&EPA Columbia River Basin Restoration Program Success Stories from the 2020 Grant Projects RESTORATION PROGRAM ABOUT THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN RESTORATION FUNDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Congress amended the Clean Water Act in 2016, which required EPA to establish a Columbia River Basin Restoration Program. EPA was directed to develop a voluntary, competitive grant program for eligible entities to fund environmental protection and restoration programs throughout the Basin. Eligible entities include state, Tribal, and local governments; regional water pollution control organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and soil and water conservation districts. Funded work must be for the purpose of environmental protection and restoration activities within the Columbia River Basin; and may include programs, projects, and studies. EPA funded 14 projects in the 2020, inaugural round of grants that address the following four priorities: 1. Increase monitoring and access data from monitoring. 2. Reduce stormwater and agricultural runoff. 3. Reduce toxics through small scale cleanup of non-CERCLA (also known as Superfund) contaminated sites. 4. Promote citizen engagement, education, and involvement to increase pollution prevention actions. In September of 2020, EPA was able to provide the full amount requested by successful grantees for a total of $2,053,903 in FY19 and FY20 grant funding. These are their stories of progress made to date. CITY OF VANCOUVER COLUMBIA SLOPE WATER QUALITY MONITORING (WA) The City of Vancouver Public Works Department received $144,039 from EPA's inaugural Columbia River Basin Funding Assistance Program. The City of Vancouver is working with a consultant to conduct water quality monitoring at six locations along the Columbia Slope sub-watershed to identify and prioritize outfall basins (a point where stormwater runoff is discharged) where stormwater treatment retrofits would be effective in removing pollutants that are currently reaching the Columbia River. The sampling expands the city's understanding of how stormwater influences water quality and inform decisions about the feasibility of future stormwater infrastructure retrofits. Water samples are being tested for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, metals, and nutrients, as well as pesticides and hydrocarbons in limited cases. This project expands the city's water quality monitoring program to a sub-watershed that has not been studied before, and the project results will help drive decisions about how and where to make water quality improvements. FEBRUARY 2022 I 1 ------- © COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN RESTORATION PROGRAM "The City is excited to expand monitoring into this portion of Vancouver. Previous studies in the Columbia Slope sub-watershed have been intermittent and more routine data collection can identify whether water quality impairments exist in the basin." - Kris Olinger, Senior Civil Engineer, City of Vancouver Longvlew ijfet'r isfup £ | £ rS J ^ k>t' HHIsboro ^Portland Gresham Newberg yy*r ¦ y ULVifi }V\ v , ¦ ML Hood f-National Forest » Salem mx h,f - , 1, /n ¦ Warm Springs Reservation Map of Project Area ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE The City, with help from a contractor, established a monitoring plan and Quality Assurance Project Plan to move forward with this project. Water quality monitoring events occurred on June 10, July 15, and August 26, and November 22 for base water flow (normal, not storm-related) events in 2021. Storm event monitoring was conducted on October 26 and December 9 of 2021, and January 3, 2022. Discharge rate, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity were measured. Water quality laboratory analysis included toxic chemicals, metals, pesticides, nutrients, and bacteria. WHAT'S NEXT? WHERE DO THEY GO FROM HERE? Five additional water quality monitoring events will occur between January and March 2022. Twelve total monitoring events will occur between June 2021 and March 2022 to collect water quality data at six sites along the Columbia Slope watershed during both the wet and dry season. The results of the water quality monitoring will then be analyzed and included in a final report. To learn more, check out the City of Vancouver's website: https://www.cityofvancouver.us/publicworks/page/stormwater-surface-water- groundwater-utility. FEBRUARY 2022 I 2 ------- |