Stormwater assessment site on the Moclips River Near Moclips, WA on the Quinault Indian Nation Tribal land.
Assessing water quality related to stormwater runoff on Quinault Nation Tribal lands
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By Washington Water Science Center
September 27, 2023
The Issue:
Clean and abundant freshwater supports a diverse low-land habitat in the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN). The area supports numerous large mammals, birds, all species of Pacific salmon and trout, and diverse flora. The multiple small to medium-sized streams flowing through the area may be impacted by stormwater runoff related to adjacent land use, roads, recreational activities, and logging.
How USGS will help:
The USGS is helping Tribal water resource managers by designing and implementing the first year of a regional stormwater sampling program. Sampling will mirror Washington State’s Stormwater Action Monitoring (SAM) program to enable long-term status and trend assessments of small streams on the Quinault Indian Nation Reservation.
Background/Introduction
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) Reservation encompasses over 208,000 acres on the Pacific coastline of Washington State. The Reservation land includes large areas of the Queets and Quinault River watersheds. These rivers drain the steep slopes of the Olympic Mountains and provide critical habitat for Pacific salmon and trout, including chinook, chum, coho, steelhead, sockeye, cutthroat, and rainbow salmon and trout. These rivers are prized for recreational fishing and are an essential resource for Tribal communities. The QIN’s Natural Resource Department currently monitors water and habitat quality. The program does not include stormwater monitoring and in 2023 the QIN requested assistance in determining potential stormwater impacts.
Problem
Although the Queets and Quinault rivers flow through a predominately rural and natural landscape, their many small tributaries are subject to runoff from major highways, commercial parking lots, and logged areas. QIN natural resource staff have asked the USGS to design and implement the first year of a stormwater monitoring program to assess water quality status and, eventually, water quality trends in these small first and second-order streams. Monitoring data will be used to assess if current stormwater management actions are sufficient to prevent degraded water quality. The program can determine if conditions are improving through repeat sampling and identify any new potential threats.
Objectives
The QIN and USGS will assess stormwater receiving waters using the same protocols as Washington State’s Stormwater Action Monitoring program. The study will establish a sampling protocol that can be repeated on a standard interval (every 3-5 years) to assess trends and identify emerging impacts.
Relevance and Benefits
Water quality and habitat data collected during this study will inform the efficacy of current stormwater management practices related to specific upland activities. Detecting elevated metals and vehicle-related organic compounds would suggest pollution from anthropogenic sources and stormwater runoff. The baseline assessment data collected in the summer will allow for comparison with regional SAM programs throughout Washington state that follow a similar framework by comparing water and habitat quality to other regional streams.
Approach
The USGS will conduct a baseline assessment of nine small streams throughout QIN Reservation on the Olympic Peninsula during the summer and fall of 2024. Data loggers will be installed at each site to collect one year of water levels and water temperature measurements to determine stream flow metrics before discrete sampling. Discrete sampling in the summer will measure organic and metal contaminants in sediment and water and conduct watershed health and physical habitat assessment. During the fall of 2024, passive samplers installed in the stream will collect organic contaminants during rainy periods to assess contaminant inputs from stormwater runoff.
Regional Stormwater Monitoring Program Sampling
The Issue: The State of Washington issues Municipal Stormwater Permits to local governments in the Puget Sound region that require them to develop and implement a stormwater management program that reduces the discharge of pollutants and protects the quality of water in rivers, streams, lakes and Puget Sound. The permitees in partnership with the State need to measure whether water quality and...
Moclips River Stormwater Assessment Site
Stormwater assessment site on the Moclips River Near Moclips, WA on the Quinault Indian Nation Tribal land.
The Issue:
Clean and abundant freshwater supports a diverse low-land habitat in the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN). The area supports numerous large mammals, birds, all species of Pacific salmon and trout, and diverse flora. The multiple small to medium-sized streams flowing through the area may be impacted by stormwater runoff related to adjacent land use, roads, recreational activities, and logging.
How USGS will help:
The USGS is helping Tribal water resource managers by designing and implementing the first year of a regional stormwater sampling program. Sampling will mirror Washington State’s Stormwater Action Monitoring (SAM) program to enable long-term status and trend assessments of small streams on the Quinault Indian Nation Reservation.
Background/Introduction
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) Reservation encompasses over 208,000 acres on the Pacific coastline of Washington State. The Reservation land includes large areas of the Queets and Quinault River watersheds. These rivers drain the steep slopes of the Olympic Mountains and provide critical habitat for Pacific salmon and trout, including chinook, chum, coho, steelhead, sockeye, cutthroat, and rainbow salmon and trout. These rivers are prized for recreational fishing and are an essential resource for Tribal communities. The QIN’s Natural Resource Department currently monitors water and habitat quality. The program does not include stormwater monitoring and in 2023 the QIN requested assistance in determining potential stormwater impacts.
Problem
Although the Queets and Quinault rivers flow through a predominately rural and natural landscape, their many small tributaries are subject to runoff from major highways, commercial parking lots, and logged areas. QIN natural resource staff have asked the USGS to design and implement the first year of a stormwater monitoring program to assess water quality status and, eventually, water quality trends in these small first and second-order streams. Monitoring data will be used to assess if current stormwater management actions are sufficient to prevent degraded water quality. The program can determine if conditions are improving through repeat sampling and identify any new potential threats.
Objectives
The QIN and USGS will assess stormwater receiving waters using the same protocols as Washington State’s Stormwater Action Monitoring program. The study will establish a sampling protocol that can be repeated on a standard interval (every 3-5 years) to assess trends and identify emerging impacts.
Relevance and Benefits
Water quality and habitat data collected during this study will inform the efficacy of current stormwater management practices related to specific upland activities. Detecting elevated metals and vehicle-related organic compounds would suggest pollution from anthropogenic sources and stormwater runoff. The baseline assessment data collected in the summer will allow for comparison with regional SAM programs throughout Washington state that follow a similar framework by comparing water and habitat quality to other regional streams.
Approach
The USGS will conduct a baseline assessment of nine small streams throughout QIN Reservation on the Olympic Peninsula during the summer and fall of 2024. Data loggers will be installed at each site to collect one year of water levels and water temperature measurements to determine stream flow metrics before discrete sampling. Discrete sampling in the summer will measure organic and metal contaminants in sediment and water and conduct watershed health and physical habitat assessment. During the fall of 2024, passive samplers installed in the stream will collect organic contaminants during rainy periods to assess contaminant inputs from stormwater runoff.
Regional Stormwater Monitoring Program Sampling
The Issue: The State of Washington issues Municipal Stormwater Permits to local governments in the Puget Sound region that require them to develop and implement a stormwater management program that reduces the discharge of pollutants and protects the quality of water in rivers, streams, lakes and Puget Sound. The permitees in partnership with the State need to measure whether water quality and...
Moclips River Stormwater Assessment Site
Stormwater assessment site on the Moclips River Near Moclips, WA on the Quinault Indian Nation Tribal land.
Stormwater assessment site on the Moclips River Near Moclips, WA on the Quinault Indian Nation Tribal land.