Hangman (Latah) Creek
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Project
17 Nov 2006
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The Spokane County Conservation District, residents and other relevant agencies, are involved in a planning process on Hangman (Latah) Creek known as a Water Quality Improvement or Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) project. The project involves identifying the type, amount, and source of water quality problems, and recommending practices to reduce the impacts of pollutants and improve the water quality of the Hangman Creek watershed.
A TMDL is required under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) for all waters identified as not meeting federal or state water quality standards. Hangman (Latah) Creek has been identified by the Department of Ecology as not achieving state water quality standards for several factors, including fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, ammonia, pH and temperature. Recent monitoring has identified several other water quality problems, including sediment load, low flows and total phosphorus. In addition, there are pollution issues with Little Hangman Creek, Rock Creek and Rattlers Run Creek. The pollution levels in Hangman (Latah) Creek are also significant because of their contribution to the water quality concerns in the Spokane River. Ecology is also in the process of conducting a TMDL for the Spokane River and Lake Spokane. The contribution of pollutants and sediment from Hangman (Latah) Creek is an important consideration in the development of the TMDL for Spokane River watershed.
There are various factors leading to the water quality problems on Hangman (Latah) Creek. Agricultural practices are impacting the watershed as fertilizers and other chemicals find their way to the creeks, along with the erosion of sediment. The watershed is also experiencing increases in urbanization and changes in land use practices, which result in increased run-off and drainage of pollutants into the water systems. The removal of native riparian vegetative buffers by landowners throughout the watershed has reduced the natural filtering function and increased stream bank erosion.
Learn more about the TMDL planning process and the water quality of Hangman (Latah) Creek at: http://www.sccd.org/sccd/water/hangman/TMDL/
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