Characterization of the Lower Willamette Basin, OR Using Arcgis

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Characterization of the Lower Willamette Basin, OR Using Arcgis 2019 Characterization of the Lower Willamette Basin, OR using ArcGIS LAUREN TEZLOFF CE 413, WINTER 2019 MARCH 17, 2019 WEBPAGE: HTTP://ENGR.OREGONSTATE.EDU/~TETZLOFL OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY Page | 1 Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................. 2 Site Description ........................................................................................ 2 Data ........................................................................................................... 4 GIS Methods ............................................................................................ 5 Results & Discussion ............................................................................... 9 HUC-10 and 12 Subwatersheds ................................................................................................................ 9 Flowlines ................................................................................................................................................. 11 Elevation ................................................................................................................................................. 12 Precipitation ............................................................................................................................................ 15 Soil Type Distribution ............................................................................................................................. 17 Identifying Areas of High Runoff Potential ............................................................................................ 20 Appendices ............................................................................................. 22 Page | 2 Introduction Understanding flow distribution, elevation and available water storage within a watershed is important for water resource management. Geographic information systems are one way to effectively display this data both visually and through data tables. This report focuses on the Lower Willamette Basin, a central watershed in the Portland metropolitan area. The objective of this project is two-fold: to build a base dataset in ArcGIS for the Lower Willamette Basin and to identify areas at risk for high runoff rates. The base dataset is designed to characterize the watershed in terms of HUC divisions, flow distribution, elevation, precipitation and hydrologic soil type. The feature classes and rasters created can be used to calculate useful parameters in water resource engineering such as mean annual flow, drainage density, and average precipitation. In addition, comparing data on precipitation and available water storage in soil can help identify areas at risk for drainage and/or flooding issues. This can be further investigated to determine improvements in stormwater infrastructure (i.e. bioswales) and to prioritize drainage infrastructure projects which prevent these areas from becoming problematic. Site Description Figure 1. Location of Lower Willamette Basin in Oregon and Washington, U.S (with ESRI imagery basemap). The Lower Willamette Basin (HUC-8 17090012), located near Portland, OR (see Figures 1 and 2). This watershed is approximately 644 square miles and collects water from four local Page | 3 counties: Columbia, Multnomah, Clark and Clackamas. Main bodies of water in this watershed include the Willamette River, Columbia River, Scappoose Creek and Johnson Creek. 90% of the watershed is privately owned and mostly comprised of forests (40%), water/wetlands (37%) and grain crops/pastures (10%) (USDA NRCS, 2005). Local agricultural practices strongly influences water quality in this watershed. The Lower Willamette Watershed has diverse topography, with the coastal cascades on its western border (approx. 1,500-2,000 ft in elevation), the western cascades in the southeast of the basin (approx. 5,000-6,000 ft in elevation) and a combination of Willamette Valley plains (100-300 ft in elevation) and Willamette Valley foothills (1,000-2,000 ft in elevation) between the two cascades. The majority of the watershed receives an average of 39-51” of precipitation per year (Uhrich, M., and Wentz, D., 1999) Figure 2. Map of the Lower Willamette Basin, which includes the major cities of Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA (with ESRI imagery basemap). Page | 4 Data All data was projected to NAD 1983 State Plane Oregon North FIPS 3601, which is a Lambert Conic projection in units of U.S. feet. WBD Snapshot (NHD subwatershed data) • Source: NHDPlus (http://horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV2_17.php) • Coordinates: Geographic Coordinates, NAD 1983 • This vector dataset provides the HUC-8, HUC-10 and HUC-12 subwatersheds in the Pacific Northwest. The data was projected in NHD Snapshot (NHD flowline data) • Source: NHDPlus (http://horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV2_17.php) • Coordinates: Geographic Coordinates, NAD 1983 • This vector dataset provides flowlines throughout the Pacific Northwest. EROM Extension (NHD Extended Runoff Method data) • Source: NHDPlus (http://horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV2_17.php) • This data table includes flowline identification (COMID, ReachCodes) for the Pacific Northwest region. It also includes calculated mean annual flow per flowline segment, denoted by COMID. Oregon Digital Elevation Model • Source: Oregon Geospatial Data Gateway • Coordinates: Geographic Coordinates, NAD 1983 • This 10-m raster contains elevation data across Oregon. The raster was masked to the Oregon-portion of the Lower Willamette Basin, projected in North Oregon State Plane coordinates and was used for slope and terrain analysis. Precipitation data • Source: PRISM Climate Group (http://www.prism.oregonstate.edu/normals/) • Coordinates: Geographic Coordinates, NAD 1983 • This 800-m raster contains annual precipitation data across the United States, as averaged over the period of 1981-2010. The raster was masked to the Lower Willamette Basin, projected in North Oregon State Plane coordinates and was used for precipitation analysis. Soil data • Source: SSURGO (https://esri.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=cdc49bd63ea54dd2977f3f285 3e07fff) • Coordinates: Geographic Coordinates, NAD 1983 • This shapefile describes the type of soil located within the Lower Willamette Basin. It also includes water storage data (0-150 cm), meaning the amount of water that can be stored in the top 1.5 m of soil. Page | 5 GIS Methods HUC-10 and 12 Subwatersheds The very first step was to create a geodatabase in the Catalog. Within the geodatabase, a base dataset was created, where all shapefiles will be saved. After adding the WBD shapefile in ArcMaps, the ‘Select by Attributes’ tool was used to isolate the Lower Willamette Basin (HUC-8 17090012), as Figure 3 illustrates below. Figure 3. Using the ‘Select by Attributes’ tool to isolate a HUC-8 watershed from the WBD shapefile from NHDPlus. The isolated layer displayed the HUC-10 and HUC-12 subwatersheds only within the Lower Willamette Basin. A basin boundary was then created using the ‘dissolve’ tool based on the HUC-8 field in the Watershed layer, creating a new feature class. Both layers were projected into NAD 1983 State Plane Oregon North FIPS 3601 coordinates using the ‘Project’ tool. The resulting map is shown below in Figure 4. Figure 4. Map of the Lower Willamette Basin showing the five HUC-10 subwatersheds and 17 HUC-12 subwatersheds. Page | 6 The acreage for each HUC-12 subwatershed was then extracted from the attribute table of the Watershed layer. Additionally, the ‘Symbology’ tab under Properties was used to display the watershed according to HUC-10 and HUC-12 subwatershed boundaries. The ESRI topography basemap was added for context. Flowlines NHD Snapshot shapefile was uploaded on top of the Watershed layer. ‘Select by Location’ was then used with the NHD shapefile as the target layer and the basin boundary feature class as the source layer to select only the streams within the Lower Willamette Basin. By exporting the selected data, I was able to create a new feature class of flowlines and add the layer to the map. This shapefile was then projected into NAD 1983 State Plane Oregon North FIPS 3601 coordinates using the ‘Project’ tool. Drainage density was calculated by dividing the statistical sum of the ‘LengthKM’ column in the Flowlines attribute table by the statistical sum of the ‘Acreage’ column in the Watershed attribute table. Next, the EROM_Extension file was joined with the NHD flowline attribute table by linking COMIDs. The COMID is an NHD naming system that uniquely identifies each flowline. This process allowed the mean annual flow to be copied from the EROM_Extension file and pasted in the flowlines attribute table by use of ‘Field Calculator’. The symbology was changed to graduated symbols, setting the value field to mean annual flow. The resulting map displays the distribution and degree of flow denoted by line weight. Major waterbodies were then labeled using the ‘Callout’ feature of the Drawing toolbox. To analyze the mean annual flow while excluding the major flows, the ‘Select by Attributes’ tool was used to select all flowlines other than the Columbia River, Willamette River and Columbia Slough (see Figure 5). Figure 5. Using the ‘Select by Attributes’ tool to select all flowlines other than the Columbia River, Willamette River and Columbia Slough. Page | 7 Elevation The Oregon DEM was masked to the Lower Willamette Basin by using the ‘Extract by Mask’ tool with the projected Watershed layer as
Recommended publications
  • Geologic Map of the Sauvie Island Quadrangle, Multnomah and Columbia Counties, Oregon, and Clark County, Washington
    Geologic Map of the Sauvie Island Quadrangle, Multnomah and Columbia Counties, Oregon, and Clark County, Washington By Russell C. Evarts, Jim E. O'Connor, and Charles M. Cannon Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3349 2016 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. Suggested citation: Evarts, R.C., O'Connor, J.E., and Cannon, C.M., 2016, Geologic map of the Sauvie Island quadrangle, Multnomah and Columbia Counties, Oregon, and Clark County, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3349, scale 1:24,000, pamphlet 34 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3349. ISSN 2329-132X (online) Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Overview
    HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT The following is a brief history of Oregon City. The intent is to provide a general overview, rather than a comprehensive history. Setting Oregon City, the county seat of Clackamas County, is located southeast of Portland on the east side of the Willamette River, just below the falls. Its unique topography includes three terraces, which rise above the river, creating an elevation range from about 50 feet above sea level at the riverbank to more than 250 feet above sea level on the upper terrace. The lowest terrace, on which the earliest development occurred, is only two blocks or three streets wide, but stretches northward from the falls for several blocks. Originally, industry was located primarily at the south end of Main Street nearest the falls, which provided power. Commercial, governmental and social/fraternal entities developed along Main Street north of the industrial area. Religious and educational structures also appeared along Main Street, but tended to be grouped north of the commercial core. Residential structures filled in along Main Street, as well as along the side and cross streets. As the city grew, the commercial, governmental and social/fraternal structures expanded northward first, and with time eastward and westward to the side and cross streets. Before the turn of the century, residential neighborhoods and schools were developing on the bluff. Some commercial development also occurred on this middle terrace, but the business center of the city continued to be situated on the lower terrace. Between the 1930s and 1950s, many of the downtown churches relocated to the bluff as well.
    [Show full text]
  • Timing of In-Water Work to Protect Fish and Wildlife Resources
    OREGON GUIDELINES FOR TIMING OF IN-WATER WORK TO PROTECT FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES June, 2008 Purpose of Guidelines - The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, (ODFW), “The guidelines are to assist under its authority to manage Oregon’s fish and wildlife resources has updated the following guidelines for timing of in-water work. The guidelines are to assist the the public in minimizing public in minimizing potential impacts to important fish, wildlife and habitat potential impacts...”. resources. Developing the Guidelines - The guidelines are based on ODFW district fish “The guidelines are based biologists’ recommendations. Primary considerations were given to important fish species including anadromous and other game fish and threatened, endangered, or on ODFW district fish sensitive species (coded list of species included in the guidelines). Time periods were biologists’ established to avoid the vulnerable life stages of these fish including migration, recommendations”. spawning and rearing. The preferred work period applies to the listed streams, unlisted upstream tributaries, and associated reservoirs and lakes. Using the Guidelines - These guidelines provide the public a way of planning in-water “These guidelines provide work during periods of time that would have the least impact on important fish, wildlife, and habitat resources. ODFW will use the guidelines as a basis for the public a way of planning commenting on planning and regulatory processes. There are some circumstances where in-water work during it may be appropriate to perform in-water work outside of the preferred work period periods of time that would indicated in the guidelines. ODFW, on a project by project basis, may consider variations in climate, location, and category of work that would allow more specific have the least impact on in-water work timing recommendations.
    [Show full text]
  • Apology to the Willamette River
    AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Abby P. Metzger for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Science presented on May 4, 2011. Title: Meander Scars: Reflections on Healing a River Abstract approved: _____________________________________________________________________ Kathleen Dean Moore As Europeans settled the Willamette Valley in the 1800s, they began to simplify Oregon’s largest river contained wholly within state borders—the Willamette. The river lost miles of channels from dikes, dams, and development. Some channels vanished under concrete. Others became meander scars, or shallow, dry depression in the land where the river used to wander. Besides being a geological feature, meander scars are reminders of the wounds of progress and our attempts to control the river. Through a series of personal essays, this book reflects on whether something scarred can once again be whole. It explores a simple question with no single answer: How can we heal a river while healing our relationship to it? The book begins with the history of the Willamette, when it was wild and free, and then moves into all the ways we simplified and left it scarred. The story then reflects on what we might value in healing a river—values such as the complexity of the water’s many truths; values of memories and stories that hold the history of a landscape before it was degraded; and values even of grief and danger, which bring us closer to places in unexpected ways. The final reach of the book explores the role of restoration in healing the Willamette—whether working to repair the earth compensates for our misdeeds, and whether restoration is a reflexive act in which participant and landscape are both made anew.
    [Show full text]
  • A Wild in the City Ramble Lowe R Willamette River Loop Sellwood Riverfront Park to Oregon City Fa Lls
    Bike A Wild in the City Ramble Lower Willamette River Loop Sellwood Riverfront Park to Oregon City Falls Before setting out on this twenty-five-mile loop ride, Sellwood Riverfront Park 1 is worth a brief look. When I visited the site with Portland Park staff in the early 1980s, it was a heap of Himalayan-blackberry-covered sawdust, having once been an old mill site. It’s a tribute to the landscape architects who transformed a truly ugly landscape into a fine neighborhood park and a great place to access the Willamette. The funky little wetland feature in the park’s northeast corner, abutting the black cottonwood forest, has a short boardwalk from which you can see native wetland plants like spirea, blue elderberry, creek dogwood, willow, and wapato, and kids can catch polliwogs. Green heron sometimes skulk about looking for frogs, one of which is the rare north- ern red-legged frog (Rana aurora). From the park, I jump on the Springwater on the Willamette trail and head out to Milwaukie and the Jefferson Street Boat Ramp 2 , where there are great views of the Johnson Creek confluence with the Willamette River 3 and a distant view of Elk Rock Island. The route south is along the paved bicycle-pedestrian path that winds riverward of the Kellogg Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The short path abruptly dumps you onto SE 19th Avenue and SE Eagle Street. Ride straight south to SE Sparrow Street. All the streets in this quiet neighborhood are named after birds. At the end of Sparrow Street is the entrance to Milwaukie’s Spring Park 4 and access to Elk Rock Island.
    [Show full text]
  • Oregon Geography
    Oregon Geography 4th Grade Social Studies Medford School District 549c Created by: Anna Meunier and Sarah Flora Oregon Geography 4th Grade Social Studies Medford School District 549c Table of Contents Oregon Geography Unit Syllabus ........................................................................ 1 Oregon Geography Unit Objectives ..................................................................... 2 Oregon Geography Unit Lesson Plans.................................................................. 3 Print Shop Order ................................................................................................. 4 Oregon Geography Unit Lessons ......................................................................... 6 Oregon Geography Daily Lessons ...................................................................... 19 Lesson #1 ........................................................................................................................................ Lessons #2 & #3 .............................................................................................................................. Lesson #4 ........................................................................................................................................ Lesson #5 ........................................................................................................................................ Lesson #6 .......................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bookletchart™ Port of Portland, Including Vancouver NOAA Chart 18526
    BookletChart™ Port of Portland, Including Vancouver NOAA Chart 18526 A reduced-scale NOAA nautical chart for small boaters When possible, use the full-size NOAA chart for navigation. Included Area Published by the River, empties into the Willamette about 0.4 (0.5) mile above its mouth. Least depth in the slough is usually less than 2 feet. A dam has been National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration constructed across the slough about 7.3 miles above the mouth. National Ocean Service In the vicinity of Post Office Bar Range, 2 (2.4) miles above the mouth of Office of Coast Survey Willamette River, deep-draft vessels favor the W side of the river, while smaller vessels and tows prefer the E side because of lesser current. www.NauticalCharts.NOAA.gov Portland, on Willamette River about 9 (10.4) miles from its mouth, is 888-990-NOAA one of the major ports on the Pacific coast. The port has several deep- draft piers and wharves on both sides of the Willamette River between What are Nautical Charts? its junction with the Columbia and Ross Island. In addition there are extensive facilities for small vessels and barges S of Hawthorne Bridge Nautical charts are a fundamental tool of marine navigation. They show and at North Portland Harbor, S of Hayden Island. water depths, obstructions, buoys, other aids to navigation, and much The Port of Portland created by the State in 1891, is controlled by a Port more. The information is shown in a way that promotes safe and Commission and administered by an executive director.
    [Show full text]
  • (Resource) Presented on April
    AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Webb Sterling Bauer for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (Resource)presented on April 18, 1980 Title: A Case Analysis of Oregon's Willainette River Greenway Program Abstract approved: Dr. Keith W. Muckleston The Willamette River Greenway Program was created by an act of the Oregon Legislature in 1968 and modified by a second act in 1973. The purpose of the program was to protect the natural environment of the river from approximately the foot of the Cascade Range near Eugene, north to the Columbia River confluence, a river distance of 204 miles; while opening up additional parts of the river environment for outdoor recreation use. From its inception the Willamette River Greenway Program was immersed in controversy. Rural property owners along the river objected to the program chiefly on account of its provision for public outdoor recreation. Urban dwellers tended to support the goals of the program. However, even in their case objections were raised regarding limitations on industrial development and urban expansion along the river. This thesis examines the Willamette River Greenway Program from the middle l960s, when the idea for a greenway was first proposed, through December 31, 1978. Specific questions addressed by this thesis are (1) How and why did the program develop as it did? (2) What were the major issues? How were these issues resolved? (3) Who were the principal actors?What were their roles? (4) How might the program have been (and still be) improved to bring about a greater realization
    [Show full text]
  • The Original Tualatins
    PAGE X JULY 2013 The Original Tualatins BY: MARY FRENCH for its abundance of wapato, the tubers of Although we do not know “Then Chief Ki-a-kuts (KáyaKach)Ó Ó said, he told which were an important Native staple food.” what the exact population General Palmer, “alright, General Palmer, I’ll number of Tualatin give you my land now.” Although the Tualatin Kalapuya did not have Kalapuya was before the villages in what we now consider downtown white settlers arrived, it General Palmer said, “three years you [will] Tualatin, the members probably did utilize the has been estimated that stay on your land. Then I will move you to Grand land for hunting and fishing, and paddled their “14,000 Kalapuya lived in Ronde. That’s where your land [for] all time will canoes upon the Tualatin River to places such the Willamette River Valley, be. For twenty years I will give you: cattle, horses, as Willamette Falls – one of the most important its tributary valleys, and money, guns, blankets, coats; everything you trading centers of the region. the Umpqua River tributary need.” valleys”. Tragically, these “Each summer, thousands of people came numbers were decimated “Alright, we will take your word [for it]. You are to the trade fairs. These were festive events through disease in the late an honest man, you, General Palmer. You will take where fairgoers feasted, socialized, gossiped, 1700s. Small pox, malaria, care of us.” and exchanged information. It was through and influenza took their the trade network that the Kalapuya learned toll, so much so that by “Sure, all [of it] you will get, [every]thing that I about Euro-Americans many years before they 1840 it is estimated that the said to you.” actually arrived in the region.
    [Show full text]
  • Oregon City by Val Ballestrem Oregon City Was the First Incorporated City West of the Rocky Mountains and a Main Terminus of the Oregon Trail
    Oregon City By Val Ballestrem Oregon City was the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains and a main terminus of the Oregon Trail. Its historic center is along the east bank of the Willamette River, at the base of Willamette Falls. Oregon City is the seat of Clackamas County government and is known for its one-of-a-kind municipal elevator, the McLoughlin House, early hydroelectric power, and its pulp and paper and woolen mills. For thousands of years, the area below Willamette Falls was home to the Clackamas Indians and was an important gathering place and fishing center. Salmon, steelhead, and lamprey in the river attracted Native fishers, including the Multnomah, Wasco, Tualatin, and Molala, who traded with the Clackamas for fish and fishing rights. White fur trappers first explored the area near Willamette Falls in 1811. After the British-Canadian Hudson’s Bay Company in 1824 established Fort Vancouver, about twenty-five miles to the north on the Columbia River, Chief Factor John McLoughlin showed interest in land at the base of the falls. In 1829, he claimed two square miles at the site and built three houses and a millrace, establishing the first permanent white settlement in the Willamette Valley. McLoughlin encouraged white traders, missionaries, and emigrants to settle in the valley, and some set up residence at Willamette Falls, strengthening the American presence there. He platted the town of Willamette Falls in 1842, and Oregon’s Provisional Government incorporated it as Oregon City two years later. The early town was built on a strip of land between Willamette Falls and Abernethy Creek to the north, the Willamette River to the west, and Singer Hill Bluff, rising one hundred feet or more, to the east.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction To
    Land Use Planning Division 1600 SE 190th Ave, Ste 116 Portland OR 97233 Ph: 503-988-3043 Fax: 503-988-3389 multco.us/landuse to Multnomah County Land Use Planning Division. Our planning staff is here to assist you in understanding rules for developing property and to help you tailor your project to meet them. As part of that effort, we have developed a series of handouts to explain the development standards and processes that you will need to follow. This handout explains what is required to develop within the Willamette River Greenway (WRG). In addition to this introductory sheet, we have prepared a worksheet to help you prepare your Greenway application. What is the Willamette River Greenway Overlay? What is in this handout? One of the principles of land use planning in Oregon is Goal 15, the Willamette • What is a Willamette River Greenway? River Greenway Goal, established in 1975. The goal is to protect, conserve, • When is the permit enhance and maintain the natural, scenic, historical, agricultural, economic and required? recreation qualities of lands along the Willamette River. The state of Oregon • How do I apply? determined what land is inside the Willamette River Greenway, which is reflected on the Multnomah County zoning maps. It is possible that your property is within this greenway zone if it is in close proximity to the Willamette River or Multnomah Channel. When Is a Permit Required? A Greenway permit is required for development in the zone district. There are some exceptions, including certain activities accessory to a primary use. Please speak with our planning staff if you have questions about whether or not you need a permit.
    [Show full text]
  • Department of Energy
    Department of Energy Bonneville Power Administration P.O. Box 3621 Portland, Oregon 97208-3621 ENVIRONMENT, FISH AND WILDLIFE July 15, 2015 In reply refer to: KEC-4 To: Parties Interested in the Proposed Atfalati Pairie Land Acquisition under the 2010 Willamette Wildlife Habitat Agreement The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) intends to fund the purchase of approximately 213 acres of floodplain, riparian and wet prairie habitats, located along the Tualatin River in Washington County, Oregon state. When the purchase is complete Columbia Land Trust will own and manage the property for fish and wildlife conservation purposes and BPA will receive a conservation easement to ensure that the habitat values on the property are always protected. BPA is sending this letter to inform nearby residents and other interested parties of this land purchase. Funding this land purchase partially fulfills commitments made by BPA in the 2010 “Willamette River Basin Memorandum of Agreement Regarding Wildlife Habitat Protection and Enhancement between the State of Oregon and the Bonneville Power Administration.” This is part of ongoing efforts to mitigate for the impacts to fish and wildlife from the construction and operation of federal flood control and hydroelectric facilities in the Willamette River Basin. When the transaction is complete, this property will become one of a growing network of conservation lands in the Willamette Valley providing important and long lasting fish and wildlife habitat benefits. Conserving habitat on the Tualatin River property also partially fulfills BPA’s habitat restoration and protection responsibilities under the Willamette Project Biological Opinions (NMFS 2008, USFWS 2008). Enclosed you will find a map detailing this land transaction.
    [Show full text]