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Tucannon River Temperature Study Draft Tucannon River Temperature Study Draft June 30, 2006 2805 Saint Andrews Loop 500 108th Avenue NE Suite A Suite 1200 Pasco, WA 99301-6121 Bellevue, WA 98004-5549 (509) 546-2040 (425) 450-6200 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Project Purpose and Scope...................................................................................1 2.0 Washington State Temperature Standards............................................ 1 2.1 Numeric Temperature Criteria...............................................................................1 2.2 Natural Conditions Temperature Criteria...............................................................3 3.0 Description of Tucannon River Basin ..................................................... 4 3.1 Drainage Basin......................................................................................................4 3.2 Land Ownership and Land Use.............................................................................4 3.3 Geology, Soils, and Groundwater..........................................................................4 3.4 River Flow .............................................................................................................5 3.5 River Temperature.................................................................................................6 4.0 Field Investigations and Analysis .......................................................... 7 5.0 Analysis of River Temperature............................................................... 7 5.1 Overview Stream Heating Influences ....................................................................7 5.2 Tucannon River Temperature Model.....................................................................8 5.2.1 Model Calibration.......................................................................................9 5.2.2 Model Scenarios........................................................................................9 5.2.3 Model Results..........................................................................................10 6.0 Summary.............................................................................................. 12 7.0 References ........................................................................................... 13 WRIA 35 i Tucannon River Temperature Study List of Tables Table 1. Current (1997) temperature criteria for the Tucannon River..........................................2 Table 2. Tucannon River segments included on Ecology’s 2002/2004 303(d) list ......................2 Table 3. Summary of flow gaging records used for the temperature analysis .............................5 Table 4. Summary of July Air Temperatures (oF).........................................................................8 List of Figures Figure 1 Tucannon river basin project vicinity.......................................................................15 Figure 2 Topographic elevation (feet) in the Tucannon River basin .....................................16 Figure 3. Land ownership in the Tucannon River basin.........................................................17 Figure 4 Land use in the Tucannon River basin. ..................................................................18 Figure 5 Geology in the Tucannon River basin.....................................................................19 Figure 6 Tucannon River flow, temperature and air monitoring locations.............................20 Figure 7 Tucannon River flow recorded during 2005 at Marengo, WA .................................21 Figure 8 Tucannon River flow recorded during 2005 at Starbuck, WA .................................21 Figure 9 The 10%, 50%, 90% exceedance flows for the USGS’ Tucannon River near Starbuck, WA station. .............................................................................................22 Figure 10 Daily maximum 2005 temperatures measured in the Class AA section of the Tucannon River.......................................................................................................22 Figure 11 Daily maximum 2005 temperatures measured in the Class A section of the Tucannon River.......................................................................................................23 Figure 12 Highest daily maximum temperatures measured in the Tucannon River in 2005...23 Figure 13 Tucannon River temperatures with change in elevation based on data collected in 2004. .......................................................................................................................24 Figure 14 Tucannon River temperatures with change in river location based on data collected in 2004. ...................................................................................................................24 Figure 15 Major elements of a stream heat budget. ...............................................................25 Figure 16 Comparison of river flow at Starbuck gage and daily maximum water temperature in the upper basin at Lady Bug Flat (RK 85) and in the lower basin at Smolt Trap (RK 3) in 2005. ...............................................................................................................26 Figure 17 Recorded river flow at Starbuck gage compared to historic flows ..........................26 Figure 18 Predicted and measured water temperatures in the Tucannon River for the calibration period (July 13, 2005) under current riparian conditions .......................27 Figure 19 Estimated effective shade from riparian vegetation and topography for the Current Conditions and Full Shade scenarios .....................................................................27 Figure 20 Predicted daily average temperatures in the Tucannon River for the Current Conditions and Full Shade model scenarios...........................................................28 Figure 21 Predicted daily maximum temperatures for the Current Conditions and Full Shade model scenarios......................................................................................................28 WRIA 35 ii Tucannon River Temperature Study Figure 22 Example of upper watershed (Panjab Creek area, RK 80) riparian shade conditions along the Tucannon River.......................................................................................29 Figure 23 Predicted daily maximum temperatures for the Current Conditions and Full Shade in Forested Areas model scenarios ........................................................................29 Figure 24 Predicted daily maximum temperatures for the Current Conditions and Topography Shade model scenarios ..........................................................................................30 Figure 25 Predicted daily maximum temperatures for the Current Conditions and No Withdrawal model scenarios ...................................................................................30 List of Appendices Appendix A – Tucannon River Field Collection Data and Analyses Appendix B – Tucannon River QUAL2Kw Model Description WRIA 35 iii Tucannon River Temperature Study 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Project Purpose and Scope This report presents the results of a temperature analysis of the Tucannon River completed for the WRIA 35 Planning Unit. The Tucannon River is located in southeastern Washington and flows approximately 100 kilometers (km) (62 miles) from the Blue Mountains to the Snake River. High water temperature in the Tucannon River has been identified as a limiting factor for salmonid fish habitat (Columbia Conservation District, 2004). Several segments of the Tucannon River are included on Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies due to temperature. Ecology is currently conducting scoping for a temperature Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study of the Tucannon River. The WRIA 35 Planning Unit retained HDR Engineering to evaluate water temperature in the Tucannon River. The project objectives are listed below. • Review recent and historic data and studies to characterize temperature conditions in the river. • Perform field studies and analyses to identify and quantify heating and cooling processes in the river. • Develop and calibrate a computer temperature model to determine the sources of heat to the Tucannon River and to predict the temperature of the river that would occur with increased natural riparian shading assuming the current river morphology. • Evaluate differences in river temperatures between current and improved riparian shading during the “critical” period - low river flows and high temperatures. • Determine the potential benefits of riparian shading as a mechanism to decrease river temperature. 2.0 Washington State Temperature Standards 2.1 Numeric Temperature Criteria Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to define the designated uses of water bodies within their state. Ecology establishes water quality standards to protect beneficial uses of the state’s waters. The beneficial uses identified by Ecology for the Tucannon River include water supply, fish habitat (for example, salmonid migration, rearing, spawning, and harvesting), recreation, wildlife habitat, and commerce and navigation. The current Washington State water quality standards were approved in 1997 and are described in Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-201A. These standards designate the Tucannon River as Class A (Excellent) water from the mouth to the Umatilla
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