USGS

Water Quality in the Central Columbia Plateau, Washington and Idaho, 1992-95

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Study design and data collection

Stream Chemistry

The primary objective of the stream chemistry component was to assess the relationship between land use and chemical constituents of surface water. Surface-water sites were distributed among major land uses within each subunit; site types included basic, intensive, and synoptic sites.

 

Stream Ecology

The primary objective of the stream ecology component was to assess surface-water quality by integrating the physical, chemical, and biological factors. Ecology sites were distributed among the four dominant land uses: forest, urban, dryland, and irrigated farming. The number of sites per land use depended on the percentage of the land use within the Study Unit. Sites were classified as either intensive or synoptic on the basis of the level of the sampling effort or the number of years data were collected.

 

Ground-Water Chemistry

The primary objective of the ground-water chemistry component was to determine if the chemical constituents of ground water were related to specific land uses such as irrigated, orchard, and dryland agricultural farming. A survey of public supply wells across the Study Unit was also completed. Samples were also collected along a short ground-water flow path at a site near Pullman, Washington.

 

Table 4. Summary of data collection in the Central Columbia Plateau Study Unit, 1992-95, see [39] for NAWQA data design framework.

 

Study
component

What data were collected and why

Types of sites sampled

Number
of sites

Sampling frequency and period

Stream Chemistry

Basic sites-- general water chemistry

Concentrations, seasonal variation, and annual loads. Data included streamflow, nutrients, major ions, organic carbon, suspended sediment, water temperature, specific conductance, alkalinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen.

Basic Fixed Sites: representative of common land use mixes, as well as basin outflow sites

14

Monthly plus storms:

Quincy-Pasco subunit for 1 year

Palouse subunit, 2-3 years

Intensive sites--
pesticides

Concentrations and seasonal variations in pesticides. Data included 85 dissolved pesticides plus above constituents.

Subset of basic sites: where land use was most homogeneous

4

Weekly to monthly:
Feb. 1993-Mar. 1994

Synoptic sites-- water chemistry

Spatial distribution of pesticides and nutrients. Data included 85 dissolved pesticides plus same constituents as basic sites.

Basic sites

 

Other sites plus reference sites

11

 

27

4 times in spring and once in summer, 1994

Once in spring, 1994

Contaminants in bed sediments

Occurrence and distribution of contaminants in bed sediment. Data included total PCBs, 32 organochlorine pesticides, 63 semivolatile organic compounds, and 44 trace elements.

Depositional zones of most stream sites sampled in other components of study

23

Once, mostly in 1992-93

 

Contaminants in fish and benthic invertebrates

Occurrence and distribution of contaminants in biota. Data included total PCBs, 30 organochlorine pesticides in clams and whole fish; 24 trace elements in clam tissue, fish livers, and caddisflies.

Most stream sites sampled in other components of study where tissue could be collected

17

Once in either 1992 or 1994

Stream Ecology

Intensive assessments

Relationship between biological communities and water chemistry, physical habitat, and land use. Includes spatial relationships, along with spatial and temporal variation. Data included algae, invertebrates, and fish communities; physical habitat all years; nutrients and other constituents in 1993.

Basic Fixed Sites

 

 

10 total

4

5

3

 

1 reach - 1 year (1993)

1 reach - 3 years(1993-95)

3 reaches -1 year (1994 or 1995)

Synoptic studies

Sites permitted a better spatial and temporal assessment. Data collected were same as above except fish communities were not sampled.

Synoptic sites

14 total

11

3

 

1 reach - 1 year (1993)

1 reach - 3 years (1993-95)

Ground-Water Chemistry

Aquifer survey-- public supply wells

Occurrence and distribution of chemicals in public supply wells. Data included major ions, nutrients, 85 pesticides, 60 volatile organic compounds, dissolved organic carbon,
and radon.

Estimate risks of pesticide detection. Data included 47 pesticides only.

Public supply wells across Study Unit

 

 

Public supply wells across Study Unit

43

 

 

 

78

Once in 1994

 

 

 

Once in 1994

Land-use effects-- irrigated row crops

Describe the effects of agricultural land use on shallow ground water in the Quincy-Pasco subunit. Data included major ions, nutrients, 85 pesticides, 60 volatile organic compounds, dissolved organic carbon, and radon.

Shallow domestic wells

Very shallow monitoring wells

Wells were generally within 100 feet of row cropped fields

30

19

Once in 1993-95

Land-use effects--
orchards

Describe the effects of agricultural land use on shallow ground water in the Quincy-Pasco subunit. Data were same as above.

Shallow domestic wells

Very shallow monitoring wells

Wells were generally within 100 feet of orchards

18

22

Once in 1994-95

 

Land-use effects--
dryland farming (grains)

Describe effects of agricultural land use on shallow ground water in the Palouse subunit. Data were same as row crops and orchards above.

Shallow domestic wells in basalt

Very shallow monitoring wells in loess

Wells were generally next to fields in the road right-of-way

19

8

Once in 1993-94

 

Variation along
flow paths

Describe the processes controlling the fate of nitrogen and pesticides along a 1/4-mile flow path to an intermittent stream. Data included major ions, nutrients, 85 pesticides, 60 volatile organic compounds, dissolved organic carbon, radon, and age-dating constituents.

Cluster of eight wells at various depths along an approximate line of ground-water flow

Palouse loess near Pullman, Wash.

1 site:
8 wells

Twice in 1994

Special Studies

Palouse River nutrient processes

Processes affecting eutrophication in stream channels below wastewater-treatment plants. Data included algae biomass and nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and 24-hour temperature.

Palouse River

19

5

6-week colonization, 1994

3- to 6-hour intervals for one day in Aug. 1994

Pesticides from ground water at base flow

47 more-soluble pesticides and nutrients to compare nutrient concentrations and pesticide occurrence with what is found in shallow ground water.

Smaller irrigation drains and subsurface tile-drain outflows to surface drains

4

6

Once in winter 1995

Once in winter 1996


U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1144

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Suggested citation:
Williamson, A.K., Munn, M.D., Ryker, S.J., Wagner, R.J., Ebbert, J.C., and Vanderpool, A.M., 1998, Water Quality in the Central Columbia Plateau, Washington and Idaho, 1992-95: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1144, on line at <URL: https://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ1144>, updated March 3, 1998.

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Last modified: Sat Mar 21 12:29:04 1998