Event Title

RSMP Status and Trends: Characterizing urban nearshore sediment quality at the regional scale

Presentation Abstract

Title: RSMP Status and Trends: Characterizing urban nearshore sediment quality at the regional scale

Authors: Brandi Lubliner and Robert Black

Characterizing the effect of urban stormwater on natural environments is a complex and difficult task. In 2016, the Regional Stormwater Monitoring Program (RSMP - a new cooperative program that began in 2014 with funding from Washington State’s municipal stormwater permittees, and several state and federal agencies) will monitor nearshore sediment quality (and mussels) using a stratified random sample design that aims to detect and track changes in urban area nearshore conditions over time.

This monitoring will focus on a single landscape scale, the marine shoreline and nearshore parallel to the City and Urban Growth Area (UGA) in the Puget Sound to assess stormwater/land use impacts. The study design assumes that a) we will sample enough sites to produce Puget Sound-scale concentration estimates at a high confidence level (80-90%) and for potential stratification of samples into other categories (e.g., land uses); and b) the nearshore UGA assessment region is different than the Puget Sound wide or Urban Bay assessment regions already monitored by the state. Shorelines and nearshore areas in Puget Sound in urban and urbanizing areas are assumed to be more (or differently) influenced than shorelines and nearshore areas outside urban and urbanizing areas due to the stormwater management efforts required by state stormwater permits. This effort will compare data from prior marine sediment studies in the urban bays and region wide.

The probabilistic random stratified sampling design selected for this effort follows EPA’s site selection approach. The RSMP nearshore sites span the entire Puget Sound. The first year objectives are to characterize the status, spatial extent, and quality of nearshore marine sediments in the UGA assessment region. Results from this first year of sampling will be used to make recommendations for the trend program. The randomized study design is scalable and could expand to encompass the Salish Sea for a cross boundary trend program.

Session Title

Sediments as a sink: Tracking pollutants over space and time in the Salish Sea

Conference Track

Fate and Effects of Pollutants

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

2016 12:00 AM

End Date

2016 12:00 AM

Location

2016SSEC

Type of Presentation

Oral

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)

Marine sediments--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Urban runoff--Washington (State)--Puget Sound--Management; Sewage--Environmental aspects--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Water quality management--Washington (State)--Puget Sound

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound (Wash.)

Comments

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/municipal/rsmp/status.html

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

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COinS
 
Jan 1st, 12:00 AM Jan 1st, 12:00 AM

RSMP Status and Trends: Characterizing urban nearshore sediment quality at the regional scale

2016SSEC

Title: RSMP Status and Trends: Characterizing urban nearshore sediment quality at the regional scale

Authors: Brandi Lubliner and Robert Black

Characterizing the effect of urban stormwater on natural environments is a complex and difficult task. In 2016, the Regional Stormwater Monitoring Program (RSMP - a new cooperative program that began in 2014 with funding from Washington State’s municipal stormwater permittees, and several state and federal agencies) will monitor nearshore sediment quality (and mussels) using a stratified random sample design that aims to detect and track changes in urban area nearshore conditions over time.

This monitoring will focus on a single landscape scale, the marine shoreline and nearshore parallel to the City and Urban Growth Area (UGA) in the Puget Sound to assess stormwater/land use impacts. The study design assumes that a) we will sample enough sites to produce Puget Sound-scale concentration estimates at a high confidence level (80-90%) and for potential stratification of samples into other categories (e.g., land uses); and b) the nearshore UGA assessment region is different than the Puget Sound wide or Urban Bay assessment regions already monitored by the state. Shorelines and nearshore areas in Puget Sound in urban and urbanizing areas are assumed to be more (or differently) influenced than shorelines and nearshore areas outside urban and urbanizing areas due to the stormwater management efforts required by state stormwater permits. This effort will compare data from prior marine sediment studies in the urban bays and region wide.

The probabilistic random stratified sampling design selected for this effort follows EPA’s site selection approach. The RSMP nearshore sites span the entire Puget Sound. The first year objectives are to characterize the status, spatial extent, and quality of nearshore marine sediments in the UGA assessment region. Results from this first year of sampling will be used to make recommendations for the trend program. The randomized study design is scalable and could expand to encompass the Salish Sea for a cross boundary trend program.