Maple Creek IA 06-LSR-1597

The aquatic life uses remain assessed (evaluated) as "partially supporting" based on results of the IDNR/SHL biocriteria sampling conducted on this stream segment in 1997. The FIBI score was 33 (fair); the BMIBI score was 70 (good). The aquatic life use support was assessed (evaluated) as partially supported (=PS), based on a comparison of the FIBI and BMIBI scores with biological impairment criteria (BIC) established for previous Section 305(b) reports. The biological impairment criteria were determined from a statistical analysis of data collected at stream ecoregion reference sites from 1994-2008. The FIBI BIC for this ecoregion is 43 and the BMIBI BIC for this ecoregion is 54. This segment failed the FIBI BIC and passed the BMIBI BIC in 1997. This aquatic life assessment is considered "evaluated" because there were not two or more samples collected from this segment in multiple years. Additionally, because these data are now considered too old (greater than five years) to accurately characterize current water quality conditions, the assessment category is considered “evaluated” (indicating an assessment with relatively lower confidence) as opposed to "monitored" (indicating an assessment with relatively higher confidence).

The IDNR placed this segment in Category 4c instead of 3b or 5b for the following reasons:
1) the data are now more then 15 years old and are now unreliable for determining the current biological condition;
2) the benthic macroinvertebrate data indicate good water quality and score 16 points higher than the ecoregion BMIBI BIC and;
3) even though the fish data score marginally lower than the ecoregion FIBI BIC, after evaluating the habitat data, it was concluded that habitat alterations/hydromodification most likely led to the decreased FIBI scores.

In addition, the data upon which this biological assessment is based are now more than 10 years old. As water quality data age, they are less able to represent current water quality conditions. As data age beyond 10 years, their ability to represent current water quality conditions is increasingly suspect. Despite the age of these data, the aquatic life uses of this assessment segment will remain “partially supporting/evaluated” and will remain in Category 4c of Iowa’s Integrated Report. According to IDNR’s assessment/listing methodology, age of data is not a sufficient justification for removing an impairment. Additional monitoring is needed in this assessment segment to update status of its aquatic communities.