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BEDROCK CREEK, NEZ PERCE AND CLEARWATER COUNTIES, IDAHO - WATER QUALITY STATUS REPORT, 1985
Description:
A water quality monitoring study was conducted on Bedrock Creek (17060306), a third order tributary to the Clearwater River in north-central Idaho. Objectives of the study were to assess water quality of the stream and its major tributary; to document the effects of storm runoff on water quality; and to determine the suitability of the region for an Idaho Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Abatement Project. Water quality of Bedrock Creek is impacted by land management techniques used on the watershed. Sediment yield rates of 1.59 tons per acre were estimated for non-irrigated cropland, 0.06 tons per acre for rangeland, 0.30 tons per acre for pasture land, and 0.25 tons per acre for forested land in the Clearwater Basin. A total of 1800 tons of suspended sediment, 78 tons of inorganic nitrogen and 5 tons of total phosphorous were exported from the drainage during the study period. These figures are considered to underestimate (by a substantial amount) the average annual suspended sediment and nutrient loads because of the unusually mild spring and lack of heavy storm events. Latham, R. 1986. Water Quality Status Report No. 63. Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Environment, Boise, ID. 34 pp.