Willow Slough IA 05-NSH-1443

Mills County S29T73NR40W 3 mi. SW of Henderson.

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 2014 - 2016
Stream/River Water Quality Data	CY 2014 - 2016
Lake Water Quality Data	CY 2012 - 2016
Biological Sampling Data	CY 2012 - 2016*
Fish Kill Data	CY 2012 - 2016
Fish Tissue Sampling Data	CY 2012 - 2016
Continuous Dissolved Oxygen Sampling Data	CY 2012 - 2016
*Biological sites sampled in both 2011 and 2015 were also assessed.

Open Segment Map
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Cycle: 2018
Release Status: Final
Overall IR: 2 - Some of the designated uses are met but there is insufficient data to determine if remaining designated uses are met.
Trend: Unknown
Created: 6/14/2019 1:00:33 PM
Updated: 6/14/2019 1:00:40 PM

Use Support

Class BLW

Aquatic Life - Lakes and wetlands

Fully Supported

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 B(LW) aquatic life uses remain assessed (evaluated) as "fully supported” based on information from the IDNR Wildlife Bureau. The primary concern for this wetland remains siltation from agricultural nonpoint sources. According to the local DNR Wildlife Biologist, Willow Slough normally has very good water quality but receives considerable sedimentation due to locally heavy rains. The fish consumption uses remain "not assessed" due to the lack of fish contaminant monitoring at this wetland. In general, Iowa wetlands are not managed for recreational fisheries; thus, fish contaminant monitoring is not typically conducted at these waterbodies. This assessment is the same as that developed for previous assessment/listing cycles.

Assessment Explanation

The Class B(LW) aquatic life uses remain assessed (evaluated) as "fully supported” based on information from the DNR Wildlife Bureau. The primary concern for this wetland remains siltation from agricultural nonpoint sources. According to the local DNR Wildlife Biologist, Willow Slough normally has very good water quality but receives considerable sedimentation due to locally heavy rains. The fish consumption uses remain "not assessed" due to the lack of fish contaminant monitoring at this wetland. In general, Iowa wetlands are not managed for recreational fisheries; thus, fish contaminant monitoring is not typically conducted at these waterbodies. This assessment is the same as that developed for previous assessment/listing cycles.

Monitoring and Methods

Assessment Key Dates

None listed

Methods

120

Surveys of fish and game biologists/other professionals