Water Quality
Monitoring Program
Each month, members of the Lower Nehalem Watershed Council collect samples from 15 sites on the lower Nehalem River and its tributaries that indicate temperature, turbidity, total coliform, E. coli, pH, conductivity.
During the summer months, thermographs are placed at various sites above tidewater to obtain a continuous measure of stream temperature.
Annually, in late September or early October the Watershed Council collects macroinvertebrates (invertebrates large enough to see with the naked eye) from local streams. Macroinvertebrates are fairly stationary, easy to collect, and are responsive to human disturbance. They provide a relatively simple approach to understanding and measuring stream health.
Sites have been chosen for their location above and below farming, housing, the North Fork Nehalem Hatchery, and the Nehalem Wastewater Facility. Most major tributaries are monitored just upstream of their confluence with the main stem of the North and South Forks of the Nehalem to determine their influence on the water quality of the main stem.
Over time this monitoring data should help us identify the sources of the water quality problems and help in determining the effectiveness of restoring the watershed to a healthy condition. This activity is made possible in part from grants and equipment by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB).
Watershed Enhancement Board Funding
2000-2002 Water Quality Monitoring Grant
Copy of the proposal submitted by the Council to continue its water quality monitoring program. This was recently funded by OWEB in December 1999
Water Quality Monitoring Protocols
Stream Macroinvertebrate Protocol
Three different levels of macroinvertebrate sampling procedures are described in this protocol.
1999 Quality Assurance Plan
This document describes the procedures that the Lower Nehalem Watershed Council uses to ensure the water quality data it collects meets state approved protocols