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	Water Quality Action Plans Restoring a Vital Community Resource Restoring water quality has become one of the primary focus areas of the Tillamook Bay Watershed Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). CCMP water quality actions will help move streams toward previous, more pristine conditions with decreased pollutant loads, decreased sedimentation, and viable temperatures for salmon populations. The CCMP's 13 water quality actions attempt to mitigate the problems caused by the wide variety of factors contributing to the water quality problems in Tillamook Bay and its watershed. Overall CCMP goals for water quality include promoting beneficial uses of the bay and rivers, improving farm management practices, assessing and upgrading wastewater and urban nonpoint runoff treatment infrastructure, and reducing instream temperatures and suspended sediments to meet the requirements of salmon species. Because the environmental issues in the watershed are interrelated, these water quality strategies are interrelated with CCMP habitat and sedimentation strategies. The watershed approach helps communities look across issues to develop an integrated approach to restoring the bay and watershed. With monitoring and cooperation by the local community, Tillamook's waters will begin to recover, and the traditional lifestyles of the Tillamook Bay community will continue to thrive. Just one of the water quality actions will be explored in detail here, but more can be learned about all of the CCMP actions from the Tillamook County Performance Partnership Web site. Water Quality Action 10 in Focus Implementing Temperature Management Strategies Water Quality Action 10 (WAQ-10) focuses on implementing temperature management strategies. The objective of this action is to reach temperatures conducive to salmon rearing and spawning in all Tillamook streams by the year 2010. WAQ-10 work will focus on the Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) temperature limited streams, but knowledge gained from the research conducted will benefit streams statewide. Click on the map to view a larger extent. Warning-Image size: 53 kilobytes Currently there are three streams in the Tillamook Bay watershed that have been listed by Oregon DEQ as temperature-limited. These are the Wilson, Trask, and Tillamook rivers. According to Oregon Administrative Rules 340-41-(North Coast)-(2)(b): A 7-day moving average of the maximum daily temperature shall not exceed 55o F (12o C) in waters during seasons that support salmon spawning, egg incubation, and fry emergence, or 64o F (18o C) otherwise. The primary factors leading to temperature increases are decreased vegetation along stream corridors and decreased stream complexity. These factors leave the stream open to increased daylight and decreased water flow. WAQ-10 strategies work to help listed streams return to cooler temperatures. The first step is to determine which streams have been most severely impacted. The action then calls for the development of models to help managers understand the complex relationship between flow and temperature. The more straightforward relationship between streamside vegetation and temperature is already being addressed by this action. As part of WAQ-10, restoration of streamside vegetation has begun and will continue in impacted areas. Other components include assessing forestry practices and delivering outreach tools to the community to explain how all can be part of the solution. What Is the Desired Outcome? Over time, temperature trends at water quality monitoring stations should decrease. The pictures to the right demonstrate the differences in restored and impacted streams. The impacted stream has little vegetation and no diversions, both of which are likely to raise instream temperatures. The restored stream has streamside vegetation and diversions (logs) in the water that help keep the stream temperature regulated. Place your mouse over the words "Impacted Stream" or "Restored Stream" to see the corresponding pictures. Visit this Oregon DEQ Temperature Standards Fact Sheet to learn more about stream temperature standards, how they are determined, and what concerned citizens can do to help. Image and Data Credits What's Next? See how we're mapping this action.