Water-quality assessment of the Smith River drainage basin, California and Oregon
Links
- Document: Report (pdf)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
A water-quality assessment of the Smith River drainage basin was made to provide a summary of the water-quality conditions including known or potential water-quality problems. Results of the study showed that the water quality of the Smith River is excellent and generally meets the water-quality objectives for the beneficial uses identified by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region.
Known and potential problems related to water quality include: Sedimentation resulting from both natural erosional processes and land-use activities such as timber harvest, road construction, and mining that accelerate the erosional processes; bacterial contamination of surface and ground waters from inundated septic tanks and drainfields, and grazing activities; industrial spills which have resulted in fish kills and oil residues; high concentrations of iron in ground water; log and debris jams creating fish migration barriers; and pesticide and trace-element contamination from timber-harvest and mining activities, respectively.
Future studies are needed to establish: (1) a sustained long-term monitoring program to provide a broad coverage of water-quality conditions in order to define long-term water-quality trends; and (2) interpretive studies to determine the source of known and potential water-quality problems.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Water-quality assessment of the Smith River drainage basin, California and Oregon |
| Series title | Water-Resources Investigations Report |
| Series number | 81-22 |
| DOI | 10.3133/wri8122 |
| Year Published | 1982 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Description | vii, 118 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | California, Oregon |
| Other Geospatial | Smith River Drainage Basin |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |