Document text
3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Jim Belushi's Rogue River cabin preserves character of historic Elk picnic grounds ... Our View: Dispensaries appear to be good neighbors ... Flores-Zambrano pleads guilty in drug-trafficking case ... Jim Belushi's Rogue River cabin preserves character of historic Elk picnic grounds ... Our View: Dispensaries appear to be good neighbors ... Flores-Zambrano pleads guilty in drug-trafficking case ... CONTINUING COVERAGE: WATER QUALITY The white band mystery: Did volcanic ash cause turbidity in Emigrant Lake? Did volcanic ash cause turbidity in Emigrant Lake? If so, where did it come from? By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 10, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 10, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> ASHLAND — A white band ringing the upper edge of Emigrant Lake like soap scum on a bathtub is providing the best evidence yet as to why the reservoir and its releases into the Bear Creek Basin were a murky mess for five months after a February storm roiled its waters. The 4-foot-wide band along the lake's high-water mark is remnants of a very fine volcanic ash that somewhere and somehow made its way into the reservoir east of Ashand and remained suspended in the water column until it finally settled out last month, according to a federal Bureau of Reclamation investigation. The outflows from the reservoir dirtied Emigrant Creek and all of Bear Creek for months, with the gritty water choking wild salmon and steelhead juveniles rearing in those streams and eroding irrigation systems, officials say. Tests on samples from that white band revealed silica crystals present in volcanic ash that are so fine in nature they are known to remain suspended in water much longer than other sediments, according to the bureau. "It all kind of points back to this disturbed ash layer," says Clyde Lay, the bureau's regional water-quality coordinator in Boise. Similar but smaller bands also were discovered in Hyatt and Howard Prairie lakes, which feed Emigrant, Lay says. That suggests there is no singular source of the ash such as a washed-out hillside that exposed the material that could date back to the explosion of Mount Mazama or other volcanic events, Lay says. Also, the tests don't rule out that the ash was present in the reservoirs and roiled by hydraulics during the storm. "It very well could have been an ash layer in the reservoir," Lay says. "Anywhere from the (dam) outlet to the top of the watershed. We don't know where it's coming from." The bands were within the reservoirs' "splash zones," where waves lapped the water onto the shore, Lay says. The ash then settled and tainted the rocks and even shrouded waterside vegetation still sporting its white cloak. With no "smoking gun" source discovered, the jury's out as to whether this year's turbid reservoir and downstream creeks is a fluke or a foreshadowing of more turbidity for the reservoir and the Bear Creek Basin. "You can't say it won't ever happen again. Then again, maybe it won't," Lay says. "It may be a feature of these reservoirs for a long time now. We don't know." The state Department of Environmental Quality will hold a roundtable discussion Wednesday in Talent to discuss the dirty water's impacts on wild fish, irrigators and lake recreators, as well as what can be done to lessen those impacts. Invited members include Oregon fish managers, Jackson County parks officials, Lay and other bureau representatives and Jim Pendleton from the Talent Irrigation District, which controls the majority of the reservoir's water. "At this point, it's going to be a brainstorming session: What are the potential management solutions and what are some engineering solutions?" says Bill Meyers, the DEQ's Rogue Basin coordinator. During the Feb. 7 storm, water cascaded down the upper stretches of Emigrant Creek and tributaries such as Tyler Creek, adding mud to the flows as it washed out lower portions of Tyler Creek Road. Flows peaked into Emigrant Lake at nearly 6,000 cubic feet per second, or 10 times what the maximum outflow can be. The lake rose 11 feet over four days as water churned up silt from vast mudflats exposed from the winter's drought-like conditions, turning the lake into the chocolate-brown color that remained until it finally started to settle out in June. The dirty water is likely harming feeding patterns and adding stress to already taxed infant wild steelhead in Bear Creek. Releases into Emigrant Creek, a headwater stream of Bear Creek, could have been as much as 80 percent cleaner had Emigrant Dam had a multi-port release system that could have drawn water off the surface instead of its single port at the lake bottom where the turbidity was its worst, according to June water-quality samples at the lake. Dan VanDyke, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Rogue District fish biologist, says having Bear Creek flows regulated by Emigrant Lake releases are "the downside of reservoirs" because their water quality impacts wild fish throughout the basin. "Bear Creek's a nursery this time of year," VanDyke says. "Turbidity certainly doesn't help feeding, (body) condition and growth." Pendleton says he does not want to see irrigation releases curtailed because of the turbid lake water's possible impacts on juvenile salmon in Bear Creek.  "Certainly you don't want to shut the valves off," Pendleton says. "Fish like dirty water a lot more than they like no water." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 10, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501