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Watershed Quality Mapping Projects: Understanding Water Movement and Quality Impacts

Learn about watersheds, water quality, and community mapping projects to measure water quality impacts and the importance of clean water. Discover the link between watershed activities and water quality, and explore different pollutants affecting beneficial uses. Find out how to monitor water quality effectively using various methods.

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Watershed Quality Mapping Projects: Understanding Water Movement and Quality Impacts

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  1. Watersheds, water quality and community mapping projects Nancy Mesner Dept of Aquatic, Watershed and Earth Resources, Utah State University

  2. What is a watershed? How does water moves through a watershed? What is the link between activities in a watershed and water quality? What can you measure and why? Link to community partnerships

  3. What is a watershed? Geographic area within which all water drains to a common point.

  4. Watersheds are defined by structure and by function

  5. Geography Size, latitude, longitude, elevation, aspect Elements of watershed structure Climate Formation - volcanic, sedimentary, basic rock types, soil types and depth, erosion potential Geology Total precipitation, precipitation patterns Vegetation / Animals Type, native/non native, riparian areas, uplands, patterns of use and migration Human uses Development and land use patterns

  6. Watersheds are nested The scale you work at depends on the question you’re answering

  7. What is causing “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico?

  8. What is causing the scum in my back yard pond?

  9. How to “delineate” a watershed…

  10. 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 Stream Order characterizes types of streams 3 How does a river change as it moves from headwaters to base of watershed?

  11. Collect Process and store Transport Functions of watersheds • Water • Sediments, soils • Dissolved minerals, metals, nutrients • Biological material

  12. Flow (cfs) Oct -------------------------------------------- Sept Natural Hydrographs:

  13. Natural variability

  14. Flow (cfs) Oct -------------------------------------------- Sept Modified Hydrographs: Urbanization Reservoirs

  15. What’s the watershed link to water quality? Everything that happens in a watershed can affect the quality of the water downstream ….”we all live downstream”

  16. Distilled? Safe to drink ? Crystal clear? What is Clean Water?

  17. There is no single definition of clean water. The Clean Water Act defines clean water according to how we use it.

  18. How do we use water? Beneficial uses: Drinking water Agriculture Industry Recreation Fisheries and other aquatic life Aesthetics

  19. How do you know if you’ve got clean water?

  20. Water column monitoring (water chemistry) Advantages: Standardized methods  repeatable , comparable Easy to collect Related to toxicity or other impacts Disadvantages: Discontinuous in time and space

  21. Physical habitat monitoring (Stream form, substrate) Advantages: Reflects hydrologic impacts Relatively low cost Disadvantages: May not reflect actual water quality May be subjective, lack of repeatability

  22. Biological monitoring (macroinvertebrates, algae, fish) Advantages: Integrates impacts over time Biological impacts = loss of beneficial use Easy to collect Disadvantages: Need for reference sites High degree of heterogeneity in samples

  23. Water quality testing targets the pollutants that affect different beneficial uses.

  24. Salts and a few metals What pollutants affect the beneficial use of agriculture?

  25. Bacteria, pH, turbidity, nitrate, phosphorus, sediments What pollutants affect the beneficial use of recreation?

  26. Bacteria, metals, organic pollutants, nitrates, pH, sediments What pollutants affect the beneficial use of drinking water source?

  27. metals, organic pollutants, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, sediments What pollutants affect the beneficial use of aquatic life?

  28. Water measurements we will make or observe in the field. Temperature Dissolved Oxygen pH Turbidity Riparian (streamside) vegetation Flow (qualitative)

  29. We will also map features of the watershed and sources of pollutants that may cause water quality to change. Narrow valley, steep, fast river Wide valley, wide slow river Shade near the stream Vegetated banks Pipes Canals coming in Changes in flows “rip rap” Nearby land uses Animals

  30. Temperature UNCE, Reno, NV

  31. Why do we care about temperature? • Fish and other aquatic life • Other effects…. • how much oxygen water can absorb • How toxic ammonia is

  32. What causes temperatures to rise? Natural causes…. Seasons Length of river Location of river Hot springs Human causes: Removal of streamside vegetation (shade) Runoff over concrete and other heated surfaces Changes in stream shape Reductions in flow Impoundments Industrial discharges

  33. In Utah….: Maximum Temperature : for warmwater fish is 27 C for coldwater fish is 20 C

  34. Dissolved Oxygen UNCE, Reno, NV

  35. Why do we care about oxygen? • Fish and other aquatic life • Oxygen in water affects solubility of metals and other chemicals

  36. What causes oxygen concentrations to change? Natural causes…. Uptake by organisms Natural increases in temperature Quiet water (low re-oxygenation) Human causes… Any source of biological material that will decay in water High temperatures or low flows Excessive plant growth in water

  37. In Utah….: Minimum Dissolved Oxygen (MG/L) Cold Warm Nongame water water 3A 3B 3C 30 Day Average 6.5 5.5 5.0 1 Day Average 8.0/4.0 5.0/3.0 3.0

  38. Excess nutrients excess aquatic plants Fish kills Dead plants decay Low dissolved oxygen

  39. pH UNCE, Reno, NV

  40. Gastric Fluids 1.0-3.0 Bleach Hair remover Vinegar wine, OJ NaOH Milk HCl Lemon juice Rain Water 5.6 0.0 7.0 Sea Water 7.8-8.3 Household ammonia 14.0 Oven cleaner pH = the level of acidity or alkalinity in a solution. pH Scale:

  41. Why do we care about pH? Low pH can affect membranes (eg. gills of fish or macroinvertebrates and eggs) At low pH, causes some metals to dissolve into a more toxic form At high pH, ammonia is more toxic Acid precipitation can cause damage to buildings and statues

  42. What causes pH to rise or fall? Natural causes…. Rain is naturally acidic Rapid snow melt Photosynthesis in water  higher pH Human causes: Combustion causes acids in the atmosphere  acid precipitation Industrial discharge Mine drainage

  43. In Utah….: An acceptable pH range is 6.5 – 8.5

  44. Sediment (Turbidity) USDA NRCS

  45. Why do we care about sediments in streams and lakes? • Can fill space between cobble in stream and smother fish eggs and tiny aquatic life. • Very cloudy water affects visual predators • Sediments fill in reservoirs, • Sediments bring nutrients, metals, and more into water

  46. What are sources of sediment in rivers? Natural causes…. Natural “reworking” of flood plain as stream meanders Remobilized bedload sediment under high flows Human causes: runoff (construction, agriculture, forestry, mining) stream banks erosion

  47. In Utah….: Total Suspended Solids concentrations Should not exceed 35 ppm in coldwater fisheries Should not exceed 90 ppm in warmwater fisheries Turbidity should not increase rapidly from site to site

  48. For more information, contact USU Water Quality Extension at (435) 797-2580

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