HomeMy WebLinkAboutU.S. Geological Survey for Operation Of Continuous Water Quality Monitors In The Lower Boise and Snake RiversCity of Mer idi an
Publ ic Wor ks D ept.
Memo
To: Tammy de Weerd, Mayor
Frorts Clint Dolsby, Ailing Cily Engineer
CC: Thomas Barry, Public Works Director
Date: 8!18/2008
Re: Proposed Agenda Item for August 26, 2008 City Council Meeting
The Public Works Department respectfully requests the following item be placed on the
August 26 City Council agenda, under consent agenda, for Counctl's consideration:
USGS Joint Funding Agreement. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) arul Boise River
municipalities have developed a monitoring plan to collect water quality data on the Snake
and Boise Rivers. The plan is to operate three continuous water quality monitors for multiple
years (10-20) to track improvements in water quality related to TMDL implementation on
Lower Boise and Snake Rivers.
This agreement implements the first of at least six years of the plan. Total costs for the rust
year is $158,478 (USGS match of $74,476; local costs of $84,000). In subsequent years,
total costs will increase to $250-300,000 per year. USGS matching funds are artUapated to
be in the $30,000 to $50,000 range per year. The following Municipalities have committed
fund the first year of the project (FY2008): Boise ($47,600), Meridian ($8,800), Nampa
($15,900), and Caldwell ($13,800). The proposed Water Quality Monkorirg Memorarbum of
Understanding Cost Share to toe signed by these four entities is attached.
Recommended Council Action: The Public Works Deparbment recommends
that City Council approves the USGS Jolnt Funding Agreement for $8,800 and
authorize the Mayor to sign it.
Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding
any of these ftems.
• Page 1
JOINT FUNDING AGREEMENT
OPERATION OF CONTINUOUS WATER QUALITY MONITORS IN THE LOWER BOISE
AND SNAKE RIVERS BY THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
THIS AGREEMENT is entered into by and between the City of Boise ,hereinafter "Boise",
City of Meridian, hereina$er "Meridian", City of Caldwell, hereinaRer "Caldwell" and the City of
Nampa, hereinaRer "Nampa" for the purpose of jointly funding the collection of water quality data
on the Boise and Snake Rivers by the United States Geological Survey.
WHEREAS, Boise, Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell (collectively "the Cities") are subject to
NPDES permits issued by the U.S. EPA which regulate discharges to Waters of the US including
the Boise and Snake Rivers; and
WHEREAS, the Cities have determined it is Uteir best interests to monitor water quality in
the lower Boise and Snake Rivers; and
WHEREAS, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has offered to perform
continuous water quality monitoring of the Lower Boise and Snake Rivers on behalf of the Cities
subject to cost sharing ;and
WHEREAS, for the fiscal year 2008 (ending September 30, 2008) the USGS has agreed to
contribute $74,476.00 for water quality monitoring provided the Cities provide $84,000 in
matching funds; and
WHEREAS, the USGS will only contract with one of the Cities for the purpose of jointly
funding the water quality study for fiscal yeaz 2008; and
WHEREAS, Boise has agreed to contract with USGS and be the funding conduit for the
Cities to USGS; and
WHEREAS, the Cities have determined funding contribution amounts for fiscal year 2008
to utilize USGS for water quality monitoring of the Lower Boise and Snake Rivers; and
WHEREAS, the Cities desire to enter into this agreement to formalize the Cities funding and other
obligations for the USGS water quality monitoring project
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises, it is agreed:
1. Boise will enter into a contract with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for the purpose
of jointly funding continuous water quality monitoring of the Lower Boise and Snake Rivers. The
contract shall be in substantially the form set forth in Exhibit "A", attached hereto, and shall be for
the fiscal yeaz ending September 30, 2008.
2. The Cities agree to the following cost sharing amounts for the joint funding of the Cities fiscal
year 2008 share (through Boise) of the USGS agreement:
Boise $47,600
Meridian $6,800
Caldwell $13,800
Nampa $15,900
3. Boise shall invoice each of the Cities for their funding shaze within 30 days of finalizing the
USGS agreement. The Cities shall pay their invoiced shaze to Boise within 30 days of invoice
receipt.
4. The Cities agree to seek additional funding from other sources including the State, other
municipalities and private utilities to potentially defray the costs of this agreement. Any money
received will be distributed to the Cities for their pro rata share. In the event the USGS terminates
the USGS contract resulting in a return of funds the returned funds will be distributed to the Cities
for their pro rata shaze.
5. The term of this agreement from the signature date to September 30, 2008. Any City may
withdraw from this agreement by providing notice to the other Cities but shall remain obligated for
payment of their share set forth in Section 2.
CITY OF BOISE
BY:
Its:
Dated
CITY OF MERIDIAN
BY: Dated
Its:
CITY OF NAMPA
BY: Dated
Its:
CITY OF CALDWELL
BY: Dated
Its:
END OF AGREEMENT
United States Depaztment of the Interior
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
IDAHO WATER SCIENCE CENTER
230 Collins Road
Boise, Idaho 83702-4520
Lune 27.2008
Mr. Robbin Finch
City of Boise
Public Works Department
P.O. Box 500
Boise, Idaho 83701A500
Dear Mr. Finch:
Enclosed are two documents. The first is entitled "A Proposal to Operate Continuous WarervQuality
Monitors in the Lower Boise and Snake Rivers, Idaho". This document provides technical and funding
details for a proposed project that would provide continuous water-quality monitoring at three sites -one
on the Lower Boise and two on the Snake River, one above and one below the confluence with the Boise
River. The proposal describes the monitoring approach that would be used and the associated costs
beginning in 2008 and continuing through ?013. As outlined in table 2 of the proposal the costs for first
year of the project are $158,476.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is prepared to contribute $74,476 towards the FY 2008 costs as
outlined in the second enclosed docurt~nt which is a Joint Futtding Agreement (JFA). In subsequent years
the USGS matching funds contribution will be at least $30,000 with the possibility of being as much as
$50,000 depending upon availability. If this proposal meets with your approval please obtain appropriate
signatures on both copies of the agreement, retain one for your files, and return the other to us.
Work performed with funds from this agreement will be conducted on a fixed-price basis. The results of
all work under this agreement will be available for publication by the U.S. Geological Survey. Questions
concerning this proposal should be addressed to Mark Hardy at (208) 387-L352 or mhardy®usgs.gov.
Sincerel , ~/~/Z~%V
V
Kathy D. Peter, P.E.
Director, IWSC
Enclosures
Copy to: Greg Clark, USGS, Boise
Mark Hardy, USGS, Boise
Steve Lipscomb, USGS, Boise
Sally Thompson, USGS, Boise
A Proposal to Operate Continuous Water-Quality Monitors in the Lower Boise and
Snake Rivers, Idaho
BACKGROUND
The USEPA approved Total Maximttm Daily Load for Snake RivedHells Canyon reach (SR-HC TMDL)
recognizes excess phytoplanlaon production in the Hells Canyon reservoirs. To protect the designated
beneficial uses N the reach, maximum-seasonal-average and maximum chlorophyll-a concentrations have
been set at 14 mg/L and 30 tng/L, respectively. To attain then conditions, maximum total-phosphorus
(TP) concentration at the mouth of the Boise River have been set at 0.07 mg/L; significantly lower than
past monitored and modeled TP concentrations.
The relations between chlorophyll-a concentrations and phosphorus concentrations in the SR-HC TMDL
reach are unknown. Also unknown are the effects of nitrogen concentrations on algal production; effects
of the algal communities on other key waterquality properties related to beneficial uses such ss wales
clarity (turbidity), pH, and dissolved-oxygen content: and the significance of Boise Rivet contributions of
TP, total nitrogen (TN), and chlorophyll-a to the loads transported by the Snake River into Brownlce
Reservoir. Finally, limited work using automatic samplers suggests that TP concentrations in the Boise
River may change significantly and more rapidly than monthly monitoring frequencies were able to show.
To determine if concentrations of chlorophyll-a and TP are truly improving or meeting established
targets, and to address the unlmown information anti data variability issues discussed above, intensive
monitoring in the Boise and Snake Rivers is necessary. To make such monitoring cast effective, use of
automated methods is desirable.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this project are to:
Install and operate continuous water-quality (WQ) monitors on the lower Boise River and on the Snake
River above and below Boise River confluence,
Evaluate how well data from continuous WQ monitors (particularly chlorophyll-a) represent conditions in
the cross sections of the Rivers,
Evaluate relations between concentrations of chlorophylls and thou of phosphorus amd nitrogen species.
Evaluate the relative importance of Boise River TP and TN loads to the Snake River loads,
Estimate TP, TN, and chlorophyll-a loads to Brownlee Reurvoir,
Operate an automatic sampter to determine the short-tent variations in TP ~ mwr ........e.,,.4r:n.,e ;., rhP
Boise River near Patina.
APPROACH
Four commercial mWtiparameter wateryuahty monitors will be purchased capable of continuous
monitoring of tem~perazure, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductance. turbidity and chlorophyll-a. Three of the
instruments will be installed at the Boise River near Parma, ID; the Snake River near Nyssa, OR (about 9
miles below tbe confluence with the Boise River); and the Snake River near Adrian, OR (about 7 miles
above the confluence with the Boise River). The fourth instrument will be used when servicing the
installations to collect comparative data for evaluating installation fouling and for making necessary
corrections to the data record. This instrument will also be a backup if an installation completely fails. A
refrigerated automatic sampler will be reactivated at the Boise River near Parma, ID.
Sampling frequency of the multiparameter instruments will be 15-minute intervals. Although this
relatively high frequency will probably be more than necessary to capture significant stream processes, i[
may provide necessary information for interpreting aad correcting the data record as well as verifying
data ttends that occur over dial cycles. Water samples for laboratory analyses of chlorophyll-a,
orthophosphate, TP, ammonia, nitrite-plus-nitrate, and TN will be collected during most site visits.
Chlorophyll-a analyses will be performed by the US Bureau of Reclamation laboratory in Boise, ID;
nutrient analyses will be performed by the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory. Unless data
collection needs to cover certain hydrologic events, the automatic sampler will be set to collect samples at
49-hour intervals to ensure that samples are not collected at the same time each day and that both daylight
and dark periods are included. Because nutrient species are not expected W be stable in samples held in
an automatic sampler, these samples will be analyzed only for TN and TP by the USGS National Water
Qtrality laboratory. Continuous streamdischarge information will be available from gages near the
Nyssa and Parma sites. However, lack of a gage az Adrian will require that instantaneous discharge
measurements are made during site visits when full cross-section samples are collected.
Significant amounts of quality-control data need to be collected to determine how well instrument-
installation and auto-sampler locations represent the entire river cross sections, and the impacts of
installazion fouling on accuracy of the data. To minimiu data compromised by fouling, servicing
intervals will vary from wcekly during high algal-productivity periods to monthly during low-
Productivity periods, Qualitytontrol samples and rrteasunernents will include comparisons of
multiparameter-instrument readings using an independem instrument next to the installation, pro- and
post leaning measurements and samples, grab samples at the ittstru~nt installation and automatic-
sampler-intake locations, and replicate samples. Table 1 shows a generalized uhedule anticipated for
service on installations and collection of samples.
TABLE 1.--Generalized tasks and frequencies for service and sample wllection
TASK Odoberthrough May June July through September
Continuous-monitorservice Monthl Biweekl Weekly
Multi arametercrosssedions Monthly Biweekl Biweekl
Grabsam les(chloro hyll) Monthl Biweekl Weeki
EWI samples (chloro h II & nutrients) Monthl Biweekl Weekly
Discha a measurements (Adrian onl) Monthly Biweekl Weekly
Parma auotmatic-sam ler service Monthi Biweekl Weekly
PRODUCTS
Measurements of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductance, turbidity, and chlorophyll-a will be
recorded at IS-minute intervals. This data will be available to the public on the USGS www site,
generally within 3 weeks after downloading from the instruments. Only data determined to be of poor
quality and uncornctable due to instmrnent fouling or other problems will be omitted. TN and TP
analyses from the automatic sampler at Parrna will be reported for automatically-collected samples at 49-
hour intervals (approximately 175-180 samples per full year). Collection of additional qualitycontrol
samples will be done to ensure that samples from the automatic sampler continue to represent the Boise
River.
Starting in the second year of the project, products interpreting some aspect of the project will be
produced. Interpretive reports summarizing tin: overall monitoring network and resulting data will be
produced every 2 ro 3 years with every other one designed to coincide with EPA's reporting
requirements. A smaller product (such as a poster, journal article, or presentation at a technical meeting)
addressing some particular aspect of the network data will be produced in 2009 and in each year that an
interpretive report is not written thereafter.
BUDGET
Table 2 shows the annual costs for the project for the federal fiscal year (October 1 -September 30) 2008
through 2013. The USGS will provide $74,476 in matching funds in fy2008 to cover instrument
purchases and installations. In subsequent years, minimum USGS matching funds will be $30,000, and
could range as high as $50,000, depending on availability and oa costs associated with repass, articles,
and other informational projects stemtning from this project
TABLE 2,-Project costs in dollars for fiscal years 2003 thronBh 2013
Fyy~ FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 Fl'2013
i t
' 4560 11900 12260 12630 13010 13400
ectovets
Pro
Labor and installations 29220 71500 73650 75860 78130 80480
Insnuments 55320
10300
10610
10930
11260
Instrument maintenance 7180 19680 20270 20880 21510 22150
Su lies
6700 18750 19310 19890 20480 21100
Laborat
Shi and Misc. 2000 30
0
~~~ 1
0( 10300 106 0 10930 11260
Overhead 53496 121770 126700 130500 134480 138510
TOTAL 158476 257100 276400 284700 293300 302100
USGS share 74476 TBD* TBD TBD TBD TBD
Cooperator share 84000 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
*To be determined