Approaching TMDLs as Long-term

Investments

Heather Fisher, Tetra Tech

Total

Maximum

Daily

Load

The Setting

Puyallup, WA

Prescott, AZ

Clarks Creek

City of Puyallup and Pierce County, WA

Watson Lake

Prescott, AZ

Watson Lake

Clarks Creek Watershed

Washington State

“Jewel in the Crown”

• Spring-fed tributary to the Puyallup River

• Puyallup Tribe ancestral land

• Five salmonid species that spawn, rear, and migrate within the creek

Minimum allowable

Dissolved Oxygen = 9.5 mg/L

Stormwater

Clarks Creek WatershedExisting Landuse Map

Map produced by P. Cada, 02-08-2012

NAD_1983_HARN_StatePlane_Washington_South_FIPS_4602_Feet

0 1 20.5Kilometers

Legend

Major Streams

Roads

Puyallup City Limits

Clarks Creek Watershed

Landuse - Pierce County

Commercial/Service

Industrial

Institutional

Multi-Family Residential

Open Space/Recreation

Resource Land

Single-Family Residential

Transportation/Utilities

Unknown

Vacant

Water Bodies

512

River Rd.

E. M

erid

ian

E. Pioneer Ave.

Stewart Ave.

Tacoma Rd.

0 0.5 10.25Miles

Reduced Shade

Elodea Nuisance Growth

Watson Lake, Prescott, AZ

Lake Levels

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)

Cutting or Harvesting

Overflow Channelto

Willow Creek Reservoir

Watson Lake Dam

Watson Lake

NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_12NMap produced 11-15-11 - C. Carter

Legend

Stream/River

Major Road

0 200 400100Meters

0 800 1,600400Feet

Gra

nite

Cre

ek

89

Watershed Load Reduction

Watson Lake Watershed

NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_12NMap produced 11-10-11 - C. Carter

Legend

Stream/River

Major Road

Watershed Boundary

City Boundary

Land Cover (2006)

Water

Open Space

Low Intensity Dev.

Med. Intensity Dev.

High Intensity Dev.

Barren

Forest

Scrub/Shrub

Grassland

Woody Wetland

Herbaceous Wetland

0 1 20.5Kilometers

0 1 20.5Miles

Watson LakeWillow CreekReservoir

89

69

Granite Creek

Prescott

Williamson

• Stormwater Retrofits

• Improvements in Wastewater Infrastructure

Lake Dredging

Overflow Channelto

Willow Creek Reservoir

Watson Lake Dam

Watson Lake: Bathymetry

NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_12NMap produced 11-15-11 - C. Carter

Legend

Stream/River

Lake Segmentation

Depth Below Full Pool

Meters

0 - 2

2 - 4

4 - 6

6 - 8

8 - 10

10 - 12

12 - 14

14 - 14.9

0 200 400100Meters

0 800 1,600400Feet

89

Segment 1 (SAV)

Segment 2 (Open Water)

Lake Level Change

Alum Treatment

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)

Cutting or Harvesting

Overflow Channelto

Willow Creek Reservoir

Watson Lake Dam

Watson Lake

NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_12NMap produced 11-15-11 - C. Carter

Legend

Stream/River

Major Road

0 200 400100Meters

0 800 1,600400Feet

Gra

nite

Cre

ek

89

Aeration

Fish Bird Watching Boating Scenic Views NeighborhoodAesthetics

StormwaterRetrofits –Conv.

StormwaterRetrofits - GI

Lake Dredging

Lake LevelChanges

Alum Treatment

SAV Cutting

SAV Harvesting

Aeration

Fish Bird Watching Boating Scenic Views NeighborhoodAesthetics

StormwaterRetrofits –Conv.

StormwaterRetrofits - GI

Lake Dredging

Lake LevelChanges

Alum Treatment

SAV Cutting

SAV Harvesting

Aeration

Photo Credit: David Schenfeld

Fish Bird Watching Boating Scenic Views NeighborhoodAesthetics

StormwaterRetrofits –Conv.

StormwaterRetrofits - GI

Lake Dredging

Lake LevelChanges

Alum Treatment

SAV Cutting

SAV Harvesting

Aeration

Fish Bird Watching Boating Scenic Views NeighborhoodAesthetics

StormwaterRetrofits –Conv.

StormwaterRetrofits - GI

Lake Dredging

Lake LevelChanges

Alum Treatment

SAV Cutting

SAV Harvesting

Aeration

Fish Bird Watching Boating Scenic Views NeighborhoodAesthetics

StormwaterRetrofits –Conv.

StormwaterRetrofits - GI

Lake Dredging

Lake LevelChanges

Alum Treatment

SAV Cutting

SAV Harvesting

Aeration

Watershed Load Reduction

Fish Bird Watching Boating Scenic Views NeighborhoodAesthetics

StormwaterRetrofits –Conv.

StormwaterRetrofits - GI

Lake Dredging

Lake LevelChanges

Alum Treatment

SAV Cutting

SAV Harvesting

Aeration

Clarks Creek

Dissolved Oxygen and Sediment TMDL

Elodea

Nuisance

Growth

StormwaterReduced

Shade

Solids and

organic material

accumulation

Elevated nutrient

loads

Increased

sunlight

Bacterial oxygen

consumption

(SOD)

Algal

Respiration

Reduced

velocity and

reaeration

Increased

water

temperature

Reduced Dissolved Oxygen

Str

esso

rsP

roce

sse

sIm

pa

cts

Reduced DO in

Stormwater