To better understand the impact of land use on stream nutrient export, a synoptic sampling of 57 sub-basins within the Willamette River basin was conducted during winter baseflow conditions (February 2009). I assessed whether stream dissolved organic carbon (DOC), NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ and specific ultra-violet absorbance (SUVA) values were correlated...
Two strategic approaches to water quality control in Oregon's
Willamette River are presently being utilized: point source treatment
and flow augmentation. Dry weather releases from reservoirs are for
authorized purposes other than water quality. Reservoirs can participate
in pollution control by summer flow augmentation where authorized water
resource objectives (flood...
Storage of water for water quality control is one of the alternative
means of achieving water quality objectives. Authorities in
the field of water quality management disagree regarding the use of
precious water for the dilution of wastes.
The costs of achieving water quality objectives by treatment
of wastes at...
The people of Oregon have become increasingly aware of the constant devaluation of the public waters by unrestricted stream pollution. All of the many uses of natural water have been affected to some degree by the utilization of these same waters as carriers of domestic and industrial wastes. The streams...
Reservoir systems in the western US are managed to serve two main competing purposes: to reduce flooding during the winter and spring, and to provide water supply for multiple uses during the summer. Because the storage capacity of a reservoir cannot be used for both flood damage reduction and water...
Land use alters the physical and biological structure of stream ecosystems and potentially alters their capacity to process nitrogen (N), an essential nutrient that has nearly doubled in abundance on the biosphere
during the past century from human activities. In this dissertation, I quantified uptake and transformation of nitrate (NO₃⁻)...
The pages which follow contain the authors responses to a series of comments that were received in response to "A Project to Collect Scientific Data and Provide Evaluation and Recommendations for Alternative Pollution Control Strategies for the Tualatin River Basin, 11 submitted to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)...
In response to Oregon House Bill 3338, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality requested proposals in 1991 to assemble available information on Tualatin River Basin conditions to provide a scientific basis for improving river water quality. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Oregon State University and Portland State University was...
The Tualatin River is a major water resource for Washington County. In its course, the river drains forest lands, farmlands, and urban areas receiving toxic materials from non-point source runoff: Wastewater treatment plant effluents from municipalities and industries also contribute toxic materials to the river. Many materials discharged into the...
This report summarizes the conclusions reached in "A Project to Collect Scientific Data and Provide Evaluation and Recommendations for Alternative Pollution Control Strategies for the Tualatin River Basin."
This study was funded by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality as a grant to the Oregon Water Resources Research Institute on...
An investigation of the fishes of the Willamette River and three of its larger tributaries was made during July, August, September, and November of 1951, to ascertain the possibility of using them as bio-indices of pollution. Thirteen stations were established on the Willamette River and tributaries. These stations were selected...
Examines the problems of runoff and nonpoint source pollution in Oregon's Tualatin River and how local residents and government officials are trying to reduce nonpoint source pollution. It also offers tips to help each of us play an active role in cleaning up our nation's drinking water supplies.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has worked cooperative with the Unified Sewerage Agency of Washington County (USA) since 1990 to assess water quality in the Tualatin River Basin. The objectives of this study were to: assess the occurrence and magnitude of trace element and selected organic contaminants in streams of...
The seasonal distribution of bioavailable organochiorine contaminants in surface
water and the potential environmental factors influencing their bioavailability were
evaluated. The study was carried at the lower Willamette River at Portland Harbor, Oregon
where surface water runoff varied according to season. Bioavailable water concentrations of
DDTs and PCBs were determined...
Concentrations of twenty-five PCBs, fifteen organochiorine pesticides and mercury were determined in recreational fish from the Willamette River, Oregon during the summer of 2000. Thirty-six fish samples of three fish species including black crappie, smalimouth bass and con-rn-ion carp were analyzed. The data reported here provides new information and recent...
The lower Willamette River, located between river mile 4.0
and 26.5, is the most seriously polluted section of the Willamette
River Basin.
Low dissolved oxygen concentrations of 2.0 to 3.0 mg/1 are
observed annually in this section of the river due to the pollutional
loads discharged into it. Waste discharges...
This report presents information concerning the water and related land resources of the Middle Willamette River Basin and is the result of a cooperative study by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the State Water Resources Board of Oregon.
The State Water Resources Board of Oregon is making a...
The Tualatin River Basin in Washington County, Oregon, is a complex area with highly developed agricultural, forestry, industrial, commercial, and residential activities. Population has grown in the past thirty years from fifty to over 270 thousand. Accompanying this population growth have been the associated increases in transportation, construction, and recreational...
The Willamette Valley of Oregon has high rates of winter precipitation that cause leaching losses of residual fertilizer nitrogen (N) as nitrate (NO₃). Cover crops may have potential to mitigate N loss. Shallow groundwater was sampled for 11 years from plots planted in summer vegetables with and without winter cover...
The region’s high winter rainfall provides aquifers
that are often within 50 feet of the land surface. In
many parts of the United States and in other countries
where groundwater is this close to the surface, pesticide
contamination has been observed. Thus, with our
high population, significant applications of pesticides,...
Urban rivers with a history of industrial use can exhibit spatial and temporal variations in contaminant concentrations that may significantly affect risk evaluations and assessment of remediation efforts. To more effectively estimate human and ecological health risks, we evaluated the spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in...
The goal of this phase of the study was to develop a model of the Tualatin River incorporating Scoggins Creek and Hagg Lake. This tool will be used in conjunction with a hydrologic model, the EPA HSPF model (Johnson, Imhoff, and Kittle, 1984), to analyze management strategies to improve water...
This dissertation examines learning driven adaptations in salmon recovery efforts and water resources management in Oregon. The case study utilizes a framework highlighting the connections between human and natural systems. Semi-structured interviews are used to analyze interactions between rural riparian landowners and watershed council staffs living and working in Oregon’s...
Survey In 1995, the Washington County Soil & Water Conservation District interviewed 90 farmers in northwest Oregon's Tualatin River Basin, using a survey developed by the USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Service. Crop rotations, yields, tillage, fertilizer and irrigation practices were recorded....
A relatively stable, persistent and historical problem with elevated NO₃⁻ concentrations in rural drinking wells in the southern Willamette Valley, Oregon is evident. What is the origin of NO₃⁻ in rural drinking water wells in this area? The answer to the question is not simple. Many non-point sources contribute to...
The purposes of this report are to describe the quality of shallow ground water in alluvial aquifers of the Willamette Basin and to identify relationships between shallow ground-water quality and various natural and anthropogenic factors. Several natural and anthropogenic factors (soil characteristics, cumulative thickness of clay above open interval of...
Introduction The Willamette River Flow Project The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are collaborating on a project to determine environmental flow requirements for the Willamette River and its tributaries and to design and test alternative flow releases from the dams that can meet...
A rapid expansion of population and industrialization in recent
years has created new and difficult problems in water resources
management. Prudent management of water quality will require that
more efficient methods be developed for evaluating large volumes of
data on complex river systems, and tabulating the results in a form...
It is no longer possible in any area of the United States to formulate
water resources plans for single purpose projects as has been
done in past years. No longer can one of our greatest natural resources,
water, be used solely for navigation, power generation,
irrigation, or controlled for reducing...
The purpose of this study was to; (1) determine the extent of well water contamination with nitrate and pesticides, and to understand the relationships among nitrate, pesticide, dissolved chloride, dissolved sulfate, well age, and well depth in the southern Willamette Valley, Oregon; and, (2) to investigate local residents' perceptions and...
The purpose of this study was to develop a mass-balance model for total suspended solids in the Tualatin River in order to better understand the clarity-turbidity problem in the river. Major sources and sinks of suspended solids in the river were identified, and seasonal effects were explored. The study also...
Water quality and stream flow data for tliree representative land uses in the Tualatin River Basin were evaluated to determine the comparative levels of various pollutants. In addition, the data were used in an effort to identify the extent to which observed concentrations of total and ortho phosphorus could be...
Thesis summarizes interviews with growers residing within the Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) in the Southern Willamette Valley of Oregon. Informal and semi-structured interviews were used to identify perceived impediments and incentives perceived by local farmers in following best management practices related to water quality. Results from the interviews were coded...
About one-third of the land in the Tualatin Basin is used for agricultural production (Miner, Scott, and Wood, 1994). The variety of crops produced includes grains, specialty seeds, vegetables, fruits, berries, and nursery corps. Cattle and hog enterprises are the most prevalent livestock operations in the area (measured by number...
This report reviews and summarizes available information on aquatic biological communities in the Willamette Basin through 1995. Specifically, the report describes (1) the distribution, abndance, and trends of three taxonomic groups--algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish--and, to a lesser degree, other selected semi-aquatic taxa (i.e., taxa frequenting but not living wholly in...
Open field burning is the lowest-cost method of harvest residue
disposal used extensively by grass seed producers in the Willamette
Valley of Oregon. The beneficial effects of open field burning include
effective disease control and increased seed yields. However, smoke
produced by open burning in the late summer pollutes valley...
The purpose of this research is to investigate how stakeholders involved in collaborative watershed groups in Oregon work with each other to form ideas and take action. Most collaboration efforts include encouraging a high level of trust with a great value placed on relationships and partners, being open and flexible,...
Fresh-water benthic river algae were collected from selected
sites in Willamette River tributaries; two sampling sites were in the
Yamhill River system and four sampling sites were in the Santiam
River system. Twelve samples were taken at each collection site in
the Yamhill River system at approximately monthly intervals from...
There were 21 days with observations during 30 January-21 May 1974. Herons were already displaying on January 30, so nesting activity can occur much earlier than has been supposed. A yearling was often seen at the nests, but most nesting activity was by adults. Although eggs were laid in at...
The main theme of this research is the application of geographic techniques in a study involving environmental monitoring and analysis of the associations between landscape and in-stream characteristics in the Pacific Northwest. The geographic techniques used in this study include (1) geographic information systems (GIS) coupled with statistical analysis and...
The Willamette River and its floodplain in northwest Oregon have changed dramatically since European settlement. At one time, the river was a vast complex system of braided channels with a broad floodplain forest; it has now been simplified by channelization and dams, and the forest has been removed to support...
The Tualatin River Basin in Washington County, Oregon has been identified by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) as "Water Quality Limited." Algal blooms have become commonplace in the lower , reaches of. the river during summer months. Phosphorus has been identified as the nutrient upon which to base...
This report presents the concentrations of major ions, nutrients, and trace elements in water and bottom sediments collected in the four-tributaries during the low-flow condition of September 9-13, 1996. Stream-water chemistry results are contrasted, and trace-element concentrations compared with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chronic aquatic life toxicity criteria. Bottom -sediment...
Many agricultural fields are burned in the Willamette Valley
of Oregon during the summer for economic reasons. A major air
pollution problem results from these burnings. The purpose of this
study was to develop relations between the maximum plume height
and some of the independent variables affecting this plume height,...
In this study the impact of episodic events on levels of bioavailable trace metals Zn,
Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, and As (III) were determined for the lower Willamette River in Oregon.
In addition, a comparison among three alternative methods for estuary sampling was
conducted. Potential adverse human health risk associated...
A novel mode of shallow aquifer management could increase the volumetric potential and distribution of underground, freshwater storage: Shallow aquifer storage and recovery (SASR). In this mode, water is efficiently stored in basin fill aquifers with strong hydraulic connection to surface water. Regional numerical modeling can provide a linkage between...
The littoral zones of seven reservoirs in the southern Willamette Valley of Oregon were sampled with a boat electroshocker during the summer months of 1995 and 1996. Shoreline substrates were inventoried before sampling sites were randomly selected. Sampling sites consisted of 9 of 12 possible habitat types including four substrate...
The work upon which this report is based was supported by funds provided by the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Water Resources Research, as authorized under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964.
Wild fish populations are typically infected with a variety of micro- and macroparasites that may affect fitness and survival, however, there is little published information on parasite distribution in wild juvenile salmonids in three upper tributaries of the Willamette River, OR. The objectives of this survey were to document (1)...
Pacific lamprey, Entosphenus tridentatus, have shown recent and rapid declines in abundance. These anadromous fish return to streams where they mature, spawn and die. It has been inferred that Pacific lamprey enter freshwater and reside for ~ 1 year before spawning. This long exposure to the freshwater environment may affect...
In the fall through spring of 2002/03 and 2003/04, the composition of fish and amphibian communities were examined in intermittent streams in the upper Willamette river basin in western Oregon. I recorded standard aquatic habitat variables and water nutrient concentrations (nitrate and phosphate) and correlated them with fish and amphibian...
Alternative futures studies provide a way for policy-makers and stakeholders to investigate the future impacts of different management strategies by providing representations of possible outcomes. An alternative futures study was undertaken by the Pacific Northwest-Ecosystem Research Consortium for the Willamette River Basin, Oregon, USA, to determine how this regional system...
Alcoves in some river systems are cooler than the mainstem of the river and provide thermal refugia for aquatic species. An energy balance and sensitivity analysis on 3 alcoves in the Willamette River, Oregon indicate that alcove size and alcove flux determine the degree to which meteorological conditions affect the...
Surface water in the Deschutes Basin of central Oregon has been largely over
allocated since the early 1900s. Therefore, rapid population growth and urban
demand for water in the upper Basin lead to an increased reliance on groundwater in
the last three decades. The Oregon Department of Water Resources (OWRD)...
Agronomic research documents a strong correlation
between the level of irrigation water applied and the level
of farm chemicals leached into water bodies. Consequently,
policies that cause farmers to alter irrigation water
management practices are likely to influence water quality.
Water markets are a potentially attractive method of
addressing agriculturally...
In July of 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
activated the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDLs) provisions of the
Clean Water Act. As the first river in Oregon to implement TMDL
regulations, people and agencies in the Tualatin basin face many
challenges. Non-point source pollution affects water quality in the...
Small commercial and non-commercial animal enterprises (SCAEs) raise a few
beef cows, horses, pigs, sheep, poultry, and other animals on a few acres. These
enterprises are often located in suburban areas of watersheds and show potential for
degrading water quality through to increased bacterial, nitrogen, and phosphorus
concentrations. SCAEs implement...
Shifting climate patterns in the Columbia River basin are affecting snow pack, and, as a result, stream flow throughout the region. In the Oregon Cascades, ever growing populations, and their associated activities, place increasing stress on an already over allocated hydrologic system. Political pressures, including the possibility of renegotiation or...
. ............................................................................................................. 56
3.3: Average WillametteRiver Basin SWE and equivalent water storage
Natural resource management and policy is ideally informed by the best available science. Natural resource researchers ideally participate in broader impacts activities to extend the reach of their best available research. However, there are many cultural, institutional, and practical barriers to participating in broader impact activities and to incorporating science...
Aquatic fecal contamination from non-point sources impairs environmental health and serves as a vehicle for transmission of waterborne disease, resulting in economic losses worldwide. Accurate methods of diagnosing fecal pollution and its source are needed to prevent human exposure, remediate pollution, and reduce economic impacts. In order to obtain this...
Low-permeability geologic units may offer significant chemical and hydraulic protection of adjacent aquifers, and are important for managing groundwater quality, especially in areas with significant non-point source contamination. Nitrate in the Willamette Valley is attenuated across the Willamette Silt, a semi-confining unit overlying a regionally important aquifer. To quantify the...
Groundwater nitrate contamination is a well-documented issue in the Southern Willamette Valley (SWV) of Oregon, as a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) has recently been declared. As a GWMA, groundwater nitrate monitoring must occur until regional concentrations are below 7 mg/L NO3-N. However, the presence of temporal variability can make it...
The consumptive water use of six cities in the Willamette
Basin of northwestern Oregon was evaluated for the period 1960-66.
Consumptive use ratios were obtained by analyzing data from monthly
water supply and sewage flow records. The average annual consumptive
use for the six cities was found to be 26...
Published September 1965. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Arsenic concentrations exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) current Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 50 micrograms per liter are widespread in ground water in the Willamette Basin. The Oregon Water Resources Department and the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study in the Willamette Basin in 1996. One goal...
Human activities may contribute to the eutrophication of surface waters by
providing nutrients to aquatic ecosystems. Phosphorus is frequently identified as a
nutrient that is limiting to most aquatic ecosystems under natural conditions. Sources of
phosphorus contributing to eutrophic conditions often include nonpoint sources that are
dispersed across the landscape....
A field study on grass field burning was conducted in the
Willamette Valley of Oregon during the summer of 1965. Approximately 243,000 acres of grass fields are burned in the valley during
August and September. Serious air pollution problems result from
this burning. The purposes of the study were to...
Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) exhibit an array of life history tactics in Oregon's Willamette River Basin, yet we do not know to what extent it is driven by phenotypic plasticity or whether it is predetermined and how conditions in the early rearing environment may affect phenotype expression. We have...
The Tualatin River Basin along the east side of the Coastal Mountains in Oregon is subject to a complex mixture of land uses. Approximately half the area is devoted to forestry production. The remainder is divided between agriculture and urban uses. In addition to this diversity in land use, there...
An 18-year record of nitrate (NO₃), orthophosphate, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in four streams of the Bull Run
watershed, Oregon, was examined to determine its precision and time resolution. Of these four species, only NO₃ was found to be known to a sufficient level of detail for modeling and...
The concept of ecosystem management requires that management prescriptions account for economic and environmental goals that are measured in non-commensurate units. This study examines the economic and environmental trade-offs associated with planting a riparian buffer in trees to reduce stream temperatures in the Mohawk watershed, Oregon. The detrimental effects of...
The increased demand for wood and fiber from a continually shrinking land base has resulted in the use of intensively managed forest plantations. The concentration of timber production on the most suitable sites allows the world's demand for forest products to be met on less land and enable native forests...
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a critical component of the carbon cycle linking terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Although many factors influence DOM fluxes and quality in rivers, controls on DOM compositions in catchments of the western U.S. are poorly understood. UV and fluorescent spectroscopy is a simpler, faster, and less...
This report presents estimates of land uses, concentrating on agricultural land in the Tualatin drainage basin. Acreage in different crop groups and agricultural water use and distribution in the watershed were estimated. The total amounts of nitrogen and phosphate applied to agricultural land and the average loading of nutrients per...
Three studies were conducted related to the measurement and impact of
stream sediment fecal coliform (FC) bacteria on stream water quality. In part one
an enumeration technique for sediment FC was defined and statistically
characterized. This characterization necessitated the development of a sample
splitting mechanism, which was found to split...
Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus is a valuable icon and traditional food source for Indigenous people of western North America. Native Americans have utilized traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) since time immemorial to guide their ways of life, transmitting cultural values and natural history to further generational knowledge. Pacific lamprey are in...
The Willamette Silt is a surficial geologic unit composed of successive Missoula Flood Deposits that underlies 3100 km2 (1200 mil) of arable land in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The Willamette Silt protects the underlying regionally important Willamette
Aquifer from agricultural contamination while acting as a semi-confining unit and a...
The Calapooia River, a major tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon, is a watershed typical of many found in the Willamette Basin. Public and private forested lands occur in the steep Upper Zone of the watershed, mixed forest and agriculture lands are found in the Middle Zone, and...
Soils of 49 agricultural and 2 "native condition" sites in the Lower Umatilla Basin,
Oregon were sampled for nitrate-nitrogen, ammonium-nitrogen, chloride, and pH
beginning in Fall of 1992. Several sites were sampled in Spring and Fall 1993 in order to
indicate movement or loss of residual soil nitrogen over time....
Spatially explicit ecosystem service valuation (ESV) allows for the identification of the location and magnitude of services provided by natural ecosystems to human activities along with a measure of their significance based upon economic valuation. While ESV has been used to provide new insight into land use management, few studies...
A perennial grass grown in strips between the rows of grapevines, with a bare soil herbicide strip under the rows of vines, is a common form of vineyard soil management. Irrigation, though not practiced for grape culture in western Oregon at this time, could be used to supplement the soil...