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April 26, 2007
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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
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| USGS
Hydrologist Pioneers New Perspective on Water Contamination Monitoring |
David Nimick, testing water
chemistry in
the Rio Tinto River in southwestern Spain |
Daily fluctuations in the rivers
of Montana are usually measured in cubic feet per second or degrees Fahrenheit. However, David
Nimick, a USGS hydrologist from Helena, and a group of collaborators from across the state
are more interested in the unseen chemical changes that take place from day to night. Since
1991, Nimick has spearheaded various studies, reports and presentations regarding the dramatic
diurnal changes in trace metal concentrations that take place in flowing water. Daily temperature
changes had long been thought to have no effect on the water chemistry of streams. Hydrologists
generally agreed that water maintains the same chemical make up throughout a 24 hour, or diel
cycle, if the hydrologic conditions are constant.
David first became interested
in the possibility of dynamic changes in trace metal concentrations while studying the arsenic
coming out of Yellowstone Park. Nimick headed out to the Missouri and Madison Rivers in 1991
to see if arsenic concentrations fluctuated from night to day. Arsenic was documented to produce
lower readings during the night due to dissolved arsenic ions latching on to the bottom of
the river during the dark, nighttime hours. His inspiration had come from a recently published
paper on arsenic in a stream in South Dakota. Extending this work to other trace metals was
a matter of happenstance. During a biological study of abandoned mine lands in 1998, Nimick
and colleagues monitored a stream for trace metals over a four-day period with stable streamflow.
Three of the daily samples were taken during the afternoon and one was taken in the early morning.
The afternoon samples were similar, but concentrations of dissolved cadmium and zinc in the
morning sample were as much as 2.5 times higher than in the afternoon samples. This result
led to further sampling in other streams and research to determine why arsenic and mercury
concentrations increase during the daytime while cadmium and zinc concentrations decrease.
More recently, David has been studying whether cycling metal concentrations are more or less
toxic to fish than the constant concentrations that had previously been assumed to occur in
streams.
Since David began at the USGS
in 1989, the University of Montana graduate has proven to be progressive. His work with scientists
around the state has opened the door for a new perspective on water contamination monitoring.
What researchers monitor and what time they monitor are now proven to be significant factors.
For more info on diel variation
in trace metal concentrations please visit http://mt.water.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/projects?18600.
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| DEQ
2007 Nonpoint Source Management Draft is Open for Comment |
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The Montana Department of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) is encouraging Montanans who value clean water to review and comment on the department's
new draft 2007 Montana Nonpoint Source Management Plan. The 2007 Plan provides information
on the sources and impacts of polluted runoff, identifies programs and resources that address
diffuse pollution, identifies long term strategies for protecting or restoring impacted streams,
lakes and wetlands, and describes the set of short-term (five-year) priority actions to ensure
clean water. The public comment period lasts for 30 days, from April 6th through May 6th.
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution
comes from activities on the land that leads to pollutants in storm water runoff, snowmelt
and groundwater, and into streams and lakes. The most common pollutants are excessive soil
and nutrients. These and other pollutants harm aquatic life, increase costs for water supplies,
and impact recreation.
The DEQ developed this plan
with assistance from interested partners, to be used as both a background resource and a strategy
for action. The NPS plan addresses Montana's water resources (surface waters, wetlands & groundwater),
significant sources and impacts of NPS, specific actions to address NPS and priority actions
to be accomplished over the next five years.
The draft 2007 Montana Nonpoint
Source Management Plan can be reviewed and comments made through the MT DEQ website
at
http://www.deq.state.mt.us/wqinfo/nonpoint/NonpointSourceProgram.asp.
Hardcopies or CDs are available by contacting Angie Hayden, DEQ Administrative Assistant, at
406-444-6749 or ahayden@mt.gov.
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| Grayling
Have Arrived |
Arctic Grayling [Courtesy
MT FWP] |
Montana State University PhD student
Shane Vatland recently initiated a two-month experiment on arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus)
in the Aquatic Sciences Laboratory at the Montana Water Center. The study will evaluate the
effects of implanting 23 mm half-duplex passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in grayling
from the Big Springs Trout Hatchery in Lewistown. PIT tags are commonly implanted in fish species
to study movement patterns, habitat use and population dynamics. Negative effects from the
tagging, however, could potentially bias research efforts and increase mortality in study populations.
In this study, growth, survival
and swimming stamina of the hatchery grayling will be assessed to determine the feasibility
of implanting PIT tags into wild fish. Depending on the experiment’s success, the technique
could be one step closer to validation for use in wild grayling on the Big Hole River.
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| Milltown
Project Update |
The Milltown Dam Project site. |
As Spring water levels rise in
the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers, the water quality in the Milltown reservoir has suffered.
However, the arsenic plume that is of concern to the project has been reduced by 50% since
the project began in January of 2006. Daily water samples are being analyzed to determine whether
the recent spike in general arsenic and copper concentrations is part of the run-off cycle
upstream from Deer Lodge. Recreational users have been concerned with the effects of
the river water’s trace levels on their health. According to the Missoula City-County Health
Department, however, it’s not expected to cause harm to recreational users.
Checkout the EPA Milltown Update
Site at http://www.epa.gov/unix0008/sf/sites/mt/milltowncfr/home.html.
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| The
9th Annual Watershed Festival |
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The Watershed
Festival promotes an awareness of and responsible stewardship towards the diverse natural resources
found within our watersheds. This free community event serves hundreds of children and adults
each year with more than twenty exhibitors and displays. The festival will be held May 19th
at the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, and is presented by Montana Outdoor Science School (MOSS).
Watershed Festival Highlights:
- Fly-tying and casting with
Headwaters Fly Fishers and Trout Unlimited
- Children’s activities with MOSS
and the Children’s Museum of Bozeman
- Educational exhibits by local
organizations, agencies and businesses working watershed issues
- An afternoon performance by
the Equinox Teen Theatre group
- Fish dissections & hatchery
tours
The Bozeman Fish Technology
Center is located at 4050 Bridger Canyon Drive. Contact MOSS for more information at 582-0526
or visit http://www.outdoorscience.org/watershed.html.
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| 2007
Water Educators of the Year |
| Deb Fassnacht
and Bill
Callaghan were recognized as Water Educators of the Year at the
2007 Montana Environmental Education Association Conference. Deb has inspired students
and teachers through her work at the Water Education Network in Missoula. Bill teaches at
Butte High School and is an active member of the Clark Fork Water Education Program. Both Deb
and Bill are deserving of this recognition. They have created a ripple effect of environmental
stewardship all along the Clark Fork Watershed by educating over 8,500 students and hundreds
of teachers. The Clark Fork Watershed is a better place due to the efforts of these dedicated
individuals. |
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| Against
the Current |
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The spirit of water is alive throughout
this short film produced by Trout Unlimited and Metamorph Films. Against the Current visualizes
the deep, yet brittle relationship between Montana streams, fish and agriculture. Beautiful
underwater footage and classic Montana landscapes compliment narration by a handful of water
personalities. The film starts out explaining the importance of a water source to all its attached
life systems. Pat Byorth, a biologist with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, says it best while
speaking on the connections between trout and humans, “Our fate is tied to the fate of the
rivers.” For a short documentary, this film does a great job of showing the connections between
land, water, fish, and humans. The end of this story is the recovery effort to rewater the
North Fork of Fridley Creek, a tributary of the Yellowstone. The collaborative effort between
Trout Unlimited and the ranchers who use the water (the Murphy Family of Paradise Valley),
is likely to inspire more cooperative work to return streams to healthy fisheries.
The production quality and aesthetic
value of this film make it worth watching. And the story that Against the Current tells is
worth hearing. To watch Against the Current, go to http://www.metamorphfilms.com.
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| Protecting
Groundwater for Health |
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Protecting Groundwater for
Health is a new World Health Organization (WHO) publication that provides a structured approach to
analyzing hazards to groundwater quality, assessing the risk they may cause for a specific
supply, setting priorities in addressing these and developing management strategies for their
control.
This publication fits within
the framework of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality and offers a comprehensive analysis
of the hazards posed to groundwater resources, attempting to uncover areas of high concern.
Based on these studies, priorities can be set and new management strategies can be implemented
to mitigate the adverse effects of any unsafe groundwater on public health. Protecting
Groundwater for Health looks specifically at a number of issues of growing global concern, including management
of pollution sources for the effective protection of groundwater resources.
To download Protecting Groundwater
for Health check out the WHO website at http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/
publications/protecting_groundwater/en/index.html.
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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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Take
special note of upcoming national and local water meetings
on the Events
Calendar at MONTANA WATER. |
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13th Annual Clark Fork Watershed Festival,
Missoula, April 26 - 27, 2007 [INFO]
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GIS/GPS Seminar for Water Districts,
Missoula, April 26, 2007 [INFO]
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Arbor Day Willow Planting on Mandeville Creek,
Bozeman, April 27, 2007 [INFO]
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Jefferson River Rally,
Whitehall, April 27 - 28, 2007 [INFO]
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Rural Water Rally 2007,
Washington, DC, April 29 - May 1, 2007 [INFO]
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EPA Watershed Plan Builder Webcast, May 2, 2007 [INFO]
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Project WET/Webfoot Educator Training Workshop,
Bozeman, May 5, 2007 [INFO]
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Missouri River Watershed Discovery,
Fort Benton, May 7, 2007 [INFO]
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2007 Water Summit for Teachers and Students,
Dupuyer, May 7 - 8, 2007 [INFO]
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Montana Trout Benefit Auction for Wild Trout Conservation Programs,
Bozeman, May 8, 2007 [INFO]
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Design Your Monitoring Plan & Data Management Workshop,
Dupuyer, May 9, 2007 [INFO]
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Managing Water Infrastructure for Montana's Future,
Butte, May 9 - 11, 2007 [INFO]
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Making Room: Sustainable Development for the Yellowstone/Teton Region,
Grand Teton National Park, WY, May 17 - 19, 2007 [INFO]
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9th Annual Watershed Festival,
Bozeman, May 17, 2007 [INFO]
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Dam Safety in the West,
Omaha, NE, May 20 - 22, 2007 [INFO]
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River Network's 2007 National River Rally,
Stevenson, WA, May 18 - 22, 2007 [INFO]
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