WATER MONITORING 101

AGENDA

• Watersheds 101

• Water Monitoring 101

• Importance of study design and site selection

• Volunteer Monitoring

• Activity

WATERSHED INTRO

WHAT IS A WATERSHED?

TOPOGRAPHY IS THE KEY WATERSHED DELINEATOR

11-digit HUC

14-digit HUC

8-digit HUC

WATERSHEDS SCALE

STREAM ORDER

RIVER CONTINUUM CONCEPT

Headwaters Streams

heavily shaded, leaf litter is important

shredders / collectors are abundant

Mid-order Streams

less shaded, algae more important

grazers abundant

Large Rivers

not shaded, phytoplankton present

collectors important

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LAND USE AND WATER QUALITY?

WATER QUALITY

• Regulated through Clean Water Act (1972)

• Waters of U.S. must be “fishable and swimmable” by 1983

• Eliminate all pollution discharge to waters by 1985

Cuyahoga River, June 22 1969http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/cuyahoga_river_fire_40_years_a.html

THERE IS NO SINGLE DEFINITION OF CLEAN WATER.

HOW DO WE USE WATER?

• Beneficial uses:

Drinking water

Agriculture

Industry

Recreation

Fisheries and other aquatic life

Aesthetics

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE CLEAN WATER?

POINT SOURCE POLLUTION

• 25% of pollution in the U.S.

• Direct discharge from industry, sewage treatment plants, etc.

• Easier to identify due to “end of pipe”

NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION• 75% of Pollution in the US

• General runoff of water contaminated by poor land use, homes, streets, air, etc.

• Difficult to identify

WHY DO WE WANT TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY?

• Maintain the natural habitat for wildlife, native plants, and your community

• Support designated uses of waterbody

Fishable

Swimmable

• Protect and maintain cultural significance

• Protect drinking water (public health)

• Esthetically pleasing

WHAT MEASURES ARE PART OFWATER QUALITY EVALUATIONS?

CHEMICAL ASSESSMENT

• Dissolved Oxygen

• E. coli and general coliforms

• pH

• Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5-day

• Water Temperature Change

• Phosphates

• Nitrates and Nitrites

• Turbidity/Transparency

Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone”

TempBOD

PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT – LET’S TALK HABITAT…

Some critters aren’t suited for certain situations and know when to get out!

CITIZENS QUALITATIVEHABITAT EVALUATION INDEX

• The following all contribute to habitat and combine to give a final score:

Substrate

Fish Cover

Stream shape and human alterations

Riparian area and local land use

Depth/Velocity

Riffles/Runs

HABITAT EVALUATIONS

THE ROLE OF FLOW…

• Helps provide clues to interpret water quality data

• Channelization

• Amount of impervious surfaces

• Affect on pollutant loads & erosion

• If pollutant increases in high flow, then guess NPS because concentration increases with runoff

• If pollutant decreases with high flow, then guess PS because it is being diluted

BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTBENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES: WHY DO WE MONITOR THEM?

• Chemistry – just a snapshot in time

• Macroinvertebrates:

Not very mobile

Spend extended period in the water

Have different levels of tolerance to pollution

• Macroinvertebrates provide idea of water quality over extended period of time

5 W’S OF WATER QUALITY MONITORING

5 W’S

• Why

• What

• Where

• When

• Who

WHY WE MONITOR

• Identify pollutants and sources

• Establish baseline data

• Document changes and trends

• Measure effectiveness

• Inform stakeholders

• Assess use attainment

• Provide information and data to support modeling

• Characterize watershed

MONITORING CHALLENGES

• Failure to evaluate data regularly

• Lack of collateral information

• Poor institutional integration

• No planned study design

WATERSHED INVENTORY

• Research

Maps and Aerial Photos

Reports & Surveys

Field Inventory

What are the Land Uses?

• In-stream Conditions

Color

Odor

Appearance

WHAT WE MONITOR

• Determine sampling goals/objectives

Environmental

Community

Educational

• What chemical and/or field samples are taken depends on objective and budget

If interested in algae blooms; sample for nutrients and collect representative algae samples for id

WHERE TO MONITOR?

• Based on sampling goals/objectives

Upstream / downstream

At bottom of watershed

Multiple sites

• Physical location

distance/convenience and access/property rights

• Safety

roadside parking, rocky inclines, high flow conditions, bacteria consideration

• Best habitat available

should be characteristic of stream reach, yet should aim to ‘level the playing field’ between sites

WHEN TO MONITOR

• Based on sampling goals/objectives

• Before and After

Monitoring before and after a large rain

Useful for determining types of pollutants washed into stream after rain and reveal changes that occurs as result of new land use

• Change Over Time

Monitoring the same site twice each year for period of 5 years

Useful in identifying trends and picking up unusual situations

WHO MONITORS (OTHER DATA SOURCES)

• Federal Agencies

EPA

USGS

Forest Service

NOAA

Fish and Wildlife

• States

IDEM

DNR

Health Department

Drinking Water Agencies

• Universities

• Counties

• Municipalities

• Tribes

• Regulated Communities

• Advocacy Organization

Nature Conservancy

• Sporting Organizations

• Watershed Organizations

• Schools, 4-H

UPPER WHITE RIVER WATERSHED

WHY WORK WITH VOLUNTEER MONITORS

• Source of credible data

• More comprehensive data

• Greater monitoring frequency

• Larger # of sites monitored

• Local knowledge

• Enhances local stewardship

• Gain support for your efforts

• Cost effective (not cost free)

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL VOLUNTEER MONITORING PROGRAMS• Well-organized

• Sound scientific basis

• Report results

• Strong institutional support

• Make a difference

QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL

• Quality Assurance is a broad plan for maintaining quality in all aspects of a program

• Quality Control methods are established to control errors

Follow protocol

Repeated Measurements

Modified from a presentation given by Linda Green, Rhode Island Watershed Watch

ACTIVITY

• Place x on high and low points

• Place arrow pointing in direction of flow

• Mark waterfall

• Label

Headwater

Confluence

Midriver

Falls

Downriver

HW

CON

MR

DR

FALLS

X

X

LOOK AT YOUR SITE

GROUPS

• Headwaters

• Confluence

• Midriver

• Falls

• Downriver

HEADWATERS

HEADWATERS

GROUPS

• Seasons

January – Blue

April – Green

July – Yellow

October - Orange

JANUARY

JANUARY

SUMMARY

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

• www.dnr.in.gov/nrec

• Healthy Water Healthy People

March 4, Ft. Harrison SP Indianapolis, IN

• Hoosier Riverwatch

April 9, Indianapolis and South Bend

April 16, Jasper and Lake County

April 23, Gene Stratton Porter

April 30, Lake County

TAKE HOME THOUGHTS

• Everything is connected

• Use long-term thinking

• Look for the big picture and relationships

• Focus on object observations, not on blame

• Consider how pre-existing and popular opinions inform decisions

• Gather all the data that you can

QUESTIONS?