Coos Watershed Hydrological and Meteorological Monitoring 2024-2026

The Coos Watershed, located on the Southern Oregon Coast, is the home of an important population of the ESA listed coastal coho salmon. The ESA Recovery plan for the Oregon Coast coho salmon (NOAA 2016) cites the need for increased quantity and quality of freshwater and estuarine rearing habitat. Historically, the need for hydrological and meteorological data was identified in the IMST’s Recovery of Wild Salmonids in Western Oregon Lowlands (2002), and in OWEB’s Monitoring Strategy for the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds (2003). NOAA’s A Strategic Plan for Enhanced Coastal Observational System and Predictive Hydrodynamic Model for Improved Management of the Coos Bay Estuary, Oregon (2005) ranked continuing gaging station operations as the highest priority. Most recently, Oregons 2017 Integrated Water Resources Strategy (OWRD 2017) recommends that the state continue to maintain the stream gage network, collaborate with other groups, and promote continuous monitoring. The lack of long-term hydrological data has driven the Coos Watershed Association (CoosWA) to meet this need. This project will maintain six real-time stream gaging stations. Hydrological data will be analyzed and summarized by water year and reported quarterly and annually on the CoosWA website. Discharge data will be further complied into the long-term data set, flow duration estimates will be recalculated with the updated data. Meteorological data will be summarized by water year. Instantaneous data will be available in real-time on our website.

The objectives of this project are to continue to collect stream discharge data at six existing sites with the goal of establishing a long-term data set which will be used for baseline data and statistical analysis of status and trends. These data will allow for restoration practitioners to properly design culverts to allow for optimal fish passage for adult and juvenile salmonids and large wood and alluvium transport without restrictions, properly designed roads and culverts to reduce the possibility of large amounts of sediment from entering the stream, and stream flow data can be used to establish and/or protect water rights for salmonids.
Continual turbidity and stream temperature data collection will allow us to assess the suitability of water quality for salmonids with the goal of prioritizing areas that are in need salmonid habitat restoration.