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Big Hole River Foundation
P.O. Box 3894
Butte, Montana 59702

phone: 1-866-533-BHRF

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Water Quality & Quantity/Research and Projects

Low level, infra-red, digital aerial photos were shot during 2001 and 2002. The photographs document conditions of the main stem and its adjacent floodplain from Wisdom to Twin Bridges. The raw data (photos) will be geo-referenced and organized in a GIS computer system. Once in GIS format the photographs can be integrated and overlayed with other data sets. The photographs are at a high resolution so vegetation types, in-stream habitat and relative depth can be determined. These photos will provide an excellent assessment tool for future management activities and restoration projects.

The Upper Basin Modeling and Water Budget Study is being conducted in cooperation with the Bureau of Mines and Geology and MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. This research effort is a continuation of the Return Flow Research Project (Hydrology of the Big Hole Basin and Assessment of the effects of irrigation on the hydrologic budget, Marvin, Voeller. Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Open File Report 417. Dec. 2000). which developed a ground and surface water map of the Big Hole basin. The focus of the current investigation is to establish a water budget (where water comes into the system and where it leaves) for the upper basin and create a computer model for estimating flow regimes under different precipitation, snow pack and irrigation scenarios. The model will assist the BHWC in determining what types of water quantity projects may prove most beneficial for maintaining flows.

Water Chemistry Studies have been advancing in cooperation with MT Tech graduate students and Dr. Chris Gammons. Collecting water chemistry data has three main purposes

  • 1) to determine current water health

  • 2) to track water quality trends over time and

  • 3) to determine meeting state and federal standards for water use and the TMDL (water quality management) planning process.

Diurnal and longitudinal variations in water quality on the Big Hole River and tributaries during the drought of August 2000, Gammons, Ridenour, Wenz - locations as township, range section. Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Open File Report 424. May 2001.

A chemical survey of irrigation and return flow waters in the Big Hole river basin of Southwest Montana, May 1999 Phillip. Thesis of MT Tech.

A seasonal and spatial chemical study of the Big Hole River, Southwest Montana, May 2002 Ridenour. Thesis of MT Tech.

Metals Study is currently in progress by Wenz and Gammons. The metals project is a good reliable data set and shows no significant contamination (beyond EPA standards). MN and FE levels approach the secondary contaminant in the upper basin which could be coming from ground water and natural but this is uncertain.

Water Quality Planning / TMDL The national Clean Water Act has set standards for water quality and each state enforces these standards through their environmental quality agency. Montana’s water quality standards are directed through DEQ’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) planning process. TMDLs sound confusing, but the essence of the program is developing water quality management plans to ensure that we have clean, safe water. The process can be summarized in seven steps.

  • Step 1 – Define the problem. The goal is to determine baseline conditions.

  • Step 2 – Characterize sources. If there is a water quality problem, where is it coming from?

  • Step 3 – Establish water quality goals – How will we know when good water quality is achieved? These are targets such as number of fish per mile.

  • Step 4 – Allocate loads – What changes need to be made to reach the water quality standard? For example, what percentage of sediment must be reduced to improve water quality.

  • Step 5 – Monitoring plan. A plan will need to be developed that identifies which resource parameters are to be monitored to determine if water quality goals are being achieved.

  • Step 6 – Restoration strategy. Physical restoration activities such as stream bank stabilization as well as best management practices will be developed and implemented.

  • Step 7 – Write and submit the plan to the EPA. DEQ is legally responsible for writing and submitting the water quality plan to EPA for approval.

The BHRF and BHWC will be working with DEQ as a partner in the TMDL planning process. We will share information and data with DEQ as well as work with local landowners in the assessment and restoration phases of the process.

Planning efforts for the upper basin and north fork planning areas will be initiated in 2003. These plans have a court deadline of 2004 for final plans to be submitted to the EPA. For more information on the TMDL planning process look to:
http://nris.state.mt.us/wis/environet/index.html
http://www.deq.state.mt.us/

The Big Hole River watershed has been divided into two separate "planning areas" (upper and lower) and separate plans will be adopted for each area. The upper plan (step 7) is currently being drafted and expected to be submitted to DEQ and EPA by November of 2005. The water quality plan development for the lower part of the watershed has begun (though step 2) and is expected to be completed by November 2006. TMDL restoration plan should be complete for upper Big Hole by September 2005.


 

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