Prepared in cooperation with Lower Elwha Tribe and National Park Service An Assessment of Stream Habitat and Nutrients in the Elwha River Basin: Implications for Restoration 3y M.D. Munn, R.W. Black, A.L Haggland, M.A. Hummling, and R.L Huffman BRITISH COLUMBIA Elwha River Basin I 1 National Water-Quality Assessment Study Unit U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY /Vater-Resources Investigations Report 98-4223 An Assessment of Stream Habitat and Nutrients in the Elwha River Basin: Implications for Restoration By M. D. Munn, R. W. Black, A. L. Haggland, M. A. Hummling, and R. L. Huffman U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 98-4223 Prepared in cooperation with the LOWER ELWHA TRIBE and NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Tacoma, Washington 1999 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Charles G. Groat, Director Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. For additional information write to: Copies of this report may be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Information Services 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 600 Box 25286 Tacoma, Washington 98402 Denver, Colorado 80225 Information regarding the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is available on the Internet via the World Wide Web. You may connect to the NAWQA Home Page using the Universal Resource Locator (URL) at: <URL:http://wwwrvares.er.usgs.gov/nawqa/nawqa_home.html> FOREWORD Describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams, rivers, and aquifers. The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the earth Describe how water quality is changing over time. resources of the Nation and to provide information that will assist resource managers and policymakers at Improve understanding of the primary natural and Federal, State, and local levels in making sound human factors that affect water-quality conditions. decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and trends is an important part of this overall mission. This information will help support the develop­ ment and evaluation of management, regulatory, and One of the greatest challenges faced by water- monitoring decisions by other Federal, State, and local resources scientists is acquiring reliable information that agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources. will guide the use and protection of the Nation's water resources. That challenge is being addressed by Federal, The goals of the NAWQA Program are being State, interstate, and local water-resource agencies and achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations by many academic institutions. These organizations are of more than 50 of the Nation's most important river collecting water-quality data for a host of purposes that basins and aquifer systems, which are referred to as include: compliance with permits and water-supply study units. These study units are distributed throughout standards; development of remediation plans for a the Nation and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic specific contamination problem; operational decisions settings. More than two-thirds of the Nation's fresh­ on industrial, wastewater, or water-supply facilities; and water use occurs within these study units and more than research on factors that affect water quality. An two-thirds of the people served by public water-supply additional need for water-quality information is to systems live within their boundaries. provide a basis on which regional and national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise decisions must be National synthesis of data analysis, based on based on sound information. As a society we need to aggregation of comparable information obtained from know whether certain types of water-quality problems the study units, is a major component of the program. are isolated or ubiquitous, whether there are significant This effort focuses on selected water-quality topics differences in conditions among regions, whether the using nationally consistent information. Comparative conditions are changing over time, and why these studies will explain differences and similarities in conditions change from place to place and over time. observed water-quality conditions among study areas The information can be used to help determine the and will identify changes and trends and their causes. efficacy of existing water-quality policies and to help The first topics addressed by the national synthesis are analysts determine the need for and likely consequences pesticides, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and of new policies. aquatic biology. Discussions on these and other water- quality topics will be published in periodic summaries To address these needs, the Congress appro­ of the quality of the Nation's ground and surface water priated funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot as the information becomes available. program in seven project areas to develop and refine the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) This report is an element of the comprehensive Program. In 1991, the USGS began full implementation body of information developed as part of the NAWQA of the program. The NAWQA Program builds upon an Program. The program depends heavily on the advice, existing base of water-quality studies of the USGS, as cooperation, and information from many Federal, State, well as those of other Federal, State, and local agencies. interstate, Tribal, and local agencies and the public. The The objectives of the NAWQA Program are to: assistance and suggestions of all are greatly appreciated. Robert M. Hirsch Chief Hydrologist CONTENTS Abstract 1 Introduction 1 Purpose and scope 2 Acknowledgments 2 Description of study area 2 Review of existing information on the Elwha River Basin 5 Physical habitat 5 Water chemistry 6 Nutrients 6 Other water-quality parameters 6 Aquatic life - 7 Aquatic plants and algae 7 Benthic invertebrates 7 Fish------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -8 Historical anadromous salmonids 8 Current anadromous salmonids 8 Current resident (non-anadromous) salmonids 10 Habitat and nutrients 12 Methods --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Geographic information system 13 Stream habitat field survey 14 Nutrients 17 Results and discussion 18 Stream habitat 18 Nutrients 26 Relation between stream habitat and nutrients 26 Conclusions - - 33 Cited references 35 FIGURES 1. Schematic showing influence of stream habitat complexity and nutrients to biological production - 3 2. Map showing location of the Elwha River Basin 4 3. Map showing location of sampling sites in Elwha River Basin 16 4. Graph showing percentage of Rosgen valley types by stream order 19 5. Graph showing number of stream reaches in the Elwha River system by order and gradient category 21 6. Graph showing stream lengths in the Elwha River system by stream order and gradient category 22 7. Graph showing stream area in the Elwha River system by stream order and gradient category 23 8. Graph showing percentage of habitat types by stream order based on number observed and area 24 9. Graph showing channel width in relation to large woody debris loading by stream order 24 10. Graph showing summary of mean water velocity in the Elwha River system by habitat type and stream order 25 IV FIGURES-Continued 11. Graph showing summary of mean substrate size in the Elwha River system by habitat type and stream order 25 12. Graph showing summary of mean water depth in the Elwha River system by habitat type and stream order 27 13. Map showing stream reaches most likely to be utilized by returning salmon 32 14. Graphs showing estimations of nitrogen and phosphorus loadings to the Elwha River Basin from salmon under different restoration scenarios, and the relative contribution by each species 34 TABLES 1. Status of salmonids in the Elwha River Basin 9 2. Description of sites sampled for nutrient concentrations and where habitat data were collected in the Elwha River Basin 15 3. Total number of streams and total length within each stream order category 18 4. Analysis of variance of stream area based on stream order and stream gradient for the ElwhaRiver----------------------------------- - -20 5. Concentrations of nutrients and other water-quality parameters in the Elwha River, samples collected during September and October of 1997 28 6. Quality assurance for nutrient data collected on the Elwha River 30 CONVERSION FACTORS AND VERTICAL DATUM Multiply By To obtain millimeter (mm) 0.03937 inch meter (m) 3.281 foot kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile hectare (ha) 2.471 acre meter per second (m/s) 3.281 foot per second cubic meter per second (m3/s) 35.31 cubic foot per second Temperature: To convert temperature given in this report in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) to degrees Celsius (°C), use the following equation: °C = 5/9(°F-32). Sea Level: In this report "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD of 1929)~a geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of both the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea Level Datum of 1929. Altitude: In this report, "altitude" is measured in feet above sea level. An Assessment of Stream Habitat and Nutrients in the Elwha River Basin: Implications for Restoration By M. D. Munn, R. W. Black, A. L. Haggland, M. A. Hummling, and R. L. Huffman ABSTRACT River, whereas the few detections of phosphorus were at sites throughout the basin. Nutrient data indicate that the The Elwha River was once famous for its 10 runs of Elwha River and its tributaries are oligotrophic. Results of anadromous salmon which included chinook that report­ the stream classification indicated that most of the habitat edly exceeded 45 kilograms. These runs either ceased to that would be usable by salmon is found in the mainstem exist or were significantly depleted after the construction of the Elwha River due to natural gradient barriers at the of the Elwha (1912) and Glines Canyon (1927) Dams, lower end of most tributaries.