2.7.6.1. About Butcher Pen Creek
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- A tributary of the Cedar River
- Primary Land Use: Residential
- Current TMDL reports:
Fecal Coliform with BMAP - Not included in 2022 Verified List of Impaired Waters
- WBID Area: 1.31 sq. miles
Beneficial Use: Class III F
(Recreational – Freshwater)
2.7.6.2. Data sources
Data were historically downloaded from the FL STORET website (DEP 2010f), with recent data downloaded from WIN WAVES (DEP 2022f). Data were filtered based on the stations in the Butcher Pen Creek WBID 2322 (DEP 2023b) shown above. The filtered dataset reflects water column concentrations and was used to generate Table 2.11.
2.7.6.3. Discussion
Water quality data for Butcher Pen Creek are shown in Table 2.11. Historical phosphorus levels were higher than the recently updated WQC (DEP 2015c; DEP 2016d; DEP 2016i), and recent average total phosphorus levels remain at or above the WQC. Chlorophyll-a levels far exceeded the WQC in 2022. Butcher Pen Creek was previously considered impaired for chlorophyll-a, but it was delisted in 2016 (DEP 2016f). Butcher Pen Creek is impaired for Dissolved Oxygen based on the number of exceedances and the number of measurements taken, but it was not included on the 2020 or 2022 Verified List of Impaired Waters (DEP 2020e). High nutrient levels were previously identified as the causative pollutant for reduced dissolved oxygen levels, but during the last assessment period, Butcher Pen Creek was not considered impaired for nutrients. As a result, Butcher Pen Creek was added to the Study List to identify the causative agent. Average dissolved oxygen concentrations have been above the WQC on average from 2020-2022, but more than 10% of samples taken are below the WQC. The average concentration of iron also exceeded the WQC in 2022.
A TMDL report was published in 2005 in response to average fecal coliform levels exceeding the WQC (Wainwright 2005a) to address this issue, with an 83% reduction of current anthropogenic fecal coliform loading. Subsequently, a BMAP to address this issue was legally adopted (DEP 2009b). Fecal coliform levels have remained high, with average fecal indicator bacteria levels more than three times the WQC. 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. Butcher Pen Creek was found to have known sources of untreated human waste present (DEP 2019a). In 2020, Butcher Pen 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). Additional information about fecal coliform in the tributaries can be found in Section 2.6 and Table 2.3.
Historical water quality data for Butcher Pen Creek are available in previous versions of the River Report.
Table 2.11 Water quality data for Butcher Pen Creek.
| Water Quality | Average and Number of Samples º | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Criteria (FW) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) | ≥34% sat. (≥3.0) | 4.28 (9 of 25 samples) | 5.81 (4 of 30 samples) | 5.73 ± 0.31 (6 of 46 samples) |
| Total Phosphorus (mg/L) | <0.12‡ | 0.16 (2 of 3 samples) | 0.14 (6 of 10 samples) | 1.19 ± 0.13 (2 of 13 samples) |
| Total Nitrogen (mg/L) | <1.54‡ | Not available | Not available | 0.16 ± 0.01 (10 of 13 samples) |
| Chlorophyll-a (µg/L) | <20‡ | 3.68 (0 of 2 samples) | 17.90 (3 of 10 samples) | 38.72 ± 8.93 (10 of 13 samples) |
| Arsenic (µg/L) | ≤50 | Not available | 1.06 (0 of 5 samples) | 1.06 ± 0.13 (0 of 11 samples) |
| Cadmium (µg/L) | ≤0.3 | Not available | 0.01 (0 of 5 samples) | 0.01 ± 0.000 (0 of 11 samples) |
| Copper (µg/L) | ≤9.3 | Not available | 1.22 (0 of 5 samples) | 1.01 ± 0.09 (0 of 11 samples) |
| Iron (µg/L) | ≤1 | Not included in 2021 SORR | Not included in 2021 SORR | 1.29 ± 0.08 (9 of 11 samples) |
| Lead (µg/L) | ≤3.2 | Not available | 0.50 (0 of 5 samples) | 0.39 ± 0.05 (0 of 11 samples) |
| Nickel (µg/L) | ≤52 | Not available | 1.25 (0 of 5 samples) | 1.16 ± 0.09 (0 of 11 samples) |
| Silver (µg/L) | ≤0.07 | Not available | 0.01 (0 of 5 samples) | 0.00 ± 0.000 (0 of 11 samples) |
| Zinc (µg/L) | ≤120 | Not available | 12.5 (0 of 5 samples) | 11.59 ± 0.91 (0 of 11 samples) |
| Fecal Indicator Bacteria (E. Coli) (CFU/100 mL) | <410‡ | 1520 (18 of 24 samples) | 3030 (20 of 21 samples) | 1393 ± 240 (16 of 23 samples) |
| Turbidity (NTU) | <29 | 14.23 (0 of 3 samples) | 8.29 (0 of 10 samples) | 6.02 ± 0.54 (0 of 13 samples) |
° = Number of samples below Water Quality Criteria for Dissolved Oxygen; Number of samples above Water Quality Criteria for all other parameters.
FW = freshwater; SW = saltwater (marine). Values denoted with (*) indicate a proposed criterion, which has not yet been adopted.
Values denoted with (‡) are reference values based on EPA criteria (EPA 2010b), but the water body is not regulated by this standard.
