Water Quality Monitoring in Water Resource Inventory Areas 29, 30 and 31

Salmonid Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RM&E)

Project ID	2002-4-07
Recovery Domains	Lower Columbia River
Start Date	05/22/2003
End Date	12/31/2004
Year	2002
Status	Completed
Last Edited	01/26/2024

1 - 1

Description

Equipment was ordered soon after receiving the money to promptly get the equipment out into the field and begin collecting data. Equipment arrived in Sept. 2003. The equipment was calibrated and setup for field use in remote monitoring environments. The majority of the equipment was deployed by November of 2003. Sixty stow away thermographs were deployed for a one year duration collecting data every 60 minutes. Thermographs will be downloaded in fall 2004 to retrieve data. Canopy data was started in June 2004 to allow leaving of trees and shrubs for the 2004 season.

Two weather stations are deployed and collecting data; however, there has been some loss in data on each station due to harsh weather conditions. Currently all the equipment, but one wind gauge on the station is up and running after field repairs took place with minimal loss. The lost data is apparent in the graphs with dates containing no or little data. Seven precipitation gauges are running and collecting data from various basins. Two precipitation gauges are located in the White Salmon Drainage. One precipitation gauge is located in the Wind Creek Drainage. One precipitation gauge is located in Ahtanum/Yakima River Creek Drainage. Two precipitation gauges are located in the Yakima River Drainage. All precipitation gauges have been checked, downloaded and re-launched except for two the Wind River gauge and the Ahtanum gauge. One stream gauge has been placed in Rock Creek and data is currently being analyzed . Flow measurements have and are currrently being taken throughout the season to calibrate the stream gauge heights to flow (cfs).

Water quality measurements have been taken in numerous locations throughout all the drainages listed above. Due to the enormous time constraints is geographical locations and complexity of water quality measurements, select locations will have approximately monthly readings, whereas some will only have seasonal readings. Data is currently being compiled on water quality sites. Data will be shown in the annual report of 2005 to minimize the large amount of work involved to create the graphs for the finalized data.

Project Benefit

Develop baseline data for water quality in Water Resource Inventory Areas 29, 30 and 31.

Accomplishments

Metric

Completed

Originally
Proposed

Research and Monitoring

Stream Miles Monitored

125.00

Source

Funds

PCSRF

$43,992

Report Total:

$43,992

Worksites

1

Worksite Identifier: 1
Start Date:
End Date:

Area Description

No Area Description data was found for this worksite.

Location Information

Basin: Middle Columbia (170701)
Subbasin: Middle Columbia-Hood
Watershed: 1707010101
Subwatershed:

State: Washington
Recovery Domain: Lower Columbia River
Latitude: 45.914
Longitude: -121.265

ESU

Mid-Columbia River Spring-run Chinook Salmon ESU
Lower Columbia River Coho Salmon ESU
Middle Columbia River Steelhead DPS

Map

Photos

Metrics

E.0 Salmonid Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RM&E)Y (Y/N)

. . E.0.a RM&E Funding 43,992.00
. . E.0.b
Complement habitat restoration project

Unknown
. . E.0.c
Project identified in a plan or watershed assessment.

Unknown
. . E.0.d.1 Number of Cooperating Organizations 0
. . E.0.d.2
Name Of Cooperating Organizations.

none
. . E.0.e.1 Number of reports prepared 2
. . E.0.e.2
Name Of Report

YIN, Fisheries Program, "Semi-Annual PCSRF Progress Reports", 2003, 2004.

. . E.1 MonitoringY (Y/N)

. . . . E.1.a Monitoring funding 43,992.00
. . . . E.1.b.1 Stream Miles Monitored 125.00
. . . . E.1.b.2 Acres of Watershed Area Monitored .0

. . . . E.1.c.3 Biological instream monitoring (other than salmon)Y (Y/N)

. . . . . . E.1.c.3.a # miles (to nearest 0.01 mile) monitored for Biological indicies (other than salmon) 125.00
. . . . E.1.d
Name Of Comprehensive Monitoring Strategy/Program

Unknown

. . . . E.1.e

Description of monitoring

Approximately 50 stow-away temperature loggers were calibrated and are currently collecting data every 60 minutes. Theses loggers are spread out amoung five WRIA's. Data from 90% of the stow-away thermographs have been downloaded and re-set to continue data collection. The other 9% were unable to be retrieved due to high flows and will be retrieved summer of 2005. Two weather stations are calibrated and running in WRIA's 29 and 39. One percent of the stow-away thermographs were lost to high flows or theft. Water quality was collected for 12 streams in WRIA 29, 16 streams in WRIA 30, 9 streams in WRIA 31, 4 streams in WRIA 37, 6 streams in WRIA 38, 7 streams in WRIA 39. Two streams in WRIA 29, one in WRIA 31, and one stream in WRIA 38 have had extensive research monitoring done. Monitoring that included canopy cover, substrate, bank erosion, pools, LWD, cross-sections, and sediment. Canopy cover only was done on approximately 10 other streams in various WRIA's. Six precipitation gauges were installed and continue to collect precipitation data. Visual observation and some electro-shocking was cmpleted on several streams to assess fish and species present.