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Water Quality Report: 2014 Quabbin Reservoir Watershed Ware River Watershed

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Water Quality Report: 2014 Quabbin Reservoir Watershed Ware River Watershed Water Quality Report: 2014 Quabbin Reservoir Watershed Ware River Watershed Quabbin Reservoir from Rattlesnake Hill (Peter Deslauriers, May 21, 2014) June 2015 Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Office of Watershed Management Division of Water Supply Protection ABSTRACT This report is a summary of water quality monitoring methods and results from 24 surface water stations established throughout the Quabbin Reservoir and Ware River watersheds and other special investigative samples. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Division of Water Supply Protection (DWSP), is the state agency charged with the responsibility of managing Quabbin Reservoir and its surrounding natural resources in order to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment of the Commonwealth and to assure the availability of pure water to future generations. The Environmental Quality Section manages a comprehensive water quality monitoring program to ensure that Quabbin Reservoir and its tributaries meet state water quality standards. As part of this task, the Environmental Quality Section performs the necessary field work, interprets water quality data, prepares reports of findings, and makes changes as necessary. This annual summary is intended to meet the needs of watershed managers, the concerned public, and others whose decisions must reflect water quality considerations. Quabbin Reservoir water quality in 2014 satisfied the requirements of the Filtration Avoidance Criteria established under the Environmental Protection Agency Surface Water Treatment Rule. Monitoring of tributaries is a proactive measure aimed at identifying general trends and problem areas that may require additional investigation or corrective action. Compliance with state surface water quality standards among the tributaries varied with minor exceedances attributed to higher pollutant loads measured during storm events, wildlife impacts on water quality, and natural attributes of the landscape. The appendices to this report include field investigation reports, summary information on mean daily flows of gaged tributaries, water quality data summary tables, and plots of reservoir water quality results. Some of the ancillary data presented in this report has been compiled with the help of outside agencies (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey) and other workgroups within DWSP whose efforts are acknowledged below. Water Quality Report: 2014 i Quabbin Reservoir Watershed and Ware River Watershed Acknowledgments This report was prepared by DWSP’s Quabbin Environmental Quality Section. Yuehlin Lee, Environmental Engineer III, is the principal author of this report, based on the format and content previously developed by Scott A. Campbell, Civil Engineer IV. William E. Pula is the Regional Director for the Quabbin/Ware Operational Section and Jonathan L. Yeo is the Director of the Division of Water Supply Protection. The author acknowledges the following who contributed to this report: Robert P. Bishop, former Environmental Analyst IV, for his support and guidance as the Supervisor of the Environmental Quality Section. Best wishes to Bob, who recently retired after more than 26 years of service at DWSP and formerly Metropolitan District Commission, Division of Watershed Management. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) whose staff conducted nutrient, pathogen and bacteriological analyses and whose staff contributed to the management of laboratory data and sample bottle preparation. Paula Packard, Aquatic Biologist II, for her work in monitoring potential invasive species and plankton, including sample collection and plankton identification. Peter Deslauriers, Environmental Analyst II, for sampling and field work and providing order to the field collection procedures. Gary Moulton, Engineering Aide, for his work in field work and sampling. Paul Reyes, Environmental Engineer II, for his assistance with field sampling and database management. Rebecca Faucher, Environmental Analyst III, for field work and report editing. Bernadeta Susianti, Environmental Engineer II, for field work and sampling. Jennifer Howald, Environmental Analyst III, for field work and sampling. Lisa Gustavsen, Assistant Regional Director and formerly Environmental Analyst III, for her knowledge of the Quabbin Reservoir watershed. Philip Lamothe, GIS Specialist, who provided Geographical Information System data, maps and support. Joel Zimmerman, Regional Planner, for his assistance in final report production. The U.S. Geological Survey, who through a cooperative agreement established with the DWSP provided tributary flow data appended to this report. Matt Walsh of the MWRA, who provided flow data from MWRA facilities. Scott A. Campbell, Peter Izyk, Doug Williams, Steve Mansfield, and Kim Hulse from the Quabbin Civil Engineering Section who provided meteorological and reservoir yield data reproduced in this report. Water Quality Report: 2014 i Quabbin Reservoir Watershed and Ware River Watershed TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... i 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 1 2 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 5 2.1 Sample Station Locations ................................................................................................ 5 2.2 Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 10 2.3 Analytical Procedures .................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Measurement Units ........................................................................................................ 11 2.5 Monitoring Program Changes ........................................................................................ 11 2.6 Special Sampling During 2014 ...................................................................................... 12 3 RESULTS – SOURCE WATER QUALITY MONITORING ......................................... 12 3.1 Results – Reservoir Monitoring ..................................................................................... 15 3.1.1 Temperature ...................................................................................................... 16 3.1.2 Dissolved Oxygen.............................................................................................. 18 3.1.3 Turbidity ............................................................................................................ 18 3.1.4 pH and Alkalinity .............................................................................................. 18 3.1.5 Secchi Disk Transparency ................................................................................. 19 3.1.6 Coliform and E. coli Bacteria ........................................................................... 21 3.1.7 Reservoir Phytoplankton and Nutrient Dynamics ............................................ 22 3.1.8 Monitoring for Aquatic Invasive Species at Quabbin Reservoir ...................... 24 3.2 Results – Tributary Monitoring ..................................................................................... 25 3.2.1 Bacteria ............................................................................................................. 25 3.2.1.1 E. coli Bacteria .......................................................................................................... 26 3.2.1.2 Fecal Coliform Bacteria ............................................................................................. 31 3.2.1.3 Total Coliform Bacteria ............................................................................................. 31 3.2.2 Specific Conductance ........................................................................................ 31 3.2.3 Dissolved Oxygen.............................................................................................. 32 3.2.4 Temperature ...................................................................................................... 32 3.2.5 Turbidity ............................................................................................................ 32 3.2.6 pH ...................................................................................................................... 33 3.2.7 Alkalinity ........................................................................................................... 33 3.2.8 Tributary Nutrient Dynamics ............................................................................ 33 3.2.9 Monitoring for the Invasive Diatom Didymosphenia geminata ....................... 40 3.3 Forestry Water Quality Monitoring ............................................................................... 41 3.3.1 Short-term Monitoring ...................................................................................... 41 3.3.2 Long-term Monitoring ...................................................................................... 41 4 PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR 2015 ................................................................................. 42 5 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 43 Water Quality Report: 2014 iii Quabbin Reservoir
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