While the negative effects of urban development on freshwater systems are well documented, impacts of human disturbance on water quality vary depending on land cover, local climate, and temporal and spatial scales of analysis. To better understand this variation, we analyzed water quality data for a total of 15 sites...
Peak discharge estimates are fundamental in the design of hydraulic structures, embankment protection, and stream restoration efforts, as well as flood risk analysis. Historic stream gage records are commonly used in the development of peak discharge estimates for a particular watershed. Use of an entire stream gage record assumes hydrologic...
After three decades of active research in hydrology and stream ecology, the connection between solute transport, stream metabolism and nutrient dynamics is still unresolved. This existing gap obscures the functionality of stream ecosystems and how they interact with other landscape processes. To date, determining rates of metabolism is accomplished with...
In order to efficiently reduce toxic loading to the Columbia River basin, sources and pathways need to be identified. Little is known about the toxic loadings coming from wastewater-treatment facilities and stormwater runoff in the system. This study provides preliminary data on these sources and pathways throughout the basin. The...
The elected County Commissioner-led Benton-Lane-Linn Water Resources Study Group evolved in early 2009 to help counties, their partners, and area residents understand, pursue projects and offer recommendations to governing bodies concerning the region’s water quality and quantity. The Study Group is building on 2009-2010 successes including community engagement to support...
In order to efficiently reduce toxic loading to the Columbia River basin, sources and pathways need to be identified. Little is known about the toxic loadings coming from wastewater-treatment facilities and stormwater runoff in the system. This study provides preliminary data on these sources and pathways throughout the basin. The...
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 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...
River flooding is a recurrent threat and its control and management continues to be a challenge. It has been recognized that effective flooding control requires a real-time strategy that combines optimization with a physically-based simulation model. Current real-time frameworks that combine simulation and optimization have two main drawbacks. The first...
The USGS SPARROW model (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) was used to predict the long-term, average loads, yields, and concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus for stream reaches located in the Pacific Northwest (the Columbia basin, Puget Sound basin, and Pacific drainages of Oregon and Washington), and to...
“Exempt wells” are water wells that are exempt from one or more permit or other requirements in seventeen western states. Important policy considerations underlie the exemption, and only Utah does not exempt any water uses. However, some have expressed concerns about exempt water wells and the impact of the exemptions...
Oregon’s largest metropolitan region, Greater Portland, is home to a diverse array of water utilities though few have sufficiently robust water reuse and conservation goals. In determining the most beneficial way to allocate water-related public goods and natural resource management services, Oregonians are adapting to stronger legal standards among other...
WEST Consultants, Inc. (WEST) worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) to enhance the flood forecasting capability and management strategies for the Willamette Basin. Specifically, WEST was contracted by the HEC to modify the existing HEC-ResSim model of the Willamette Basin. Reservoir operation schemes...
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...
In January 2008, the Georgia Water Council approved the Georgia Comprehensive State-Wide Water Management Plan (GA Water Plan). The purpose of GA Water Plan is to guide the state of Georgia with managing its water resources in a sustainable manner. This means not only allowing growth in Georgia, but also...
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....
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...
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...
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....