy Identifies priority items and key next steps to address nutrient pollution in Wyoming Focus areas include Criteria Development, Point Sources, Nonpoint Sources, and Education and Outreach 2
Recap of February Webinar Discussed and solicited feedback on: February 2017 Draft of Nutrient Strategy 2017 Nutrient Strategy Priorities Prioritization of waters for strategy implementation 3
Status of Wyoming Nutrient Strategy Wyoming Nutrient Strategy has been edited based on feedback received from the Wyoming Nutrient Work Group and WDEQ Current version of the strategy is May 2017 Draft 4
Prioritization Recap To begin implementing the strategy, we need to identify priority waters/watersheds WDEQ and partners will focus efforts in these watersheds 5
Prioritization Recap Used the prioritization matrix recommended by the Criteria Development support group to identify priority lakes and reservoirs 6
Prioritization Recap Lakes and reservoirs were prioritized because: They are more susceptible to the impacts of nutrient pollution since they can act as nutrient sinks Blue-green algae blooms in reservoirs may pose a risk to public health because reservoirs are used for immersion recreation and as drinking water supplies 7
Prioritization Recap (Matrix) Waterbody Use Tier 1 - Public Health Tier 2 - Commerce Tier 3 - Other Public Public Public Non-game Recreation Agriculture, Drinking Recreation Recreation Fisheries & (Boating, Industry, Water (Swimming, (Fishing, Other Fishing, Wildlife Water Skiing) Wading) Aquatic Life Wading) Priority High Moderate Low High HABS Risk High Very High Very High High High Moderate Moderate Nutrient Risk High Chlorophyll-a High TP or TN and Moderate High High Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Variable Chlorophyll-a Low Chlorophyll-a, TP Low Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Low Low and TN Very High (N=16), High (N=21), Moderate (N=52) 8
Prioritization Recap Since the watershed areas of the 16 “very high” reservoirs is so large, we need to further prioritize February prioritization of 16 “very high” reservoirs were based on population density around the lake (surrogate for number of users) and median cyanobacteria density Drinking water was not factored into ranking results 9
February Prioritization Results Rank Reservoir Population Median Cyanobacteria Final Standardized Value 1 Sloans Lake 82,974.08 116,246.10 100.00 2 Buffalo Bill Reservoir 38,005.34 40,342.30 15.90 3 Boysen Reservoir 50,644.57 13,854.93 7.27 4 Woodruff Narrows Reservoir 15,384.73 31,663.13 5.05 5 Saratoga Lake 3,429.56 91,279.54 3.25 6 Greyrocks Reservoir 31,118.80 6,271.26 2.02 7 Twin Butte Reservoir 35,733.91 3,533.21 1.31 8 Fontenelle Reservoir 32,148.45 3,685.26 1.23 9 Granite Springs Reservoir 114,473.87 989.58 1.17 10 East Newton Lake 13,708.66 6,041.67 0.86 11 Seminoe Reservoir 16,829.33 2,385.42 0.42 12 Yellowtail Reservoir 48,166.94 410.19 0.20 13 Wheatland Reservoir #3 829.87 15,527.65 0.13 14 Big Sandy Reservoir 872.68 4,261.42 0.04 15 Pathfinder Reservoir 86,536.35 - - 16 Glendo Reservoir 35,322.49 - -
Feedback on Prioritization Get more accurate user information from Wyoming Game and Fish Consider potential future developments that may impact the water bodies such as Moneta Divide Consider presence of cooperators, available data, and likelihood of success Consider categorical ranking rather than numeric Consider nesting watersheds to maximize results 11
Changes to Input Data and Approach Game and Fish staff provided rankings (high, medium, and low) for immersion recreation use for each of the reservoirs Harmful algal blooms pose a greater health risk for immersion recreation than other types of recreation because water is often ingested during these activities 12
Changes to Input Data and Approach Created separate lists for drinking water and immersion recreation, since they are both important, but difficult to combine Included 2016 cyanobacteria data 13
Changes to Input Data and Approach Two-step process for immersion recreation Step 1: Use maximum cyanobacteria density and immersion recreation rating to categorize waters that pose “very high,” “high,” “moderately high,” “moderate,” and “low” risk to public health Step 2: Within each category, use median cyanobacteria density to prioritize more chronic problems 14
Immersion Recreation Step 1 Matrix Immersion Recreation Use Priority High Medium Low Moderately High >100,000 cells/mL High Very High High Cyanobacteria High Moderate (20,000 - Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate 100,000 cells/mL) Low < 20,000 cells/mL Low Low Low Low Very High = 2, High = 2, Moderately High = 5 15
Immersion Recreation Results - Step 1 of 2 Immersion Priority Reservoir Drinking Water Max Cyanobacteria (cells/mL) Rec Very High Seminoe Reservoir High 3,653,219 Very High Boysen Reservoir High Yes 664,378 High Saratoga Lake Medium 268,207 High East Newton Lake Medium 242,836 Moderately High Woodruff Narrows Reservoir Low Yes 2,274,902 Moderately High Wheatland Reservoir #3 Low 1,521,326 Moderately High Twin Butte Reservoir Low 388,264 Moderately High Sloans Lake Low 143,155 Moderately High Big Sandy Reservoir Low 125,092 Moderate Buffalo Bill Reservoir Low Yes 40,342 Low Fontenelle Reservoir Low Yes 15,892 Low Greyrocks Reservoir High 10,086 Low Yellowtail Reservoir High 7,409 Low Granite Springs High Yes 1,477 Low Pathfinder Reservoir High - Low Glendo Reservoir High - 16
Immersion Recreation Prioritization – Step 2 of 2 Within each category, use median cyanobacteria density to identify chronic blue-green algae problems 17
Immersion Recreation Prioritization - Step 2 of 2 Median Cyanobacteria Priority Reservoir Immersion Rec Drinking Water (cells/mL) Very High Boysen Reservoir High Yes 9,300 Very High Seminoe Reservoir High 2,188 High Saratoga Lake Medium 91,280 High East Newton Lake Medium 6,042 Moderately High Sloans Lake Low 116,246 Moderately High Woodruff Narrows Reservoir Low Yes 31,663 Moderately High Wheatland Reservoir #3 Low 13,083 Moderately High Big Sandy Reservoir Low 4,261 Moderately High Twin Butte Reservoir Low 2,853 Moderate Buffalo Bill Reservoir Low Yes 21,627 Low Greyrocks Reservoir High 6,271 Low Fontenelle Reservoir Low Yes 5,089 Low Granite Springs High Yes 990 Low Yellowtail Reservoir High 305 Low Pathfinder Reservoir High - Low Glendo Reservoir High - 18
Immersion Recreation Prioritization 19
Drinking Water Prioritization Considers depth of intake, maximum and median cyanobacteria density, and cyanobacteria problems that have impacted or could impact drinking water Priority Reservoir Max Cyanobacteria (cells/mL) Median Cyanobacteria (cells/mL) Very High Woodruff Narrows Reservoir 2,274,902 31,663 High Fontenelle Reservoir 15,892 5,089 Moderate Granite Springs 1,477 990 Low Boysen Reservoir 664,378 9,300 Low Buffalo Bill Reservoir 40,342 21,627 20
Ranking Results – Drinking Water 21
Questions/Comments? Lindsay Patterson Watershed Protection Program Surface Water Quality Standards Lindsay.Patterson@wyo.gov (307) 777-7079
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