|
The quality of water is important - for fish, for drinking, and for recreation. To get a sense for the quality water in the McKenzie River and its tributaries the Council has developed a comprehensive monitoring program. The monitoring program includes three components which all fit together to provide a better understanding of the quality of water throughout the McKenzie Watershed. McKenzie Watershed Council
Program Overview I. Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Program Project Description:The ambient water quality monitoring program was formed with the goal of establishing the long-term water quality trends for the McKenzie River and some of its tributaries. Supported by financial assistance from several council Partners, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) agreed to conduct the monitoring. This monitoring program has been underway since November 1995 and samples seven sites on the McKenzie River and three key tributaries – the Mohawk River, the Blue River, and the South Fork of the McKenzie. Several MWC partners, including Eugene Water & Electric Board, Willamette National Forest, US Bureau of Land Management, and the US Army Corps of Engineers, are currently providing funding for the cost of sampling and analysis at four monitoring stations (DEQ, 2001). DEQ provides funding for sampling and analysis at the remaining three stations. The most recent ambient water quality report is the McKenzie Watershed Water Quality Report: Water Years 1992-2001 (Curtis Cude, DEQ, 2002). Who: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Why: To establish the long-term water quality trends for the McKenzie River and some of its tributaries Objectives: Timeframe: 1995 - Present Parameters Measured: Protocols: http://www.deq.state.or.us/lab/qa/techdocs.htm Report: View the most recent report on findings - McKenzie Watershed Water Quality Report, 2004. II. Storm Event The McKenzie Watershed Council's storm event monitoring pilot was designed to test an approach for assessing water quality throughout the McKenzie Watershed during winter storms. Project Description: MWC staff, in collaboration with Forest Service and other agency personnel evaluated the findings from three storm event monitoring periods (1998 Storm Event Monitoring, April 2001). The program was cancelled because the range and variability within the watershed is so great that the results did not meet objectives. Who: McKenzie Watershed Council Why: To test whether it is feasible and practical to design and sustain a storm event monitoring program. Objectives: Timeframe: Winter and fall of 1998, discontinued because monitoring did not meet stated objectives. Parameters Measured: Sampling Sites: III. Macroinvertebrates Macroinvertebrate sampling occurs through two projects. The MWC samples sites on tributaries using a model in coordination with DEQ. MWC also samples sites on the main stem of the McKenzie in a joint project with the Army Corps of Engineers. ·MWC, Mohawk Watershed Partnership and U.S. Forest Service Tributary Monitoring Project Description: – The MWC Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Program conducts macroinvertebrate sampling based upon DEQ protocols. Over a period of 4 years, from 1997 to 2001, MWC performed macroinvertebrate sampling to establish baseline conditions. The MWC stores the data for this project in an Excel table formatted for the DEQ’s WOWSA model. Currently all three organizations continue in to monitor their sites on a rotating basis. Who: MWC, MWP and USFS Why: To establish baseline monitoring data. Objectives: Provide baseline information, track long-term trends, and provide local volunteers with watershed health monitoring experience Timeframe: 1997-2001. Monitoring effort resumed on five-year cycle (2004-2009) Protocols: DEQ WOWSA Sampling Sites: At least 50 sites are sampled on a rotating basis (see report for more details). Report: View the most recent report on findings Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Program 4-Year Comprehensive Report, 2001. ·MWC/Army Corps of Engineers Mainstem and South Fork McKenzie Monitoring Project Description: The Corps samples aquatic macroinvertebrates at 11 sites on the upper mainstem and South Fork McKenzie Rivers. In the South Fork three sites are located above Cougar Dam, four below, two within the mixing zone of the mainstem and South Fork, one above and below the mouth of the South Fork in the mainstem. The Corps maintains their own data for each site they sample Who: ACOE Contact: Greg Taylor Why: Initially to document impacts to aquatic invertebrates from turbidity released in spring of 2002 during construction of Cougar Water Temperature Control Tower. Current sampling efforts are documenting baseline conditions prior to operating water temperature control tower in 2005. Objectives: To determine if turbidity and siltation produced by construction activities at Cougar Dam in the spring of 2002 catastrophically impacted benthic invertebrate communities in the South Fork of the McKenzie River below Cougar Dam and in the mainstem of the McKenzie River downstream of the its confluence with the South Fork. Timeframe: 2002-2004. Parameters Measured: Benthic Invertebrate Bioassessment – Aquatic Biology Associates Inc. Protocols: Riffle and margin sampling Sampling Sites: Report: View the most recent report on findings Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Program 4-Year Comprehensive Report, 2001. IV. Tributaries ·Cedar Creek The Cedar Creek water quality monitoring program is a collaborative effort among the following entities: Springfield Utility Board, City of Springfield, Rural Thurston Neighborhood Organization and the McKenzie Watershed Council. Project Description: Monitoring on Cedar Creek is in its ninth year. For the first five years (1996-2001) the MWC coordinated the monitoring and data is stored at the McKenzie Watershed Council. Since 2002, Thurston High School students are the primary collectors of data and EWEB stores the data. Who: EWEB Contact: Karl Morgenstern Why: Water quality monitoring for drinking water standards to base EWEB’s Drinking Water Source Protection Program in sound science. Objectives: Timeframe: MWC : 1996-2001; EWEB: 2002- present Parameters Measured: Protocols: OR DEQ and EPA Sampling Sites: 11 established sites Report: View the most recent report on findings Cedar Creek Monitoring Program, The First Five Years, January 2002. ·Mohawk Project Description: Students of Springfield High School conduct sampling on two tributaries of the Mohawk River: McGowan and Parsons Creeks. The students enter the data into an Excel database at the school and report findings to the Mohawk Watershed Partnership (MWP). On the main stem of the Mohawk a volunteer group of MWP conducts monthly sampling and reports the data to the MWP. The MWP coordinates these projects, stores the data, and reports it to DEQ. Who: Mohawk Watershed Partnership Contact: Coordinator Objectives: Timeframe: Sampling began in September 1998 at the Weyerhaeuser Gate and Wendling Road sites. The Hill Road site was added in January 1999. Samples at each site are taken once per month. With a few exceptions, samples are collected in the mornings. Sampling is ongoing. Protocols: Parameters were selected based upon the DEQ water quality monitoring guide and follow standard DEQ protocols. Parameters Measured: Sampling Sites: Report: The most recent findings can be found by contacting the MWP. ·Potter Creek Monitoring on Potter Creek is conducted by students at Walterville Middle School who monitor Potter Creek twice a month. This is the second year of the project. Students collect and analyze the data. The goals of this program are educational - teaching the students about water quality monitoring. Therefore, the data does not meet standards for use in scientific purposes. |
 Home | What's New | About | History | Partners & Staff Activites | Monthly Meetings | Mohawk Watershed Partnership | Education Water Quality | Restoration | Reports | Newsletters | Links | Comments |