2016 assessment for Little Cedar River

Little Cedar River IA 02-CED-577

from the Floyd/Mitchell co. line (N line S24 T97N R16W Floyd Co.) to confluence with Burr Oak Cr. in S12 T98N R16W Mitchell Co.

2016
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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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

9/15/2016 2:35:19 PM by

Updated

9/15/2016 2:35:19 PM by

Use Support

Class A1

Recreation - Primary contact

Not Assessed

Class BWW1

Aquatic Life - Warm Water Type 1

Fully Supported

Class HH

Human Health -

Not Assessed

General Use

General Use water -

Not Assessed

303(d) Delistings for this Cycle

No delistings for this assessment cycle.

Documentation

Assessment Summary

The Class A1 (primary contact recreation) and fish consumption (Class HH (human health/fish consumption) uses remain "not assessed" (IR 3a) due to the lack of information upon which to base an assessment. The Class B(WW1) aquatic life uses remain assessed (evaluated) as “fully supported” (IR 2a) based on data collected in 2005 as part of the IDNR/SHL stream REMAP project.

Assessment Explanation

[Note: Prior to the 2008 Section 305(b) cycle, this stream segment was designated only for Class B(WW) aquatic life uses, including fish consumption uses. Due to changes in Iowa’s surface water classification that were approved by U.S. EPA in February 2008, and due to the completion of a Use Attainability Analysis, this segment is also now designated for Class A1 (primary contact recreation) uses. This segment remains designated for warmwater aquatic life use (now termed Class B(WW1) uses), and for fish consumption uses now termed Class HH (human health/fish consumption uses).]

The Class B(WW1) aquatic life uses remain assessed (evaluated) as “fully supported” based on data collected in 2005 as part of the IDNR/SHL stream REMAP 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 2005 FIBI score was 55 (good) and the BMIBI score was 71 (good). The aquatic life use support was assessed as fully supporting (=FS), based on a comparison of the FIBI and BMIBI scores with biological impairment criteria (BIC) established for previous Section 305(b) reports. The non-riffle habitat FIBI BIC for this ecoregion is 44 and the artificial substrate BMIBI BIC for this ecoregion is 52. The biological impairment criteria were determined from a statistical analysis of data collected at stream ecoregion reference sites from 1994-2008. This segment passed both the FIBI and BMIBI BICs in 2005.

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. 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). Despite this change in assessment methodology and type, this waterbody remains in IR Category 2a.

Fish consumption uses remain not assessed due to the lack of fish contaminant monitoring in this assessment segment.

Monitoring and Methods

Assessment Key Dates

8/17/2005

Biological Monitoring

Methods

150

Monitoring data more than 5 years old

315

Regional reference site approach

320

Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys

330

Fish surveys

380

Quantitative physical habitat assessment