Water Quality Tests

Nisqually River Education Project

Water Quality Monitoring Training

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All life depends on water.

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Water is necessary for human health.

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Water is a limited resource.

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What is a watershed?

All of the land that drains into a common body of water including the living and non-living components, its people cultures and traditions.

Welcome to Nisqually Watershed/Estuary!Project partners from NREP and9

10Nisqually River which starts as the Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier.

The Nisqually Watershed begins on the Nisqually Glacier

11Nisqually River which starts as the Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier.

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and ends at the Nisqually Estuary

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The Nisqually Indians were the first people to live in the area.The Nisqually people were first known as Squally-absch, meaning people of the grass, people of the river. Americans later changed the spelling to Nisqually.

14The Nisqually River travels 78 miles downstream and forms the delta where the River meets Puget Sound. Here the salt water and fresh water mix to form the biologically rich river delta. The Nisqually Indians were the first people in the area and they made use of the abundant food resources of the delta. Hudsons Bay Company established. Europeans settlers arrive.

Threatened chinook and steelheadEndangered - orcas15

Alson Browns Farm

In 1904 A.L. Brown bought 850 acres along McAllister Creek, as well as 1,500 acres along the Nisqually River Delta, buildig a earthen dike to keep the salt water out of the low delta lands.16

Nisqually Watershed is part of a larger watershed called the Puget Sound Watershed

A collection of watersheds forming a larger watershed/estuarySalish Sea = Puget Sound + Straits of Juan de Fuca + Georgia BasinA collective mess.Puget Sound Partnership/Governor Gregoire- 2020 timeline.Many diverse watersheds.. Puyallup, Duwamish, Skokomish, Deschutes, Skagit, Green, Snohomish, Stillaguamish

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37% reduction in high vegetation coverage (1.26 million acres)During the 1990s the conversion rate from forests was 70,000 acres/year (NRCS) twice the rate of the 1980sPuget Sound Land Conversion (1972-1996)

Black areas = developed = impervious surfaces (roads, homes, businesses, parking lots, pavement, concrete, rooftops.)Effects: erosion/flash flows, stormwater run-off/pollution/WQ issues, etc.18

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Salmon are an important piece of our ecosystems, economy, culture and traditions.

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Point vs. Non Point Pollution

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Point vs. Non Point Pollution

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Puget Sound Watershed

Nisqually watershed has been declared the watershed in Puget Sound for recovery the chinook salmon! 75% of the mainstem is in permanent protected status (begins in national park, ends at natl wildlife refuge, also protected by Nisqually Land Trust, JBLM and Nisqually Tribe)23

Water Quality Testing

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Real science real data!Data is shared with:Nisqually TribeDepartment of EcologyDepartment of Health/Storm and Surface Water (Thurston and Pierce Counties)Department of Fish and WildlifeEPANisqually Land TrustEtc.

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Dissolved OxygenHow much oxygen is in the water

Optimal Values: Optimal AcceptablePoorFatal> 9 mg/l7-8 mg/l3.5-6 mg/l< 3.5 mg/l

Explain that optimal levels are what we expect to see in test results 26

Why it matters....Animals in the water breathe in oxygen.

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Fecal ColiformHow much bacteria is in the water from feces of warm blooded animals.

Optimal value< 50 FC/ 100 ml

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Why is this test important?There are human health concerns that are effected by fecal coliform and bacteria in the water. Some bacteria from warm blooded animalssuch as E. coli can make people very sick.

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pH

How acidic or basic the water is.Optimal Acceptable Fatal7-86.5-8.5< 6.5

If pH declines below 6.5, fewer salmon eggs hatch and aquatic insect levels drop. 30

Why it matters....

Changes in pH affects aquatic organisms.

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Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

How much oxygen is being used in the water from bacteria.Day 1 DO Day 5 DO