Presentation Abstract
The focus of this presentation is to summarize the Department of Ecology’s collection, model development, and regulatory use of macroinvertebrate community data. Surface water quality standards for the State of Washington are developed and enforced by the Department of Ecology. These rules to protect state waters are expressed as numeric and narrative criteria in Washington Administrative Code 173-201A. Monitoring data and information are compared to these criteria to determine compliance with the standards. Water column monitoring data for numeric pollutant criteria do not always provide sufficient information alone to detect water quality problems that may be related to a combination of factors, such as flows from human actions, or streams that have been physically altered. Biological evaluations can improve efforts to determine where, and the extent to which, waters are impaired due to human actions. Ecology staff and others collect biological information from rivers and streams throughout the state. Ecology’s long-term monitoring program was established in 1993 to explore spatial patterns and identify temporal trends in benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Since that time the collection and use of this information has grown to include status and trend analysis, the identification of impaired waters under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, and compliance with wastewater discharge permits. This presentation first summarizes Ecology’s development of macroinvertebrate monitoring programs, statistical models, and protocols for sampling and stressor identification. We then discuss the challenges of applying these data in a regulatory context to implement the CWA programs for which Ecology is responsible, including the 303(d) list, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) and wastewater discharge permits.
Session Title
Session S-05C: Using Stream Bugs to Manage and Restore Watersheds
Conference Track
Freshwater
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 10:30 AM
End Date
1-5-2014 12:00 PM
Location
Room 606
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Water quality--Measurement--Washington (State); Water--Sampling--Washington (State); Water--Pollution--Total maximum daily load--Washington (State)
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Washington (State). Department of Ecology
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Washington (State)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Washington State Department of Ecology: Biological Assessment Model Development and Use in State Regulatory Programs
Room 606
The focus of this presentation is to summarize the Department of Ecology’s collection, model development, and regulatory use of macroinvertebrate community data. Surface water quality standards for the State of Washington are developed and enforced by the Department of Ecology. These rules to protect state waters are expressed as numeric and narrative criteria in Washington Administrative Code 173-201A. Monitoring data and information are compared to these criteria to determine compliance with the standards. Water column monitoring data for numeric pollutant criteria do not always provide sufficient information alone to detect water quality problems that may be related to a combination of factors, such as flows from human actions, or streams that have been physically altered. Biological evaluations can improve efforts to determine where, and the extent to which, waters are impaired due to human actions. Ecology staff and others collect biological information from rivers and streams throughout the state. Ecology’s long-term monitoring program was established in 1993 to explore spatial patterns and identify temporal trends in benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Since that time the collection and use of this information has grown to include status and trend analysis, the identification of impaired waters under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, and compliance with wastewater discharge permits. This presentation first summarizes Ecology’s development of macroinvertebrate monitoring programs, statistical models, and protocols for sampling and stressor identification. We then discuss the challenges of applying these data in a regulatory context to implement the CWA programs for which Ecology is responsible, including the 303(d) list, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) and wastewater discharge permits.
