How Will Total Maximum Daily Loads Affect You?

by Éowyn Floyd, Water Quality Specialist
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Hutchinson, Kansas

Whether you live in the country or in the city, the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process has the potential to impact you. The TMDL process sets limits on how much pollutant can enter a water body without that water body’s uses becoming impaired and is written documentation of the methods used to set the limits for each stream and the strategies needed to achieve the limits that have been set.

Some common uses of a stream are primary and/or secondary recreation, expected aquatic life support, etc. Some common pollutants in a stream are sediment fecal coliform bacteria (FCB), phosphorus, and other nutrients. These uses and pollutants are tied together through the Kansas Water Quality Standards. It is important to note that what is considered a safe amount of pollutant for one use may be considered a dangerous amount for another. One example of this is FCB as it relates to primary and secondary recreation. A concentration of FCB that is close to, but still below, the limit set when a stream is used for only secondary recreation will be considered safe. Yet, if the same stream is used for primary recreation as well, the same concentration will be many times greater than the limit that is considered safe.

The responsibility for states to set the TMDLs has always been a part of the Clean Water Act of 1972, but it has never been enforced until now. Currently, the State of Kansas is under federal court order to establish the TMDLs for all of its impaired streams and rivers by 2006. One requirement for a completed TMDL is that it includes a plan for implementation. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has submitted the TMDLs in the Kansas, Lower Republic, Upper Arkansas, Cimarron, Lower Arkansas, Missouri, and Marais des Cygnes River Basins. Now it is time to begin implementation. It has been concluded that Kansas will try to meet its TMDL requirements through voluntary participation by its homeowners, landowners, and land operators. If, after five years of voluntary participation, the water quality shows no signs of improvement, other means of implementation will be explored to reach the desired outcomes. If there are signs of improvement, voluntary participation will continue to be the choice method of implementation. Landowners can contribute to cleaner water, and to the success of the voluntary effort, by implementing best management practices (BMPs) on their land.

K-State Research and Extension, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), State Conservation Commission (SCC), Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), and many other cooperators of the TMDL Ag Working Group are committed to working with the public to help clean up Kansas’ waters. Six watershed/water quality specialists are now working in the river basins that have had high priority TMDLs set. These specialists will work through local advisory committees and collaborating agencies to educate farmers, landowners, and homeowners on the local TMDL issues and the BMP practices available to treat these issues. The health of Kansas’ waters is everyone’s concern. Therefore, suitable outcomes can only be found when everyone (governments, organizations, and citizens) work together to address the issues and find the best solutions for their location.

For more information on TMDLs and the local water quality actions taking place in your area, contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service or conservation district office located at your local county USDA Service Center or visit the TMDL page on the KDHE web site at (http://www.kdhe.state.ks.us/tmdl/).

For more information about NRCS programs, visit the Kansas NRCS web site at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

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Last Modified: 09/09/2008