Upper Missouri Watershed Alliance (UMOWA)
Administering Entity:
Entity Type(s): Watershed Groups
Water Resource: Rivers
Primary Data Type(s): Biology, Water Chemistry
Primary Watershed Monitoring Objective(s): Baseline, Long Term Fixed Station, Trends, WQ Standards Attainment
Subbasins: Smith, Upper Missouri, Upper Missouri-Dearborn
Aquatic Invasive Species Type: New Zealand Mudsnail, various snail species
Counties: Broadwater, Cascade, Lewis and Clark, Meagher
Volunteers: no
Contact Name: David M Stagliano
Summary of Monitoring Objectives:
In 2016, the Upper Missouri Watershed Alliance (UMOWA) began collecting water quality data at seven sites on the Upper Missouri River between Wolf Creek and Cascade. These sites were chosen to coincide with long-term macroinvertebrate monitoring sites that were established in 2015 by Montana Biological Survey. 2020 marks the 5th consecutive year that water quality samples have been collected. WQ samples were usually collected seasonally in April/May, July and October to coincide with macroinvertebrate sampling.
UMOWA has also established 8 macroinvertebrate monitoring sites on the Smith River that haven't been sampled since 2018 and will likely try to sample in 2023
The goals of the project are: 1) to continue baseline seasonal water quality data as it may affect benthic macroinvertebrate, algae and plant communities and 2) to collect baseline information for total suspended (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS) and nutrients (TN, NN, TP) to allow for spatially and temporal robust comparisons of water quality in the Upper Missouri River. In 2021, we added 10-12 WQ sites in the Missouri River and tributaries to the basin above Canyon Ferry Dam.
