Publication Summary

This is the Quality Assurance Project Plan for the study, Snoqualmie River Total Maximum Daily Load Effectiveness Evaluation.

The Washington State Department of Ecology is required under Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency′s (EPA) regulations to develop and implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for impaired waters, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the water clean-up plan in achieving the needed improvement in water quality.

The Snoqualmie River and several tributaries are on the 1998 303(d) list of impaired water-bodies due to violations of one or more water quality criteria. The mainstem and several tributaries have parameters that exceed the water quality criteria for fecal coliform bacteria, pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. The EPA requires states to develop and implement clean-up programs through the development of TMDLs for listed parameters and to periodically monitor progress toward compliance with TMDL targets. The TMDL is a tool for achieving improvement in water quality conditions and to eventually meet standards under the CWA for streams and lakes. In 1996, EPA Region 10 approved a Snoqualmie River and tributaries TMDL for fecal coliform bacteria, ammonia, and biochemical oxygen demand.

This Quality Assurance Project Plan describes the technical study that will monitor levels of the above mentioned and other potential pollutants in the mainstem Snoqualmie River and selected tributaries. The study will be conducted by Ecology's Environmental Assessment Program with financial assistance from the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

Link to EIM data for User Study ID GONW0001