Water Quality in the Puget Sound Basin, Washington and British Columbia, 1996–98

By James C. Ebbert, Sandra S. Embrey, Robert W. Black, Anthony J. Tesoriero, and Alan L. Haggland

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 1216

The full report is available in pdf.  Links to the pdf.

A contribution of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program

• NATIONAL WATER-QUALITY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
• SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS
  • Stream and river highlights
  • Ground-water highlights
• INTRODUCTION TO THE PUGET SOUND BASIN
  • Land use affects water quality and stream habitat
  • Water availability is a major issue
  • Hydrologic conditions probably affected study results
  • Some ground water is susceptible to contamination
  • Study design focuses on land use
• MAJOR FINDINGS
  • Pesticides in surface water were indicative of upstream land uses, and more pesticides were detected in streams than in rivers
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Insecticides in Thornton Creek were also detected in urban streams throughout the Nation
  • Historically used pesticides and PCBs are still detected in streambed sediments and fish tissue
  • Streams and rivers in developed areas were enriched with nutrients relative to those in undeveloped areas
  • Runoff during rainstorms contributes contaminants to streams, indicating nonpoint sources
  • Bacteria indicate the presence of fecal contamination in many Puget Lowland streams
  • Stream habitat and health are degraded in agricultural and urban streams
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Puget Sound stream invertebrate status ranged from high to low when compared with national levels
  • Ground-water quality is generally good
  • Nitrate concentrations in shallow ground water beneath residential areas were elevated, but concentrations of other compounds were low
  • High nitrate concentrations and fumigant-related compounds were detected in shallow ground water beneath an agricultural area
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—MTBE was rarely detected in ground water in the Puget Sound Basin
• STUDY UNIT DESIGN
• APPENDIX—WATER-QUALITY DATA FROM THE PUGET SOUND BASIN IN A NATIONAL CONTEXT
• References
• A Coordinated Effort
• Glossary