For the week of  Sept. 26 - Oct. 2, 2001

Big Wood pollution controls proposed

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What: 
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is proposing to adopt a Big Wood River management plan, which would help limit pollutants in the river system.

How to get involved: 
Copies of the draft watershed management plan are available for review through Wednesday, Oct. 24, at DEQ’s Twin Falls regional office. Written comments on the proposed action must be received by Wednesday, Oct. 24. To obtain information or submit comments, contact: Dr. Balthasar Buhidar, Regional Manager - Water Quality Protection, DEQ Twin Galls Regional Office, 601 Pole Line Road, Suite 2, Twin Falls, ID 83301. E-mail Balthasar at ([email protected]).

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

More severe waterway management regulations could result from new clean water regulations the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is proposing for the Big Wood River.

Idaho DEQ is seeking public comments on a proposed watershed management plan for the Big Wood River from its headwaters to the mouth of the Malad River.

Under the federal Clean Water Act, DEQ is required to determine compliance with state and federal water quality standards and if additional pollution controls are needed.

Based on a study of land users, physical conditions and water quality in the Big Wood basin, DEQ has prepared a draft report recommending allowable "total maximum daily loads" to control water pollution, including sediment, nutrients and pathogens.

Sediments are either silts or clays, DEQ Regional Manager Balthasar Buhidar said. "In the case of the Big Wood River, we’re talking about substrate sediments, impacts from grazing, agriculture, development and recreation."

Pathogens, E. coli as an example, are natural to any river system, Buhidar said.

"They certainly are part of the system itself. They are also part of warm blooded animals. Poop, manure or any potential runoff from particular areas can contribute" to an excessive amount of pathogens.

Nutrients, like phosphorous and nitrates, are common in aquatic systems, but in high concentrations, can offset aquatic systems’ nutrient balances.

The most common routes of entry of nitrates into bodies of water are municipal and industrial wastewater, septic tanks, feed lot discharges, animal wastes and discharges from car exhausts. Increased levels contribute to faster aging of a water body.

Buhidar said the Big Wood management plan, if it is adopted, would establish that there is a problem in need of further action.

"It’s taken all of the streams that are listed under the federal Clean Water Act list, streams that are impaired, and taken and written daily maximum loads where they have to meet limits where they have to comply with water quality standards," he said.

Adoption of the document would be followed within 18 months by an implementation plan, which would specify how pollution controls could be implemented, Buhidar said.

Livestock, agriculture, recreation and construction operations could be affected.

Big Wood Canal Co. Manager Lynn Harmon said the draft document looks like a "fairly reasonable approach."

He said, however, that strict enforcement of "maximum load" levels could negatively affect farmers and ranchers.

"There’s only so far you can go with it and not put somebody out of business," he said.

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