Impaired Waters & TMDLs
TMDL Requirements
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Water Resource Management uses a comprehensive approach to protecting Florida water quality involving basin-wide assessments and the application of regulatory and non-regulatory strategies to reduce pollution. The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program is the heart of this comprehensive approach. (From the FDEP website). Note: both FDEP and EPA refer to the water body segments and/or their contributing area as "WBIDs."
The MS4 permit requires permittees address any TMDL(s) that was established by FDEP (or that was adopted by the EPA and verified by FDEP) at the time the MS4 permit was issued. A permittee is only responsible to take part in TMDL program activities (planning, monitoring, improvements, etc.) if its MS4 discharges into the water body with a TMDL. Thus, for any given permit cycle, it’s likely only some Palm Beach County MS4 permittees will have TMDL activities.
TMDLs in Palm Beach County
Permit Cycles 1 and 2
The MS4 Cycles 1 and 2 permits were issued when no TMDLs were in place, and therefore, there were no required TMDL activities.
Permit Cycle 3
When the MS4 Cycle 3 permit was issued (3/2/2011), there were 7 TMDLs in place. The relevant MS4 permittees (stakeholders to the TMDL) addressed the TMDLs during the period of the Cycle 3 permit and all required activities are complete.
Permit Cycle 4
The MS4 Cycle 4 permit was issued on 9/8/2016, and at that time, there were 3 TMDLs in place. These are listed in the table below.
| WBID | Waterbody Name | Basin | TMDL Report Date | Report Link | Impairment Parameter(s) | TMDL | % Reduc tion | MS4s Stake holders(s) | Other Study(ies) | Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3226C | SW Fork Loxahatchee River | St. Lucie/ Loxahatchee | 5/16/2012 | View Report | Fecal Coliform | <43 (counts/ 100ml) |
91 | Jupiter, PBC, FDOT, PBC, SIRWCD, Turnpike, NPBCID | Lox. PRP | EPA |
| 3262A | Lake Ida | Lake Worth Lagoon | 11/9/2012 | View Report | Nutrients | TN=0.857 mg/l TP=0.062 mg/l |
20 45 |
Delray, Boynton, FDOT, PBC | Boynton Inlet | EPA |
| 3264A | E-1 Canal | Lake Worth Lagoon | 8/31/2011 | View Report | Fecal Coliform | <400 (counts/ 100ml) |
94 0 |
FDOT, PBC | BPC for E-1 Canal | EPA |
During Year 1 of the permit cycle, permittees were required to develop a prioritization plan for the 4th Cycle TMDLs to which they were named a stakeholder. This requirement applied to eight PBC MS4 permittees. These permittees submitted their prioritizations during Year 1 and all were approved by FDEP. The 8 permittees, their prioritized TMDL, and the associated schedules are presented below.
| MS4 Permittee | WBID | Waterbody Name | Parameter(s) | Monitoring Summary Due | Bacterial Pollution Control Plan Due | Supplemental SWMP Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boynton Beach | 3262A | Lake IDA | Nutrients (EPA) | 03/31/20 | N/A | 03/31/21 |
| Delray Beach | 3262A | Lake IDA | Nutrients (EPA) | 03/31/20 | N/A | 03/31/21 |
| FDOT District 4* | 3264A | E-1 Canal | 03/31/20 | 03/31/20 | N/A | |
| 3226C | Loxahatchee River | PRP | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| FDOT Turnpike Enterprise* | 3226C | Loxahatchee River | PRP | N/A | 03/31/20 | N/A |
| Jupiter* | 3226C | Loxahatchee River | PRP | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| NPBCID* | 3226C | Loxahatchee River | PRP | N/A | 03/31/21 | N/A |
| Palm Beach County* | 3264A | E-1 Canal | Bacteria | 03/31/20 | 03/31/20 | N/A |
| 3226C | Loxahatchee River | PRP | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| SIRWCD* | 3226C | Loxahatchee River | PRP | N/A | N/A | N/A |
* All participating in FDEP coordinated Pollutant Reduction Plan for Loxahatchee River
Upcoming Permit Cycle TMDLs
FDEP’s ongoing assessment and TMDL development activity has resulted in additional TMDLs either in development or that have been adopted since the Cycle 4 permit was issued. Information on these TMDLs is provide here:
| WBID | Waterbody Name | Basin | TMDL Report Date | Report Link | Impairment Parameter(s) | TMDL lbs/ac/yr | % Reduction | MS4 Stakeholder(s) | Other Study(ies) | Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3245C4 | Pine Lake | Lake Worth Lagoon | Sept 2021 | View Report | TN | 7.93 | 45 | FDOT-Dist IV, NPBCID, Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach | FDEP | |
| TP | 0.5 | 44 |
For locations of all TMDLs in Palm Beach County View FDEP Interactive TMDL Map.
FDEP On-going Waterbody Assessments
Beginning in 2020, FDEP revised its waterbody assessment program. Rather than a 5-year assessment cycle, covering 5 Groups around the state, the Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration (DEAR) now performs a state-wide assessment of all waterbodies every two years. The first Biennial Assessment was for 2020-2022. The assessment was completed in 2021 and draft lists were published (verified impaired, delisting from previous verified impaired, study list and removal from study list) last fall. In April 2022, the lists were finalized and adopted via the State of Florida procedure. The following links will allow you to download a PDF of each list, filtered for those WBIDs with a Palm Beach County location noted in the list.
2020-2022 Verified List of Impaired Waters
2020-2022 List of WBIDs delisted from previous Verified Lists
2020-2022 Study List
2020-2022 Lists of WBIDs removed from previous Study Lists
Numeric Nutrient Criteria Information
FDEP has developed a web-based geographic tool, NNC Tracker, to view applicable numeric nutrient criteria for waterbodies throughout the state.