Water Quality Data Summary Report for Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Preliminary Analysis of 2011 and 2012 Data
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Water Quality Data Summary Report for Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Preliminary Analysis of 2011 and 2012 Data Natural Resource Data Series NPS/GRYN/NRDS—2013/482 ON THE COVER Field activities in Layout Creek, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Photograph courtesy of NPS Water Quality Data Summary Report for Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Preliminary Analysis of 2011 and 2012 Data Natural Resource Data Series NPS/GRYN/NRDS—2013/482 Authors Andrew Ray Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network National Park Service 2327 University Way, Suite 2 Bozeman, Montana 59715 Katie Kleehammer W. Adam Sigler Montana State University Water Quality Extension Land Resources and Environmental Sciences P.O. Box 173120 Bozeman, MT 59717-3120 Editor Nina Chambers Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative P.O. Box 2705 Jackson, WY 83001 May 2013 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Data Series is intended for the timely release of basic data sets and data summaries. Care has been taken to assure accuracy of raw data values, but a thorough analysis and interpretation of the data has not been completed. Consequently, the initial analyses of data in this report are provisional and subject to change. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. Data in this report were collected and analyzed using methods based on established, peer-reviewed protocols and were analyzed and interpreted within the guidelines of the protocols. This report received formal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available from the Greater Yellowstone Network website (http://science.nature.nps. gov/im/units/gryn/), the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature. nps.gov/publications/nrpm/), and the Integration of Natural Resource Management Applications website (https://irma.nps.gov/). Please cite this publication as: Ray, A. M., K. Kleehammer, and W. A. Sigler. 2013. Water quality data summary report for Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area: Preliminary analysis of 2011 and 2012 data. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/GRYN/NRDS—2013/482. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 617/120570, May 2013 ii Water Quality Data Summary Report for Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area: Preliminary Analysis of 2011 and 2012 Data Contents Figures .......................................................................................................................iv Tables ........................................................................................................................v Executive Summary ........................................................................................................vii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................viii Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 Overview of Bighorn Canyon NRA Water Resources ..........................................................1 Water Quality Standards that Apply to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area .......4 Federal Water Quality Criteria .............................................................................................................4 Montana Water Quality Standards and Water Classification System ....................................................4 Wyoming Water Quality Standards and Water Classification System ...................................................6 Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area’s 303(d) Listed Waters ........................................................7 Monitoring Objectives ..........................................................................................................7 Methods ........................................................................................................................9 Results ......................................................................................................................11 Discharge of Bighorn and Shoshone Rivers ......................................................................11 Water Quality of Bighorn and Shoshone Rivers ...............................................................12 Seasonal Escherichia coli Levels in the Shoshone River ....................................................15 Chemical Character and Discharge Patterns of Representative Springs and Streams ....17 Stream and Spring Chemistry ............................................................................................................17 Stream and Spring Discharge ............................................................................................................18 Discussion ......................................................................................................................23 Literature Cited ..............................................................................................................25 Contents iii Figures Figure 1. Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Ecoregion Level III location maps. ...........................................................................................2 Figure 2. Climographs constructed from monthly meteorological data from (a) Yellowtail Dam Station (249240) near St. Xavier, Montana and (b) from Lovell, Wyoming (485770). Average monthly precipitation (cm; gray bars) and temperature (°C; red line) are shown for each location. Summaries were generated using the period of record at each station (Yellowtail Dam Station [1948-2012] and Lovell, Wyoming Station [1897 -2012]. ..............3 Figure 3. Long-term summary of average daily discharge (in cfs) at the Bighorn River near Kane, Wyoming (USGS Gage 06279500). River flows are presented by day of year where day 1 refers to January 1st of each calendar year. The period of record summarized for this gage extends from 1928 to 2012. Mean daily discharge for the period of record is shown in black and the 25th and 75th percentiles of daily flows are shown in grey. A summary of 2011 (blue) and 2012 (green) are also presented. ..............................................................11 Figure 4. Long-term summary of average daily discharge (in cfs) at the Bighorn River near St. Xavier, Montana (USGS Gage 06287000). River flows are presented by day of year where day 1 refers to January 1st of each calendar year. The period of record summarized for this gage extends from 1947 to 2012. Mean daily discharge for the period of record is shown in black and the 25th and 75th percentiles of daily flows are shown in grey. A summary of 2011 (blue) and 2012 (green) are also presented. .............................................................12 Figure 5. Histogram of annual river flow (in billion ft3) at the Bighorn River near Kane, Wyoming USGS Gage (06279500). Years 1930 to 2012 are summarized and show year fluctuations in annual river flow. ..................................................................................................................12 Figure 6. Decadal hydrographs for the Bighorn River near Kane, Wyoming (USGS Gage 06279500). River flows are presented by day of year where day 1 refers to January 1st each year. Years included in this summary span from 1930 to 2010. ...................................................13 Figure 8. Long-term summary of average daily discharge (in cfs) at the Shoshone River near Lovell, Wyoming (USGS Gage 06285100). River flows are expressed by day of year where day 1 refers to January 1st each year. The period of record summarized for this gage extends from 1966 to 2012. Mean daily discharge for the period of record is shown in black and the 25th and 75th percentiles of daily flows are shown in grey. A summary of 2011 (blue) and 2012 (green) are also presented. ...................................................................................13 Figure 7. Decadal hydrographs for the Bighorn River near Bighorn River near St. Xavier, Montana (USGS Gage 06287000). River flows are presented by day of year where day 1 refers to January 1st each year. Years included in this summary span from 1947 to 2010. ...............13 Figure 9. Decadal hydrographs for the Shoshone River