Section 5
Beaucoup Creek Watershed Data Review
v 5-17
FINAL REPORT
sample in segment NCC01. The absence of exceedences of the water quality standards
for manganese or sulfates at higher flows in Table 5-21 supports the conclusion that
manganese and sulfates from the remaining segments could have leached into the
groundwater from pools within mine sites. Therefore, groundwater could be the source
of manganese, sulfates, and TDS for Beaucoup Creek segments NC10 and NC03,
Little Beaucoup Creek, and Swanwick Creek. It is possible that surface runoff from
mine sites is the source of elevated concentrations in Walkers Creek. This is supported
by the analysis, summarized in Section 8, that examines the impacts of sulfate and
manganese loads from the permitted active mines on the receiving waters. In addition,
no data is available to assess the natural background of manganese, sulfates, and TDS
in the watershed. Natural background concentrations typically are attributed to what
occurs naturally in groundwater due to mineral conditions of the soils (WERF 1997).
Table 5-21 Historical Water Chemistry in Beaucoup Creek Watershed (USEPA 2002b)
Sample Location Date
Flow
(cfs)
Total Mn
(mg/L)
Sulfates
(mg/L)
TDS
(mg/L)
Total Fe
(μg/L)
Total Ca
(mg/L)
Total Cl
(mg/L)
Total Na
(mg/L)
Total K
(mg/L)
Total Mg
(mg/L)
Beaucoup Creek (NC03) 8/16/2000 11.86 0.27 410 759 990 110 15 49 7.6 48
Beaucoup Creek (NC03) 9/19/2000 1.33 0.29 1,000 1,380 390 240 15 98 7.1 120
L. Beaucoup Creek (NCI01) 8/4/1995 0.60 2.1 31 171 1,500 24 5.9 12 11 10
L. Beaucoup Creek (NCI01) 3/5/1996 0.33 0.29 481 677 530 110 30.4 68 7 53
Swanwick Creek (NCK01) 7/24/1995 0.20 3.8 162 485 1,700 73 30.6 45 9.3 31
Swanwick Creek (NCK01) 3/5/1996 0.88 0.38 505 748 1,100 120 27.8 75 5.4 67
Walkers Creek (NCC01) 8/2/1995 1.89 1 1,570 1,740 1,200 390 15.1 150 6.1 170
Walkers Creek (NCC01) 3/13/1996 0.49 2.9 1,890 1,730 220 380 23.5 170 4.9 170
5.1.7.3 Animal Confinement Operations
The Illinois EPA provided a GIS shapefile illustrating the location of livestock
facilities in the Big Muddy River Basin, which contains Washington County Lake and
the Beaucoup Creek Watershed. The Illinois EPA assessed the potential impact of each
facility on water quality with regard to the size of the facility, the site condition and
management, pollutant transport efficiency, and water resources vulnerability.
Seventy-six livestock facilities were identified in the Beaucoup Creek Watershed as
shown in Figure 5-8. One of the facilities has been designated as potentially having a
moderate impact. Of the remaining facilities, 32 were designated as potentially having
slight impact, 34 were designated as potentially having no impact, and nine were not
assessed.
5.1.8 Soil Data
State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) Database data, created by the USDA – National
Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Soil Survey Division, are aggregated soil
surveys for GIS use published for Illinois in 1994. The STATSGO shapefiles were
downloaded by Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) from the USEPA BASINS website
(USEPA 2002a). STATSGO data are presented as map units of soils in which each
map unit has a unique code linking it to attribute tables listing percentages of soil types
