Salmon Forever is a non-profit organization whose goal is to conduct research on issues pertaining to watersheds and salmon; to promote the importance of watershed health; and to educate citizens so they can effectively participate in public decision-making that affects the communities and watersheds in which they live. As part of this effort, Salmon Forever has initiated two turbidity monitoring programs. The first was the development of the "Watershed Watch" group, in which citizen volunteers monitor water quality in streams by collecting "grab” or manual samples (grab samples are usually collected by non-standard sampling devices and methods). The second program was the establishment of a continuous turbidity monitoring station on Freshwater Creek in conjunction with Redwood Sciences Laboratory, US Forest Service, in Arcata. These programs provide information about the temporal and spatial distribution of turbidity in north coast streams. Data are used for scientific research, to aid in the development of land management plans, and to facilitate regulatory oversight. Until establishment of the Watershed Watch program, no comprehensive monitoring program existed to support the objectives of the North Coast Basin Plan for water quality turbidity standards.
Continuous turbidity monitoring is expensive and it requires technical skills to install and maintain the instrumentation. When operated correctly, the automated Turbidity Threshold Sampling method can provide a detailed and continuous record of turbidity and water discharge and automatically collects physical water samples for laboratory analysis based on pre-selected turbidity thresholds. Grab sampling on the other hand, is simple and relatively inexpensive, but requires a dedicated and trained labor force to manually collect samples at the appropriate times during storms (the distribution and number of grab samples collected during a storm event directly determines the usefulness of the data). Data from the Freshwater station will be used to develop manual sampling protocols for near-by streams. The Freshwater automated sampling site continues to have a high level of public awareness and support because of the unique value of the data. Prior to the establishment of the station, no data of this quality has been collected in the basin. The Freshwater basin encompasses approximately 25,000 acres and supports one of California's few remaining viable wild populations of endangered Coho salmon.
Photo: Freshwater drainage looking west towards Humboldt bay from Kneeland ridge
Photo:Lower Freshwater basin. Residential area impacted by flooding.
The Freshwater community has participated in watershed restoration projects since the early 1980s. In past 20 years considerable sums of money were spent on stream structures, salmon rearing, and erosion control methods. During this period, the watershed was surveyed for habitat types and summer stream conditions, salmon carcasses and spawning redds, and for the density of juvenile salmonids.
In spite of these efforts, the number of salmon successfully spawning in the watershed continues to decline. Faced with deteriorating water quality and increased frequency of flooding, community volunteers readily agreed to collect winter turbidity data as part of the Watershed Watch program. Resources that are impacted by increased suspended sediment loads include, but are not limited to, fish and their food sources, domestic water supplies, aggradation of stream beds resulting in the loss of salmon redds and increased flooding because of reduced channel capacity, sedimentation of the Humboldt bay and estuary, and reduction in commercial and sport fisheries catches. Data from this program will be used to estimate the relative rates of suspended sediment transport in watersheds undergoing varying levels of land use, and to determine the duration of impaired water quality. To accomplish this, a distribution of samples is required during storm events to characterize the relationship between turbidity and water discharge. Storms are sampled throughout the winter so that a detailed account of winter turbidity regimes can be developed. Monitoring sites wereselected to detect impacts from land use activities on the three major soil types in Freshwater drainage. To date, monitoring sites have been established on main stem of Freshwater Creek at Howard Heights bridge, Freshwater County Park bridge, near PalCamp bridge, and on the tributaries of McCready, Cloney, and Graham Gulch.
Salmon Forever established the Sunny Brae Sediment Lab in the spring of 1998 to process water samples for a start-up cost of just under $9,000. A number of sample-types are analyzed in the lab that include grab, depth-integrated, turbidity threshold, and quality control. Turbidity is measured in the lab with a HACH 2100P, and concentrations of the samples are determined using gravimetric methods via vacuum filtration, oven drying, and weighing. Community members assist in the analysis of samples after undergoing standardized training by the laboratory manager. Laboratory protocols from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Redwood Sciences Laboratory (RSL) are used to assure compliance with standard methods and procedures. The lab processed over 1000 samples that were collected during 1998-1999 from seven watersheds in Humboldt and Mendocino counties (the watersheds included the South Fork of the Eel, Freshwater Creek, North and South Forks of Elk River, Jacoby Creek and tributaries in Humboldt Redwoods State Park).
Scientific and technical advice was provided by staff at Redwood Sciences Laboratory, the North Coast Water Quality Control Board, professors and students at Humboldt State University, and by local citizens. Funding sources include members of the community, Patagonia Clothing Company, and the EPA.
Contact Salmon Forever for additional information about community-based monitoring techniques:
Jesse Noell at 707-839-7552, or
Clark Fenton at clarkstr@humboldt1.com