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Location: Thompson Project Summary
Overview Fortune creek provides important habitat for resident rainbow trout, juvenile coho, and juvenile Chinook. Because of fish mortality and decline of habitat quality, DFO and the City of Armstrong have worked co-operatively to maintain mid-summer stream flows to sustain fish, but water management in the watershed has become increasingly difficult. After a scoping study from Jan. to April, 2007, a three-year project was proposed to and approved (in principle) by the Pacific Salmon Foundation in May 2007. Work in the first year (2007/08) used several techniques to quantify surface water and groundwater interactions. Work in the second year (2008/09) assessed specific fish habitat and population indicators in the creek. Fish habitat quality indicated by flow rate, temperature and water chemistry were monitored in areas with groundwater inflow and without. Fish enumeration studies are used to quantify seasonal variations in fish populations within the creek, and their relations to water temperatures and regional groundwater discharge. The focus of the third year (2009/10) will be to analyze enumeration and physical data from 2008 and continue our monitoring work on groundwater regimes, and habitat indicators. Objectives Methods Fish Populations: Eight monitoring reaches (about 50 m in length) were established in June 2008. Fish enumeration will be continued to complete a one year cycle to post-2009 freshet. DNA analysis will be conducted on Coho juveniles to determine the origin of juveniles in the creek. Fish habitat indicators: Water temperature at the eight main sites will be measured using sensors installed in the air, water column and stream bed. Manual measurements of water quality including dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH and conductivity will be collected at regular intervals. Additional in-stream dataloggers are deployed along the full length of the creek to monitor water temperature at intermediate locations. Surface and Groundwater effects: Surface water flows will be monitored at one automated and 4 additional manual flow measurement locations to the end of summer 2009. The downstream temperature and flow effects of summer water releases from the Silver Star reservoirs have been tracked through temperature and flow loggers. Two piezometers with water level and temperature loggers have been installed in a known groundwater upwelling location. This data will be used to investigate surface water - groundwater heat exchange to determine if groundwater inflows provide a summer cooling effect. Data analysis and statistical tests: A robust statistical analysis will be conducted to relate changes in species and population distributions to the monitored changes in physical and chemical parameters related to fish habitat such as flow, temperature, dissolved oxygen and groundwater discharge. The focus will be on linking salmon presence/absence and water temperature threshold. Other water quality parameters will be included as needed. The second part of the analysis will focus on the influence of surface water and groundwater inflows on stream temperatures using a process based examination of thermal processes. Information on heat contributions of surface water and groundwater will be used to model the effects of varying hydrologic regimes and management regimes (e.g. surface water release) on stream temperature.
Final Results The final report for the study is posted in the orange resource box to the right.
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