Middle Raccoon River IA 04-RAC-1197

Willow Cr->Willey Br S26T83NR34W Carroll Co.

Open Data Collection Period Modal

For purposes of developing stream/river water quality assessments for integrated reporting, three years of water quality data are typically used for both conventional pollutant parameters (e.g., indicator bacteria) and the less frequently monitored toxic parameters (e.g., toxic metals). Since the 2004 IR cycle, DNR has used a three-year data gathering period for streams, rivers, and beaches. For most assessments, the use of three years of data increases the number of samples upon which the decision on use support is based and helps address the problem of weather-related year-to-year fluctuations in water quality.

Due to the lower sampling frequency in Iowa’s ambient lake, biological, fish kill, and fish tissue monitoring programs, five years of data are used for developing IR assessments and for identifying Section 303(d) listings.

Data Type	Data Timeframe
Beach Sampling Data	CY 2012 - 2014
Stream/River Water Quality Data	CY 2012 - 2014
Lake Water Quality Data	CY 2010 - 2014
Biological Sampling Data	CY 2010 - 2014*
Fish Kill Data	CY 2010 - 2014
Fish Tissue Sampling Data	CY 2010 - 2014
Continuous Dissolved Oxygen Sampling Data	CY 2010 - 2014
*Biological sites sampled in both 2009 and 2013 were also assessed.

Open Segment Map
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Cycle: 2016
Release Status: Final
Overall IR: 3 - Insufficient data exist to determine whether any designated uses are met.
Trend: Unknown
Created: 9/20/2016 2:07:31 PM
Updated: 9/20/2016 2:07:31 PM

Use Support

Class A1

Presumptive Use

Recreation - Primary contact

Not Assessed

Class BWW1

Aquatic Life - Warm Water Type 1

WINOFI

Biological: low fish IBI

Support Level

Further Investigation Needed

Impairment Code

3b-c - Use potentially biologically impaired based on calibrated IBI metrics.

Cause Magnitude

Moderate

Status

Continuing

Source

Unknown: Source Unknown

Source Confidence

Low

Cycle Added

2014

Impairment Rationale

Low Biotic Index

Data Source

Special project/study

Class HH

Human Health -

Not Assessed

General Use

General Use water -

Not Assessed

Impairment Delistings

No delistings for this assessment cycle.

Documentation

Assessment Summary

The Class A1 (primary contact recreation) and Class HH (human health/fish consumption) uses remain "not assessed" (IR 3a) due to the lack of water quality information upon which to base an assessment. The Class B(WW1) aquatic life uses are assessed (evaluated) as “partially supported” (IR 3b-c) based on biological data collected in 2011 as part of an SHL stream special project.

Assessment Explanation

The aquatic life uses remain assessed (evaluated) as “partially supported” based on biological data collected in 2011 as part of an SHL stream special project. A series of biological metrics which reflect stream water quality and habitat integrity were calculated from the biological sampling data. The biological metrics are based on the numbers and types of benthic macroinvertebrate taxa and fish species collected in the stream sampling reach. The biological metrics were combined to make a fish community index of biotic integrity (FIBI) and a benthic macroinvertebrate index (BMIBI). The indexes rank the biological integrity of a stream sampling reach on a rising scale from 0 (minimum) to 100 (maximum). The 2011 FIBI score was 18 (poor) and the BMIBI score was 53 (fair). The aquatic life use support was assessed as partially supporting (=PS), based on a comparison of the FIBI and BMIBI scores with biological impairment criteria (BIC) established for previous Section 305(b) reports. The FIBI BIC for this ecoregion is 31 and the BMIBI BIC for this ecoregion is 54. This site failed the FIBI BIC and passed the BMIBI BIC with the use of the BMIBI UAV of 8 points applied to single samples. The biological impairment criteria were determined from a statistical analysis of data collected at stream ecoregion reference sites from 1994-2008.

This aquatic life assessment is considered "evaluated" because there were not two or more samples collected from this segment in multiple years over a five-year period. According to IDNR’s assessment/listing methodology, impairments based on “evaluated” assessments are of lesser confidence and are thus not appropriate for Section 303(d) listing (Category 5 of the Integrated Report). IDNR does, however, consider these impairments as appropriate for listing under either Category 2b or 3b of the Integrated Report (waters potentially impaired and in need of further investigation).

Monitoring and Methods

Assessment Key Dates

10/6/2011

Biological Monitoring

Methods

315

Regional reference site approach

320

Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys

330

Fish surveys

380

Quantitative physical habitat assessment