Friends of the Teton River 2015 Water Quality Monitoring Program Report: Upper Teton River Watershed Water quality monitoring remains a critical tool for maintaining and protecting our valuable water resources. Program Introduction Water quality in Teton Valley is an area of strong concern to residents, visitors, natural resource experts, and governmental agencies. Although the rapid rate of growth and development in the Valley has slowed in the past several years, significant concerns remain about the effect of changing land use practices on water quality. Adverse changes in the upper Teton River have been observed over the last several decades, including increased siltation, hydrologic alteration, elevated levels of nitrates, elevated levels of bacteria, and a sharp decline in the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout population. The upper Teton River runs from its headwaters on the western side of the Teton Range in Teton County, Wyoming, through Teton Valley to Highway 33 in Teton County, Idaho. In 1998, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated the upper Teton River (from the headwaters to Highway 33) and many of its tributaries as impaired under Section 303 (d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). EPA listed excessive nutrients, temperature increases, flow alterations, and sedimentation as the causes of impairment. In response to these listings, Friends of the Teton River (FTR) designed and implemented a water quality monitoring program for the upper Teton River watershed in 2001. Initially, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) funded the water quality monitoring program as it collected data from twelve (12) monitoring sites located throughout Teton County, Idaho, and Teton County, Wyoming, at four (4) times per year (see Figure 1 depicting the location of all monitoring sites). In 2005, the Wyoming Teton Conservation District (TCD) also contributed support to the program by providing funding for data collection on the Wyoming tributary sites located in Teton County, Wyoming. The funding originally allocated by IDEQ to the program in Teton County, Idaho, was discontinued due to budgetary cuts within the state in 2009. Since 2009, FTR has solicited private funding to continue the monitoring program in Teton County, Idaho, on a reduced schedule. The reduced schedule provides for data collection from eleven (11) monitoring sites located throughout Teton, County, Idaho, and Teton County, Wyoming, at two (2) times per year. FTR summarizes the data collected by its water quality monitoring program annually and provides its findings to IDEQ, TCD, and the general public upon request. 1 This report contains a summary of FTR’s water quality monitoring program and provides a basic analysis of data collected by the program since its inception in 2001. This report also provides information relevant to the goals of the program, sampling protocols, data analysis, and recommendations for the program’s future. Program Goals The goals of FTR’s water quality monitoring program include: continuing to develop a long-term water quality database for the upper Teton watershed, analyzing and interpreting the results of collected data, and identifying the source(s) of water quality problems. The program’s goals also include designing, implementing, and monitoring the progress of remediation efforts. The program additionally incorporates the following measurable objectives: (1) Produce a set of water quality data for the upper Teton River on an annual basis; (2) Continue to identify seasonal, long-term or other trends in water quality; (3) Continue to identify potential sources of water pollution; (4) Identify sources and remediation strategies for impaired water quality; (5) Work with IDEQ, TCD and other agencies to manage water quality issues; (6) Alert and educate the public about water quality issues; and (7) Provide the public with an accurate assessment of surface water quality. Sampling Program Summary FTR’s water quality monitoring program currently includes eleven (11) sampling sites (see Figure 1 depicting the location of all monitoring sites. Please note that TR-2 is no longer a sampling site). The eleven (11) sampling sites were strategically selected to represent the widest range of hydrologic conditions in Teton Valley as well as potential areas of water quality concern. The sampling sites can be divided into three hydrologic categories. These sites include: (1) three main stem Teton River sites (TR-1, TR-3, TR-4); (2) five valley-floor tributaries or “spring creeks” (Woods Creek (WOODS), Six Springs (SIX), Fish Creek (FISH), lower Fox Creek (FOX-1) and Warm Creek (WARM)); and (3) three headwater-tributary background sites, located on the east side of Teton Valley draining the west slope of the Teton Mountains on United States Forest Service land (including Darby Creek (DAR), Teton Creek (TC-2), and upper Fox Creek (FOX-2)). Table 1 lists the sampling sites by stream and indicates the impairment status of each stream, as required by section 303(d) of the CWA. FTR selected the monitoring sites with the assistance of IDEQ, TCD, US Forest Service, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and the Teton Regional Land Trust. In 2015, FTR continued the program with limited change from previous years with respect to the sampling sites, the measured laboratory parameters, and the measured field parameters. Due to the constraints imposed by limited funding, the 2015 program collected data from the sampling sites on only two occasions, July and October. At each sampling site, samples were collected and laboratory analyzed for total non-filterable residue (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrogen-nitrate/nitrite, ammonia, total phosphorus, and E. coli bacteria. In 2015, the laboratory also tested Woods Creek samples for ortho- phosphorus. The samples included one blank sample and one duplicate sample collected for 2 quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) purposes. The QA/QC sites for 2015 are labeled as TR-2 and FOX-3, respectively. FTR also measured field parameters for dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, pH, temperature and turbidity at each site. FTR staff review all of the field and analytical data generated by each sampling event to ensure that all necessary observations, measurements, and analytical results have been properly measured and recorded. Furthermore, IDEQ peer reviews the results for accuracy and completeness. FTR stores the completed field and analytical data on field data sheets and in spreadsheets. FTR data is available to the general public upon request. Intermountain Analytical Services-EnviroChem (IAS-EnviroChem) in Pocatello, Idaho, analyzes all laboratory samples collected by FTR. Table 2 provides a list of IAS-EnviroChem laboratory parameters, analytical methods, preservation and holding times. Table 3 contains a list of field measurements, equipment, and calibration methods. Evaluation of Results FTR annually prepares graphs depicting concentration and date-of-sampling for selected parameters in order to analyze trends. Particular attention is devoted to pollutants of concern in Woods Creek, such as nitrates, nitrites, E. coli bacteria, and total phosphate and ammonia. The following is a discussion of the water quality monitoring program results for 2015. Nitrate + Nitrite Please refer to the attached concentration vs. date of sampling plots (Figures 1N – 11N) for nitrate and nitrite (NO2 + NO3). 2015 nitrogen levels are generally comparable to those of the past several years. The discussion of each individual sample contains detailed nitrogen information. EPA established recommended nutrient criteria for rivers and streams throughout the various regions of the United States based upon established recommended reference conditions. In southeast Idaho and western Wyoming, the applicable nutrient criteria for nitrates and nitrites is 0.04 mg/L, with reported values ranging from 0.01 mg/L to 7.95 mg/L.1 Nitrogen levels at all of our sampling sites are above EPA’s recommended limit. The lower segment of the Teton River, from Highway 33 to Bitch Creek, is currently listed as nutrient impaired pursuant to section 303(d) of the CWA. In this segment, the Teton River Subbasin Assessment and Total Maximum Daily Load issued by IDEQ in 2003 prohibits target 2 concentrations of dissolved nitrogen (NO2 + NO3 - N) in excess of 0.3 mg/L. Despite the prohibitions imposed by the Teton River Subbasin Assessment and Total Maximum Daily Load, the upper segments of the Teton River (the headwaters to Trail Creek and Trail Creek to Highway 33) are not currently listed as nutrient impaired under section 303(d) of the CWA. 1 This portion of Idaho and Wyoming are included in level III ecoregion 17; The Upper Teton River Basin is located in EPA’s Ecoregion II, which is also known as the Western Forested Mountains region. The ecoregion criteria for the Western Forested Mountains region offers suggested standards for Total Phosphorus, Total Nitrogen, Chlorophyll a, and Turbidity for rivers and streams in the region. The Ambient Water Quality Criteria Recommendations for the Western Forested Mountains region can be reviewed at: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/nutrients/upload/2007_09_27_criteria_nutrient_ecoregion s_rivers_rivers_2.pdf. 2 See, http://www.IDEQ.idaho.gov/media/452220-teton_river_entire.pdf, p. 78. 3 Significantly, nitrogen concentrations in the upper segment of the Teton River often exceed those found downstream in the lower segments. In 2012, IDEQ conducted