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Watershed Planning: Water Quality Monitoring
District personnel conducted a four year study from 1999 to 2002 in order to examine the current surface water resource conditions within the Popo Agie Watershed. PACD worked diligently to collect and analyze scientifically valid data and prepare the information into a final report. The entire study utilized protocols developed by the Wyoming DEQ to monitor a total of 32 sites within the watershed (see map).
Clean Water Act Section 319 grants provided funding to complete the water quality monitoring and incorporate the study into the watershed plan. Sites were monitored in each of the three drainages within the watershed: Little Popo Agie, Middle Fork of the Popo Agie, and the North Fork of the Popo Agie. The primary objectives of the water quality monitoring project were to:
- Describe the existing water quality conditions within the watershed;
- Compare the water quality of the three main rivers to one another;
- Evaluate the water quality against each water body’s designated uses.
In addition to the watershed study, PACD also utilized 319 grant funding to investigate a Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waterbodies bacterial impairment designation for a municipal segment of the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River. PACD Board and Staff, the Steering Committee and Water Quality TAG, the City of Lander and Fremont County governments, and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality are working cooperatively to resolve this issue.