Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath River Water Quality Data from Link River Dam to Keno Dam, Oregon, 2008 Open-File Report 2009–1105 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Front cover: Klamath River at Miller Island. (Photograph by Annett Sullivan, U.S. Geological Survey, June 24, 2008) Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath River Water Quality Data from Link River Dam to Keno Dam, Oregon, 2008 By Annett B. Sullivan1, Michael L. Deas2, Jessica Asbill3, Julie D. Kirshtein4, Kenna Butler5, and Jennifer Vaughn2 1U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, Oregon 2Watercourse Engineering, Davis, California 3Bureau of Reclamation, Klamath Falls, Oregon 4U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 5U.S. Geological Survey, Boulder, Colorado Open-File Report 2009-1105 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2009 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Suggested citation: Sullivan, A.B., Deas, M.L., Asbill, J., Kirshtein, J.D., Butler, K., and Vaughn, J., 2009, Klamath River water quality data from Link River Dam to Keno Dam, Oregon, 2008: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2009-1105, 25 p. 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. ii Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Water Quality Sampling .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Site Locations and Sampling Frequency ..................................................................................................................... 4 Sample Collection ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Quality Control Samples ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Water Quality Analytical Methods ................................................................................................................................... 7 Nutrients, Particulate Carbon and Nitrogen, Iron, Silica, and Alkalinity ....................................................................... 7 Dissolved Organic Carbon and Specific UV Absorbance ............................................................................................ 8 Chlorophyll a ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 Phytoplankton Enumeration and Species Identification .............................................................................................. 9 Zooplankton Enumeration and Species Identification ............................................................................................... 10 Bacterial Abundance and Morphology ...................................................................................................................... 11 Water Quality Data Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 12 Quality Control Results ............................................................................................................................................. 12 Lateral Channel Variability ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Particulate and Dissolved Organic Carbon ............................................................................................................... 14 Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Iron ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Phytoplankton Enumeration and Species Identification ............................................................................................ 18 Zooplankton Enumeration and Species Identification ............................................................................................... 20 Bacterial Abundance and Morphology ...................................................................................................................... 21 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................................ 22 References Cited .......................................................................................................................................................... 22 Appendixes ................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Appendix A. Quality Control Data ............................................................................................................................. 25 Appendix B. Water Quality Data ............................................................................................................................... 25 Appendix C. Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Data................................................................................................... 25 Appendix D. Bacteria Data ........................................................................................................................................ 25 iii Figures Figure 1. Map showing study area and location of water quality sampling sites in the upper Klamath River basin, Oregon. ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Stacked charts showing seasonal variation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus species, algal biovolume, zooplankton density, and bacterial biovolume at five mainstem Klamath River, Oregon, sites using median concentrations from all data collected from April through November, 2008. ................................................................ 15 Figure 3. Graphs showing spatial variation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus species, algal biovolume, zooplankton density, and bacterial biovolume at five mainstem Klamath River, Oregon, sites using median concentrations from all data collected from April through November, 2008. ................................................................ 16 Figure 4. Graph showing filtered iron concentrations in samples from the Link River, Oregon, 2008. ........................ 18 Tables Table 1. Mainstem and tributary sampling locations, upper Klamath River basin, Oregon, 2008. ................................. 4 Table 2. Analyzing laboratories and method references for water quality constituents from the upper Klamath River basin, Oregon, 2008. ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Table 3. Analyte reporting levels and blank results from samples collected from the upper Klamath River basin, Oregon, 2008. ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 Table 4. Results of analyses of duplicate quality control samples from the upper Klamath River basin, Oregon, 2008. ............................................................................................................................................................. 13 Table 5. Phytoplankton species identified in samples from the upper Klamath River basin, Oregon, 2008. ............... 19 Table 6. Zooplankton species identified in samples from the upper Klamath River basin, Oregon, 2008. .............. 21 iv Conversion Factors, Datums, Abbreviations, and Acronyms Inch/Pound to SI Multiply By To obtain foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m) mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km) acre-foot (acre-ft) 1,233 cubic meter (m3) SI to Inch/Pound Multiply By To obtain nanometer (nm) 0.00000003937 inch (in.) micrometer (µm) 0.00003937 inch (in.) millimeter (mm) 0.03937 inch (in.) centimeter (cm) 0.3937 inch (in.) meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) liter (L) 0.2642 gallon (gal) cubic centimeter (cm3) 0.06102 cubic inch (in3) cubic meter (m3) 264.2 gallon (gal) cubic meter (m3) 35.31 cubic foot (ft3) Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows: °F=(1.8×°C)+32 Concentrations of chemical constituents in water are given