subject to fluctuation from irrigation 

 demands and from the discharge of surplus 

 irrigation water. Water temperatures up to 

 84.7° F. have been observed. Crab Creek 

 water is very alkaline, hard, highly turbid, 

 colored and it is extremely high in dis- 

 solved substances in comparison with other 

 Washington streams. Because of its small 

 flow, it has no appreciable effect on Colum- 

 bia River water quality other than along 

 the east bank below the point of confluence. 

 IXiring daylight hours, the creek is usually 

 supersaturated with oxygen. No dissolved 

 oxygen determinations were made during the 

 early morning hours of darkness. Some high 

 water quality values observed were: pH, 

 8.9; total alkalinity, 404; carbonate alka- 

 linity, 100; total hardness, 240; sulfates, 

 220; color, 125; turbidity, 440; sodium, 

 135; potassium, 50; total solids, 1650; and 

 conductivity, 1180. 



Water quality in the Columbia River 

 at these two locations is substantially the 

 same. Values at the downstream location 

 (below Vantage) are slightly higher for 

 temperature and some dissolved minerals. 

 Low carbonate alkalinities , not observed at 

 Rock Island, were present below Vantage 

 only during the months of August and Septem- 

 ber. Water temperatures in the river (away 

 from the shore) never reached 65° F. The 

 water was saturated (corrected) with dis- 

 solved oxygen on nearly all observations, 

 usually being supersaturated. 



Nason Creek near Mouth 



Table 15 and 16, Figures 25 and 26: 



This is normally a cool, clear stream 

 of high quality except when riled by road 

 construction or by heavy rainfall or snow 

 melt. Water temperatures for the warmest 

 month (August) average under 60° F. The 

 water is very soft, has a low alkalinity 

 and little plant life as evidenced by oxy- 

 gen saturation on values that are seldom 

 above 100 percent saturation. Water quality 

 data collected by the U. S. Fish and Wild- 

 life Service in 1940 show no significEtnt 

 change when compared with 1955-57 data. 



Chiwawa River near Mouth 

 Table 17, Figures 27 and 28 : 



Wenatchee River below Plain 

 Table 18, Figures 29 and 30 : 



Wenatchee River in Tumwater Canyon 

 Table 19, Figures 31 and 32 : 



Water quality at these three loca- 

 tions is substantially the same. The water 

 is normally cool, clear, low in dissolved 

 mineral matter and saturated with oxygen. 

 pH values do not exceed 8.0; total alkalin- 

 ity and total hardness are less than 27 and 

 40 mg/1 as CaCO^ respectively; 75 percent 

 of the time, color and turbidity values are 

 less than maximum values prescribed for 

 drinking water of 20 and 10 respectively; 

 and total solids are usually less than 50. 



Columbia River at Beebe Orchard Bridge 

 Table 20, Figures 33 and 34 : 



Water quality values obtained at this 

 station represent the quality of water 

 entering the study area. Flow characteris- 

 tics at Beebe are similar to those at Rock 

 Island, below Vantage eind at Pasco. The 

 highest observed water temperature was 

 64.8° F. in September. The river was satu- 

 rated with oxygen (corrected values) and 

 in June, dissolved oxygen saturation ex- 

 ceeded 130 percent (corrected for altitude 

 and new solubility values). pH was normally 

 under 8.0 and carbonate alkalinity was not 

 found on any of the 18 sampling periods. 

 Bicarbonate alkalinity averaged about 57 

 mg/1 at CaC03 excepting during the period 

 of low flow in March when it rose to a 

 maximum of 72. Total hardness averaged 60 

 mg/1 as CaCOo except in March when it rose 

 to 82. Turbidity and color were signifi- 

 cant only during the period of high runoff 

 in May. The high turbidity value of 45 and 

 color of 17 observed in March 1957 were not 

 normal for this time of year. These high 

 values were apparently caused by unseason- 

 able rainfall in the area as March of 1957 

 was an exceptionally wet month (20). Total 

 solids averaged less than 100 mg/1. In 

 summary, the Columbia River, as it enters 

 the survey area, is a cool, moderately, 

 soft, low- alkalinity stream with no quality 

 characteristics making it unsuitable for 

 aquatic life. 



93 



