Iowa DNR
Iowa DNR
ADBNet
Water Quality Assessments
Impaired Waters List

West Twin Lake IA 02-IOW-778

Hancock County S30T94NR24 4 mi E of Kanawha.

Cycle
2024
Release Status
Final
Overall IR
5 - Water is impaired or threatened and a TMDL is needed.
Trophic
Hypereutrophic
Trend
Stable
Created
11/14/2023 3:09:42 PM
Updated
2/5/2024 3:27:24 PM
Use Support
Class BLW
Aquatic Life - Lakes and wetlands
Not Supported
Support Level
Not Supported
Impairment Code
5a - Pollutant-caused impairment. TMDL needed.
Cause Magnitude
High
Status
Continuing
Source
Agriculture
Source Confidence
High
Cycle Added
2012
Impairment Rationale
Adverse impacts on plant/animal communities
Data Source
Ambient monitoring: Iowa DNR-shallow lakes & wetlands
TMDL Priority
Tier IV
Support Level
Not Supported
Impairment Code
5a - Pollutant-caused impairment. TMDL needed.
Cause Magnitude
High
Status
Continuing
Source
Agriculture
Source Confidence
High
Cycle Added
2016
Impairment Rationale
Adverse impacts on plant/animal communities
Data Source
Ambient monitoring: Iowa DNR-shallow lakes & wetlands
TMDL Priority
Tier IV
Support Level
Not Supported
Impairment Code
5a - Pollutant-caused impairment. TMDL needed.
Cause Magnitude
Moderate
Status
Continuing
Source
Unknown: Source Unknown
Source Confidence
Low
Cycle Added
2020
Impairment Rationale
Significantly > 10% of samples fail to meet criterion
Data Source
Ambient monitoring: Iowa DNR-shallow lakes & wetlands
TMDL Priority
Tier IV
Class HH
Human Health -
Not Assessed
Impairment Delistings
No delistings for this assessment cycle.
Documentation
Assessment Summary

The Class BLW use was assessed as "not supported" due to violations of the Class BLW criterion for pH and due to high levels of total suspended solids that leads to an impairment of the narrative criteria protecting against undesirable or nuisance aquatic life. High levels of algae at this shallow lake also suggest impairment due to aesthetically objectionable conditions. 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

WQ

CY 2018-2022

22410004

West Twin Lake

Class BLW – Shallow Lake TSI:

Site ID

Data Source ID

Parameter Name

# Samples / # Years

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

Median Value

Median TSI Violation?

Assessment Type

Support Level

22410004

6

Chlorophyll a TSI

20 / 4

48

84

76

YES

Mon

Not

The TSI value for Secchi depth is not used to evaluate the attainment of the aquatic life use in shallow lakes. Due to the depth of these shallow lakes, TSI values for Secchi depth can be misleading. In some instances, the Secchi disk remains visible at the bottom of the lake and the depth of the lake is recorded as the Secchi depth. In these instances, water clarity may be sufficient to support the Class BLW use, but the index value is limited by the depth of the lake. Thus, the combination of total suspended solids and chlorophyll a was used to determine whether or not the Class BLW use was impaired in these shallow systems.

Class BLW - Binomial Parameters:

Site ID

Data Source ID

Parameter Name

# Samples / # Years

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

Mean Value

# Violations

# Acute / Chronic Violations

Violations needed for impairment

Violates Significantly >10% Rule?

Assessment Type

Support Level

22410004

6

Dissolved Oxygen

19 / 4

5.31

14.95

9.63

0

NA / NA

5

NO

Mon

Full

22410004

6

pH

15 / 3

7.63

9.93

8.78

7

NA / NA

4

YES

Mon

Not

22410004

6

Temperature

20 / 4

13.2

28.4

21

0

NA / NA

5

NO

Mon

Full

Class BLW - Protection of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation:

Site ID

Data Source ID

Parameter Name

# Samples / # Years

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

Median Value

Median Value >= SAV

Assessment Type

Support Level

22410004

6

Total suspended solids

20 / 4

28

224

70

YES

Mon

Not

Guidelines for wetland assessment from the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee’s Water Quality Technical Section (2003) state that a median total suspended solids concentration during the growing season of less than 30 mg/L is necessary to provide sufficient water clarity to support the growth of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in wetlands and shallow lakes. High levels of total suspended solids impede the growth of SAV. SAV is critical to the health of wetland and shallow lake ecosystems. The elimination of SAV can degrade habitat quality such that undesirable aquatic species such as cyanobacteria, common carp and fathead minnows dominate. As such, the suppression of SAV constitutes a violation of Iowa’s narrative water quality criteria protecting against undesirable or nuisance aquatic life.

Class BLW - Toxic Parameters:

Site ID

Data Source ID

Parameter Name

# Samples / # Years

Maximum Value

Mean Value

Median Value

# Acute / Chronic Violations

>1 Acute / Chronic Violation

Assessment Type

Support Level

22410004

6

Ammonia

10 / 2

2.4

0.6

0.1

0 / 1

NO

Mon

Full

Class HH - No Data

Monitoring and Methods
Assessment Key Dates
5/14/2018
Monitoring Start
9/19/2022
Monitoring End
Methods
200
Physical/Chemical Monitoring
340
Primary producer surveys (phytoplankton/periphyton/macrophyton)