Wetland plan
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:51 PM PDT
Larry Meyer Argus Observer
ONTARIO
Efforts to reduce pollutants in area streams through the use of wetlands is proving to be successful through projects sponsored by the local soil and water conservation district and watershed councils.
The Malheur County Soil and Water Conservation District and Malheur and Owyhee Watershed councils are working to be ahead of the game to help farmers, ranchers and others within area watersheds to be in compliance with water quality rules and bring waterways within federal water quality standards.
Some of the standards which must be met will be set within the next few years by the total maximum daily loads process. Those processes will determine what the pollutants are in the Malheur and Owyhee Rivers, the amount of those pollutants and how much they have to be reduced.
Among the projects being used to improve water quality in these rivers is the construction of wetlands to remove sediment and other pollutants from water running off fields before it drains into area streams. One of those projects is the Luther Wetland, west of Malheur Butte, which is already showing impressive results, according to a report presented Thursday during a tour by the Malheur Watershed Council.
Explaining the project, Duane Pearson, Malheur County S&WCD, said the project has been in the planning stage since 2000 and was approved by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, which provides funding, in the spring of 2001. The wetland, on property owned by Dale and Jane Luther, consists of a five-cell area covering 21 acres, Pearson said. Water being filtered is pumped from a drain canal, which collects water from a little more than 900 acres. The cells consist of a sediment basin; a primary filter; a shallow wetland, ranging from 15 to 18 inches deep; a deep water pond, which varies from 4 to 8 feet deep; and the final filter or polishing area.
Pearson said some of the objectives included reduction of sediment transport from agriculture drains by 80 percent, a reduction in nitrate assimilation into surface and ground water by 70 percent and the removal, by 80 percent, of the ortho-phosphorus from the water.
"It met and exceeded our goals, he said. "Nitrates were reduced by 88 percent."
Ortho-phosphorus was reduced by 81 percent and total phosphorus was reduced by 59 percent, but if the highest and lowest readings are thrown out, the phosphorous levels were reduced by 76 percent.
"E. coli was reduced by 50 percent, but again, if the highest and lowest numbers are thrown out, E. coli was reduced by 91 percent," Pearson said. Suspended sediment was reduced by 80 percent, he said.
Other agencies providing assistance to the project included Natural Resource Conservation Service, Idaho Power, local irrigation districts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Crews from the Snake River Correctional Institution helped in planting.
