Publication Summary

In October 2000, The Washington State Department of Ecology began a monitoring program to evaluate long-term trends in water quality, temperature, flow, and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in five index watersheds that were also being monitored for salmon production by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The goal of this program was to develop a long-term environmental indicator that could be used to relate water quality factors with salmon production.

In October 2000, The Washington State Department of Ecology began a monitoring program to evaluate long-term trends in water quality, temperature, flow, and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in five index watersheds that were also being monitored for salmon production by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The goal of this program was to develop a long-term environmental indicator that could be used to relate water quality factors with salmon production.

The five watersheds currently being monitored are Big Beef Creek, Bingham Creek, Cedar Creek, Chiwawa River, and Deschutes River. Water quality parameters being monitored include dissolved oxygen, turbidity, total suspended solids, fecal coliform bacteria, ammonia-N, nitrate+nitrite-N, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus (orthophosphate), hardness, dissolved metals (copper and zinc), pH, conductivity, continuous temperature, and flow.

This report presents the data collected during the first year of monitoring, October 2000 to September 2001, by Ecology. Smolt production data are reported by the WDFW.

Results indicated that even though there were a few digressions from optimum biological conditions, all five watersheds in the program are healthy except for Cedar Creek. Cedar Creek, which had numerous water quality and temperature exceedences and a low benthic index score, was the most impaired watershed in the program.

Link to EIM data for User Study ID JHSVII01