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The Influence of Jennings Randolph Lake and Dam Operations on River Flow and Water Quality in the North Branch Potomac River

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The Influence of Jennings Randolph Lake and Dam Operations on River Flow and Water Quality in the North Branch Potomac River The Influence of Jennings Randolph Lake and Dam Operations on River Flow and Water Quality in the North Branch Potomac River A Technical Report Supporting Preparation of a Comprehensive Scoping Plan Considering an Update of the Jennings Randolph Lake Water Control Plan December 18, 2019 Prepared by Claire Buchanan and Gordon Michael Selckmann Interstate Commission on the Potomac Basin 30 West Gude Dr., Suite 450 Rockville MD 20850 www.potomacriver.org North Branch Potomac River Flow and Water Quality Analysis ICPRB Report 19-4 This report can be downloaded from the Publications tab of the Commission’s website, www.potomacriver.org. To receive hard copies of the report, please write Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin 30 West Gude Dr., Suite 450 Rockville, MD 20850 or call 301-984-1908. Disclaimer The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policies of the U. S. Government, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Potomac basin states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, or the Commissioners to the Interstate Commission on the River Basin. Acknowledgements We thank staff of West Virginia’s departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Maryland’s departments of Natural Resources and Environment, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District who reviewed and commented on the draft report. Funds to support this analysis came from the ICPRB Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (COOP) section and the Clean Water Act '106 administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (I-983394-14). Suggested citation for this report Claire Buchanan and Gordon Michael Selckmann. 2019. The Influence of Jennings Randolph Lake Dam Operations on River Flow and Water Quality in North Branch Potomac River: A Technical Report Supporting Preparation of a Comprehensive Scoping Plan Considering an Update of the Jennings Randolph Lake Water Control Plan. ICPRB Report 19-4. Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, Rockville, MD. Available online at: www.potomacriver.org. Cover photo: northern end of Jennings Randolph Lake. Used with permission from Robyn Phillips Photography, https://www.robynphillipsphotography.com/. ii North Branch Potomac River Flow and Water Quality Analysis Table of Contents List of Tables .................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................. iv Acronyms ....................................................................................................................... vi Executive Summary ........................................................................................................... viii 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 2 River Flow .................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Data Analysis Methods ....................................................................................... 3 2.2 Daily Mean Flows ................................................................................................ 4 2.3 Sub-daily Flow Rates ........................................................................................... 4 2.4 Artificially Varied Flows ....................................................................................... 8 3 Water Quality ............................................................................................................ 10 3.1 Data Analysis Methods ..................................................................................... 10 3.2 Jennings Randolph Lake Water Quality ............................................................ 11 3.3 River and Stream Water Quality ....................................................................... 13 3.3.1 pH .............................................................................................................. 13 3.3.2 Temperature ............................................................................................. 19 3.3.3 Specific Conductivity ................................................................................. 25 3.3.4 Total Dissolved Solids ................................................................................ 31 3.3.5 Dissolved Oxygen ...................................................................................... 33 3.3.6 Turbidity .................................................................................................... 36 3.3.7 Total Suspended Solids ............................................................................. 40 3.3.8 Total Alkalinity .......................................................................................... 42 3.3.9 Other Parameters ..................................................................................... 46 3.4 River and Stream Sediments ............................................................................. 46 3.4.1 River Mainstem ......................................................................................... 46 3.4.2 Streams ..................................................................................................... 46 4 Discussion.................................................................................................................. 49 4.1 pH ...................................................................................................................... 49 4.2 Temperature ..................................................................................................... 50 4.3 Pollutants .......................................................................................................... 51 4.3.1 Conductivity and Total Dissolved Solids ................................................... 51 4.3.2 Alkalinity .................................................................................................... 54 4.3.3 Turbidity and Total Suspended Solids ....................................................... 54 iii North Branch Potomac River Flow and Water Quality Analysis 4.4 Organic Solids and Dissolved Oxygen ............................................................... 56 5 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 57 6 References ................................................................................................................ 59 Appendix A: Sub-daily flow measurements at Kitzmiller and Barnum ............................. 61 Appendix B: Jennings Randolph Lake water quality depth profiles .................................. 66 List of Tables Table 1. Flow metrics .......................................................................................................... 5 Table 2. U.S. Geological Survey flow gages in the North Branch Potomac River ............... 6 Table 3. Frequency of sub-daily rise and fall rates ............................................................. 7 Table 4. Artificially varied flows (AVFs) for water quality control, 2008 - 2018 (from USACE) ................................................................................................................................ 9 Table 5. Selected stations with long-term temperature records (1996 – 2017) collected during the daytime and at least monthly ......................................................................... 20 Table 6. Stations with high frequency temperature measurements ................................ 21 Table 7. Percent of days with summer maximum daily temperatures not exceeding 20oC, by month, calculated from high frequency (hourly or shorter) temperature measurements .................................................................................................................. 22 Table 8. Specific conductivity (µS/cm) at six North Branch Potomac River mainstem locations, tributary mouths, and subwatersheds, 2000 – 2018 ....................................... 26 Table 9. Sampling events with dissolved oxygen less than 5 mg/liter.............................. 33 Table 10. Turbidity (NTU) six North Branch Potomac River mainstem locations, tributary mouths, and subwatersheds, 2000 – 2017 ....................................................................... 37 Table 11. Total suspended solids (TSS, mg/liter) six North Branch Potomac River mainstem locations, major tributary mouths, and subwatersheds, 2000 – 2017 ............ 41 Table 12. Total alkalinity (mg CaCO3/liter) at six North Branch Potomac River mainstem locations, tributary mouths, and subwatersheds, 2000 – 2017 ....................................... 43 Table 13. Sediment-related habitat metric scores in the North Branch Potomac River subwatersheds. ................................................................................................................. 48 List of Figures Figure 1. North Branch Potomac River and watershed (HUC8 02070002) ......................... x Figure 2. Flow metrics for North Branch Potomac River mainstem, March – November, water years 2004 – 2018..................................................................................................... 6 Figure 3. Changes in sub-daily
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