| November
30, 2006 |
Welcome
to the newsletter about all things water in Montana!
MONTANA WATER
NEWS will come your way via email every month with fresh news about meetings
and water topics that we hope is of interest to you. If you do not want to receive
this newsletter, please scroll down and follow the directions to unsubscribe.
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| Say
Goodbye to Milltown Dam |
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By Kristin Keith
From the Editor: This update
on the Milltown Restoration Project contains some factual errors. Please read
the December 2006 newsletter for a revised version of this article. [12/14/06]
The Milltown Dam on the Clark
Fork River. |
Since 1908, flow of the Clark Fork
River has been interrupted just downstream of its confluence with the Blackfoot River by the
Milltown Dam. Since then, the reservoir has been a sink for contaminated sediment from upstream
mining and smelting. An estimated 2.6 million cubic yards of sediment are in the reservoir
today. This sediment is the source of arsenic found in the city of Milltown’s drinking water
supply and the reason for Superfund designation of the site. In early 1996, the EPA had a plan
to clean up the site, leaving the sediments in place. This plan changed when a large ice jam
broke loose on the Blackfoot River. Operators, concerned that the ice would damage the dam,
opened the floodgates, sending a large volume of contaminated sediment downstream. The result
was a disastrous fish kill downstream of the dam.
The confluence of the Clark
Fork River and the Blackfoot River. |
In addition to the fish kill,
the dam created a larger concern for the region’s migratory fish. Its 39-foot spillway is a
complete barrier to upstream migration of 11 fish species, and the reservoir has been home
to northern pike, which seasonally prey on migrating fish stopped by the dam. Of most concern
are migratory populations of native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout, whose populations
have declined in number and size in the last century across their range--particularly near
Milltown Dam. In 1998, bull trout were listed as threatened, which later influenced discussions
to remove the dam and its contaminated sediments as an alternative to the EPA’s Superfund cleanup
plan. The classification of the dam as “high-hazard” by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
further influenced the decision.
In 2000 and 2001, investigations
by David Schmetterling of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks had significant influence on the
final decision to remove Milltown Dam. Schmetterling studied migratory fish movements and spawning
following transport around the dam. Using a fish trap at Milltown Dam, westslope cutthroat
trout and bull trout were transported upstream of Milltown Dam and implanted with radio transmitters.
Most of the transported fish continued upstream to spawn, and many migrations exceeded 60 miles.
Although migrations have been stopped for almost a century, the fish showed a high degree of
fidelity, returning to their natal streams. It was decided that the manual trapping and transportation
of migratory fishes was too expensive and could be stressful to the fish. Reestablishing connectivity
of the river system, through removal of the dam, would have far-reaching effects on all life
history types and would significantly benefit declining populations of westslope cutthroat
trout and bull trout upstream of the dam.
The Clark Fork River. |
In 2003, the EPA, Governor Judy
Martz and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality made a proposal for sediment cleanup
and dam removal. In 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final plan for
excavation of the sediments and dam removal. To date, the water in the reservoir has been drawn
down over six feet, allowing for the initial stages of construction of a bypass channel, which
will transport river flow around the dam while it is being removed. Contaminated sediments
excavated from the site will be transported upstream to Opportunity Ponds. Plans call for the
dam to be removed by early 2008. Removal of contaminated sediments and restoration of the river
channel upstream of the dam is in the design phase.
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| 2006
Watershed Symposium: Charting Our Course in a Changing West |
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A final reminder for the 2006
Watershed Symposium: Charting Our Course in a Changing West, scheduled for December 5-7
at the Great Falls Holiday Inn. Participants will gain information that can help local efforts
improve natural resources while maintaining community values. Symposium speakers include Ed
Marston, publisher emeritus of the High Country News, Dr. Harry Fritz, University of Montana,
and many more local and regional experts and practitioners. Information about the symposium
is available on the web at http://watersheds.montana.edu/symposium or by emailing or calling
Montana Watercourse at mtwatercourse@montana.edu or 406-994-6671. |
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| Soil
and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference |
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You are invited to submit poster
presentations for the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s annual conference January 31 and
February 1, 2007 at the Holiday Inn in Bozeman, Montana. The focus of Effective Communication
- Connecting with the Conservation Audience is to understand more about the human element
of conservation and better apply knowledge to our work. How do we identify and connect with
our audience? What does our audience use for decision making? How does conservation policy
affect their decisions? If interested, your 250-word abstract is due to Tom Pick thomas.pick@mt.usda.gov by
January 5, 2007, or visit http://www.mtswcs.org/ for more
information. |
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| 2007 Community Involvement Conference and Training |
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The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) currently is soliciting presentation proposals for its 2007 Community Involvement
Conference and Training. The conference will be held in Jacksonville, Florida from June 19-22,
2007. All presentation proposals are due by close-of-business December 15, 2006. See instructions
for submitting a proposal at the conference web site at http://www.epa.gov/ciconference. |
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| Position
Available at the Montana Water Center |
| The Montana Water
Center at MSU Bozeman is seeking a Computer Software Engineer/Applications 1 for a
one-year position. Duties include designing, developing and maintaining websites, and managing
the design process for print publications and promotional materials for water-resource programs.
For a job
description and application information, please email Sue Faber at sfaber@montana.edu,
or call 406-994-6690.
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| Water
Policy Issues in Montana: EQC Study Subcommittee Report |
| This report discusses
the water policy related issues that the Subcommittee oversaw during the interim. These issues
include: water quality monitoring, assessment, and improvement (TMDLs); revision of the water
rights handbook Water Rights in Montana; surface water/groundwater interaction; domestic well
exemption for the filing of a water right; update of the water adjudication chronology; and
the St. Mary Canal project in Northern Montana.
A copy of the report may be
downloaded at:
http://leg.mt.gov/css/lepo/2005%5F2006/subcommittees/studies
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| Winter’s
Here: Some Facts About Snow and Ice |
From the Unesco Water Portal Weekly
Newsletter No. 162.
- The total volume of glaciers and permanent snow cover is 24,064 000 Km3, which is 1.74%
of the total volume of the hydrosphere and 68.7% of the world’s freshwater.
- The vast majority
(almost 90%) of Earth's ice mass is in Antarctica, while the Greenland ice cap contains 10%
of the total global ice mass.
- About 75% of the world’s entire natural freshwater is contained
within ice sheets and glaciers. However 97% is not considered to be a water resource as it
is inaccessible, located in the Antarctic, Arctic and Greenland ice sheets.
- Freshly fallen
snow is much lighter than water, because there is a lot of air between the flakes. In very
dry areas, 1 cm of water will produce 20 cm of snow. In very moist areas, 6 cm of snow will
melt down to 1 cm of water. Because it is compressed, there is less air between flakes in older
snow and it contains much more water. Glaciers are formed from the compression of snow over
many years.
- Snowfall can contribute a large percentage of a region’s total precipitation
in temperate and cold climate regions. For example, in the western United States, Canada and
Europe, 40% to 75% of regional precipitation can occur as snow.
Get more water facts and read
the entire newsletter at:
http://www.unesco.org/water/news/resources/news/162.shtml
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Do you have more news?
Many Montana Water News articles
are generated by the Montana Water Center’s new student intern, Evan Tennant. Evan is studying
public policy at Montana State University with a special interest in water policy. He spends
what free time he has writing stories for this e-newsletter. Do you have some stories of interest
you would like him to feature? If so, please contact Evan at etennant@montana.edu.
He’d like to hear from you. |
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So
many meetings, so little time. Take special note of upcoming national and local water
meetings on the Events
Calendar at MONTANA WATER. |
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 57th
Annual Pacific Northwest Fish Culture Conference, Portland, OR, December 4 - 6, 2006
[INFO]
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MWCC
E&O Committee Meeting, Great Falls, December 4, 2006
[INFO]
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Profiting
in the Water Industry, San Francisco, CA, December 4, 2006
[INFO]
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2006
Montana Watershed Symposium, Great Falls, December 5 - 7, 2006
[INFO]
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2007
Coolwater Fish Culture Workshop, Allamuchy, NJ, January 7 - 9, 2007
[INFO]
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