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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pendleton, Oregon » Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #84330
Title: CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TMDL VALUES FOR THE UMATILLA RIVER WATERSHED

Author
item Rickman, Ronald
item Williams, John
item CLIFTON, C. - USDA FOREST SERVICE
item PURSER, M. - CONFEDERATED TRIBES, UMI

Submitted to: Pendleton Station Field Day
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/5/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Many of Oregon's streams and rivers have failed to meet current Oregon State water quality standards and section 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act of 1972. The Umatilla River and several of its tributaries are included among those water quality impared streams "on the 303(d) list". One of the processes required for removal of a river from the 303(d) list is to establish a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of all contributing pollutants that would allow the river to meet current quality standards and create a management plan for the river to bring all pollutant additions below the TMDL values. Creating the TMDL's for each listed river is the responsibilty of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). To accomplish this responsibility, the DEQ has called together a voluntary working group of interested stakeholders for water of the Umatilla Basin (including but not restricted to representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oregon DEQ, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Cities of Pendleton and Hermiston, Umatilla Basin Watershed Council, Oregon Department of Water Resources, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, private commercial busnesses, and private individuals). The Agricultural Research Service is assisting a technical subcommitee that is documenting current water quality including water temperature from past records and current monitoring. This report illustrates one of the water temperature and nutrient cycle models will be used as a data summarization and analysis tool for the project.

Technical Abstract: The water quality model QUAL2E, used by the EPA to mimick stream temperature and various water quality parameters for the purpose of developing total maximum daily loads (TMDL) of poluting substances for water quality impared streams. This report presents initial sensitivity and calibration runs of this model for potential application to the Umatilla Basin in north central Oregon. Solar radiation, and water flow rate provided anticipated water temperature response, but the model computed a greater water temperature response to wind speed than appeared to be present in observed water temperature data in the Umatilla Basin. The wind speed response computations of the model will be examined to determine applicability for local application of the model.