1. Dan Child CEE 5440/6440 Utah State University Fall 2003
Utilizing BASINS to Calculate Pollutant Loads in the Logan River and Their Effect on Bonneville Cutthroat Trout Distribution
Dan Child
CEE 5440/6440
Utah State University
Fall 2003

2. Introduction
The Logan River in northern Utah is home to four trout species:
Rainbow trout
Brook trout
Brown trout
Bonneville cutthroat trout
Trout species are unevenly distributed throughout the river, with cutthroat being largely confined to the middle and upper reaches.
Bonneville Cutthroat (source: fish.g2gm.com)
The Logan River (source: Webshots.com)

3. Cutthroat Distribution
No existing extent-of-species data!
Headwaters of Logan River
Logan City
Rough southerly extent of cutthroat range
Approximately 6 miles of river in which cutthroat are scarce or completely excluded
End of Logan River

4. Objectives Estimate nonpoint source pollution in the Logan River.
Use the results to assess whether the distribution of Cutthroat trout in the Logan River is related to pollutant loading.
Address other factors that may affect Cutthroat trout distribution.

5. Methods
BASINS (Better Assessment Science Integrating point and Nonpoint Sources)
BASINS Models:
PLOAD – calculates nonpoint source pollution in watersheds and subwatersheds
Qual2E – enhanced stream water quality model
HSPF – hydrologic simulation program
SWAT – soil and water analysis tool intended for watersheds having agriculture as the primary land

6. PLOAD Strengths Limitations
Simulates annual pollutant loads based on land use classification
Evaluates the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Effective planning level model
Doesn’t account for other pollution sources
Cannot simulate daily or monthly pollutant loads
Cannot simulate instream processes such as hydraulics and nutrient decay
PLOAD data is often used by more complex models for more site-specific analysis

7. Project Area
HUC#
The Little Bear River watershed. (source: National Hydrography Dataset)

8. Project Area Beginning of project analysis End of project analysis
Logan River

9. Data Sources National Elevation Dataset National Hydrography Dataset
BASINS (Better Assessment Science Integrating point and Nonpoint Sources)

10. Digital Elevation Map

11. NHD River Reach Data

12. Shrub and brush rangeland
Land Use
Predominant Land Uses
Upper & Middle Reaches
Shrub and brush rangeland
Mixed rangeland
Mixed forestland
Deciduous forestland
Evergreen forestland
Lower Reaches
Cropland and pasture
Residential
Industrial
Nonforested wetland

13. BASINS Utilities
Watershed Delineation

14. PLOAD
Subwatersheds selected for analysis

15. Export Coefficient Method
PLOAD
Export Coefficient Method
LP= ∑U ( LPU * AU )
LP = Pollutant load ,lbs
LPU = Pollutant loading rate for land use type U, lbs/acre/yr
AU = Area of land use type u, acres

16. PLOAD
Pollutant Selection
BOD
COD
NOX
NH3 TP DP
TSS
TDS
TKN

17. PLOAD
EMC Table

18. PLOAD Output Output Format
Annual pollutant loads for each subwatershed
Per acre pollutant loads for each subwatershed
Output Format
Tabular form
Layout maps for each specific pollutant
Interactive map / table

19. Selected subwatershed
PLOAD
Output Map / Table
Selected subwatershed

20. PLOAD
Pollutant Layout – NH3
Tabular Data
Annual loads

21. PLOAD
Pollutant Layout – NH3
Tabular Data
Per acre loads

22. Summary of Results Conclusions
The Logan River contains significant accumulation of the following pollutants: BOD, COD, NOX, NH3, TP, DP, TSS, TDS, TKN.
Pollutants of particular concern:
Ammonia (NH3): ,000 lbs added to the river each year (total length of river ~ 40 miles)
20,000 lbs accumulated over the lowest 6 miles of the river.
Phosphorus (TP): ,000 lbs added to the river each year
40,000 lbs accumulated over the lowest 6 miles of the river.
Nitrogen Oxides (NOX): 115,000 lbs added to the river each year.
Conclusions
Pollutant accumulation in the river’s lower reaches may play a role in the exclusion of Cutthroat trout.
More research is necessary to validate this hypothesis.

23. Notes
This project was intended to provide a broad analysis of pollutant loading in the Logan River.
Other sources of pollution exist which were not analyzed in this project, including: U.S. Highway 91, other roads, point source pollution, etc.
Aside from pollution, other potential factors affecting Cutthroat trout distribution include: gamefish stocking, competition from other trout species, hydraulics, and biological factors.

24. Possible Future Work Thank You !
Conduct enhanced water quality modeling to better estimate pollution content in the river.
Create extent of species data for Bonneville cutthroat trout in the river (currently nonexistent).
Integrate gamefish stocking data from the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) into the project.
Collaborate with other disciplines to assess biological impacts on Cutthroat distribution.
Thank You !