2.7.13.1. About Goodbys Creek
- East of the St. Johns River opposite NAS Jacksonville
- Primary Land Use: Residential
- Current TMDL reports:
Fecal Coliform with BMAP (2009), Mercury - 2020 Verified Impairment for Iron (2326A)
- WBID Area: 5.1 sq. mi.
- Beneficial Use: Class III F/M (2326A Recreational – Freshwater, 2326B Recreational – Marine)
2.7.13.2. Data sources
Data were downloaded from the FL STORET and WIN websites (DEP 2010f; DEP 2018) and filtered based on the stations (DEP 2010g) in Goodbys Creek WBID 2326, 2326A (freshwater), and 2326B (marine) (DEP 2014c) shown above. The filtered dataset reflects water column concentrations and was used to generate Table 2.16.
2.7.13.3. Discussion
Water quality data for Goodbys Creek are shown in Table 2.16. Previous average phosphorus levels in Goodbys Creek exceeded the updated WQC (EPA 2010b), but the average phosphorus levels between 2019 and 2021 were lower than the WQC. FDEP added the marine portion of Goodbys Creek (2326B) to its study list in 2020, as this portion is considered Impaired for dissolved oxygen levels, but the pollutant causing this impairment has not been identified (DEP 2020f). Average dissolved oxygen levels in both the freshwater and marine portions of Goodbys Creek were above the respective WQC from 2019 to 2021. Chlorophyll-a concentrations in the freshwater portion of Goodbys Creek was lower than the WQC in 2019, but no new measurements were reported in 2020 or 2021. Average chlorophyll-a concentrations in the marine portion exceeded the WQC in nearly all the samples measured from 2019 to 2021, and the average concentrations have increased during that time.
Average fecal indicator bacteria levels exceeded the reference value in 2019, 2020, and 2021. A TMDL report is available for fecal coliform in Goodbys Creek (Wainwright 2005b). (Note: the data analyses in the TMDL are based on different criteria than that used in this report). Subsequently, a BMAP for Goodbys Creek was legally adopted in 2009 (DEP 2009b). In 2018, FDEP piloted microbial source tracking strategies in selected impaired waterbodies. They found that the strategies used could be used to narrow down areas suspected of containing sources that actively contribute fecal indicating bacteria to water in order to identify and remediate them, but this work is resource-intensive. Based on this work, WBID 2326A in Goodbys Creek was suspected to have sources of untreated human waste present, and WBID 2326B was known to have sources of untreated human waste present (DEP 2019a). Additional information about fecal coliform in the tributaries can be found in Section 2.6 and Table 2.3. In 2020, the freshwater portion of Goodbys Creek was added to FDEP’s study list to monitor the response in fecal coliform (E. coli) levels to ongoing restoration activities taking place as part of the existing BMAP (DEP 2020f).
The freshwater portion of Goodbys Creek was verified as Impaired for elevated iron concentrations based on the number of exceedances for the sample size, although no iron measurements were reported in 2020 or 2021 (DEP 2020g). FDEP has assigned a medium priority for the development of a TMDL to address iron levels in Goodbys Creek.
Historical water quality data for Goodbys Creek are available in previous versions of the River Report.
Table 2.16 Water quality data for Goodbys Creek.
| Water Quality | Average and Number of Samples º | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Criteria | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) | ≥34% sat. (≥3.0) FW | 5.64 (0 of 10 samples) | 5.39 (1 of 10 samples) | 5.95 (1 of 10 samples) |
| ≥4.0 SW | 6.47 (2 of 15 samples) | 5.45 (0 of 9 samples) | 6.70 (1 of 14 samples) |
|
| Total Nitrogen (mg/L) | <1.54‡ | 0.75 (0 of 24 samples) | 0.92 (0 of 4 samples) | 0.82 (0 of 3 samples) |
| Total Phosphorus (mg/L) | <0.12‡ | 0.08 (1 of 19 samples) | 0.11 (1 of 4 samples) | 0.10 (1 of 10 samples) |
| Chlorophyll-a (µg/L) | <20‡ FW | 3.97 (1 of 10 samples) | Not available | Not available |
| <5.4‡ SW | 15.37 (6 of 7 samples) | 18.45 (4 of 4 samples) | 24.03 (10 of 10 samples) |
|
| Arsenic (µg/L) | ≤50 | 2.49 (0 of 12 samples) | 2.35 (0 of 4 samples) | 3.15 (0 of 5 samples) |
| Cadmium (µg/L) | <0.3 FW | 0.01 (0 of 3 samples) | Not available | Not available |
| <8.8 SW | 0.01 (0 of 9 samples) | 0.01 (0 of 4 samples) | 0.03 (0 of 5 samples) |
|
| Copper (µg/L) | <9.3 FW | 0.71 (0 of 3 samples) | Not available | Not available |
| <3.7 SW | 1.43 (0 of 9 samples) | 1.81 (0 of 4 samples) | 1.72 (0 of 5 samples) |
|
| Iron (mg/L) | <1.0 FW | 1.25 (4 of 4 samples) | Not available | Not available |
| <0.3 SW | 0.62 (10 of 11 samples) | 0.58 (4 of 4 samples) | 1.03 (5 of 5 samples) |
|
| Lead (µg/L) | <3.2 FW | 0.10 (0 of 3 samples) | Not available | Not available |
| <8.5 SW | 0.43 (0 of 8 samples) | 0.71 (0 of 4 samples) | 0.44 (0 of 5 samples) |
|
| Nickel (µg/L) | <52 FW | 0.25 (0 of 3 samples) | Not available | Not available |
| <8.3 SW | 0.33 (0 of 9 samples) | 0.25 (0 of 4 samples) | 0.45 (0 of 5 samples) |
|
| Silver (µg/L) | ≤0.07 FW | 0.01 (0 of 3 samples) | Not available | Not available |
| <0.92 SW | 0.01 (0 of 8 samples) | 0.01 (0 of 4 samples) | 0.01 (0 of 5 samples) |
|
| Zinc (µg/L) | <120 FW | 2.50 (0 of 3 samples) | Not available | Not available |
| <86 SW | 5.83 (0 of 9 samples) | 5 (0 of 4 samples) | 13.00 (0 of 5 samples) |
|
| Fecal Indicator Bacteria (E. coli) (CFU/100 mL) | <410 | 470 (5 of 11 samples) | 770 (10 of 18 samples) | 640 (12 of 17 samples) |
| Turbidity (NTU) | <29 | 6.83 (0 of 16 samples) | 6.13 (0 of 4 samples) | 6.36 (0 of 5 samples) |
