Meeting about restoration of Fish Creek scheduled

Work on a proposed water quality restoration plan for the Fish Creek tributary of Twin Lakes that aims to further reduce pollution and sedimentation will be discussed at a meeting on Tuesday.

The Fish Creek Watershed Advisory Group will meet from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality regional office at 2110 Ironwood Parkway, Coeur d’Alene. DEQ’s goal “is to develop a comprehensive plan aimed at restoring all beneficial uses within the watershed.”

The meeting agenda includes Fish Creek’s Total Maximum Daily Load findings on sediment, temperature and bacteria; listing status of the watershed; and establishing a public comment period.

Fish Creek, about 6 miles north of Rathdrum, and 17 miles northeast of Coeur d’Alene, originates in mountain slopes in Washington just across the Idaho border, and flows east about 5.5 miles before draining into Twin Lakes. The Fish Creek Watershed is above Upper Twin Lake and is approximately 14,143 acres, largely forested, and managed for timber production. Lower reaches of Fish Creek are used for livestock grazing and agricultural practices.

Sources of sediment include forest roads, activities associated with timber harvesting, livestock grazing and other agricultural practices. E. coli concentrations can originate from wild or domesticated animals, septic systems and/or recreational usage.

In the early 1990s, a state investigation revealed fecal coliform bacteria concentrations due to cattle gazing in the lowland portion of the watershed.

According to DEQ, area residents have taken the necessary steps to install and maintain fencing, and the lower pasture adjacent to Twin Lake is no longer used for cattle gazing. Pollution-control efforts within the watershed have been implemented by landowners on a voluntary and mandatory basis.

Inland Empire Paper Co., the major landowner within the watershed, manages the land for timber production and has changed timber-harvesting practices to help reduce polluting runoff, according to DEQ.

IEPC has also concentrated timber harvesting so fewer roads are constructed and used for shorter periods of time; has planted 300 tree seedlings per acres within two to three years after harvesting; and has promoted healthy timber stands by trying to regenerate the historical mix of white pine, Western larch and ponderosa pine, DEQ said.

“A few homes and outbuildings do exist within the watershed, but mainly occur along the lower, flatter reaches of the watershed, and are not anticipated to contribute pollutant loads,” DEQ said in an assessment.

The DEQ Fish Creek Watershed Assessment states that data gaps do exist within their water quality investigation, and that additional data would better define sources of pollution and better quantify actual sediment loads occurring within the watershed.

DEQ recommends that stream bank stability and erosion surveys are needed to assess the in-stream sediment delivery potential, and that “continued monitoring will determine the achievement of TMDL targets and restoration of all beneficial uses.”