WIXLIB

IntroductionThe Stillaguamish River basin includes portions of Snohomish and Skagit counties inWashington State (Figure 1). The Washington State Department of Ecology’s assessment of theStillaguamish watershed identified the system as a high priority for development of a TotalMaximum Daily Load (TMDL) for temperature. The purpose of the Stillaguamish RiverTemperature TMDL is to characterize water temperature in the basin and to establish load andwasteload allocations for heat sources to meet water quality standards for water temperature.Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act requires Washington State periodically to preparea list of all surface waters in the state for which beneficial uses of the water – such as fordrinking, recreation, aquatic habitat, and industrial use – are impaired by pollutants. This studywas initiated because of 303(d) listings in Deer Creek, Higgins Creek, Little Deer Creek,Pilchuck Creek, the mainstem Stillaguamish River, North Fork Stillaguamish River, and SouthFork Stillaguamish River for exceeding the water quality standards for temperature (Table 1). Inaddition to the 5 segments listed in 1996 and 12 segments listed in 1998, the present TMDL alsoincludes load allocations to address 36 segments that were not listed but were documented as notmeeting the water quality standard for temperature in 2001.Table 1. Summary of watercourse segments included in this TMDL that are either on the 1996 or 1998 303(d) list orknown to currently not meet the water quality standard for courseIIP303d numberOld WBIDnumberDeer CreekDeer CreekHiggins CreekLittle Deer CreekPilchuck CreekPilchuck CreekStillaguamish RiverStillaguamish RiverStillaguamish RiverStillaguamish River, N.F.Stillaguamish River, S.F.Stillaguamish River, 5-1040Canyon CreekCanyon CreekCanyon CreekDeer CreekDeer CreekGlade BekkenJim CreekJim CreekJim CreekLittle Deer CreekPilchuck CreekPilchuck CreekPilchuck CreekStillaguamish RiverStillaguamish RiverStillaguamish River, N.F.Stillaguamish River, N.F.Stillaguamish River, N.F.Stillaguamish River, N.F.Stillaguamish River, N.F.Stillaguamish River, N.F.Stillaguamish River, S.F.Stillaguamish River, S.F.Stillaguamish River, S.F.Stillaguamish River, WA-05-10501996 303(d)listXXXXX1998 aired oldWBID XXXXPage 1

The basis and supporting citations for the 1998 303(d) listings of temperature in theStillaguamish basin are as follows:Deer Creek:Higgins Creek:Little Deer Creek:Pilchuck Creek:Stillaguamish River:Stillaguamish River, North Fork:Stillaguamish River, South Fork:Sullivan et al., 1990, multiple excursions beyond the criterion at the mouthduring 8/88.Sullivan et al., 1990, multiple excursions beyond the criterion at RM 14during 8/88.Sullivan et al., 1990, 22 excursions beyond the criterion during 8/88.Sullivan et al., 1990, 15 excursions beyond the criterion during 8/88.Thornburgh, 1996, 4 excursions beyond the criterion out of 38 samples(11%) at station PILC between 1992 and 1997.Thornburgh, 1995, excursions beyond the criterion at least once each yearbetween 1993-19953 excursions beyond the criterion out of 36 samples (3%) at Ecologyambient monitoring station 05A070 (RM 11.1) between 9/91 and 9/96.Thornburgh, 1996, 3 excursions beyond the criterion out of 38 samples(8%) at station MSAR between 1992 and 1997.Thornburgh, 1995, excursions beyond the criterion at least once each yearbetween 1992-1995 at Marine Drive.Sullivan et al., 1990, 19 excursions beyond the criterion during 8/88 atRM 38.8.Two excursions beyond the criterion at Ecology ambient monitoring station05A090 (RM 18.2) on 8/20/90 and 8/21/91.Thornburgh, 1996, 2 excursions beyond the criterion out of 10 samples(20%) at station SFGF between 1992 and 1997.Under the federal Clean Water Act, every state has its own water quality standards designed toprotect, restore, and preserve water quality. Water quality standards consist of designated uses,such as cold water biota and drinking water supply, and criteria, usually numeric criteria, toachieve those uses.Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act mandates that the state establish TMDLs for surfacewaters that do not meet the water quality standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) has promulgated regulations (40 CFR 130) and developed guidance (EPA, 1991) forestablishing TMDLs (e.g., www.epa.gov/r10earth/tmdl.htm).The goal of a TMDL is to ensure the impaired water will attain water quality standards. ATMDL includes a written, quantitative assessment of water quality problems and of the pollutantsources that cause the problem. The TMDL determines the amount of a given pollutant that canbe discharged to the waterbody and still meet standards and allocates that load among the varioussources. If the pollutant comes from a discrete source (referred to as a point source) such as anindustrial facility’s discharge pipe, that facility’s share of the loading capacity is called awasteload allocation. If a pollutant enters a stream from a diffuse source (referred to as anonpoint source), then that share is called a load allocation.Page 2

Legendhuc wtrcrs wria05 mriversRivers and nty BoundariesCountyboundariesMt VernonWRIABoundariesWRIAboundariesLand /Wat erLand/waterWaterWaterLandoutsideWA WALandoutsideGenera lliz ed Land coverUs eGeneralizedlandSkagit CountySnohomish CountyCice spaceStanw oodDarringtonForestedForestedWhiteh orse nowJordanGraniteFa llsVerlotMarysvilleEverett0510KilometersFigure 1. Generalized land cover in the study area of the Stillaguamish River temperature TMDL.Page 3

This page is purposely left blank for duplex printing.Page 4

The TMDL must also consider seasonal variations and include a margin of safety that takes intoaccount any lack of knowledge about the causes of the water quality problem or its loadingcapacity. The sum of the individual allocations and the margin of safety must be equal to or lessthan the loading capacity.Overview of stream heating processesThe temperature of a stream reflects the amount of heat energy in the water. Changes in watertemperature within a particular segment of a stream are induced by the balance of the heatexchange between the water and the surrounding environment during transport through thesegment. If there is more heat energy entering the water in a stream segment than there isleaving, then the temperature will increase. If there is less heat energy entering the water in astream segment than there is leaving, then the temperature will decrease. The generalrelationships between stream parameters, thermodynamic processes (heat and mass transfer), andstream temperature change is outlined in Figure 2.Stream Temperature Conceptual Model Flow ChartC hannelM orphologyEffective ShadeBank StabilityMicroclimatesN ear Stream Disturb anceWidth:DepthSinuosityGradientSubstrateFloodpla in ConnectionFlow Volume,Flow Velocity,Groundwater InflowPoint SourcesWithdrawalsAugmentat ionM ass Transfer - M ixing ofWaterR ate Change in StreamTem peratureThermodyn amicProcessesH eat EnergyTransferHydrologyStr eam ParametersRiparianV eg etationFigure 2. Conceptual model of factors that affect stream temperature.Page 5

Adams and Sullivan (1987) reported that the following environmental variables were the mostimportant drivers of water temperature in forested streams: Stream depth. Stream depth is the most important variable of stream size for evaluatingenergy transfer. Stream depth affects both the magnitude of the stream temperaturefluctuations and the response time of the stream to changes in environmental conditions. Air temperature. Daily average stream temperatures are strongly influenced by dailyaverage air temperatures. When the sun is not shining, the water temperature in a volume ofwater tends toward the dew-point temperature (Edinger et al., 1974). Solar radiation and riparian vegetation. The daily maximum temperatures in a stream arestrongly influenced by removal of riparian vegetation because of diurnal patterns of solarheat flux. Daily average temperatures are less affected by removal of riparian vegetation. Groundwater. Inflows of groundwater can have an important cooling effect on streamtemperature. This effect will depend on the rate of groundwater inflow relative the flow inthe stream and the difference in temperatures between the groundwater and the stream.Regional air temperature, dewpoint temperature, and solar radiation during July-August 2001 areshown in Figure 3. Highest daily average stream temperatures would be expected during theperiod of maximum air temperatures in mid August.Page 6

400global solar short-wave (W/m2)Daily average global solar short-wave radiation /018/26/01air temperature (deg C)dewpoint temperature (deg C)30Temperature (degrees 1Figure 3. Regional solar radiation (Seattle), air temperatures (Arlington), and dewpointtemperatures (Arlington) during July-August 2001.Page 7

Heat budgets and temperature predictionThe transport and fate of heat in natural waters has been the subject of extensive study.Edinger et al. (1974) provide an excellent and comprehensive report of this research.Thomann and Mueller (1987) and Chapra (1997) have summarized the fundamental approach tothe analysis of heat budgets and temperature in natural waters that was used in this TMDL.Figure 4 shows the major heat energy processes or fluxes across the water surface or streambed.Figure 4. Surface heat exchange processes that affect water temperature.(net heat flux solar longwave atmosphere longwave back convection evaporation bed).Heat flux between the water and streambed occurs through conduction and hyporheic exchange.The heat exchange processes with the greatest magnitude are as follows (Edinger et al., 1974): Shortwave solar radiation. Shortwave solar radiation is the radiant energy which passesdirectly from the sun to the earth. Shortwave solar radiation is contained in a wavelengthrange between 0.14 µm and about 4 µm. At NOAA’s ISIS station in Seattle the daily averageglobal shortwave solar radiation for July-August 2001 was 240 watts per square meter(W/m2). The peak values during daylight hours are typically about three times higher than thedaily average. Shortwave solar radiation constitutes the major thermal input to an unshadedbody of water during the day when the sky is clear. Longwave atmospheric radiation. The longwave radiation from the atmosphere ranges inwavelength range from about 4 µm to 120 µm. Longwave atmospheric radiation dependsprimarily on air temperature and humidity and increases as both of those increase. Itconstitutes the major thermal input to a body of water at night and on warm cloudy days.The daily average heat flux from longwave atmospheric radiation typically ranges from about300 to 450 W/m2 at mid latitudes (Edinger et al., 1974).Page 8

Longwave back radiation from the water to the atmosphere. Water sends heat energyback to the atmosphere in the form of longwave radiation in the wavelength range from about4 µm to 120 µm. Back radiation accounts for a major portion of the heat loss from a body ofwater. Back radiation increases as water temperature increases. The daily average heat fluxout of the water from longwave back radiation typically ranges from about 300 to 500 W/m2(Edinger et al., 1974).An example of the estimated diurnal pattern of the surface heat fluxes in the segment ofDeer Creek near Oso for the week of August 9-15, 2001 is shown in Figure 5. The dailymaximum temperatures in a stream are strongly influenced by removal of riparian vegetationbecause of diurnal patterns of solar shortwave heat flux (Adams and Sullivan, 1989). The netheat flux into a stream can be managed by increasing the shade from vegetation, which reducesthe shortwave solar flux. Other processes, such as longwave radiation, convection, evaporation,bed conduction, or hyporheic exchange also influence the net heat flux into or out of a stream.700600500netsolarlongwave atmospherelongwave backair convectionevaporationsediment conductionhyporheicsolar400longwave atmosphereheat flux (Watts/m2)300net flux200100air convection0sediment conductionevaporation-100-200hyporheic-300longwave back-400-50012:00 AM3:00 AM6:00 AM9:00 AM12:00 PM3:00 PM6:00 PM9:00 PM12:00 AMFigure 5. Estimated heat fluxes in Deer Creek near Oso (05D01) during August 9-15, 2001.(net heat flux solar longwave atmosphere longwave back air convection evaporation sedimentconduction hyporheic).Heat exchange between the stream and the streambed has an important influence on watertemperature. The temperature of the streambed is typically warmer than the overlying water atnight and cooler than the water during the daylight hours (Figure 6). Heat is typically transferredfrom the water into the streambed during the day then back into the stream during the night(Adams and Sullivan, 1989). This has the effect of dampening the diurnal range of streamtemperature variations without affecting the daily average stream temperature.Page 9

25temperature (degrees C)waterstreambed2015108/10/0212:00 AM8/10/0212:00 PM8/11/0212:00 AM8/11/0212:00 PM8/12/0212:00 AM8/12/0212:00 PM8/13/0212:00 AM8/13/0212:00 PM8/14/0212:00 AM8/14/0212:00 PM8/15/0212:00 AMFigure 6. Water and streambed temperatures in mid-August in the North Fork StillaguamishRiver at Cicero (station 05NF02).The bulk temperature of a vertically mixed volume of water in a stream segment under naturalconditions tends to increase or decrease with time during the day according to whether the netheat flux is either positive or negative. When the sun is not shining, the water temperature tendstoward the dew-point temperature (Edinger et al., 1974; Brady et al., 1969). The equilibriumtemperature of a natural body of water is defined as the temperature at which the water is inequilibrium with its surrounding environment and the net rate of surface heat exchange would bezero (Edinger et al., 1968; Edinger et al., 1974).The dominant contribution to the seasonal variations in the equilibrium temperature of water isfrom seaso

26. Predicted and observed water temperatures in the Stillaguamish River basin for August 9-15, 2001 59 27. Predicted and observed water temperatures in the Stillaguamish River basin for September 7-8, 2001 60 28. Predicted daily maximum water temperatures in the Stillaguamish River for critical conditions during July-August 7Q2 and 7Q10 65 29.