Rock River Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL)
Impaired Waters of Rock River Basin
Click photo for larger image [PDF 766KB]
The DNR is in the process of developing a TMDL for the Upper and Lower Rock River Basins. There are over 40 waterbodies in the basin that are on the 303(d) list of impaired waters. The TMDL will focus only on the waterbodies that are impaired by excessive sediment and phosphorus. These pollutants can cause low dissolved oxygen, degraded habitat and excessive turbidity in waterways, resulting in harm to fish and aquatic life, water quality, recreation and even navigation. The TMDL will provide a quantitative analysis of the amount of sediment and/or phosphorus that the waterbodies can receive from both point and nonpoint sources and still meet water quality standards.
A consultant has been hired to prepare the TMDL report under DNR’s management using a grant provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The TMDL will be developed during 2007 and a draft TMDL Report will be released in 2008 for public comment. A fact sheet [PDF 57KB] on the project is now available.
DNR sponsored a public information meeting on December 12, 2006 to introduce the project to the public. Over 70 people [PDF 46KB] attended the meeting. The agenda [PDF 52KB] included:
- Introduction to the Rock River TMDL [PDF 152KB] Bob Masnado, DNR
- Overview of Impaired Waters and TMDLs [PDF 1.2MB] Liesa Lehmann, DNR
- Rock River Basin Land Use and Water Quality [PDF 3.36MB] Jim Congdon, DNR
- Overview of Previous Rock River study [PDF 607KB] Kevin Kirsch, DNR
- Phosphorus and Biological Responses [PDF 2.2MB] Dale Robertson, USGS
- Water Quality Targets for Rock River TMDL [PDF 259KB] Jim Baumann, DNR
- Proposed Revisions to Scope of Work [PDF 1.7MB] Kevin Kirsch, DNR
At the December 12th meeting, WDNR announced that it will be accepting comments on proposed revisions to the original Scope of Work prepared for this project.
Comments on DNR's proposed scope revisions were received through January 5, 2007. A summary of the comments and DNR's response (69k pdf) is now available.
List of project contacts [PDF 12KB]
Rock River Basin Waters Impaired by Sediment and Phosphorus Only [PDF 12KB]
RSS