| Study ID | PSAMP_LT |
| Study Name | The Puget Sound Assessment and Monitoring Program’s Long-Term Temporal Monitoring |
| EIM Data Entry Review Status | Reviewed |
| Study Type | Routine ambient monitoring |
| Study Purpose | In 1986, the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority appointed the Monitoring Management Committee to develop a comprehensive monitoring program for Puget Sound. The result was the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (currently the Puget Sound Assessment and Monitoring Program), a multi-agency program designed to provide long-term comprehensive monitoring of the Puget Sound Basin. The Sediment Component of this program was implemented in 1989 by the Washington State Department of Ecology.Continued annual monitoring of sediments at 10 historical PSAMP stations provides a valuable long-term record of changes in sediment quality over time. Managers can use this information to identify temporal trends in sediment quality that:
Raise “red flags” highlighting issues of concern in Puget Sound.
Can measure the magnitude of environmental changes occurring either slowly (e.g., contaminant loading from stormwater runoff, global warming) or rapidly (e.g., introduction of invasive species, major oil spills). This long-term monitoring program provides a record of past and current conditions in Puget Sound sediments, and is the only long-term program providing both standardized chemistry and infaunal data throughout the Sound.
Goals and Objectives
1. Collect long-term data on physical and chemical sediment characteristics and macroinvertebrate communities at 10 long-term monitoring stations chosen from a variety of habitats and geographic locations throughout Puget Sound.
2. Evaluate over time the condition of Puget Sound benthic macroinvertebrate communities in relation to natural and anthropogenic (human-caused) changes in sediment quality.
3. Provide data for use by researchers and managers concerned with sediment quality. |
| Field Collection Date Range | 3/19/1989 - 4/16/2015 |
| Data First/Last Loaded Date |  |
| Data Last Updated Date | |
| Ecology Program or Other Responsible Entity | Ecy Environmental Assessment Program |
| Ecology Contact | Sandra Weakland |
| Ecology Monitoring Program | Marine Sediments |
| Submitting Organization | |
| Study QA Planning Level | LEVEL 4: Approved QAPP or SAP. |
| Study QA Project Plan Description | The document serves as an expanded QAPP describing in detail the field sampling, laboratory procedures, analytical methods, quality assurance/control measures and data management needs of the sediment program |
| Study QA Assessment Level | Level 4: Data Verified and Assessed for Usability in a Formal Study Report |
| Study Result Description | Continued annual monitoring (1989-2000) of sediments at 10 historical PSAMP stations produced the following findings:
Contaminants were below the laboratory reporting limits (i.e., not detected) for the majority (68%) of almost 13,000 chemical measurements made.
When contaminants were detected, most were well below state and national sediment regulatory limits, that is, limits above which marine biota may be affected. The few contaminants measured above regulatory limits were found at stations closest to human activity: Sinclair Inlet (mercury), Thea Foss Waterway (PAHs).
Changes in contaminant concentrations over time were measured for some contaminants at some stations. Most notably, changes included:
A decrease in metals concentrations (individual metals at specific stations; and copper at many stations, and many metals in Port Gardner and Inner Budd Inlet).
An increase in PAH concentrations (individual PAHs at specific stations; and many PAHs Bellingham Bay, Port Gardner, East Anderson Island). However, there was an overall decrease in PAHs at Point Pully. Even where PAHs increased, they were still found to be below regulatory limits.
Other studies in Puget Sound and nationwide have shown similar trends in contaminant levels. Decreases in metals in recent decades may be due to better removal of metals from municipal and industrial point source discharges (i.e., Clean Water Act requirements). Increases in PAHs may be due to increasing urbanization and use of petroleum products and subsequent loading from non-point source discharges (e.g., atmospheric deposition, stormwater runoff).
A significant increase in fine-grained sediments, as well as changes in the types and numbers of sediment-dwelling organisms in the Strait of Georgia, was probably linked to above-average precipitation in 1996-97, which increased flow in the Fraser River and resulted in greater amounts of fine sediments being deposited in northern Puget Sound locations near the river discharge |
| Study Comment | A scientific collection Permit must be obtained from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife prior to sampling. |
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