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APPLICANT INFORMATION
Name
of project: Lower Nehalem
Watershed Water Quality Monitoring Project
OWEB
dollars requested: $10,709.00
Total cost of project: $36,009.00
Applicant: Lower Nehalem Watershed Council
Phone: 368-7424 FAX: 368-7653
Fiscal
Officer: Tillamook SWCD
Phone: 842-2428 FAX:
Applicant
Contact (if different): Maggie
Peyton Phone: 429-2401 FAX: same
Agency/Organization:
Lower Nehalem Watershed
Council
Address:
16747 Timber Rd, Vernonia,
OR 97064 Tillamook
Project
location - watershed and sub-basin: Lower
Nehalem Watershed
Name
of the watershed council in the area (if any): Lower Nehalem Watershed Council
Endorsement
of the watershed council: (Signature
of Watershed Council Chairperson)
PROJECT SUMMARY
Summary
of Project Proposal:
The
LNWC is seeking project support from OWEB for the Lower Nehalem
Water Quality Monitoring Project in the amount of $10,709.00
for the years 2000-2002. The project has been in progress for
2 years and was designed to collect baseline water quality data
from 15-24 permanent sites in the lower Nehalem watershed strategically
located in relationship to major land-use activities. Sampling
is done primarily by volunteers. Parameters being sampled are
temperature, turbidity, fecal coliform, E. coli, pH, dissolved
oxygen, conductivity and macroinvertebrates. The council has
an approved DEQ Quality Assurance Project Plan and is collecting
A level quality data according to state approved protocols. Project
funds will be used to cover equipment, supplies, volunteer mileage
and sample analysis.
Total Estimated Project Costs:
$36,009
The
Oregon DEQ will provide technical advice and training
on protocols, field sampling methods and use and calibration
of equipment. DEQ will act as a quality assurance advisor and
will participate in split sampling events side by side council
volunteers on a annual basis will assist with data management
- on going.
The
OR Dept. of Forestry will provide maps, site access information,
field assistance and technical expertise as needed.
The
OR Dept. of Fish and Wildlife will provide technical advise
on the water quality needs of salmonids and other aquatic species
as well as field assistance for sample collection as needed.
The
Lower Nehalem Watershed Council and landowners will continue
to provide over-all project oversight, the workforce for data
collection, analysis, and management on going.
The
City of Manzanita will
continue to provide analysis of turbidity samples - monthly.
City
of Nehalem will provide
lab space as needed.
Eco-Analysts,
Inc will sort macro invertebrate
samples and identify species 2 sampling events.
The
Xerces Society will provide
sample analysis, biotic indexing and presentation of the data
results to the council 2 sampling events.
The Nehalem Watershed
is being impacted by many activities including commercial logging
and farming, development, fishing, hunting and other recreation.
Previously there was no monitoring of water quality in the basin
that could be used to help determine the effects of these activities.
Becoming aware of this circumstance volunteers from the Lower
Nehalem Watershed Council with technical oversight from the DEQ
designed and implemented a Quality Assurance Monitoring Project
Plan. The QAPP was approved by DEQ in 1997 and volunteers have
been collecting data since 7-11-97. The project is designed to
provide for an overview and baseline of information about water
quality in the Nehalem basin. In order to establish a meaningful
baseline data set at least 10 years of data needs to be collected.
A baseline database has been started, volunteers are trained
and actively involved in sample collection, lab analysis and
data management for the project and desire to continue working
to build on the data base while identifying land-use activities
that limit water quality for beneficial uses.
The
project will continue to monitor E. coli bacteria, fecal coliform,
turbidity, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature
at 15 sites in the Lower Nehalem Watershed on a monthly basis.
macroinvertebrate sampling will be done at all sites above tidewater
in September. Thermographs will be placed at all sites above
tidewater from June to September, and at sites to monitor current
or upcoming activities near streams. Additional turbidity samples
will be taken during the rainy season along the mainstream Nehalem,
at the months of major tributaries and depending on findings
upstream above and below possible sources of sedimentation. Sites
were chosen for their location above and below forestry, farming,
the North Fork Nehalem Hatchery, urban areas, and the Nehalem
Wastewater Facility. Most major tributaries will be monitored
just upstream of their confluence with the mainstream of the
North and South Forks of the Nehalem to determine their health
and influence on the water quality of the mainstream. All monitoring
will be done according to the QAPP and following state approved
protocols. DEQ will continue to conduct split sampling to verify
volunteer field sampling methods. The DEQ recently released a
QA report (DEQ Karen Williams Aug. "99") with the results
of the split sampling done in the spring of 1999, the report
states that the LNWC volunteers are collecting A level data.
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