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WATERSHED MAIN PAGE
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2001 - 2002 Watershed Assessment
To address water quality concerns
identified by WDEQ and USGS in 1998 and 2000, the Sheridan
County Conservation District (SCCD), Sheridan County
Commissioners, and the City of Sheridan submitted a joint
proposal for an assessment project to conduct a more complete
evaluation of the watershed and its uses and to maintain local
control of watershed improvements. The Goose Creek Drainages
Advisory Group (GCDAG) was formed to provide oversight for the
assessment and included representatives from each of the three
sponsors as well as other local interests. Interim monitoring
occurs once every three years to observe long term trends in
water quality. Reports are available at the office.
Approximately 17 stream miles of
Little Goose, 13 miles of Big Goose, and 3.5 stream miles of
Goose Creek were assessed. There were 46 total sample sites with
5 stations on Goose Creek, 15 stations on Big Goose Creek, and
17 stations on Little Goose Creek. In addition, there was one
station each on eight tributaries and at one storm drain located
near Coffeen Avenue. The tributaries sampled included: Soldier
Creek, Beaver Creek, Park Creek, Rapid Creek, McCormick Creek,
Kruse Creek, Jackson Creek, and Sackett Creek.
During April 2001, SCCD initiated
the monitoring program which included collecting pH, water
temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total residual
chlorine, fecal coliform, turbidity, alkalinity, biochemical
oxygen demand, chloride, hardness, sulfate, ammonia, total
nitrate nitrogen, phosphorus, and total suspended solids
samples. Fecal coliform and turbidity samples were collected
five times during each of the months April, May, August, and
October to comply with WDEQ’s fecal coliform monitoring
protocol. Continuous temperature recorders were used to monitor
water temperatures at 15-minute intervals at the lowermost Goose
Creek station, three Big Goose Creek stations, and three Little
Goose Creek stations. Benthic macroinvertebrate samples were
collected and habitat assessments were conducted at 19 sites on
Goose Creek, Big Goose Creek, and Little Goose Creek during
September. Year 2001 monitoring concluded during October.
Year 2002 monitoring was similar to
the previous year’s monitoring with a few exceptions. BOD
samples were not taken during 2002 since approximately 96% of
all 2001 samples were analyzed as non-detectable and did not
warrant further monitoring. E. coli samples were
collected once during April, May, and October, and five times
during August to coincide with fecal coliform monitoring. The
E. coli samples were collected in anticipation of WDEQ
changing the pathogen indicator standard from fecal coliform to
E. coli in 2004. Fecal coliform samples were collected
at three sites during April and September while disturbing
stream bed sediment with a rake. This sampling was conducted to
determine if higher fecal coliform concentrations were present
in the sediment and to determine if the bacteria could survive
through the winter months. Thirteen pesticides and herbicides
were monitored during a single June monitoring event at three
sites located on Goose Creek, Big Goose Creek, and Little Goose
Creek. During 2002, an additional three continuous temperature
recorders were installed to monitor water temperatures on
Soldier Creek, Beaver Creek, and Jackson Creek. Year 2002
monitoring concluded during October.
Water quality within the three major
waterbodies, Goose Creek, Big Goose Creek, and Little Goose
Creek, generally improved from downstream to upstream with few
exceptions. The water in Big Goose Creek and Little Goose Creek
leaving the Big Horn National Forest was of very high quality
with rare occurrences of high fecal coliform concentrations.
After leaving the mountain foothills, fecal coliform
concentrations and water temperatures in Big Goose Creek and
Little Goose Creek increased while traveling through the
agricultural, rural, and suburban areas south and west of
Sheridan, Wyoming. Land uses and population densities along
these streams steadily increase toward Sheridan which is
reflected in changes to water quality. Water quality in lower
Big Goose Creek, lower Little Goose Creek, and Goose Creek was
of lesser quality. In contrast, water quality appeared to
improve with several water quality parameters at the watersheds
lowermost station located near Acme, Wyoming. Comparisons of
current WDEQ, GCWA, and USGS fecal coliform data to historic
USGS data on lower Goose Creek indicate bacteria concentrations
have declined significantly since the 1970’s and early 1980’s.
This decline appears to correspond with the timing of facility
upgrades made at the Sheridan Waste Water Treatment Plan (WWTP)
in 1983 and 1984.
Goose Creek Watershed Planning
The SCCD held a public meeting in
November 2003 to present the findings of the assessment, discuss
options for watershed planning, and to present potential
remedial strategies and tools for improving water quality within
the watershed. At the conclusion of the meeting, members of the
public were asked to complete a survey questionnaire about the
upcoming planning process. All who completed the questionnaire
favored pursuing locally led watershed planning and
incentive-based remediation over a regulatory process. Monthly
steering committee meetings were initiated in January 2004 to
guide the watershed planning process. The Goose Creek Watershed
Management Plan was submitted to WDEQ in December 2004 and
subsequently approved. The plan contains objectives and action
items to address concerns with water quality, including septic
system, domestic animal, wildlife, and stormwater contributions;
water quantity; upland areas, riparian corridors, and stream
channels; general information and education; financial
conditions; and watershed plan implementation. The
steering committee meets periodically to review the watershed
plan and information education items, ect. In addition,
information and education items are being developed to inform
the public about the issues concering the Goose Creek Watershed.
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Sheridan County Conservation District