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Coastal Storms Program
Pacific Northwest > Preparing for HazardsEcological Assessment of Storm Impacts on Marine ResourcesAssessing the Ecological Effects of Contaminated Storm RunoffLocal governments need tools and information to help them plan for the ecological impacts of storm events—including the impacts of human activities. A more accurate understanding of how toxic chemicals move through coastal ecosystems can improve the health of humans, salmon, and other natural resources. Through the Coastal Storms Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists evaluated how coastal storms mobilize contaminants into rivers, estuaries, and nearshore ecosystems and assessed how these contaminants affect Pacific salmon and other at-risk aquatic species. The goal of the project was to provide new information that resource managers could use to mitigate the effects of nonpoint source storm water pollution. How the Project WorksThe project first identified contaminant sources in the Lower Columbia River using a risk assessment based on land use. The 516 contaminants of concern included pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and inorganic chemicals. Information gathered for this risk assessment is available on-line at www.chbr.noaa.gov/easi/. Next, the project determined the contaminant release potential for selected contaminants (for these land uses) following different types of storm events using a combination of geographic information system (GIS) and chemical transport and fate modeling. This environmental exposure information provides the ecological context for investigating the impacts of common storm water contaminants on Pacific salmon and estuarine species. The third component of the project conducted comparative toxicological tests to determine the hazard potential of the selected contaminants. The land-use-based preliminary risk assessment and the modeling and toxicological studies are necessary to assess the relative risks of the contaminants. The three risk assessment components are a “toolbox” that can be applied to other areas to prioritize the over 30 million possible chemical contaminants that could lead to fish kills following storms. In addition, an on-line watershed database and mapping project was developed for the Pacific Northwest and is available at mapping2.orr.noaa.gov/website/portal/coastalstorms/index.html. This website includes background and life history information on species at risk, a downloadable contaminant database of over a 130 studies conducted in the Puget Sound and Lower Columbia areas, and an interactive mapping site. The mapping site also contains an Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas for the Columbia River, which digitally maps coastal biological and shoreline information to identify areas sensitive to oil spills and toxic hazards. For Additional Information Nat Scholz Michele Jacobi |
