Publication Summary

This is the study plan for Lead and Copper Concentrations in North Creek, Gig Harbor.

This document describes a plan for obtaining metals and ancillary water quality data on North Creek in Gig Harbor, Pierce County, Washington. Samples will also be taken from Donkey Creek immediately downstream of North Creek. The metals of interest are lead and copper. Approximately 15 samples will be collected, five on each of three occasions during the spring of 2008. Clean sampling techniques and low-level analytical methods will be used.

The Gig Harbor Sportsman Club has been implicated as a source of lead in North Creek. Monitoring downstream of Club property has found lead concentrations an order of magnitude above (exceeding) Washington State water quality criteria. The headwaters of North Creek are within one mile above Club boundaries. There are no known sources of lead in North Creek upstream of the Club.

Results from the study will be used to (1) evaluate the Club as a source of lead and copper, (2) determine if water quality criteria are exceeded, and (3) make recommendations for federal Clean Water Act 303(d) listings, as appropriate.

North Creek downstream of the Club was on the 2004 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies as Category 5 for dissolved lead concentrations exceeding water quality standards. The 2004 listing was based on an error in identifying sampling occasions.

Each study conducted by the Washington State Department of Ecology must have an approved Quality Assurance Project Plan. The plan describes the objectives of the study and the procedures to be followed to achieve those objectives. After completion of the study, a final report describing the study results will be posted to the Internet.

Link to EIM data for User Study ID SGOL009