Iowa DNR
Iowa DNR
ADBNet
Water Quality Assessments
Impaired Waters List

Myre Slough IA 04-EDM-987

Winnebago County S22T98NR25W 6 mi W of Forest City.

Cycle
2024
Release Status
Final
Overall IR
3 - Insufficient data exist to determine whether any designated uses are met.
Trend
Unknown
Created
11/1/2023 8:13:51 AM
Updated
1/4/2024 1:45:59 PM
Use Support
Class BLW
Aquatic Life - Lakes and wetlands
WINOFI
Impairment Code
3b - Use potentially impaired based on an evaluated assessment.
Cause Magnitude
Moderate
Status
New
Source
Agriculture
Source Confidence
Moderate
Cycle Added
2024
Impairment Rationale
Potential Impairment
Data Source
Ambient monitoring: Iowa DNR-shallow lakes & wetlands
Class HH
Human Health -
Not Assessed
Impairment Delistings
No delistings for this assessment cycle.
Documentation
Assessment Summary

The Class BLW use was assessed (evaluated) as "WINOFI" due to high levels of total suspended solids that leads to an impairment of the narrative criteria protecting against undesirable or nuisance aquatic lifeAll 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 2022-2022

14000473

Myre Slough

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

14000473

6

Chlorophyll a TSI

5 / 1

44

79

60

NO

Evaluated

Full

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

14000473

6

Dissolved Oxygen

5 / 1

11.04

14.19

12.6

0

NA / NA

2

NO

Evaluated

Full

14000473

6

Temperature

5 / 1

14.7

30.3

23.6

0

NA / NA

2

NO

Evaluated

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

14000473

6

Total suspended solids

5 / 1

4

58

51

Yes

Evaluated

WINOFI

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 HH - No Data

In general, Iowa wetlands are not managed for recreational fisheries; thus, fish contaminant monitoring is not typically conducted at these waterbodies.

Monitoring and Methods
Assessment Key Dates
5/23/2022
Monitoring Start
9/19/2022
Monitoring End
Methods
200
Physical/Chemical Monitoring