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When water temperatures are too high, streams can become uninhabitable for fish and other aquatic animals. Many salmon and trout species may suffer decreased spawning success and even death when waters are too warm. In addition, the warmer the water, the less dissolved oxygen it can hold.
The public comment period on the Walla Walla Watershed Temperature Total Maximum Daily Load: Water Quality Improvement Report (WQIR) ended on May 21, 2007. The WQIR includes a summary of the temperature studies and some actions to reduce stream temperatures in the watershed. Ecology worked with the Walla Walla Watershed Planning Unit’s Water Quality Subcommittee to develop the action strategy. The temperature studies were performed by Ecology and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (Oregon DEQ).
Ecology began sampling the temperatures of selected Walla Walla tributaries from May - October 2002. Information and results from the temperature technical analysis are available in the Walla Walla River Tributaries Temperature Total Maximum Daily Load Study.
Oregon DEQ analyzed the entire length of the Walla Walla River in 2000 and 2002. Ecology used Oregon DEQ’s assessment to develop a temperature TMDL for the Walla Walla River in Washington. For information about that analysis please visit Oregon DEQ’s Walla Walla web site.
For more information on the Walla Walla Watershed Temperature TMDL please contact:
Karin Baldwin
Department of Ecology
4601 N Monroe Street
Spokane, WA 99205
or by e-mail: kbal461@ecy.wa.gov
During the summer of 2002, Watershed Science LLC of Corvallis, Oregon used helicopters mounted with thermal infrared radiometry (TIR) equipment to take a “picture” of the heat radiating from the water. This data provides an overall picture of the watershed temperature conditions. To learn more about the helicopter survey, please see Water Cleanup Plans: Taking the Temperature of the Walla Walla Watershed.
In August 2005, Ecology published the Assessment of Surface Water and Groundwater Interchange in the Walla Walla River Watershed. This report documents the results of Ecology’s study about the relationship between surface and ground water in the watershed.
Ecology's temperature data is divided into four zipped (compressed) groups for ease of download:
Each file will unzip into an Excel workbook containing a data sheet for each site. Data for each site are:
Maps of the following sampling locations are available for your review:
To learn more about these parameters please visit The Environmental Importance of the Different Impairments page.
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