A water quality study of the Akamina-Kishinena watershed and other tributaries to the Flathead River in British Columbia subjected to logging

Smith, A.; Ennis, G.; Shhehan, S.; Tuominen, T.

In 1978, salvage logging in the Akamina-Kishinena watershed was proposed to control an infestation of mountain pine beetles. At that time logging was in progress in the adjacent Elder and Sage Creek drainages. Kishinena, Elder and Sage Creeks flow across the International Boundary and into the North Fork of the Flathead River. Because of the potential for adverse transboundary effects of logging, the Water Quality Branch, Inland Waters Directorate, undertook a water quality study of the Canadian portion of these streams. Water chemistry, suspended sediments, and periphytic algae were monitored in Akamina, Kishinena, Elder and Sage Creeks in 1979. Additional samples were collected in 1980 and 1982, after logging had begun in the Kishinena watershed. Concentrations of chemicals in the water and species composition and abundance of periphytic algae in these streams were similar to those reported from the mainstem and western tributaries of the Flathead River. Suspended sediment and metal levels were low. Periphyton biomass, as well as concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen, were typical of oligotrophic waters. The algal community was dominated by diatoms, particularly Achnanthes mlnutissima and Gomphonema olivaceum. No deterioration in the water quality of Kishinena Creek was apparent from the limited amount of data collected after logging had commenced. No differences in concentrations of suspended sediments, nutrients, metals, or major ions, which could be attributed to logging, were measured. No major change in the species composition of the periphyton was observed. However, since logging is continuing in the region, continued monitoring of water quality is suggested.

A water quality study of the Akamina-Kishinena watershed and other tributaries to the Flathead River in British Columbia subjected to logging

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