Water Quality

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Temperature Monitoring | CDR's | Bio-Criteria | WQ Testing | Rain Gauges | Laboratory

In 1990 the Hoopa Valley Tribe received approval by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), to be treated as a state with respect to the Water Pollution Control Program under Section 106 of the Clan Water Act (CWA). This made the Hoopa Valley Tribe the first Tribe in California to receive such approval and to receive approval of the Tribal Water Quality Standards. The Hoopa Tribe has since used this funding to conduct the Water Quality Planning and Management Program on the Reservation.

Click Here for the Revised 2008 WQCP
Document Updated 03/07/08 (8.01 MB) February 2008 Document

Click Here for the 2008 WQCP Staff Report
Updated 03.07.08 (4.13 MB)

Click Here for the 2008 USEPA Approval Letter
Updated 03.07.08 (304 kb)

Click Here for the 2002 USEPA Approval Letter
(795 kb)

The goal of the Water Quality Planning process is to provide a definitive program of actions designed to preserve and enhance water quality on the Reservation and to protect the beneficial uses of water. Hoopa Valley Tribal EPA (TEPA) recognizes the unique characteristics of each watershed with regard to natural water quality, existing, potential, and historical beneficial uses, and water quality problems.

TEPA has developed a Monitoring Plan, which is a program whose purpose is to monitor reservation waters. The Monitoring Program is based on the beneficial uses assigned to each stream and the potential point and non point source pollution which can take place in each watershed. The purpose of the monitoring efforts, are for the collection of trend, baseline, implementation, effectiveness, project, validation, and compliance monitoring data. The collected data has and will continue to be used in the development and implementation of the future water quality standards and other management programs.

CDR Data Collection Equipment- Supply Creek

TEPA currently collects data through the following activities throughout the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation

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Temperature Monitoring

Temperature Monitoring is an integral part of TEPA’s overall Water Quality Program. We have current temperature data from every main tributary stream on the Hoopa Reservation. TEPA has been collecting and analyzing temperature data for all stream for about 6 years. Onset Optic Stowaway Probes are used throughout the Reservation during the summer months to collect water temperature data. They are then pulled out of the streams before the creeks begin to swell from the rain. The probes are then downloaded onto a computer to analyze the raw data in order to create temperature graphs and timelines. There are approximately 50 temperature probes currently collecting data throughout Hoopa’s watersheds.

Data is Computed for Trend Analysis

Continuous Data Recorders (CDR's)

The Tribal Environmental Protection Agency (TEPA) has been monitoring streams within the reservation for the past ten years. The Tribe has tried many different types of monitoring before, however, the Continuous Data Recorders from Campbell Scientific were selected based on the physical parameters that they are able to collect. TEPA has the ability to monitor up to twenty parameters; including stage, conductivity, pH, temperature, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. At the onset of the monitoring program, the department only monitored streams that were in timber harvest areas or in an area that would soon have road building. These streams were considered priority because of the possible negative impacts that could be related to logging and road building. In 1997, the department fought to get all streams listed as priority streams regardless of whether timber harvesting or road building was planned in or around the drainage. Currently, the department has CDR’s located on all seven of the reservations major streams. The stations are located at the reservation boundaries, as well, as the mouths of our local creeks. The reason for having two sites per creek is so we can monitor the effects of off reservation activities, as well, as on reservation impacts.

Bio-Criteria Monitoring

The identification of water quality degradation requires appropriate monitoring tools. Such tools help us detect and characterize the cause and source of chemical, physical and biological impairment. Bio-assessments are the primary tool to evaluate the biological condition of a waterbody. Bio-assessments, along with CDR monitoring, are crucial for evaluating the health of a reservation watersheds. Aquatic life integrates the cumulative effects of different stressors such as excess nutrients, toxic chemicals, increased temperature, and excessive sediment loading. Therefore, bio-assessments allow us to measure the aggregate impact of the stressors. Because biological communities respond to stresses over time, they provide information that more rapidly changing water chemistry measurements or toxicity tests do not always produce. As such, bio-assessments provide a more reliable evaluation of long-term biological changes in the condition of a waterbody. The central purpose of assessing the biological condition of aquatic communities is to determine how well a water body supports aquatic life. Bio-assessments reflect the condition of overall ecological integrity (i.e., when the biology is healthy, typically the chemical and physical components of a waterbody are also in good condition). Therefore, bio-assessments directly assess the condition of ecosystem health, a primary goal of the Clean Water Act. TEPA has gathered bio-criteria data on its 7 major tributaries over the past 4 years and has incorporated its data into the California version of the EDAS database program to generate stream health indices. The Tribe intends to utilize this baseline data to determine stream health trends over time and describe the impacts of timber operations that affect the aquatic ecosystems. In addition, TEPA will utilize baseline trends in the development of narrative bio-criteria that will eventually be incorporated into the Tribe’s Water Quality Standards package. The standards, in turn, are used along with chemical and physical criteria to better manage water resources.

Intolerant Species (presence indicates good overall stream health)

Water Quality Testing

TEPA monitors water quality throughout the Reservation on a regular basis in order to establish a baseline of information that will strengthen our already established water quality standards. Most tributaries and the Trinity River are monitored for dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, water temperature, riparian temperature, turbidity, and fecal/coliform. Data collected from these samples are first checked for quality, and then added to TEPA’s database for analysis. We are then able to determine trends, and threshold limitations. This is very useful during timber sale operations, for streams that are next to existing septic systems, and known point sources of pollution.

Collecting Water Sample for later Analysis

Rain Gauges

TEPA currently operates four rain gauges on the Hoopa Reservation. They are located on hilltops above the Mill, Supply, Bull, and Tish-Tang watersheds. The gagues measure precipitation in inches throughout the year. Data has been collected at these sites since 1997. Basic maintenance such as checking and changing the battery is done every couple of weeks or whenever we download the data from these instruments. This data is then added to the TEPA database in order to be compiled for future use.

Laboratory Analysis

Hoopa Tribal EPA has the ability to perform various sample analysis and tests thanks to a well-equipped water quality in house laboratory. We have the ability to perform tests ranging from biological oxygen demand, fecal/coliform, pH, dissolved oxygen, suspended solids biological identification, phosphate, nitrate, turbidity, and conductivity. Daily, we calibrate all of our equipment in order to verify tests and procedures, and to validate our laboratory. Our future goals are to certify our lab and begin taking the responsibility of all the water testing in our local area.

TEPA's State-of-the-Art Laboratry Facilities

Temperature Monitoring | CDR's | Bio-Criteria | WQ Testing | Rain Gauges | Laboratory