Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Cedar Creek/Cedar Lake River TMDLs
Final Report 18
Table 12 presents the TMDL summary for this assessment location. Results of the load duration
analysis indicate that fecal coliform load reductions are needed in Cedar Creek during low flows (67
percent), moist flow condition (27 percent), and high flows (17 percent).
The specific sources of fecal coliform are listed as unknown for this segment, but the potential sources of
fecal coliform may include livestock, private sewage systems, discharges from permitted point sources,
and wildlife. Livestock and animal feeding operations are prevalent throughout Jackson and Union
Counties (Illinois EPA, 2007). Private surface systems are also common in the area and if not treated
properly can release untreated sewage to local waterways. It has been estimated that statewide between
20 and 60 percent of surface discharging systems are failing or have failed (Illinois EPA, 2004)
suggesting that such systems may be a significant source of pollutants. The two NPDES dischargers in
this watershed are not considered significant sources of fecal coliform upstream of this segment due to
their low flows.
Table 12. Fecal Coliform TMDL Summary for Stream Segment NA 01
NA01 TMDL High
Flows
Moist
Conditions
Mid-
Range
Flows
Dry
Conditions
Low
Flows
Pollutant TMDL Component 0-10 10-40 40-60 60-90 90-100
Current Load 563,433 126,516 14,354 7,808 15,143
TMDL= LA+WLA+MOS 521,317 102,528 38,330 15,143 5,600
LA 469,008 92,098 34,320 13,452 4,863
Future Growth Reserve
(0%) 0 0 0 0 0
WLA: Alto Pass WTP 85 85 85 85 85
WLA: Union Jackson Farm
Labors Assn 92 92 92 92 92
WLA: MS4 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
MOS (10%) 52,132 10,253 3,833 1,514 560
Fecal Coliform
(Million/day)
TMDL Reduction (%) 17% 27% 0% 0% 67%
5.1.2 Waste Load Allocations
The following two NPDES permittees discharge upstream of the impaired segment of Cedar Creek:
• Alto Pass WTP (IL0000914)
• Union Jackson Farm Labors Assn (IL0047767)
No WLA is recommended for the Alto Pass WTP as no fecal coliform is associated with its effluent.
The Union Jackson facility is a sewage treatment plant and sewage from treatment plants treating
domestic and/or municipal waste contain fecal coliform–it is indigenous to sanitary sewage. In Illinois, a
number of these treatment plants, including the Union Jackson facility, have applied for and received
disinfection exemptions which allow a facility to discharge wastewater without disinfection. All of these
treatment facilities are required to comply with the geometric mean fecal coliform water quality standard
of 200 cfu/100 mL at the closest point downstream where recreational use occurs in the receiving water or
where the water flows into a fecal-impaired segment. The WLA for the Union Jackson facility was
therefore based on its design flow multiplied by 200 cfu/100 mL and the resulting WLA (see Table 13)
applies at the end of the disinfection exemption. Facilities with year-round disinfection exemptions may
