Water Quality Studies of Beaver Creek and Turkey Creek

Proceedings of the 2003 Georgia Water Resources Conference, held April 23-24, 2003, at the University of Georgia.Within the area served by the Middle Flint Regional Development Center at least 19 streams were placed on the 303(b)/303(d) list for 2002. A commonly violated criterion has been fecal coliform numbers. Both Beaver and Turkey Creeks were listed as impaired for fecal coliform counts. In response to the listing of the streams and to facilitate development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL), fecal coliform studies were undertaken on impaired segments of Turkey Creek and Beaver Creek, tributaries of the Flint River. Samples, collected from 3 locations in Beaver Creek and 4 locations in Turkey Creek for a four month period during the summer of 2002, were tested for fecal coliforms using the membrane filter technique. Data were collected for air temperature, water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and rainfall. For both creeks, these parameters were largely stable during the study period. Rainfall was sporadic and limited. Within Beaver Creek, 2 of the 3 sampling locations generally met State and Federal requirements for fecal coliforms. Within Turkey Creek, all 4 sampling locations generally exceeded State and Federal requirements for fecal coliforms. Possible sources of fecal coliforms include agriculture and the large, diverse wildlife population. Further testing, based on targeted sampling, will be necessary to determine the exact sources of the fecal coliforms