Spokane River Sediment Study - Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited

Volunteer information and Registration for the Dec 2019 – July 2020 season

Project Summary:

Citizen scientists from Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited will monitor water clarity (turbidity) in the Spokane River and Hangman Creek. This data will be used to determine the intensity and duration of degraded water quality in Hangman Creek and its effect on the Spokane River.

Background:

Hangman Creek has suffered extreme degradation in the form of loss of riparian habitats and function, the ditching of wetlands and loss of wetland function, as well as excessive drainage systems originating in agricultural operations and running into the creek. Additionally, the Palouse loess soils have been routinely exposed through tillage practices that exacerbate erosional runoff of sediment and phosphorus. (ref) As many as 200,000 tons of topsoil runoff and into Hangman and the Spokane River each year. Hangman has been studied but the Spokane River has received little attention to the impacts of sediment inputs on the aquatic biology of the Spokane River system.

Few if any agencies or scientists are watching the phenomenon of sediment entering the Spokane River seasonally from Hangman Creek each year. Little is understood about the amount of sediment, its origins, or the implications for disrupting Redband trout spawning, feeding behavior or the substrate that provides habitat requirements for salmonids and other fish. Additionally, little is known about its impacts on the benthic community, and its contribution to the nutrient loading in the Spokane’ river system. This sediment input can be assumed to change the trophic response and behavior of the river system in a multitude of ways.

Washington State Department of Ecology currently samples at the mouth of Hangman Creek and downstream of the Hangman mouth at the Spokane River at Riverside State Park and at the Nine Mile Bridge. These data, from monthly sampling events, suggest that turbidity from Hangman Creek influences the Spokane River. Hangman Creek is a notoriously flashy watershed, sometimes rising and falling thousands of cubic feet per second in a day, bringing with it the associated sediment. Monthly sampling is not sufficient to capture these flashy events. More frequent sampling will record the intensity and duration of Hangman Creek’s sediment plume in the Spokane River.

Methods:

Turbidity readings will be taken several times per week from Hangman Creek and the Spokane River above and below the mouth of Hangman Creek between December 1, 2019 and July 1, 2020. Samples will be taken in Hangman at Peoples Park or the 11^th Street Bridge, in the Spokane River at Sandifur Bridge, below the TJ Meenach Bridge and below the Hangman Creek confluence with the Spokane River. Turbidity will be determined using a transparency tube and recorded in centimeters. Readings from Sandifur Bridge samples will be compared to readings from the TJ Meenach samples to determine the effect of Hangman Creek on the Spokane River.

In locations where the river/creek is not accessible from land, a jar/bucket will be lowered into the water with a rope off of a bridge. Water will be hauled up in the container and analyzed for turbidity.

Map Spokane River sediment study locations

Secchi Tube – Sampling Video

Photo Documentation of Sediment Plume

mouth Hangman Creek dumping sediment in Spokane River

Example photo from photo point at corner of Summit and Broadway

Volunteers will take photos (landscape format only please!) of the sediment plume from the corner of Summit and Broadway on the Centennial Trail during each monitoring run. Photos will be combined to visually show the impact of Hangman Creek on the Spokane River.

Results will be recorded on the datasheet included below. Make sure to note weather patterns or unusual results in the notes section.

Training and Reporting

Staff from the Spokane Riverkeeper will train volunteers for the first time on 12/17/19 at 5:30-6:30 at the Community Building Lobby (35 W. Main). If you weren’t able to make it to the Dec 17, 2019 training, we will do another training tentatively set for January 11th, 2020 at 10:30 AM on the 11th street bridge over Hangman Creek. Please RSVP or for more information write to: [email protected].

Volunteers will report results back to the Spokane Riverkeeper weekly.

Safety

The safety of volunteers should take priority over any data collection. Please do not attempt to take water quality samples in slippery conditions, such as on ice or snow. Participants must have a waiver on file that is signed. See the form for online waiver
below. If you have not completed the form and digitally signed the waiver you cannot participate in the study. Sorry no exceptions.

Project Outline:

Sampling water clarity (turbidity) Spokane River at mouth of Hangman Creek

Sampling water for clarity (turbidity) data

Citizens would collect flow, turbidity and photo data at points along the Spokane River and Hangman Creek through the winter of 2019/2020 and into the summer of 2020

1. Volunteers will collect turbidity/transparency data:

Above confluence with Hangman Creek in the Spokane River at Sandifur Bridge
Mouth of Hangman Creek at 11^th Street Bridge
Below the confluence of Hangman Creek and the Spokane River (near cemetery)
In main stem of Spokane River at TJ Meenach Bridge

2. Volunteers will take a landscape photo at:

North Summit Street and W. College – find the Green Zip Ties on the fence.

Project timeline:

Volunteers will gather data between December 1, 2019 and July 1st, 2020
Monday and Friday every week
Data would be written up and disseminated to interested parties and collected for Spokane River DO TMDL 10 year assessment input

Project Site Descriptions:

11th Street bridge: At the south end of High Bridge Park. I usually park at the west end of the bridge by the gate. This is the sample taken off the bridge.

Sandifur Bridge: Park in the People’s Park parking lot and walk down to the river if not too icy. I usually walk down to the river about 100 feet upstream of bridge

Riverside Memorial Cemetery: Drive into the Cemetery and stay right. The parking pull off is on the far western/southwestern corner of the cemetery. An old road leads down to the river.

TJ Meenach: Access the river at the TJ Meenach Parking lot on the northern side of the river and downstream (west) side of the bridge.

Water Sample – Sampling Video

Background

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mouth Hangman Creek dumping sediment in Spokane River

Flood and nonpoint sediment pollution in Hangman Creek entering the Spokane River, February 2017

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Summer 2016 Spokane River sediment

2016 summer photo of substrate below Hangman confluence in Spokane River (prior to February 2017)

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Summer 2016 Spokane River sediment

2016 summer photo of substrate below Hangman confluence in Spokane River (prior to February 2017)

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Summer 2017 Spokane River sediment

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Summer 2017 Spokane River sediment

2017 summer photo of substrate below Hangman confluence in Spokane River (post February 2017)

Potential Future Research Questions/implications:

What are the impacts of excessive sediment pollution to O Mykiss habitat and behavior?
What are the impacts to the benthic invertebrate communities that provide a food base for native fish, what are the effects on non-salmonid native fish in the food web, effects on algae growth and dissolved oxygen in aquatic systems/River.

Volunteer Calendar

Click here to view the calendar and pick your dates!

Transparency/Turbidity Data Sheet

Volunteers will input data on the paper form and submit that data online here. The form will input data as follows…

Location	Date	Time	Name	Transparency Turbidity reading (CM)	Flow Hangman Creek	Flow Spokane River	Notes (Weather, Precipitation, temp, etc)

Turbidity Study Project Registration/Waiver

Please use this form to register for SFTU's Angler Science Turbidity Study Project. Expected Start: 1st week of January 2020 Expected End: July 1st 2020 1st Training Date: TBD 2nd Training Date: TBD Weekly sampling of water quality Minimum 2 person teams

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Personal Injury Consent Form:

I, -NAME ABOVE-, am at least eighteen years of age and have prepared myself to participate in the Spokane River Turbidity Study project of the Spokane Falls Chapter/Council of Trout Unlimited by familiarizing myself with the physical demands involved in participating in the project. I am in good physical condition and am capable of meeting those physical demands. I understand that projects like this one can involve the risk of death or serious physical injury and agree to assume that risk. I also agree to release and indemnify Trout Unlimited, its officers, trustees, directors, employees, and agents, from and against any and all claims, demands, and judgments arising from injuries or damages in connection with my participation in the project.

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By checking this box you agree to hold harmless and indemnify Trout Unlimited, SFTU, its officers, board members, agents, and community partners from any liability or accident that may occur during your volunteer experience. I further acknowledge that I've read the waiver(s) above and 100% agree to and by checking this box and signing below that I'm digitally signing the form including all fields complete above and below electronically.
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