The City of Damascus, Oregon has a current population of nearly 10,000 people and expects to grow to 50,000 residents by 2060. On the eastern edge of the Portland metropolitan area, the City is located in the Clackamas and Willamette basins with an area of almost 12,000 acres. Semi-rural in...
Oregon is perceived as a water rich state; however, as the 2001 Klamath Basin crisis demonstrated, Oregon is not immune to water conflict and problems. Due to its seasonal fluctuations in water availability and geographical variation, Oregon can be considered a water scarce state, with the majority of surface water...
The presentation discusses the economic value of Ensemble Streamflow Predictions (ESP) streamflow and energy price forecasts in the operation of the Jackson Hydropower Project in western Washington. A decision support system (DSS) was constructed for this multipurpose reservoir system for the evaluation of operational alternatives and improvement of operational procedures....
In 2008 the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) initiated a program to monitor Oregon’s surface waters and aquatic biota for the presence of pollutants that pose risks to human and/or environmental health. ODEQ’s Toxics Monitoring Program was first implemented in the Willamette River Basin (WRB) between 2008 and 2010....
Conventional monitoring to assess water quality of drinking water sources in streams and rivers is typically focused on identifying primary sources and conditions that are associated with mobilization of contaminants. This approach is often organized as a series of discrete samples collected in such a way as to capture the...
The Columbia River Treaty has been in effect for over 45 years, but its future is uncertain. Starting in 2014, Canada and the United States will have the opportunity to announce ten years’ notice for termination of the current arrangement. As this artificial deadline approaches, stakeholders are working to determine...
An interdisciplinary study, USGS Columbia River Contaminants and Habitat Characterization (ConHab) project, is underway to investigate transport pathways, chemical fate and effects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic media and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River. Polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and...
Human adaptation to change is an essential determinant in the resilience of complex social-ecological systems. In the field of water policy and management it has become increasingly clear that traditional government actors cannot fully address emerging water problems at every scale given a demonstrated lack of resources, increasing variability in...
The Metolius River basin is a sub-basin of the Deschutes Basin within central Oregon. Considered one of the crown jewels of the state, this historically undisturbed basin drew attention in 2009 because the Oregon legislature designated the basin as the first Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC) under the state’s...
The western slope of the Oregon Cascades receives up to 3500 mm of precipitation annually, with a majority falling between the months of November-March. In this maritime climate, the partitioning of precipitation between rain and snow is highly sensitive to temperature. Climate models generally agree that winter temperatures in the...