A COORDINATED APPROACH TO WATERSHED WATER QUALITY MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT

The City of Spokane is developing a watershed water quality monitoring and management program for the Spokane River in the vicinity of Spokane. The program is being developed to coordinate sampling parameters including protocols for timing, locations, and methods among the various dischargers and stakeholders along the river. Currently, the various discharge permit requirements and water quality regulations have been summarized to identify compliance requirements and to identify the relative level of similarity that exists among the required sampling for the various dischargers to indicate the impetus for cooperation and coordination in sampling of both discharges and in the river. Also, the current model being developed by the Washington State Department of Ecology for a dissolved oxygen total maximum daily load in the river is evaluated to determine whether it is sufficient to simulate the dynamics, both hydraulic and chemical, of the river. Through discussions with Ecology, this model was expanded from an original scope of modeling only the river in the immediate vicinity of the City to range from the Idaho border to Long Lake beyond the City.