Era, Brandee and Dave Serdar. “Reassessment of Toxicity of Lake Roosevelt Sediments.” Washington State Department of Ecology. 01-03-043 (Dec. 2001) (reviewed by Julie Krogh)
Summary
In 2001, the Washington State Department of Ecology conducted a study to assess the toxicity levels in a 151 mile stretch of the river. Specifically, the study measured levels of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, and zinc. There are four figures and eight tables included in the report that help communicate the data to the reader. The structure of the report consists of an abstract, acknowledgements, introduction, methods, data quality, results, discussion, conclusions, and recommendations followed by a list of references and appendices.
The study collected data from 9 sites; 4 in the Upper Columbia River and 5 in the Lower Lake Roosevelt and contrasted the results against a reference site upstream of the Trail smelter in Canada. The primary purpose of the study was “determine if these sites should remain on the federal Clean Water Act Section 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies” since the criteria for inclusion were changing in 2002. The difference between the previous policy and the new one resides in the number of toxicity hits per segment of the river. According to the previous policy, one toxicity hit per site was enough to place it on the 303(d) list but after 2002, a segment would have to have three toxicity hits to be on the list. Out of the nine sites tested in this study, eight of them would have qualified for the previous list but none met the standards for the new policy. The definition of a segment in the Clean Water Act Section is “a grid 2,460 feet longitude by 3,650 feet latitude,” for open waters and “the portion of the waterbody lying within the section of a township and range,” for rivers and streams. According to these definitions, the testing sites are not close enough together to reach the three toxicity hits standard for inclusion on the list.
Critique
This study is very readable, especially for a reader who is not accustomed to scientific reading. The organization lends itself to an easy flow from one idea to another and is also helpful when looking for specific data or information. The report also explains why it is important. It was necessary for the Department of Ecology to study the toxicity levels in order to establish which sites could be included on the updated Clean Water Act Section 303(d) list. This is relevant to the study of the Columbia River because it demonstrates not only how toxic the river is but also how faulty legislation regarding the cleanup or protection of the river can be. There are many sites that are definitely toxic, according to the findings of this study, but because of a technicality will not be placed on the list.
Robert D. Clark Honors College, University of Oregon
HC 441: Science Colloquium, Columbia River Ecology
Fall term, 2005
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