A Water Quality Investigation of Seventeen Grand Canyon Tributaries: July 2004 – May 2005
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A WATER QUALITY INVESTIGATION OF SEVENTEEN GRAND CANYON TRIBUTARIES: JULY 2004 – MAY 2005 i A Water Quality Investigation of Seventeen Grand Canyon Tributaries: July 2004 – May 2005 ______________________________________________________________________________ Prepared by Division of Water Surface Water Section Monitoring Unit 1110 W. Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Lin Lawson, Editor Contributors Lee Johnson Jason Jones Doug McCarty Kyle Palmer Steven Pawlowski Sam Rector Patti Spindler Roland Williams The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality shall preserve, protect and enhance the environment and public health, and shall be a leader in the development of public policy to maintain and improve the quality of Arizona’s air, land and water resources. Printed on recycled paper Publication Number OFR-07-04 i A Water Quality Investigation of Seventeen Grand Canyon Tributaries: July 2004 – May 2005 ______________________________________________________________________________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report could not have been written without the hard work and dedication of the following ADEQ staff who worked on the field crews in the heat of the summer and in the cold rains of winter: Roland Williams, Lee Johnson, Doug McCarty, Kyle Palmer, Sam Rector, Patti Spindler, Susan Fitch, Amanda Fawley, Jennifer Hickman, Jason Sutter, Steve Pawlowski, Marty Schlein, and Andy Salmon. This report would not have been written without the work of Lin Lawson, our editor-in-chief. We’d like to express our thanks to Dr. Emma Benanati, research coordinator at the Grand Canyon National Park Research Office for her assistance in obtaining the necessary Scientific Research and Collecting Permit for this research and for her help on the river. A special thanks goes to Dr. Joseph Shannon, Merriam-Powell Center for Education and Research, at Northern Arizona University for the logistical support, technical advice, and his skills as a professional boatman and river trip leader. It simply would not have been possible to conduct this research without his assistance and leadership. This research was funded by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. We are grateful to ADEQ management for approving the funding for this data collection effort. A special thanks goes to Karen Smith, former Director of the Water Quality Division and Linda Taunt, current Deputy Director of the Water Quality Division for their support for this project. ii A Water Quality Investigation of Seventeen Grand Canyon Tributaries: July 2004 – May 2005 ______________________________________________________________________________ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The water quality of 17 Colorado River tributaries within Grand Canyon National Park was sampled quarterly from July 2004 through May 2005. Water sample analyses included nutrients, inorganics, suspended sediment concentration, turbidity, Escherichia coli bacteria, total and dissolved metals and trace metals. The water quality of 16 of the tributaries is considered to be good with few exceedences of the state’s water quality standards. An exceedence of the Human Health standard for arsenic occurred once at Crystal Creek. Selenium occurred infrequently with no exceedences of water quality standards. Trace metal sampling revealed three exceedences of the Human Health standard for lead; once at Kanab Creek and twice at the Paria River. There were no exceedences for copper and mercury. Nutrient levels at all sites were generally low except for the Paria River which had high concentrations of phosphorus and organic nitrogen. Suspended sediment fractions were related to rim origin and distance from source water. The Paria River consistently had high turbidity measurements. The presence of E. coli bacteria was minimal and within normal background levels at all tributaries except for the Paria River which had consistently high colony counts and exceedences of the acute and chronic E. coli water quality standards. Loadings of selected parameters at all sample sites were calculated to determine loading contributions to the Colorado River. The Paria River is contributing sizable and sometimes substantial amounts of arsenic, selenium, copper, lead, mercury, nitrogen, phosphorus, total suspended sediments, and E. coli bacteria. Macroinvertebrates were sampled in the spring of 2005 from 13 sites in 12 of the tributaries. However, the samples were classified as “compromised” due to natural flooding conditions at time of sampling and are considered unacceptable for 305(b)/303(d) assessments and listing purposes. Results presented in the report are for informational purposes only. Data revealed that all but one tributary had low macroinvertebrate Index of Biological Integrity scores which cannot be related to water quality but did validate flooding disturbance. iii A Water Quality Investigation of Seventeen Grand Canyon Tributaries: July 2004 – May 2005 ______________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................... iii Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents...........................................................................................................................1 Tables.............................................................................................................................................2 Figures............................................................................................................................................3 Appendices.....................................................................................................................................4 Introduction....................................................................................................................................5 Purpose and Scope ...................................................................................................................5 Sampling Design......................................................................................................................6 Sampling sites..........................................................................................................................6 Sampling Duration and Frequency ..........................................................................................8 Target analytes.........................................................................................................................9 Sample Methods...........................................................................................................................10 Water Quality of Grand Canyon Tributaries ...............................................................................11 Water Types – Ionic Composition .........................................................................................12 Arizona Water Quality Standards ..........................................................................................15 Ambient Surface Water Metals..............................................................................................15 Arsenic (As).....................................................................................................................15 Selenium (Se)...................................................................................................................20 Trace Metal Sampling – Copper, Lead, and Mercury .....................................................22 Copper (Cu)...............................................................................................................23 Lead (Pb)....................................................................................................................24 Mercury (Hg).............................................................................................................25 Conclusions – Trace Metals.......................................................................................27 Nutrients.................................................................................................................................29 Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC)............................................................................35 Turbidity ................................................................................................................................38 Bacteria ..................................................................................................................................41 Results..............................................................................................................................41 Conclusions......................................................................................................................42 Bioassessments and Habitat Assessments of Colorado River Tributary Streams .......................43 Background............................................................................................................................43 Methods and Study Area........................................................................................................44 Overall Bioassessment Results ..............................................................................................45 Geographic Analysis of Biological Results ...........................................................................49