Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring
Use technical equipment to monitor for pollutants and indicators of river health
Volunteer Jaimes Valdez checks river temperature and conductivity
Why monitor water quality?
The ultimate goal of our water quality monitoring program is to work toward a fishable, swim-able, and drinkable Columbia River. There are a number of serious water pollution issues that challenge this goal including numerous toxics detected in sturgeon to water temperatures that exceed state standards every summer. Columbia Riverkeeper (CRK) volunteers monitor water quality in the Columbia and tributaries to help identify the sources of pollution problems and where we can maximize restoration efforts.
Can volunteers gather high quality data?
Our program is part of Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) volunteer monitoring program and CRK staff are trained by DEQ. DEQ reviews and approves our sampling plans or “Quality Assurance Project Plans” as well as the quality of our data. Our data is also uploaded into both DEQ’s and Washington Dept of Ecology’s (WA Ecology) online databases to help fill in data gaps and raise red flags for further research.
While our State Agencies monitor what they can with limited and fluctuating budgets, volunteers play a valuable role by adding long-term baseline data with greater frequency and more sites since for many of us monitoring is simply a matter of visiting our backyards! From 2006 to 2008 volunteers have added over 75 sampling sites to our state databases from the Canadian border down to the Pacific Ocean.
How do I get involved?
Trainings are held each spring to learn how to use DEQ equipment, methods and quality control procedures. Review our programs below for one or two that strike your interest. To sign up leave your contact details with rachael@columbiariverkeeper.org or 541-387-3030.
Summer Shoreline and Tributary Monitoring:
Columbia Riverkeeper volunteers monitor shorelines and tributaries for temperature, pH, water clarity (turbidity), dissolved oxygen, and conductivity once or twice a month from June to September. This data tells us how comfortable fish and other species are in the river, and provides a baseline from which to gauge changes and the effects of restoration efforts.
We also monitor the Columbia shorelines because they are not regularly monitored by either Oregon or Washington state agencies. They typically monitor water quality in the most representative part of the river or mid-channel, however, the last 2 years of CRK’s data show that shoreline habitats are not necessarily represented by mid-channel sampling. Temperatures can be up to 2 degrees higher, and pH varies dramatically both above and below state standards. This is important because the primary food source for juvenile salmonids (salmon and steelhead) migrating downriver comes from the shorelines. Healthy shorelines provide lots of algae, plants, falling leaves, logs and terrestrial insects that accumulate in the shallows and eddies and feed macroinvertebrates (insects, midges, snails, clams…), that in turn feed juvenile salmonids and other creatures. Improving shoreline habitat is a long-term goal of Columbia Riverkeeper in an effort to boost juvenile salmonid survival up from 12%, and help the life cycle of the 6 threatened salmon runs and 5 threatened steelhead runs in the Columbia Basin.
Wenatchee Macroinvertebrate Extravaganza:
In addition to supporting the food web, macroinvertebrates are common indicators of water quality, as certain species are found only in cold, fast-flowing conditions and other species can better tolerate stressors like habitat disturbance, and warm or polluted water. Citizens from Wenatchee have initiated an annual, one-day macroinvertebrate monitoring extravaganza in late summer. Learn more from our 2007 macroinvertebrate report.
Summer E coli Monitoring:
Thousands of people swim in the Columbia River and tributaries every summer (and some windsurfers go all year round!). Unfortunately, there has been no state monitoring of harmful bacteria or fecal matter in the Columbia since the 70’s. Columbia Riverkeeper volunteers monitor E coli, which is an indicator of harmful bacteria, every two weeks at heavily recreated beaches from June to September. 2007 data indicates that E coli is generally not a problem, however, without regular monitoring an accidental sewage spill is hard to detect. Learn more about E coli.
Fall and Spring Stormwater Monitoring:
Stormwater is now considered the most common path of river pollution in the U.S. Stormwater is a term for heavy rains that aren’t soaked up by the ground because of roofs, pavement, and other impervious surfaces. Stormwater often runs over pavement and picks up street litter, oil, tire dust and other pollutants and carries them straight to the river. Some cities have diverted stormwater into the sewage system but a big storm can overflow sewage tanks dumping stormwater and sewage straight into the river. Columbia Riverkeeper volunteers help riverscape places for stormwater to slowly soak into, and monitor problem areas after high rainfall events in spring and fall.
Temperature Monitoring:
The entire Columbia River has been identified as too hot for salmon in the summer. Temperature is most affected by flow and shaded tributaries, but with increased water use, deforestation, dams, and irrigation, temperatures exceed the state standard of 68˚ F almost every July and August. This stresses salmon out making them more susceptible to disease, less hungry, and with less energy to reproduce. The state agencies have recognized the problem; however, a Columbia Basin-wide plan to decrease temperatures has been stalled. Columbia Riverkeeper deploys continuous temperature loggers to better understand the problem and push for a basin-wide temperature strategy. Learn more about temperature issues on the Columbia.
Toxic Monitoring:
Toxics data is collected only by “advanced volunteers” with an accredited scientist present and sent to a lab for analysis. Columbia Riverkeeper is uniquely suited to respond quickly to emergencies and raise red flags for further research. Currently, CRK has sampled the river, clams and sediment for heavy metals, PAHs, and PCBs. In 2008 we will deploy semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) which mimic fatty tissue in fish and aggregate toxics over a period of 30 days to sample current-use pesticides, flame retardants, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. Contact rachael@columbiariverkeeper.org or 387-3030 for copies of toxic lab reports.
CRK Science Work Group:
Interested people, and especially scientists, are invited to participate in our Science Work Group to provide advice and support on scientific and technical issues including sample design, interpreting data and keeping up on Columbia River research. To join our online Columbia science forum contact Rachael@columbiariverkeeper.org or call 541-387-3030.
Water Quality Resources:
To view our detailed sampling plans or Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPP’s) click here
2008 River Watch Guidebook - (en español)
A reference guide for adopting a river, and what major river threats to watch out for and actions to take.To view our data visit Oregon DEQ online database: http://deq12.deq.state.or.us/lasar2/and/or Washington Ecology online database: http://apps.ecy.wa.gov/eimreporting/Search.asp
Download Water Quality Monitoring datasheet, YSI meter: pH, conductivity, DO protocol, Turbidity protocol, & DO Winkler method protocol, Water Quality Sampling Trip Checklist, and Comparative table of water quality standards and effects.
Help us enter your data! Enter your data into Xcel spreadsheet and email it as an attachment to tina@columbiariverkeeper.org
Download the OWEB Water Quality Monitoring Guidebook
To learn more about federal efforts to clean-up dangerous toxics like Hanford nuclear waste, heavy metals in Lake Roosevelt, or carcinogenic PCBs behind Bonneville Dam, in Vancouver Lake, and Portland Harbor visit http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/ecocomm.nsf/Columbia/Columbia.
To view Columbia Riverkeeper River Watch Sites placemarks on Google Earth copy this URL http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pyjbW0Zj0izVHN4XUHlV3fg&output=txt&gid=2&range=A1 and launch Google Earth. In Google Earth, select Network Link from the Add menu, drop box. In the new, Network Link, window enter a name for the network link, paste the URL into the Link Field, and click OK. Google Earth will load the KML and display the placemarks. Have fun exploring people’s sites and reading all about them.Questions?
Rachael Pecore
Science & Volunteer Programs Director
rachael@columbiariverkeeper.org
541-387-3030 (office)
541-399-1307 (cell)
Columbia Riverkeeper
724 Oak Street
Hood River, OR 97031
(541) 387-3030
Fax (541) 387-3029
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