Land Use Effects on Water Quality
Land Use Effects on Water Quality
The WAWSC monitors and conducts research on how different types and intensities of land use, like urbanization, forestry and agriculture, affect water quality, as well as the effectiveness of measures designed to protect water quality in streams and lakes within basins with varying levels of human activity. Changes in the type and extent of land cover can result in some similar and unique changes in water chemistry. The WAWSC staff of hydrologist, chemists, biologist, remote sensing scientist and modelers utilizes state of the art real time and remote land cover methods and water chemistry and biological approaches to identify the role land use plays in influencing water quality. Water quality variables examined include such parameters as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen as well as nutrients, pesticides, metals, pharmaceuticals, and organic compounds like PBDEs and PAHs. Staff scientists evaluate the relationships between these compounds, as well as recently developed compounds, with sophisticated mathematical models to inform resource managers and planners with the information they need to make effective decisions.
Filter Total Items: 33
Regional Stormwater Monitoring Program Sampling
The Issue: The State of Washington issues Municipal Stormwater Permits to local governments in the Puget Sound region that require them to develop and implement a stormwater management program that reduces the discharge of pollutants and protects the quality of water in rivers, streams, lakes and Puget Sound. The permitees in partnership with the State need to measure whether water quality and...
Lake Spokane
The Issue: Phosphorus from many different sources has caused water quality problems for Lake Spokane in eastern Washington by promoting the growth of algae and aquatic plants. Phosphorus comes from municipal and industrial point-sources upstream of Lake Spokane, as well as non-point sources like septic tanks, agricultural fields, and wildlife. Lake Spokane was listed by the Washington State...
Vancouver Lake Nutrient Budget
The Issue: Vancouver Lake in Clark County, WA has been experiencing water quality problems for decades. Recently, harmful algal blooms have been taking place in summer resulting in closures of the lake to swimming/water contact. One potential cause of these algal blooms in the increased loading of nutrients to the lake; however, there is currently little known about the amount and timing of...
Phosphorus SPARROW Model for the Yakima River
The Issue - During the 2004-07 irrigation season, nutrient concentrations in the lower Yakima River were high enough at certain times and locations to support the abundant growth of periphytic algae and macrophytes which resulted in large daily fluctuations in dissolved oxygen concentrations and pH levels that exceeded the Washington State water-quality standards for these parameters. The nutrient...
Stormwater Microarray Study
Evaluation of Juvenile Trout Microarray Tools in the Development of an Ambient Monitoring Approach for Urban Streams
White River Basin and Lake Tapps Water Quality
The Issue: Water diverted from the upper White River to maintain water levels in Lake Tapps impacts flows and fish resources in the White River. In the lower White River, releases of warm water from Lake Tapps for hydropower generation frequently lowered concentrations of dissolved oxygen and increased water temperatures at river mile 1.8. In the White River diversion reach, has segments that are...
Linking Sources to the Sound
The Issue: Bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals in freshwater and marine aquatic research in the Puget Sound continues to be a concern for environmental managers and general public. With renewed interest, Washington State Department of Ecology (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/pstoxics/) began a phased, coordinated effort in 2006 to understand the sources and management options in controlling the...
Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park is known for its clear, near-pristine water. Because the water is very low in plant nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, the lake is extremely susceptible to even small increases in nutrient levels, which could cause algal blooms and impact the health of three species of fish in the lake. Currently, the growth of bottom-dwelling algae in developed...
Hood Canal
In September 2002, fish in Hood Canal near Hoodsport were under stress from low concentrations of dissolved oxygen, prompting the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife to temporarily close parts of Hood Canal to some types of fishing during the month of October. In 2003, low dissolved oxygen conditions worsened, some fish kills were observed as early as June, and by October large fish...
WSDOT Stormwater Monitoring
The Washington State Department of Transportation, or WSDOT, monitors the water quality of runoff from state highways and other transportation facilities under their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The NPDES permit requires WSDOT to make sure that the stormwater meets Clean Water Act and other regulations designed to restore and protect our country's water resources...
DOH Nitrates
Ground water is a significant source of drinking water in Washington State, and keeping it free of contamination is important for public health. Public supply wells are frequently tested for nitrate concentrations, but private wells are tested only when they are drilled. This limits information about the potential exposure to elevated nitrate concentrations in private wells. To help the Washington...
Nitrate in GW, Lower Umatilla Basin, OR
Stretching from Pendleton, Oreg., to the Columbia River, the Lower Umatilla Basin covers 550 square miles. Concentrations of nitrate in the basin's ground water frequently exceed national drinking-water standards. The basin's complex ground-water system is exposed to five human-related sources of nitrate: septic tanks, feedlots, explosives, fertilizer, and land applications of food waste. To help...