Walla Walla River Water Quality Monitoring & TMDL
OWEB grant #201-221   

Project Contact: Bob Bower, Hydrologist

Brief Summary:  This OWEB project will implement a water quality monitoring program under the guidance of Oregon DEQ protocol. This monitoring program will support both the current Walla Walla Basin TMDL process (DEQ - to be completed Dec. 2001) as well as quantify the improvements in water quality conditions fostered by our other ongoing projects. Temperature, stream flow, pH, dissolved oxygen and macro-invertebrate sampling will be utilized to quantify improvements in the Walla Walla Basin.

Timeline:  The OWEB grant covers July 2001 to September 2002.

Involvement: WWBWC, ODEQ

Questions from the grant application:

1.  What is the present situation?

The Walla Walla River has been listed as a water quality limited stream on the 303d list for temperatures and flows.  Several other parameters are suspected as indicated by the 303d list decision matrix. These include sediment, habitat modification, dissolved oxygen, bacteria, toxics, and pH.  In addition to these water quality concerns, the Department of Environmental Quality is conducting a TMDL (temperature) for the Walla Walla River that is scheduled to be completed by December 2001.  The Monitoring Coordinator will continue to support the DEQ’s TMDL process by assisting with data collection, data analysis and modeling as well as the assisting the generation of the final TMDL report.

The Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council along with its local partners has and is implementing a number of projects that will restore flows to the Walla Walla River.  These flows will help to improve water quality and habitat conditions in this highly impacted system.  Projects include irrigation efficiency improvements such as the lining and piping of ditches, the installation of headgates and measuring devices, flood to sprinkler system conversions as well as improvements to the shade producing vegetation in riparian corridor.  Hydrologically, increases in flow can be difficult to link to a specific site or project due to the yearly, seasonally, daily and even hourly fluctuations that occur in a river’s discharge.  The use of stream health indexes, such as macro-invertebrate sampling, are much more practical in documenting the incremental improvements in flow and the Walla Walla River’s fish habitat.

During the winter of 1999-2000, negotiations between local irrigators, environmental groups and the USFWS was successful in creating an out-of-court settlement to restore flows to the Walla Walla River.  The one-year agreement facilitated the irrigation district’s release of 13cfs of water down the dewatered segment of the Walla Walla River (see map).  The Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council aided in the implementation of this agreement by collecting water quality data along this re-watered river segment.  Data collected by the WWBWC is currently being utilized by three parties to assess the success of last year’s agreement and will play an important part in the ongoing negotiations.  This water quality monitoring project will continue to support this important process with data collection and analysis.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Umatilla Soil and Water Conservation District has been working on the Senate Bill 1010 (SB1010) Agriculture Water Quality Rules and Plan for the Walla Walla Basin.  This water quality-monitoring project will continue to support those activities by providing important water quality data.  Data will also be collected to document improvements in SB1010 implementation.

2.  What are you proposing to do?

We are proposing a water quality-monitoring plan to measure conditions at eight to ten sites on the Walla Walla River.  Site locations are established to specifically quantify the results of our ongoing restoration efforts.  Local DEQ staff and state and tribal fisheries staff have assisted in determining monitoring locations.  Monitoring Quality Assurance/Control and a Water Quality Monitoring Plan have been completed.  Parameters to be monitored this year include: temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, turbidity, and macro-invertebrates.  Where possible, these will be collected where existing stream flow gages are in place.  At remaining sites, flows will be measured using a flow meter.  Additional sites will be visited during storm and snowmelt events to monitor turbidity.

This data will be collected, compiled into spreadsheet database, and analyzed by a water quality-monitoring coordinator following the guidelines established in our water quality monitoring plan.  This will include consolidating existing temperature data that has and is being collected by the USFS and the CTUIR fisheries program. The resulting data will be made available to the public, our technical committee, DEQ, and city and county officials. Data will summarized and presented in oral and written formats in support of the ongoing TMDL and SB 1010 processes.  We will inform the public of the availability of this data as it becomes presentable through watershed council meetings, seminars, newspaper articles and the TMDL and SB1010 planning meetings themselves.  Equipment is being provided by DEQ.  Data loggers will be placed at the previously mentioned sites as well as additional sites during April through November.

3.  Describe the type of monitoring proposed (baseline or post-project effectiveness) and what protocols will be used.

This project will conduct both baseline and post-project effectiveness monitoring to describe current conditions, quantify habitat, and water quality improvements from our other projects.  Data gathering and storing will follow Oregon DEQ protocol as spelled out in their suggested methodologies (Water Quality Monitoring: Technical Guide Book, 1999 DEQ).  A quality assurance plan has been completed with DEQ assistance, which describes the techniques to be used.

4.  What are your objectives?  How will the data be used?

Objectives were developed through discussions with the watershed technical committee and DEQ water quality monitoring staff. We will establish baseline temperatures, conductivity, pH, macro-invertebrates abundance, and dissolved oxygen at locations selected to complement existing Forest Service and CTUIR Fisheries Program temperature monitoring sites.  We will gather information on suspended sediments and begin to analyze relationships between different land uses and sediment delivery into streams. We will begin to determine the sediment contributions from individual sub-watersheds to the mainstem Walla Walla River. We will gather information on the variation and quantity of fine sediment transported through the Walla Walla River and its tributaries during seasonal storm events and snowmelts.  We will begin analyzing relationships between temperature, sediment, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, macro-invertebrates, and known bull trout and steelhead spawning and rearing habitat.  Temperature data will help us begin to establish relationships between stream temperatures, stream channel morphology, shade cover, and incoming solar radiation.

This monitoring will also help us determine at what locations and at what time of year, certain segments of the stream are either strongholds or unsuitable for salmonid habitat.  The presence and diversity of macro-invertebrates will help us delineate the healthier stream segments at different times of the year.  Analysis of data from this proposed monitoring project will determine appropriate locations for continued TMDL monitoring.  This data, along with year 1999, and 2000 data will be used by the TMDL effectiveness committees and the Senate Bill 1010 committee to identify issues, identify critical areas for management changes, and/or restoration.

This project also has an educational objective of teaching the community about the condition of their river, and for the students and volunteers involved in the monitoring a chance to employ scientific methods and techniques in a hands-on applied science study.  Students will gain exposure to chemistry, watershed health, and water quality issues.

A specific hypothesis for our effectiveness monitoring is: “Is there a significant improvements in both the population and diversity of the macro-invertebrate community with the increases in stream flow provide by our on-going restoration projects?”  In addition, we will ask: “Do increases in flow result in significant decreases in river temperatures?”

5.  Describe how the information to be gathered augments existing available data.

This monitoring project will complement efforts by the US Forest Service, CTUIR as well as data collected by the Washington Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Fish and Wildlife.  During the past two years, the WWBWC has also been collecting data prior to the implementation of these flow-restoring projects that will be utilize to compare with the data collected during the 2001-sampling season.  With its local connections, this watershed council has found streamside landowners willing to have monitoring take place along their stretch of the river.  Data on the additional parameters of conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and macro-invertebrates will benefit the state federal, and tribal fish biologists as they study and restore the river’s fish habitat, and conduct spawning, rearing, and passage surveys.

6.  Describe your quality control/quality assurance program.

The WWBWC has established a quality control/quality assurance program by following the guidelines provided it by the Department of Environmental Quality (Water Quality Monitoring: Technical Guide Book, 1999).  As part of our QA/QC planning, data is collected with close regard to its precision, accuracy, representation, completeness and comparability.  When at all possible, the procedures and instruments that the WWBWC utilizes for sampling are maintained to meet Level A data quality standards.

7.  How will the success of the project be determined?

By producing high quality data and post-project effectiveness information for water quality, land use, and fish management decision making.  The technical committee and specifically the DEQ staff involved will audit our technique and quality of our data to ensure the worthiness of this project continuing for future years.

Click here for a map of the temperature monitoring sites in 2000.

Click here for other monitoring occurring in the Walla Walla Basin in 2002.