Pierce County Surface Water Management

Water Health Report Card and Stormwater Monitoring Results

Carla Vincent, Diane Klavano & Berl Eldridge

Monitoring Components

• Water Quality Monitoring

• Biological Monitoring (Aquatic Insects)

• Annual Water Quality Report Card

National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) – Municipal Stormwater Discharge Monitoring

Water Quality Monitoring

• Collect monthly water samples from 60+ streams each year

• Analyze in field and lab

• Tells current conditions

• Helps identify where to focus resources & improvement efforts

• Use data in annual WQ Report Card

Test for Conventional WQ Parameters

• Phosphorus & Nitrogen • Total Suspended Solids

(TSS) • Turbidity • Fecal coliform bacteria • Dissolved Oxygen (DO) • pH • Temperature • Conductivity

Nisqually Watershed WQ Sampling Sites

Stream Monitoring Stations (MS) in Nisqually Watershed

• Horn Creek

• Lacamas Creek

• Lynch Creek

• Ohop Creek

• Tanwax Creek

Water Quality Index A TOOL USED TO COMPARE & REPORT COMPLEX WATER QUALITY MONITORING DATA

• Based on Ecology model

• Uses eight parameters to calculate WQI: temperature, pH, FC, DO, TSS, turbidity, total phosphorus, total Kjeldahl nitrogen

Pierce County Water Quality Index

Ecology has a rating curve for each parameter –

score based on where results are on curve Rating for temperature, pH, FC, DO is based on

state standards required to maintain beneficial uses, such as recreation, drinking water, and aquatic habitat (WAC 173-201A):

If no state standard, based on historic background

conditions in our region.

1. Convert each measurement to common scale;

2. Aggregate these into single monthly score; 3. Average twelve monthly scores

Steps:

Results:

Unitless number ranging from 1 to 100

Higher number

indicates better water quality.

• ≥80 Met expectations for water quality – lowest concern

• 40 – 80 marginal concern

• <40 Did not meet expectations – highest concern

Stream results www.piercecountywa.org/wqws

Overall Score 41 = MODERATE Blue = Good pH, temperature, turbidity, total suspended solids Yellow = Moderate Fecal, phosphorus Red = Poor nitrogen Three years of data available –annual scores on chart

Using Biological Indicators to Measure Stream Health

Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (BIBI)

Collect & count the number & type of bugs living in the bottom of the stream

The number & type of bugs present indicate stream health

Great candidates for biological monitoring…

Benthic Macro invertebrates

Heptageniidae sp. (Mayfly larva)

Hydropsyche sp. (Caddis fly larva)

Perlodidae sp. (Stonefly larva)

(bottom-dwelling) (visible to naked eye) (no backbones)

Good Indicators of Water Quality

• Limited migration patterns–good indicators of local conditions

• Indicate effects of human impacts

• Easy to sample

• Many types, can classify by sensitivity to pollutants

The Tolerance Index (0 – 10)

most pollution sensitive e.g. Stoneflies

0 10

most pollution tolerant e.g. Midges & Leeches

Require high DO, clear water, rocky cobble substrate

Contain hemoglobin, tolerate lower DO, prefer soft substrate, less sensitive to toxins

Macro invertebrate Sampling: The Basics • Site selection & assessment – subset

of sites sampled annually

• Organism collection and preservation – Standardize habitat type – Standardize sampling method – Surber sampler

• Identification (Done in the lab) – Sample size – Fixed-count subsamples vs. “whole samples”

• Calculation (Done by the lab) – Select metrics – Calculate IBI score (0-50) – Compare to reference score

www.pugetstreambenthos.org

Repository of data from many jurisdictions

in Puget Sound – look under

Pierce County - Watershed Health Monitoring

BIBI Results

Nisqually Watershed BIBI Scores – From Pugetsoundbenthos.org

www.piercecountywa.org/wqws

• Assigns “grades” to 30+ streams in Pierce County where both WQI and BIBI data are available

• Grades are based on average of WQI and BIBI, adjusted if on Clean Water Act 303(d) list of impaired waters

Pierce County Surface Water Report Card

• Initial stream grade = Average of WQI and BIBI (adjusted to 0-100 scale)

• Reduced 1/3 grade for each factor on 303(d) list

• Often more than one factor that drives grade down.

Report Card Stream Grades

• Fennel Creek (upper & lower) – P & N,

• Diru Creek – P & N, fecal, BIBI is “poor”

• Rody Creek - P, BIBI is “poor”

• Swan Creek – P & N, fecal, pH, 303(d) listing

What Drives Grades Down (Examples)

Horn C-

Lacamas C+

Lynch B

Ohop C+

Tanwax C

Grades are FAIR to GOOD

2010 Grades – Nisqually Watershed

2010 Monitored Lakes

Thanks to the City of Lakewood Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program, Pierce Stream Team, UW-Tacoma, & Tacoma Pierce County Health Dept (SWM grant funded)

Lake Health Parameters

Final lake grade is average of a number of grades:

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) – Phase 1 Municipal Stormwater Permit

• Part of federal Clean Water Act

• Administered by Ecology

• Annual Report due March 30 each year

Conventional

Total suspended solids Turbidity Conductivity Chloride Biochemical Oxygen Demand Hardness

Nutrients

Total phosphorus Orthophosphate Total Kjeldahl nitrogen Nitrate/nitrite

Metals

Zinc Lead Copper Cadmium Mercury

Other

Phthalates PCBs Phenol Total petroleum hydrocarbons Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Fecal coliform Fish toxicity tests Surfactants Pesticides & Herbicides

Things Being Monitored in Stormwater

• Purpose: characterize effects of different land uses on stormwater runoff

• Low density residential – Lake Sylvia, west of Gig Harbor

• Commercial - 112th near Canyon Road – Summit View area

• High density residential - Collinswood – South Hill area

Outfall Monitoring (3 sites)

Automated sampler

High Density Residential Site 2010 – 2011 Wet Season Results

Conventional ParametersBOD (mg/L) Not detected - 3.3Chloride (mg/L) 5.5 - 8.0 yesTotal Hardness (mg/L) 18.1 - 44.2Total Suspended Solids (mg/L) 2.4 - 20.0Conductivity (umhos/cm) 99 - 130Turbidity (NTU) 1.6 - 6.1 yesSurfactants (mg/L) 0.08 - .13Metals (dissolved - not adjusted for hardness)Cadmium (µg/L) .02 - .08 yesCopper (µg/L) 1.4 - 2.3 yesLead (µg/L) .07 - .13 yesZinc (µg/L) .90 - 4.2 yesMercury (µg/L) Not detectedNutrientsOrthophosphate, as P (mg/L) .01 - .03Total Phosphorus (mg/L) 0.02 - .05TKN (mg/L) Not detected - 8.0Nitrate/Nitrite (mg/L) Not detected - .70

Herbicides & Pesticides (ug/L) Meets State WQ Std? 2,4-D, MCPP, Triclopyr, Diazinon, and Prometon Not detected Dichlobenil (ug/L) Not detected - 0.17 Malathion (ug/L) Not detected – 0.08 Chlorpyrifos Not detected yes

Other bis(2-Ethylhexyl)Phthalate (ug/L) 2.2B - 27.8 B Found in associated

blank - possible contamination

Other phthalates (ug/L) Not detected Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (ug/L) Not detected Pentachlorophenol--SIM (ug/L) Not detected yes

High Density Residential Site 2010 – 2011 Wet Season Results

• Monitoring effectiveness of different stormwater treatment technologies

• Monitoring 2 wetpond systems (Sunrise, Crimson Plats)

• Monitoring 2 ConTech Stormfilter systems (Canyon, Magnolia Plat) – 2 media types

• Comparing TSS, phosphorus, copper, zinc at inlet & outlet

Best Mgt. Practices Monitoring (4 sites)

• Effects of road salt on chloride levels – sampling in Kapowsin, Squally & Fennel Creeks (Puyallup Watershed)

• Effects of salmon carcass placement on benthic abundance/water quality – sampling on Little Mashel Creek (Nisqually Watershed), Kapowsin Creek.

• Working with Puyallup & Nisqually tribes

Program Effectiveness Monitoring (2 sites)

• Sprinker Recreation Area 2008 Green Infrastructure Project (Chambers-Clover Watershed)

• Study compares storm event peak flow rates & runoff volumes from permeable pavement vs. impermeable pavement + rain gardens

Flow reduction monitoring (1 site)

Water Quality Monitoring

• Water Quality Monitoring – Freshwater Streams & Lakes

• Biological Monitoring (Aquatic Insects)

• NPDES Projects Monitoring

• Public Information & Education

• NPDES Compliance

• Pollution Source Identification

• Status & Trends in Water Quality

• Strategic Planning

Resources & Contacts

www.piercecountywa.org/wqws

Carla Vincent, Water Quality Scientist

(253)798-2467 cvince2@co.pierce.wa.us

Berl Eldridge, Water Quality Specialist

(253)798-2248 beldrid@co.pierce.wa.us

Diane Klavano, Water Quality Specialist

(253)798-6822 dklavan@co.pierce.wa.us