Reconnaissance investigation of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Harney County, Oregon, 1988-89

Rinella, Frank A.; Schuler, Carol A.

doi:10.3133/wri914085

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 75 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The endorheic (that is, closed with no outflow) Harney Basin in southeastern Oregon drains into Malheur, Mud, and Harney Lakes. Harney Lake is the lowest point in the basin, and during wet years, surface water flows out of Malheur Lake through Mud Lake and into Harney Lake (Rinella and Schuler, 1992). During dry years, the lakes are not connected by surface flow and the Mud Lake area is not inundated.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple years of above-average precipitation in the Harney Basin from 1980 through 1985 caused increased water depths and flooding of Malheur Lake (Fuste' and McKenzie, 1987;Rinella and Schuler, 1992). During September 17-18, 1984, USGS scientists collected chl-a and nutrient samples from four locations in the lake near the current sample sites NE, SE2, and SO.…”

Section: Trophic Status Of the Lakementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Implications of water, sediment, and nutrient budgets for the restoration of a shallow, turbid lake in semiarid southeastern Oregon

Smith,

Wood

2023

Scientific Investigations Report

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Malheur Lake is the largest lake in the endorheic Harney Basin in southeastern Oregon. Since the 1990s, Malheur Lake-which averages depths of about 1 meter-has been in a degraded, turbid state lacking submergent and emergent vegetation. The goals of this study were to identify the major sources of sediment and nutrients to Malheur Lake to determine the importance of managing nutrients for lake restoration. Discrete water samples were analyzed for nutrient (total phosphorus, total nitrogen, orthophosphate, nitrate+nitrite, and ammonia) and suspended-sediment concentrations, and additional parameters including chlorophyll-a and phytoplankton biomass were measured in lake samples. Lake area fluctuated from a minimum of 3,300 hectares (ha) to a maximum of 11,300 ha in water years 2019 and 2020. In water year 2019, inflow from the tributaries created a 1,400-hectare area in the lake with low turbidity that persisted for multiple months. Land-use practices and water diversions along the tributaries affected the hydrographs and nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations reaching the lake. As lake area increased, storage of sediment-associated constituents in the water column increased in excess of external loads because of resuspension. In 2019, 69 percent of the increase in suspended-sediment storage in the water column was attributed to internal resuspension and 31 percent was from external loading. Sediment was deposited as lake area decreased, and water-column storage decreased even as positive external loading continued. The internal resuspension, deposition, and external loading of suspended sediment likely is decreasing topographic heterogeneity in the lake. Concentrations of total phosphorus and orthophosphate are substantially higher than in the 1980s, and the lake is eutrophic. Phytoplankton in the lake was light limited in 2019-20, and restoration actions that prioritize vegetation establishment would reduce bioavailable nutrients for phytoplankton while increasing light in the water column.

show abstract

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Trophic Status Of the Lakementioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of water, sediment, and nutrient budgets for the restoration of a shallow, turbid lake in semiarid southeastern Oregon

Smith,

Wood

2023

Scientific Investigations Report

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

National Irrigation Water Quality Program data-synthesis data base

Seiler

Skorupa²

2001

Open-File Report

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Under the National Irrigation Water Quality Program (NIWQP) of the U.S. Department of the Interior, researchers investigated contamination caused by irrigation drainage in 26 areas in the Western United States from 1986 to 1993. From 1992 to 1995, a comprehensive relational data base was built to organize data collected during the 26-area investigations. The data base provided the basis for analysis and synthesis of these data to identify common features of contaminated areas and hence dominant biologic, geologic, climatic, chemical, and physiographic factors that have resulted in contamination of water and biota in irrigated areas in the Western United States. Included in the data base are geologic, hydrologic, climatological, chemical, and cultural data that describe the 26 study areas in 14 Western States. The data base contains information on 1,264 sites from which water and bottom sediment were collected. It also contains chemical data from 6,903 analyses of surface water, 914 analyses of ground water, 707 analyses of inorganic constituents in bottom sediments, 223 analyses of organochlorine pesticides in bottom sediments, 8,217 analyses of inorganic constituents in biota, and 1,088 analyses for organic constituents in biota. The data base is available to the public and can be obtained at the NIWQP homepage as dBase III tables for personal-computer systems or as American Standard Code for Information Exchange structured query language (SQL) command and data files for SQL data bases.

show abstract

Irrigation-induced contamination of water, sediment, and biota in the western United States-synthesis of data from the National Irrigation Water Quality Program

Seiler¹,

Skorupa²,

Naftz³

et al. 2003

Professional Paper

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reconnaissance investigation of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Harney County, Oregon, 1988-89

Cited by 4 publications

References 75 publications

Implications of water, sediment, and nutrient budgets for the restoration of a shallow, turbid lake in semiarid southeastern Oregon

Implications of water, sediment, and nutrient budgets for the restoration of a shallow, turbid lake in semiarid southeastern Oregon

National Irrigation Water Quality Program data-synthesis data base

Irrigation-induced contamination of water, sediment, and biota in the western United States-synthesis of data from the National Irrigation Water Quality Program

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About