Total Dissolved Gas and Water Temperature in the Lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2006: Quality-Assurance Data and Comparison to Water-Quality Standards Data series rept

摘要

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates several dams in the Columbia River Basin, which encompasses 259,000 square miles of the Pacific Northwest. These dams are multipurpose structures that fill regional needs for flood control, navigation, irrigation, recreation, hydropower production, fish and wildlife habitat, water-quality maintenance, and municipal and industrial water supply. When water is released through the spillways of these dams (instead of being routed through the turbines to generate electricity), ambient air is entrained in the water, increasing the concentration of dissolved gases (known as total dissolved gas (TDG)) downstream from the spillways. TDG conditions above 110% saturation can cause gas-bubble trauma in fish and adversely affect other aquatic organisms (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1986).