1. Collaborative Water-Quality Monitoring in the Big Thompson Watershed Juliane B. Brown USGS-BTWF Liaison Colorado District Rob R. Buirgy BTWF Coordinator Loveland, Colorado

2. Where is the Big Thompson Watershed? The Big Thompson River originates in Rocky Mountain National Park, and flows east to the South Platte River, through the city of Loveland. It supplies water for much of NE Colorado. Receives and delivers west-slope water through the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) Colorado Big Thompson project.

3. Big Thompson Watershed

5. Who is the Big Thompson Watershed Forum? A group of water providers and other interested parties who are concerned about water quality in the Big Thompson Watershed. The Forum’s mission is to assess and protect water quality in the Big Thompson Watershed.

6. Why is the BTWF interested in Water Quality? Some reservoirs currently have elevated concentrations of nutrients and manganese. Fish kills occur with some frequency. Effects of forest fires on water quality. Impacts from growth and development within the extended basin could further affect water quality. Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act affect water providers and dischargers.

7. Increasing Need for Water-Quality Monitoring Clean Water Action Plan Source Water Protection Watershed Groups Growth and Development Conversion of Water Supplies from Agricultural to Municipal Increased Recreational Use

8. Past Water-Quality Monitoring Efforts

9. Variability in sample collection, analytical methods, and data management. Data were not shared among all parties. Duplication of sampling was common. Limited geographic scope of monitoring.

10. Current Status Partners: BTWF, Ft. Collins, Greeley, Loveland, Tri-District Water Utility, BOR, NCWCD, CDWR, CSU. Funding: Voluntary contributions from participants on a cost-shared basis. Budget: $280,000 annually.

11. Current Status 19 Professional Sites. 22 Volunteer Sites. Monthly / Bi-Monthly sampling. NWIS / In-house STORET data management. Password protected web-delivered data.

12. Future Activities Merged Professional / Volunteer program. Development of interactive data base/Web page. Interpretation and analysis of water-quality data. Reports on water-quality conditions and trends. Coordinated monitoring with west slope portion of the basin.

13. Why did BTWF ask USGS to be involved? USGS can work with the many partners involved with the effort. USGS involvement lends increased credibility to data produced. USGS already involved in monitoring in the watershed. USGS can offer matching funds.

14. Why did BTWF ask USGS to be involved? USGS has well recognized and documented sampling and analysis protocols. USGS National Water-Quality Laboratory (NWQL) has highly regarded QA/QC procedures. USGS NWQL has capability to run low-level nutrients. USGS has capability to measure streamflow.

15. USGS Involvement – When? Where? How? When and Where August 2001 Spring 2001 How Sampling and measurement. Low-level nutrient analysis. Data management and review.

16. Big Thompson Little Thompson Buckhorn Creek South Platte Estes Park Fort Collins Berthoud M20 M10 M30 M40 North Fork Loveland M50 M60 M70 M80 M90 T10 M130 M150 C50 C20 C30 C40 C120 C10 M10 T20 Tributary Main Stem Canal Site Symbols C10 15/yr Site Type Sampling Frequency 15/yr BTWF Professional Monitoring Program Watershed Boundary & Sampling Site Locations Big Thompson Watershed M140 I-25 Pinewood Spgs Johnstown Drake Milliken

17. USGS Involvement – Why? PPB/EWI Protocol* Records Equipment Trained Personnel Q measurements Processing NWIS *National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data http://water.usgs.gov/owq/FieldManual/

18. Sites and Sampling Cross-sections Seasons Mixing Low/high flows Safety Access BTWF objectives

19. Seasonal Contrasts Winter 2002 Summer 2001

20. Equipment Contrasts Bridge board and AA Flow meter w/ 30 lb weight. DH-81 sample wand and 1-L Teflon-nozzle sample bottle.

21. Challenges Overcome Route & delivery logistics. Difficult field conditions. Multi-lab coordination. Data management. Overall program coordination.

22. Future Considerations… Monitoring program publication. Stage-discharge ratings. Expanded program. Data analysis? Turn-around times. Coordination with other monitoring.

23. BTWF Professional and Volunteer Monitoring Sampling Site Locations Big Thompson Little Thompson Buckhorn Creek South Platte Estes Park Fort Collins Berthoud M20 M10 M30 M40 North Fork Loveland M50 M60 M110 M70 M80 M90 T10 M130 M140 C50 C20 C30 C40 C120 R40 C10 VT30 VT20 VT10 VT40 VM10 VM20 VM30 VM40 VM50 C10 M10 T10 Tributary Main Stem Canal Reservoir R40 Site Symbols 15/year 18/year Site Type Sampling Frequency 15/year Volunteer12/year VT10 Milliken I-25 Drake Pinewood Spgs M150 Watershed Boundary Johnstown

24. Parting Thoughts... Collaborative monitoring programs can work. Establishing a collaborative monitoring program has many challenges -- most of which can be overcome. Federal agencies play a critical role to ensure comparable, high quality data are collected in collaborative efforts. Successful collaborative professional-volunteer efforts could benefit from further study and recognition in peer- reviewed literature.