Buffalo Creek IA 01-WPS-374

from the Jones/Linn county line (NW 1/4 S19 T85N R4W Jones Co.) to confluence with Boulder Cr. in NE 1/4 S30 T86N R5W Linn 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 2020 - 2022
Stream/River Water Quality Data	CY 2020 - 2022
Lake Water Quality Data	CY 2018 - 2022
Biological Sampling Data	CY 2018 - 2022*
Fish Kill Data	CY 2018 - 2022
Fish Tissue Sampling Data	CY 2018 - 2022
Continuous Dissolved Oxygen Sampling Data	CY 2018 - 2022
*Biological sites sampled in both 2017 and 2021 were also assessed.

Open Segment Map
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Cycle: 2024
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: 11/1/2023 8:12:42 AM
Updated: 12/13/2023 10:11:40 AM

Use Support

Class A1

Recreation - Primary contact

Not Assessed

Class BWW1

Aquatic Life - Warm Water Type 1

Fully Supported

Class HH

Human Health -

Fully Supported

Impairment Delistings

No delistings for this assessment cycle.

Documentation

Assessment Summary

The Class BWW1 use was assessed as "fully supported" based on biological sampling data. The Class HH use was assessed as "fully supported" based on fish tissue sampling data. All other designated uses were "not assessed."

Assessment Explanation

Data Sources:

Data Source	Data Source ID	Data Type	Data Age	Site ID	Site Name	Site Description
Iowa DNR	6	BIO	See Below	61	Buffalo Creek	Central City
Iowa DNR	6	FT	See Below	1353	Buffalo Creek	Central City

Class A1 - No Data

Class BWW1 - Biological Sampling:

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:

BioNet Site ID	Date	Drainage Area (mi2)	Ecoregion	Major Drainage/ Thermal	BM Sample Gear	BMIBI score	BMIBI Class	47c BMIBI BIT	BMIBI Pass/Fail
61	7/26/21	184.8	47c	MS/WW	Hess	69	Good	70	Fail
61	8/3/16	184.8	47c	MS/WW	Hess	73	Good	70	Pass
61	8/23/12	184.8	47c	MS/WW	Hess	87	Excellent	70	Pass

Fish:

BioNet Site ID	Date	Drainage Area (mi2)	Ecoregion	Major Drainage/ Thermal	Riffle Site?	FIBI score	FIBI Class	47c FIBI BIT	FIBI Pass/Fail
61	7/26/21	184.8	47c	MS/WW	Yes	76	Excellent	65	Pass
61	8/3/16	184.8	47c	MS/WW	Yes	77	Excellent	65	Pass

Overall Assessment:

Community	Assessment Type	Assessment Result	Support Level	IR Category	Reason
Benthic Macroinvertebrates	Evaluated	Pass (2/3)	Full
Fish	Evaluated	Pass (2/2)	Full		Assessment was evaluated because the assessment
Overall	Evaluated	Pass	Full	1	included samples greater than five years old.

Class HH - Fish Tissue Sampling:

Site ID	Biopart	Year	Species	# in sample / # of samples	Avg Length (cm)	(Avg) Hg (ppm)	Chlordane (ppm)	Sum PCBs (ppm)
1353	tissue plug	2016	smallmouth bass	3	33.1	0.05
Support Level	Full

Monitoring and Methods

Assessment Key Dates

8/3/2016

Biological Monitoring

8/23/2012

Biological Monitoring

8/3/2016

Fish Tissue Monitoring

7/26/2021

Biological Monitoring

Methods

150

Monitoring data more than 5 years old

260

Fish tissue analysis

315

Regional reference site approach

320

Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys

330

Fish surveys