E. US Geological Survey (USGS), National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) – Sacramento River Basin Study. Project Dates: 1994–1998: The Sacramento River water quality assessment, covering the river’s nearly 75,000 sq km (27,000 sq mi) drainage basin, is the largest within the State of California. The study was divided into 5 physiographic provinces: the Sacramento Valley, the Sierra Nevada, the Coast Ranges, the Cascade Range and the Modoc Plateau. The major use of Sacramento River water is for agriculture (58%), environmental management (32%), urban land use (6%), and other (4%). A suite of water quality parameters were measured including temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, major cations and anions, metals, suspended sediment, bed sediment, discharge, and fish tissue samples for contaminants. The major issues within the basin are elevated concentrations of trace metals, especially from abandoned mines (WHIS); pesticide contamination of surface water and potential contamination of ground water (LABE, LAVO, WHIS); nitrate contamination of ground water (LABE, LAVO, WHIS); and urban runoff and volatile-organic-chemical contamination. Contact: Joseph Domagalski, USGS, Sacramento, CA. Phone: 916-278-3077, E-mail: joed@usgs.gov.
F. US Geological Survey (USGS), National Stream-gaging Program (NSP), with Federal, State, and Local agencies. Project Dates: variable and ongoing: The USGS has been collecting streamflow information since 1887. The NSP, which partners with many agencies, monitors flows on major and minor streams at nearly 7,000 stations throughout the US. Streamflow gaging stations provide data that can be used for planning and operating water resources projects, flood warning and control operations, and long-term background information about changes in streamflow in response to climate and changes in land use. Contact: Mike Norris, USGS, Phone
703-648-5304, E-mail: mnorris@usgs.gov.
G. US Geological Survey (USGS), Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC), Project: Development of monitoring protocols for mountain lakes and ponds at North Cascades National Park Service Complex: This project began in 2001 with the purpose of developing a sampling protocol for mountain ponds and lakes. The NPS North Coast and Cascades Network is the project partner and this protocol has been developed for all park units in this network. The protocol also has been written as a document that can be used by any agency, institution or group (e.g., KLMN) interested in sampling montane lentic ecosystems. The protocol is in press and will be published as stand-alone chapter of a USGS Techniques and Methods document (Techniques and Methods 2-A2). Contact: Robert Hoffman, USGS FRESC (Phone: 541-750-1013, E-mail: robert_hoffman@usgs.gov) and Gary Larson, USGS FRESC (Phone: 541-750-1032, E-mail: gary_l._larson@usgs.gov).
