RBsearcb and lavestlgation on the 

 Quality of Water of the Columbia Blver and Effects 

 on the Tlsberles Resources 



Abstract 



A brief study bas been made of the 

 water quality in the Columbia River Basin. 

 Water quality constituents evaluated vere 

 those that might relate to the productivity 

 of the River Basin fishery. The natural 

 vater quality of the Basin has experienced 

 a significant change In the past k^ yeaz^ 

 through the construction of multipurpose 

 and single -purpose dams. After these dams 

 were built, vater was available for agri- 

 culture, industrial, aztd domestic consump- 

 tion. It is the spent vaters from these 

 consumptive uses, more than the dams them- 

 selves, that have produced this vater- 

 quality change. Troi the standpoint of the 

 fishery, the seemingly most Important com- 

 ponent of vater quality at this time is that 

 of temperature. Water temperatures in the 

 central Columbia and in the lover Snake and 

 Yakima Rivers are quite high during the 

 suoser. Dissolved constituents have shovn 

 a marked rise during the pcu t k^ years but 

 have not risen to the extent that the fish- 

 ery is endangered according to data pre- 

 sently available. Dissolved oxygen values 

 are high throughout the Basin vith the 

 exception of the lover Willamette River. 



This report should be considered as a 

 beginning on a stvidy of the Columbia Basin 

 vater quality and not as a report ccmplete 

 in itself. Its principal deficiency Is a 

 lack of data on vater-tomperature changes 

 caused by vater Impoundment under varying 

 conditions of Impoundment. Ho attempt has 

 been made to evaluate the various vater 

 constituents found in their relation to 

 ttquatic life. A study of these constituents, 

 present and predicted future, and their re- 

 lation to etquatic life seoss necessary since 

 available data on the subject are meager 

 and conflicting. 



IHTROnJCTION 



Streams of the Pacific Northvest eure 

 of particular value to the economy of the 

 region because of their extensive use by 

 anadromous fishes, beocuise of their pover 



potential, because some of them are favor- 

 ably located for Irrigation, because they 

 affozd recreation for hundreds of thouscuids 

 of people, and because saae can be made 

 suitable for vater-bome commerce. Many 

 think that these varied vater uses are in- 

 compatible; others think that their favored 

 use should have priority because of its 

 economic value or because it vas there 

 first; others feel that multipurpose use of 

 the streams is both Inevitable and desir- 

 able and that vith Intelligent study this 

 can be aceompLLished vith a minimum of damage 

 to other uses. To develop this multipurpose 

 vater use, dams and their companion reser- 

 voirs must be built and filled. 



In the ecurly days of the region's 

 development, dams vere constructed for a 

 particular pvirpose vithout any regard to 

 their effect on other water uses. If the 

 Pacific Northwest's vater resources are to 

 be developed for the good of all, these 

 multipurpose vater uses and their relations 

 to one another must be properly evaluated 

 on a basis of fact and not of conjecture. 

 These relations must be understood and 

 agreed upon by all those concerned in multi- 

 purpose vater use. 



This study has concerned itself vith 

 only one of the relations involved in multi- 

 purpose vater use; that is the changes in 

 vater quality that have taken place, and 

 the changes that may be expected to take 

 place in the future as a result of multi- 

 purpose-dam construction. The correlation 

 study to follov these vater-quality data 

 vill be an evaluation and study of their 

 effects on fish life. 



The study reported on herein vas 

 sponsored by the Uhited States Fish and 

 Wildlife Service and the Chelan Coimty 

 Public Utility District vith the University 

 of Washington, through its School of Fish- 

 eries, as contractor. Data on vater quality 

 vere collected and analyzed throxigh the 

 sanitary-engineering laboratory at the Uni> 

 versity of Washington. Additional supple- 

 nenteil data vere obtained from the U. S. 

 Geological Survey and other government and 



