Missouri River Tributaries, Waste Load Allocation Study, 1974

(1974) Missouri River Tributaries, Waste Load Allocation Study, 1974. Natural Resources, Department of

Preview

PDF missouri_river_tributaries_waste_load_study_1974_OCR_.pdf File Size:33MB

Abstract

The study area is comprised of those portions of the Rock River Basin and the Little Sioux River Basin within the state of Iowa, encompassing an area of approximately 4,015 square miles in the northwestern section of Iowa. The topography of the Rock River Basin is a gently rolling or undulating plain; while the Little Sioux River Basin ranges from nearly flat to gently undulating glacial draft areas in the north to more rolling loess covered areas in the southern portion. Stream flows per square mile are significantly less than those of the state of Iowa as a whole, especially for the 7-day, 1-in-10 year low flow. Most of the main streams in the basin have a Class B (warm water fisheries) water quality criteria classification. A lack of comprehensive water quality data for the Rock River Basin does not allow identification of existing water quality under low flow conditions. Available data for the Little Sioux River shows lowered water quality. This decrease in water quality is directly related to the impact of treated wastewater discharges upon the stream. Additional water quality data are necessary from both basins for identification of stream quality and to check the effectiveness of waste load allocations. Within the basin, 68 communities are incorporated. There are 47 wastewater treatment facilities with 6 communities forming the Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary District. Also, there are 16 industrial and 2 semipublic wastewater dischargers. Eighteen municipalities maintain wastewater treatment facilities which will not be required to adopt a controlled discharge mode of operation under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).