Picayune Creek IA 02-IOW-6305
from mouth (T78N R06W Sec17) to headwaters (T78N R07W Sec19) Johnson Co.
- Cycle
- 2018
- Release Status
- Final
- Overall IR
- 3 - Insufficient data exist to determine whether any designated uses are met.
- Trend
- Unknown
- Created
- 7/22/2019 7:59:03 AM
- Updated
- 7/22/2019 7:59:03 AM
The presumptive Class A1 (primary contact recreation) uses remain "not assessed" due to the lack of information upon which to base an assessment. The Class B(WW1) aquatic life uses remain “not assessed” based on results of fish kill follow-up monitoring conducted by DNR staff in July 2013 to determine the status of the stream’s fish community following a 2009 fish kill.
The kill occurred on or before August 12, 2009. Approximately 89 fish were killed along a 3.05 mile stretch of the creek four miles north of Kalona. The suspected cause of the kill was runoff from a dairy operation. The estimated value of the fish was $30.19. Updated information on this fish kill indicates that DNR sought and received restitution for this fish kill. This stream segment’s fish community was sampled on July 25, 2013, as part of the DNR Watershed Improvement and Water Monitoring sections’ fishkill follow up monitoring program. Sampling methods described in DNR’s fish kill follow-up protocol (Attachment 5 of Iowa’s assessment/listing methodology) were followed. Approximately 525 feet of stream were sampled using a single pass with one backpack electrofishing units. Results of this sampling show that this stream supports approximately 6,000 fish per mile compared to the Level IV ecoregion 47f average of approximately 1,600 fish per mile; 89% of the expected fish taxa for this ecoregion were sampled. The results from this follow-up sampling and comparison of these results to ecoregion averages suggest that the fish community of this stream segment is similar to or better than non-fishkill impacted streams. Although the results of the fishkill follow-up sampling lack the scientific rigor to determine whether the designated aquatic life uses are “fully supported,” the results do indicate that the stream has recovered from the August 2009 fish kill event. Thus, this stream segment was moved from impairment Category 4d of Iowa’s 2012 Integrated Report to Category 3a (designated use not assessed) for the 2014 IR Cycle and remains in that category for the current cycle.