Little Spokane River Watershed Dissolved Oxygen and pH Total Maximum Daily Load Study Water Quality Study Design (Quality Assurance Project Plan) August 2010 Publication No. 10-03-113 Publication and Contact Information This plan is available on the Department of Ecology’s website at www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/1003113.html Authors: Joe Joy, phone 360-407-6486; Scott Tarbutton, phone 509-329-3453. Communication Consultant: phone 360-407-6834. Washington State Department of Ecology - www.ecy.wa.gov/ o Headquarters, Olympia 360-407-6000 o Northwest Regional Office, Bellevue 425-649-7000 o Southwest Regional Office, Olympia 360-407-6300 o Central Regional Office, Yakima 509-575-2490 o Eastern Regional Office, Spokane 509-329-3400 Study Codes Data for this project are available at Ecology’s Environmental Information Management (EIM) website at www.ecy.wa.gov/eim/index.htm. Search User Study ID is jjoy0007. Activity Tracker Code (Environmental Assessment Program) is 11-014. TMDL Study Code (Water Quality Program) is LSRW55DO. Federal Clean Water Act 2008 303(d) Listings Addressed in this Study Little Spokane River (WA-55-1010) Deadman Creek (WA-55-1011) Dragoon Creek (WA-55-1012 Cover photo: Ecology Ambient Site 55B100: Little Spokane River above Deadman Creek. Any use of product or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the author or the Department of Ecology. To ask about the availability of this document in a format for the visually impaired, call 360-407-6834. Persons with hearing loss can call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability can call 877-833-6341. Little Spokane River Watershed Dissolved Oxygen and pH Total Maximum Daily Load Study Water Quality Study Design (Quality Assurance Project Plan) August 2010 Approved by: Signature: Date: July 2010 Karin Baldwin, Client, WQP, Eastern Regional Office Signature: Date: July 2010 Dave Knight, Client’s Unit Supervisor, WQP, Eastern Regional Office Signature: Date: July 2010 Jim Bellatty, Client’s Section Manager, WQP, Eastern Regional Office Signature: Date: July 2010 Joe Joy, Author / Project Manager, EOS, EAP Signature: Date: July 2010 Scott Tarbutton, Author / Principal Investigator, EOS, EAP Signature: Date: July 2010 Dan Sherratt, EIM Data Engineer, EOS, EAP Signature: Date: July 2010 Gary Arnold, Author’s Section Manager, EOS, EAP Signature: Date: August 2010 Stuart Magoon, Director, Manchester Environmental Laboratory Signature: Date: August 2010 Bill Kammin, Ecology Quality Assurance Officer Signatures are not available on the Internet version. WQP - Water Quality Program EOS – Eastern Operations Section EAP - Environmental Assessment Program EIM - Environmental Information Management system Page 1 Table of Contents Page List of Figures ......................................................................................................................4 List of Tables .......................................................................................................................5 Abstract ................................................................................................................................6 What is a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)? ...............................................................7 Federal Clean Water Act requirements ..........................................................................7 TMDL process overview ...............................................................................................8 Who should participate in this TMDL? .........................................................................8 Clean Water Act requirements in a TMDL ....................................................................8 Why is Ecology Conducting a TMDL Study in This Watershed?....................................11 Background ..................................................................................................................11 Study area.....................................................................................................................13 Impairments addressed by this TMDL ........................................................................13 How will the results of this study be used?..................................................................14 Water Quality Standards and Numeric Targets .................................................................15 Dissolved oxygen .........................................................................................................15 pH .................................................................................................................................16 Nutrients .......................................................................................................................17 Watershed Description .......................................................................................................19 Geographic setting .......................................................................................................19 Climate .........................................................................................................................19 Little Spokane River sub-watersheds...........................................................................20 Groundwater ................................................................................................................21 Surface water ...............................................................................................................22 Potential pollutant sources ...........................................................................................23 Historical Data Review ......................................................................................................25 Dissolved oxygen results .............................................................................................25 pH results .....................................................................................................................26 Nutrient results .............................................................................................................27 Goals and Objectives .........................................................................................................31 Goals ............................................................................................................................31 Objectives ....................................................................................................................31 Study Design ......................................................................................................................32 Overview ......................................................................................................................32 Modeling and analysis framework ...............................................................................32 Synoptic surveys ..........................................................................................................34 Additional data collection ............................................................................................36 Sampling Procedures .........................................................................................................38 Collection .....................................................................................................................38 Documentation .............................................................................................................40 Page 2 Measurement Procedures ...................................................................................................41 Quality Objectives .............................................................................................................42 Measurement quality objectives ..................................................................................42 Quality objectives for modeling or other analysis .......................................................45 Quality Control Procedures................................................................................................46 Field and laboratory .....................................................................................................46 Data Management Procedures ...........................................................................................48 Audits and Reports .............................................................................................................48 Data Verification and Validation .......................................................................................49 Data Quality (Usability Assessment) .................................................................................50 Study data usability ......................................................................................................50 Usability of results from modeling or other analysis ...................................................50 Project Organization ..........................................................................................................52 Project Schedule.................................................................................................................53 Laboratory Budget .............................................................................................................54 References ..........................................................................................................................55