Hydrologic data collected during the 1994 Lake Mills drawdown experiment, Elwha River, Washington PDF
Preview Hydrologic data collected during the 1994 Lake Mills drawdown experiment, Elwha River, Washington
Hydrologic Data Collected During the Drawdown 1994 Lake Mills Experiment, Elwha Washington u^b River, i-™p--»,jjf._rs s^. 'UJ , v^a^-^' Prepared in cooperation with BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, p U.S. GEOLOGICAL iSURVEY ^^«-^^, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, ^ Water-Resources Investigations Reportd^-4215 and LOWER ELWHA KLALLAM TRIBE USGS scienceforachangingworld Cover: Photo of Glines Canyon Dam, Lake Mills, and Olympic National Park mountain peaks. Photo provided by National Park Service, Washington. Hydrologic Data Collected During the 1994 Lake Mills Drawdown Experiment, Elwha Washington River, By DALLAS CHILDERS, DAVID L. KRESCH, STEVEN A. GUSTAFSON, TIMOTHY RANDLE*, JAMES T MELENA*, AND BRIAN CLUER* J. * Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, Colorado * U.S. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado GEOLOGICAL SURVEY U.S. Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4215 Prepared in cooperation with the BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, and LOWER ELWHA KLALLAM TRIBE Tacoma, Washington 2000 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY U.S. Charles G. Groat, Director The use offirm, trade, and brand names in this report is foridentification purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. For additional information write to: Copies of this report can be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Information Services 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 600 Box 25286 Tacoma, Washington 98402 Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 CONTENTS Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Purpose and scope 4 Previous investigations 4 Acknowledgments 4 Description ofthe area 5 Geology 5 Climate and hydrology 5 Description ofthe drawdown experiment 9 Hydrologic datacollected during the drawdown experiment 9 Streamflow and sedimentdischarge 9 Waterquality 14 Quality assurance 19 Sediment deposits 19 ElwhaRiverstreambed 19 ElwhaRivergravel bars 19 Lake Mills delta 22 Lake Mills bed 22 Cross-section surveys 22 Coordinate system 22 Vertical datum 25 Cross-section locations 25 Cross-section survey methods 25 Land surveys 25 Bathymetric surveys 28 Cross-section data 28 Observedchannel changes 32 Photographs 33 Aerial photographs 33 Oblique time-lapse photographs 33 Summary 37 References cited 38 Glossary 39 FIGURES 1. Photograph ofElwha Dam, powerhouse, spillway channel, andLakeAldwell 3 2. Photograph ofGlines Canyon Dam 3 3a. Map showing study area in the lowerElwhaRiverValley and locations ofstreamflow and sediment data-collection sites ELBR, ELWP, ELDM, and ELWS 6 3b. Aerial photograph showing locations ofstreamflow and sedimentdata-collection sites ELWW,ELDl,andELD2 7 4. Graph showingdaily streamflowrecord atsite 12045500, ElwhaRiveratMcDonald Bridge (ELWP), forthe 1994 wateryear 8 : 5a-e. Graphs showing continuous record ofstreamflow and suspended-sedimentconcentration, instantaneous measurements ofstreamflow, and suspended-sediment samples: a-c. at sites on the Elwha River, Washington 12 d. at site 12045500, Elwha Riverat McDonald Bridge (ELWP), and continuous record of suspended-sediment concentration andsuspended-sediment samples atsite 12045200, Elwha River at Altaire Bridge (ELBR) 13 e. at site 12046100, Elwha Riverbelow ElwhaDam (ELDM), and continuous recordof suspended-sediment concentration and suspended-sediment samples atsite 12046300, Elwha Riverdiversion below Elwha Dam (ELWS) 13 6. Photograph ofsampler used to collect Elwha River bedload samples 15 7. Photograph ofbedload sampling atsite 12044900, ElwhaRiveraboveLakeMills (ELWW), from a boat using atetherline attachedto the boat gunnel 15 8a-c. Graphs ofsuspended-sediment and bedloaddischarges forsamples collected: a. atsite 12044900, Elwha Riverabove Lake Mills (ELWW) 16 b. at site 12044910, Elwha RiverDelta site 1 atLakeMills (ELDl) 16 c. at site 12044920, Elwha RiverDelta site 2 atLakeMills (ELD2) 16 8d-f. Graphs showing percentageoftotal sedimentdischarge that is contributedby bedload for samples collected: d. at site 12044900, Elwha Riverabove Lake Mills (ELWW) 16 e. at site 12044910, Elwha RiverDelta site 1 atLakeMills (ELDl) 16 f. at site 12044920, ElwhaRiverDeltasite 2 atLakeMills (ELD2) 16 9-10. Photographs ofsuspended-sediment sampling using: 9. along wading rod and a DH-48 suspended-sediment samplerfrom aboatatsite 12044910, ElwhaRiver Deltasite 1 atLake Mills (ELDl) 17 10. a standard wading rod and aDH-48 suspended-sedimentsamplerfrom aboatat site 12044920, Elwha River Deltasite 2 atLake Mills (ELD2) 17 11-13. Photographs showing 11. wading-rod-mounted DH-81 water-quality and suspended-sedimentsampler 18 12. three-inch pipe dredge used tocollect bed-material samples 20 13a. gravel bar surface nearsite 12044910, Elwha RiverDelta site 1 atLake Mills (ELDl) 20 13b. cut bank showing surface armoring and finer-grained subsurface sediment nearsite 12044910, Elwha River Delta site 1 atLake Mills (ELDl) 21 14. Map showing Lake Mills sedimentation areas and locations oflakebed samples ELBED and EBED01-EBED08 23 15-19. Photographs showing: 15. topset beds overlyingforeset beds nearsite 12044920, ElwhaRiverDeltasite2 at Lake Mills (ELD2) 24 16. new deltaforming immediately downstream oftoe oftheexposed olderdelta 24 17. locations ofcross sections 3 through 17 surveyed on theLake Mills Delta 26 18. land survey, with atotal station and prism, ofaLake Mills Deltacross section 27 19. bathymetric survey crew from the Lower Elwha KlallamTribe and boatused to survey, with an electronic distance meterand fathometer, LakeMills Deltacrosssections that were toodeep to wade 27 20a-l. Graphs showing surface elevation ofLake Mills Delta: a-d. cross-sections 6-9 29 e-h. cross-sections 10-13 30 i-i. cross-sections 14-17 31 21 Photograph showing upstream reach ofthe rightchannel nearsite 12044910, Elwha RiverDelta . site 1 at Lake Mills (ELDl), looking upstream toward the head ofthe riffle 32 22-24. Photographs showing time-lapse photographic sequence from cameralooking at: 22. downstream reach ofthedeltaon April 10, 14, 20, 24, and 28, 1994 34 23. middle reach ofthe delta on April 10, 14, 20, 24, and 28, 1994 35 24. upstream reach ofthe deltaon April 10, 14, 20, 24, and 28, 1994 36 IV TABLES la. Lake Mills drawdown experimentstreamflow and sedimentdata-collection sites 10 lb. Types ofdatacollected at streamflow and sedimentdata-collection sites during the Lake Mills drawdown experiment 10 2a. Streamflow measurements made atsite 12044900, ElwhaRiver aboveLake Mills (ELWW) 41 2b. Streamflow measurements made atsite 12044910, Elwha River Deltasite 1 atLake Mills (ELDl) 41 2c. Streamflow measurements made at site 12044920, Elwha River Deltasite 2 atLake Mills (ELD2) 41 2d. Streamflow measurements made at site 12045500, Elwha River atMcDonald Bridge (ELWP) 42 2e. Streamflow measurements made atsite 12046100, ElwhaRiverbelow ElwhaDam (ELDM) 42 3. Daily-mean discharge atdata-collection sites during the Lake Mills drawdown experiment 43 4a. Suspended-sedimentdata from samples collected at site 12044900, Elwha Riverabove Lake Mills (ELWW) 44 4b. Suspended-sedimentdata from samples collected atsite 12044910, Elwha RiverDeltasite 1 atLake Mills (ELDl) 45 4c. Suspended-sedimentdata from samples collected atsite 12044920, Elwha RiverDeltasite 2 at Lake Mills (ELD2) 46 4d. Suspended-sedimentdata from samples collected atsite 12045200, ElwhaRiverat Altaire Bridge (ELBR) 47 4e. Suspended-sedimentdata from samplescollected atsite 12045500, Elwha Riverat McDonald Bridge (ELWP) 48 4f. Suspended-sedimentdatafrom samplescollected at site 12046100, ElwhaRiverbelow Elwha Dam (ELDM) 49 4g. Suspended-sediment datafrom samples collected at site 12046300, Elwha Riverdiversion below Elwha Dam (ELWS) 50 5a. Suspended-sedimentparticle-size distribution from samples collected at site 12044900, Elwha River above Lake Mills (ELWW) 51 5b. Suspended-sediment particle-size distribution from samples collected at site 12044910, ElwhaRiver Delta site 1 at Lake Mills (ELDl) 51 5c. Suspended-sediment particle-size distribution from samples collected at site 12044920, Elwha River Deltasite 2 at Lake Mills (ELD2) 52 5d. Suspended-sediment particle-sizedistribution from samples collected at site 12045500, ElwhaRiver at McDonald Bridge (ELWP) 52 5e. Suspended-sediment particle-sizedistribution from samples collected at site 12046100, Elwha River below Elwha Dam (ELDM) 52 6a. Bedload discharge andparticle-size distribution from samples collected at site 12044900, Elwha River above Lake Mills (ELWW) 53 6b. Bedload discharge and particle-sizedistribution from samples collected at site 12044910, ElwhaRiver Delta site 1 at Lake Mills (ELDl) 57 6c. Bedload discharge and particle-sizedistribution from samples collected at site 12044920, Elwha River Deltasite 2 at Lake Mills (ELD2) 61 7a. Water-quality constituentconcentrations measured in streamflow samplescollected atsite 12044900, ElwhaRiverabove LakeMills (ELWW) 63 7b. Water-quality constituentconcentrations measured in streamflow samplescollected atsite 12044920, Elwha River Delta site 2 atLake Mills (ELD2) 66 7c. Water-quality constituentconcentrations measured in streamflow samples collected atsite 12045500, Elwha River atMcDonald Bridge (ELWP) 69 7d. Water-quality constituent concentrations measured in streamflow samples collected at site 12046100, Elwha River below ElwhaDam (ELDM) 72 7e. Concentrations ofconstituents in bed-sedimentsamples collected at site 12045000, Lake Mills bed nearGlines Canyon Dam (ELBED) 75 8. Particle-sizedistribution ofwetted channel bed sedimentfrom samples collected at site 12044900, ElwhaRiveraboveLakeMills (ELWW) 77 1 9a. Particle-sizedistribution ofgravel bardeposits from surface particle counts and subsurface bulk samples ofsedimentcollected at site 12044900, ElwhaRiveraboveLake Mills (ELWW) 78 9b. Particle-sizedistribution ofgravel bardeposits from surface particle counts and subsurface bulk samples ofsedimentcollected at site 12044910, ElwhaRiverDeltasite 1 atLake Mills (ELD1) 79 10. Particle-sizedistribution and bulkdensity ofthe delta sedimentdeposit from surface bulk samples collected at site 12044920, Elwha RiverDelta site 2 at Lake Mills (ELD2) 80 11. Summaries ofestimated volumes and particle-size distributions ofsedimentdeposits in LakeMills 81 12. Atterberg limits, plasticity indexes, and particle-size distribution ofsurficial samples of lakebed sedimentcollected from the bed ofLake Mills in the fall of 1994 82 13. Coordinates and elevations ofmonuments marking the end point locations ofcross sections surveyedduring the Lake Mills drawdown experiment 83 M 14a. Cross-section profilecoordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 8, 1994 84 M 14b. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 10, 1994 87 M 14c. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 11, 1994 88 M 14d. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 12, 1994 90 M 14e. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 13, 1994 92 M 14f. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 14, 1994 94 14g. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake Miills Deltadeposit, April 15, 1994 96 14h. Cross-section profile coordinates forLakeMiills Deltadeposit, April 16, 1994 98 14i. Cross-section profile coordinates forLakeMiills Deltadeposit, April 17, 1994 100 14j. Cross-section profile coordinates forLakeMiills Deltadeposit, April 18, 1994 102 M 14k. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 19, 1994 104 141. Cross-section profile coordinates forLakeMiills Deltadeposit, April 20, 1994 106 M 14m. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 21, 1994 108 M 14n. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 22, 1994 110 M 14o. Cross-section profile coordinates forLake ills Deltadeposit, April 23, 1994 11 14p. Cross-section profile coordinates forLakeMiills Deltadeposit, April 26, 1994 114 VERTICAL DATUM SeaLevel: In this report, "sealevel"refers tothe National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929—ageodetic datum derivedfrom ageneral adjustmentofthe first-orderlevel nets ofthe United States and Canada, formerly called SeaLevel Datum of 1929. VI Hydrologic Data Collected During the 1994 Lake Mills Drawdown Experiment, Elwha River, Washington By Dallas Childers, David L. Kresch, Steven A. Gustafson, Timothy J. Randle, James T. Melena, and Brian Cluer ABSTRACT drawdown ofthe lake, delta erosion became primarily lateral, as the streambed entering the Removal ofthe Glines Canyon and Elwha lake attained a base level limited by the lake's low- Dams on the Elwha River in northwestern ered level. Most ofthe eroded delta sediments Washington has been proposed to achieve restora- were redeposited in anew lobe extending the delta tion ofthe ecosystem and native anadromous about 300 feet farther into the lake at a lower ele- fisheries ofthe river. Glines Canyon Dam, located vation. The volume ofdelta sediment transported 13.4 miles upstream from the mouth ofthe Elwha during the drawdown experimentwas estimatedto River, forms Lake Mills, and Elwha Dam, located be about 300,000 cubic yards. 4.9 miles upstream from the mouth, forms Lake Aldwell. The most serious concern associated Two data-collection sites, one near the with removal of the dams is the management of middle of the Lake Mills Delta and the other near sediment that has accumulated in deltas at the its downstream end, were established to measure the effects ofdelta erosion on the transport of upstream ends ofthe lakes formed by the dams. The Lake Mills Delta contains an estimated sediment and other water-quality constituents into Lake Mills. The highest concentrations ofcon- 3.8 million cubic yards ofsediment, and the Lake 1 Aldwell Delta contains an estimated 3.9 million stituents measured were at the downstream site cubic yards of sediment. becausethat is where mostbankerosion occurred. The maximum concentration of suspended sedi- The U.S. National Park Service, the Bureau ment measured at the downstream delta site was ofReclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribejointly conducted 6,1 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L). However, most ofthe suspended sediment measured at that site a drawdown experiment in April 1994 to deter- must have been trapped in Lake Mills because mine theerodibility and size gradation ofthe Lake suspended-sediment concentrations downstream Mills Delta sediments, the impact oflake draw- from Glines Canyon Dam did notexceed 20 mg/L. down on sediment transport, and the impact of sedimenterosionon waterquality. LakeMills was The average concentrations ofunfiltered gradually lowered 18 feet over a one-week period iron and manganese measured at the downstream to expose the delta deposits, held at a constant deltasite(23,000|J.g/Land350|ig/L, respectively) elevation forone week, and then allowedto return were considerably greater than their ambient to its normal operating level. concentrations measured at a site upstream from LakeMills (200|ag/Land<10|a,g/L, respectively). The Lake Mills Deltaeroded both vertically However, their maximum concentrations mea- and laterally during the drawdown experiment. suredatsitesdownstreamfromGlinesCanyon and Eroded banks were nearly vertical, with no signs Elwha Dams were only 960 |ig/L and 80 |Xg/L, ofseepage-based erosion. After the full 18-foot respectively. . INTRODUCTION Although many bureaus within the Department of Interior have contributed to the preparation ofenviron- The Elwha River, on the Olympic Peninsula of mental impact statements and conducted scientific northwesternWashington, drains thenorth slope ofthe studies, the Bureau ofReclamation is responsible for Olympic Mountains and flows into the Staight ofJuan overseeingtheremovalofthedamsandthesatisfactory de Fuca. In the early 1900's, two hydroelectric dams disposal ofthe sediment accumulatedbehindthedams. were constructed on the rivertoprovideelectric power The most serious concern associated with for development on the Olympic Peninsula. Elwha removal ofthe dams is how to manage the sediment Dam (photo, fig. 1), located 4.9 river miles upstream accumulated in each lake. Accumulated sediment in from the mouth ofthe Elwha River and constructed both lakes hasformeddeltasconsistingmainly ofsand- from 1910 to 1913, formed Lake Aldwell, capacity sized and gravel-sized rocks, with smallerpercentages about 8,100 acre-feet (Federal Energy Regulatory ofcobblesandboulders. Sandandfinersizedsediment Commission, 1993). Glines Canyon Dam (photo, has accumulated on the lakebeds. The Lake Mills fig. 2), located 13.4 miles upstream from the mouth of Deltacontainsanestimated 13.8 millioncubic yardsof the river and constructed from 1925 to 1927, formed sediment, and the Lake Aldwell Delta contains an Lake Mills, capacity about 40,000 acre-feet (Federal estimated 3.9 million cubic yards ofsediment. Energy Regulatory Commission, 1993). Although the Anotherconcern is protection ofthe quality of dams helped the early development on the peninsula, municipal and industrial water supplies during and neitherdam had fish passage facilities, and the following proposed dam removal. A Ranney collector presence ofthe dams has caused severe problems for well situated on the right bank terrace ofthe Elwha anadromous fish, theecosystem, and the LowerElwha River downstream from Lake Aldwell provides an KlallamTribe. AlthoughthedamsareownedbyJames average of28.5 ft /s (cubic feet per second) or RiverII, Inc., they areoperatedby theDaishawaAmer- 18.4milliongallonsperdayofwatertotheCity ofPort icaPortAngeles PaperMill to supply about40percent Angeles for municipal use (Ralph Elsworth, Superin- ofthe power needed to run the mill (average annual tendent ofthe Port Angeles Water Department, oral generation of 19 megawatts). Both reservoirs are commun., August 1995). Anearby diversion damalso normally kept full and operated as run-of-the-river divertsupto 150ft /sforusebytwoPortAngelesmills facilities. and aWashington State fish-rearing channel. The Elwha RiverEcosystem and Fisheries The primary goal ofthe Lake Mills drawdown Restoration Act was enacted by Congress and became experiment was to provide data to accomplish the PublicLaw 102-495 onOctober24, 1992. Theactcalls following: for "full restoration ofthe Elwha River ecosystem and 1 Define boundary conditions and calibration for native and anadromous fisheries." In 1994, the Depart- sediment transport models to predict erosion of ment ofthe Interior, which is responsible for restora- sediment from the Lake Mills Delta deposit by tionoftheecosystem,preparedacomprehensivereport natural streamflow; to Congress, "The Elwha Report, Restoration ofthe 2. Measure the effects ofLake Mills Delta erosion Elwha RiverEcosystem and Native Anadromous Fish- ondownstream sediment load in the ElwhaRiver eries." The report stated that the Secretary ofthe below Glines Canyon and Elwha Dams; Interior had determined that Congress' goals could be 3. Determinethesizesofthelargeststreambedrocks achieved only by removing Elwha and Glines Canyon that may be exposed during erosion ofdelta Dams. Thisandfourotheralternativerestorationplans deposits; considered and their impacts are discussed in detail in 4. Demonstrate the manner in which the erosion the Final Environmental Impact Statement (U.S. occurs; Department ofthe Interior, 1995) titled "Elwha River 5. Define waterquality before and during the exper- EcosystemRestoration," preparedbytheNationalPark iment to answerthe following questions: Service and others. Implementation ofthe selected a. Whatis theambient waterquality oftheElwha alternative ofremoval ofboth dams is discussed in Riverupstream from the two reservoirs? detail in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement b. What is the ambient waterquality (as itrelates (U.S. Department ofthe Interior, 1996) titled "Elwha todrinking waterstandards)downstreamfrom River Ecosystem Restoration Implementation," Lake Aldwell? prepared by the National Park Service and others.
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