Publication Summary

The Washington State Department of Ecology collected monthly water quality information at 85 stream monitoring stations during Water Year 2003 (October 1, 2002 - September 30, 2003), though three stations were only monitored during part of the year. We also collected 30-minute interval temperature data at 54 sites from June through September 2003. The principal goals of this ongoing monitoring program are to characterize the rivers and streams of Washington State and to track changes in water quality.

The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) collected monthly water quality information at 84 stream monitoring stations during Water Year (WY) 2003 (October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003), though three stations were only monitored during part of the year. Two stream reaches were assessed for degradation due to turbidity. We also collected 30-minute interval temperature data at 54 sites from June through September 2003. The principal goals of this ongoing monitoring program are to characterize the rivers and streams of Washington State and to track changes in water quality.

This report is intended to document methods and data quality, and to present the data for WY 2003. A description of Ecology′s long-term monitoring program and access to historical data can be found on Ecology′s Internet web site at http://www.ecy.wa.gov listed as River and Stream Water Quality under "Environmental Info." and "Watersheds."