Tennessee Criteria Development Progress
This page provides information about the progress Tennessee has made towards the development of numeric criteria and shows what statewide and site-specific criteria are currently in effect.
Note: The information on the tabs below reflects the information available on EPA’s
Water Quality Standards Repository. The criteria presented here will be updated as new water quality standards documents are posted to the Repository.
Numeric Criteria Development
The information presented below gives a summary of state progress towards the development of numeric criteria. The information comes from EPA’s “State Adoption of Numeric Nutrient Standards (1998-2008)” report, current water quality standards, program activity measures, and nutrient criteria development plans. Links to the Tennessee’s Nutrient Criteria Plan and state water quality standards are also provided.
Existing Numeric Criteria
| Waterbody Type | N | P | Chl-a | Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakes and Reservoirs | W | |||
| Rivers and Streams | ||||
| Estuaries | N ⁄ A | N ⁄ A | N ⁄ A | N ⁄ A |
| Wetlands |
S = Statewide W = For selected waterbody N ⁄ A=Not Applicable
Note: See Statewide Criteria and Site-specific Criteria tabs for more information.
Links to Numeric Nutrient Criteria Plan and Existing Nutrient Criteria
Plan:
WQS: Tennessee Water Quality Standards
Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation Exit
Milestone Information
Milestone information updated July 2012.
Milestone |
Rivers and Streams | Lakes and Reservoirs | Estuaries and Coastal Waters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TN | TP | TN | TP | TN | TP | |
| Planning for criteria development | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Collection of information and data | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Analysis of information and data | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Proposal of criteria | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Adoption of criteria (EPA-Approved) | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | No date provided | Not applicable | Not applicable |
TN: Total Nitrogen; TP: Total Phosphorus
Statewide Criteria
The information on this tab shows EPA-approved nutrient criteria for Tennessee’s waterbodies. The language presented below comes directly from state water quality standards and applies to all waterbodies within the state (unless a waterbody type or designated use is noted). Criteria applicable to specific waterbodies within the state can be found on the “Site-specific Criteria” tab. For more information, refer to the Tennessee water quality standards.
The following information reflects Tennessee’s water quality standards posted to the Water Quality Standards Repository as of November 2010 (EPA-approved March 2008).
1200-4-3-.03 Criteria for Water Uses.
(1) Domestic Water Supply.
(f) Turbidity or Color - There shall be no turbidity or color in amounts or characteristics that cannot be reduced to acceptable concentrations by conventional water treatment processes (See definition)*.
(i) Taste or Odor - The waters shall not contain substances which will result in taste or odor that prevent the production of potable water by conventional water treatment processes.
(2) Industrial Water Supply.
(f) Turbidity or Color - There shall be no turbidity or color in amounts or characteristics that cannot be reduced to acceptable concentrations by conventional water treatment processes.
(h) Taste or Odor - The waters shall not contain substances which will result in taste or odor that would prevent the use of the water for industrial processing.
(3) Fish and Aquatic Life.
(f) Taste or Odor - The waters shall not contain substances that will impart unpalatable flavor to fish or result in noticeable offensive odors in the vicinity of the water or otherwise interfere with fish or aquatic life. References include, but are not limited to: Quality Criteria for Water (section 304(a) of Public Law 92-500 as amended).
(k) Nutrients - The waters shall not contain nutrients in concentrations that stimulate aquatic plant and/or algae growth to the extent that aquatic habitat is substantially reduced and/or the biological integrity fails to meet regional goals. Additionally, the quality of downstream waters shall not be detrimentally affected.
Interpretation of this provision may be made using the document Development of Regionally-based Interpretations of Tennessee’s Narrative Nutrient Criterion and/or other scientifically defensible methods.
(4) Recreation.
(d) Total Suspended Solids, Turbidity or Color - There shall be no total suspended solids, turbidity or color in such amounts or character that will result in any objectionable appearance to the water, considering the nature and location of the water.
(g) Taste or Odor - The waters shall not contain substances that will result in objectionable taste or odor.
(h) Nutrients - The waters shall not contain nutrients in concentrations that stimulate aquatic plant and/or algae growth to the extent that the public’s recreational uses of the waterbody or other downstream waters are detrimentally affected. Unless demonstrated otherwise, the nutrient criteria found in 1200-4-3-.03(3)(k) will be considered adequately protective of this use.
(5) Irrigation.
(6) Livestock Watering and Wildlife.
* Definition
1200-4-3-.04 Definitions in Addition to the Meanings Provided in the Water Quality Control Act (T.C.A. §§69-103), Terms Used in These Rules Shall Have the Meanings Provided Below.
(2) Conventional Water Treatment - Conventional water treatment as referred to in the criteria denotes coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and chlorination or disinfection.
Site-specific Criteria
The information on this tab shows EPA-approved site-specific nutrient criteria for Tennessee’s waterbodies. Criteria on this page apply only to the waterbodies listed below. Criteria applicable to all waterbodies within the state are found on the “Statewide Criteria” tab. For more information, refer to the Tennessee water quality standards.
The following information reflects Tennessee’s water quality standards posted to the Water Quality Standards Repository as of November 2010 (EPA-approved March 2008).
1200-4-3-.03 Criteria for Water Uses.
(3) Fish and Aquatic Life.
(4) Recreation.
(i) Nutrient Response Criteria for Pickwick Reservoir: those waters impounded by Pickwick Dam on the Tennessee River. The reservoir has a surface area of 43,100 acres at full pool, 9,400 acres of which are within Tennessee. Chlorophyll a (corrected, as described in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 20th Edition, 1998): the mean of the photic-zone (See definition)* composite Chlorophyll a samples collected monthly April through September shall not exceed 18 ug/L, as measured over the deepest point, main river channel, dam forebay
* Definition
1200-4-3-.04 Definitions in Addition to the Meanings Provided in the Water Quality Control Act (T.C.A. §§69-103), Terms Used in These Rules Shall Have the Meanings Provided Below.
(9) Photic-Zone – the region of water through which light penetrates and where photosynthetic organisms live.