Hudson Basin River Watch Guidance Document helping to coordinate monitoring of freshwater wadeable rivers throughout the watershed Revised Draft Summer 2004 Primary Authors: SHARON BEHAR: River Network MARTHA CHEO: Hudson Basin River Watch Collaborators: BOB ALPERN, AMY WATERMAN AND CHARLIE OLSON: NYC DEP DAVE BURNS: Dutchess Co. EMC CAMILLA CALHOUN: Earthworks, LLC ROD CHRISTIE: Mianus River Gorge Preserve GEOFF DATES: River Network JEFF MYERS AND ROBERT BODE: NYS DEC Division of Water STEVE PENNINGROTH: Community Science Institute, Inc. DOUG REED: Hudson Basin River Watch The development of this document was made possible with funds from the Hudson River Improvement Fund and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Copyright © June 2000 by River Network River Network Mission Statement: to help people understand, protect and restore rivers and their watersheds River Network - River Watch Program 153 State Street Montpelier, VT 05602 802/223-3840 Hudson Basin River Watch Mission Statement: to improve the water quality of the Hudson River and all its tributaries through education, community involvement, and stewardship Hudson Basin River Watch 3570 Route 29 East Greenwich, NY 12865 Doug Reed 518/677-5029 www.hudsonbasin.org Permission to copy this document may be obtained by contacting Doug Reed at Hudson Basin River Watch. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT HBRW What is HBRW?................................ ................................................................................. 1 HBRW Regional Coordinators.......... ................................................................................. 4 School and Citizen Groups................ ................................................................................. 6 OVERVIEW OF MONITORING METHODS Goals.................................................. ................................................................................. 7 How to Use this Guidance Document ................................................................................. 9 Overview of Tiered Protocols ........... ............................................................................... 10 Overview of QAQC Guidelines ........ ............................................................................... 12 DESIGNING YOUR RIVER STUDY What is a Study Design? ................... ............................................................................... 13 Study Design Steps............................ ............................................................................... 14 Types of Studies................................ ............................................................................... 18 Study Design Questions and Indicators to Study.............................................................. 19 Monitoring Program Cover Sheet ..... ............................................................................... 28 Study Design Worksheet .................. ............................................................................... 29 Watershed Inventory Checklist ......... ............................................................................... 32 NYS River Classification & Water Quality Standards ..................................................... 34 NYS DEC Water Quality Reports..... ............................................................................... 35 NYS DEC Regional Offices.............. ............................................................................... 36 SAFETY ...................................................... ............................................................................... 37 PHYSICAL SURVEY Overview ........................................... ............................................................................... 39 Equipment and Materials Needed for Physical Surveys ................................................... 41 Tier 1 Physical / Habitat Survey ....... ............................................................................... 42 Tiers 2 & 3 Physical Survey / Habitat Assessment........................................................... 44 Site Drawing...................................... ............................................................................... 46 Stream Bottom Survey ...................... ............................................................................... 47 Flow Worksheet ................................ ............................................................................... 48 BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE (BMI) SAMPLING & ANALYSIS Overview ........................................... ............................................................................... 49 Collecting BMI Samples ................... ............................................................................... 52 Equipment for BMI Sampling and Analysis..................................................................... 54 QAQC................................................ ............................................................................... 54 BMI Sample Sheet ............................ ............................................................................... 58 BMI Data Reporting Sheet................ ............................................................................... 59 Analyzing BMI Samples ................... ............................................................................... 60 Tier 1 Screening Criteria for Non-Impacted Streams ....................................................... 61 Tiers 2 & 3 BMI Sorting (& EPT Richness) Worksheet................................................... 65 Tier 2 Major Group Biotic Index Worksheet.................................................................... 68 Tier 2 Major Group Percent Composition and Model Affinity Worksheet...................... 69 Tier 2 Major Group Percent Similarity Worksheet........................................................... 71 Tier 3 Family Level Data Sheet…………........................................................................ 74 BMI Data Interpretation………………............................................................................ 76 References for BMI Identification.... ............................................................................... 80 CHEMICAL INDICATORS Collecting Water Samples................. ............................................................................... 81 Analyzing Water Samples................. ............................................................................... 83 QAQC................................................ ............................................................................... 84 Overview of Chemical Sample Analysis Methods ........................................................... 87 Chemical Sample Sheet..................... ............................................................................... 88 Chemical Data Reporting Sheet ........ ............................................................................... 89 Shelf Life of Reagents....................... ............................................................................... 90 Chemical Data Interpretation ............ ............................................................................... 91 Data Analysis Worksheet (Water Quality Standards Survey)........................................... 93 pH...................................................... ............................................................................... 95 Alkalinity........................................... ............................................................................... 99 Dissolved Oxygen ............................. ..............................................................................104 Nitrate-Nitrogen ................................ ..............................................................................110 Orthophosphate ................................. ..............................................................................116 Conductivity ...................................... ..............................................................................122 Turbidity............................................ ..............................................................................124 REPORTING AND USING DATA Data for DEC Use ............................. ............................................................................. 129 Reporting Your Data ......................... ............................................................................. 130 PWL Worksheet ................................ ............................................................................. 131 Stewardship Project Ideas ................. ............................................................................. 134 Using Data at the Local Level........... ............................................................................. 135 EQUIPMENT LIST...................................... ............................................................................. 137 ABOUT HUDSON BASIN RIVER WATCH What is Hudson Basin River Watch? Hudson Basin River Watch (HBRW) is a volunteer river monitoring network. The mission is to improve the water quality of the Hudson River and all its tributaries through education, community involvement, and stewardship. The vision is ecological integrity for the whole watershed from Mt. Marcy