Oregon Watersheds: Many Activities Contribute to Increased Turbidity During Large Storms
RCED-98-220
Published: Jul 29, 1998. Publicly Released: Jul 29, 1998.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on five municipal watersheds in Oregon and the activities that contribute to increased turbidity during large storms, focusing on the: (1) human activities that may have contributed to the high turbidity levels in western Oregon's municipal watersheds in February 1996; and (2) efforts under way by federal, state, local, and private land managers and owners, as well as the affected cities, to ensure safe drinking water during future storms.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture | To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of efforts to improve water quality and ensure safe drinking water to cities in western Oregon, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service and the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to include key landowners--who are critical to understanding and addressing the condition of a watershed--in memorandums of understanding with cities and in other agreements to address watershed issues and concerns. |
Closed – Implemented
On January 26, 1999, USDA OIG informed GAO that the Department agrees that the Forest Service, during forest planning and project level planning, should strive to include, in meaningful ways, all landowners within municipal watersheds. The OIG stated that the Forest Service is reviewing and updating existing memorandums of understanding for the five cities in GAO's review with the aim of being fully inclusive with all landowners and interested parties. As of February 1999, the Willamette National Forest had started renegotiating its memorandum of understanding with the City of Salem to include other landowners and stakeholders within the North Santiam River Watershed. As of August 1999, the City of Salem, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, and other large landowners had signed a new memorandum of understanding for lands within the North Santiam River Watershed.
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| Department of the Interior | To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of efforts to improve water quality and ensure safe drinking water to cities in western Oregon, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service and the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to include key landowners--who are critical to understanding and addressing the condition of a watershed--in memorandums of understanding with cities and in other agreements to address watershed issues and concerns. |
Closed – Implemented
The Salem District Office of BLM had started negotiating to join into the memorandum of understanding between the City of Salem and the U.S. Forest Service. The Salem District Office was to be a partner in this memorandum of understanding along with other landowners within the North Santiam River Watershed. As of August 1999, the City of Salem, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, and other large landowners had signed a new memorandum of understanding for lands within the North Santiam River Watershed. In commenting on a draft of this, the Department of Interior agreed with this recommendation.
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| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service and the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director, BLM, to take the following actions when conducting watershed analysis: (1) at a minimum, gather data on municipal water quality that are comparable with the data gathered by other federally funded analyses; (2) when feasible, include water quality as a primary focus and/or conduct the analyses along the boundaries of the municipal watersheds; (3) to the extent possible, collaborate with nonfederal land managers and owners to gather data that are comparable; and (4) when practical, develop data on the impact of new timber-harvesting methods and road construction practices on water quality. |
Closed – Implemented
BLM in western Oregon is updating and revising already completed watersheds to incorporate these recommendations. In addition, dialogues about management of these watersheds are continuing to grow. BLM has joined with the Forest Service and a partnership of agencies and academia to develop a technical paper on the effects of land management practices on forested municipal watersheds on drinking water quality. BLM had implemented several collaborative efforts within the McKenzie River Watershed to gather data on watershed conditions, including a joint storm monitoring program with the McKenzie River Watershed Council. The agency is also participating, in a watershed council effort to develop data standards and a common database for the watershed. In addition, the Salem District Office of BLM is helping to implement a monitoring program with the Salem, the Forest Service and other landowners within the North Santiam River Watershed to monitor and report on conditions within that watershed.
|
| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service and the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director, BLM, to take the following actions when conducting watershed analysis: (1) at a minimum, gather data on municipal water quality that are comparable with the data gathered by other federally funded analyses; (2) when feasible, include water quality as a primary focus and/or conduct the analyses along the boundaries of the municipal watersheds; (3) to the extent possible, collaborate with nonfederal land managers and owners to gather data that are comparable; and (4) when practical, develop data on the impact of new timber-harvesting methods and road construction practices on water quality. |
Closed – Implemented
The Forest Service in western Oregon is updating and revising already completed watersheds to incorporate these recommendations. In addition, dialogues about management of these watersheds are continuing to grow. The Service is leading a partnership of agencies and academia to develop a technical paper on the effects of land management practices on forested municipal watersheds on drinking water quality. The Willamette National Forest implemented several collaborative efforts within the McKenzie River Watershed to gather data on watershed conditions, including a joint storm monitoring program with the McKenzie River Watershed Council. The agency is also participating in a watershed council effort to develop data standards and a common database for the watershed. In addition, the Willamette National Forest is implementing a monitoring program with Salem, BLM, and other landowners within the North Santiam River Watershed to monitor and report on conditions within that watershed.
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