The Stream Smart team works on a number of water quality and riparian monitoring and assessment programs to help evaluate and improve watershed health—including regular sampling along Bear Creek and throughout the Rogue Watershed, and organizing improvements to the riparian area surrounding Bear Creek.
Water Quality in the Rogue Basin
Who is Monitoring Water Quality in the Rogue Basin?
Rogue Valley Council of Governments
Under the Bear Creek Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and on behalf of the cities of Ashland, Central Point, Jacksonville, Medford, Phoenix, and Talent, as well as Jackson County, Medford Irrigation District (MID), Rogue River Valley Irrigation District (RRVID), and Talent Irrigation District (TID), the Rogue Valley Council of Governments (RVCOG) conducts monthly water quality monitoring at 23 sites along Bear Creek and its tributaries. RVCOG also conducts a Quality Assurance-Quality Control split-sample with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) every other month. Samples are analyzed for temperature, conductivity, turbidity, E. coli, pH, and ammonia and total phosphorus (May through October).
Additionally, RVCOG samples 16 storm drain sites from Central Point to Ashland. Samples are analyzed for temperature, conductivity, turbidity, E. coli, pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD), and total phosphorus.
Lastly, RVCOG responds to water quality concerns at “hot spots.” Parameters analyzed are based on each particular circumstance (e.g. if there is a possible sewer-stormwater cross-connection, E. coli samples are collected).
To view current and past water quality data, visit the Water Quality Data Library.
*Between May and September, RVCOG will submit elevated bacteria level press releases to health authorities, municipalities, counties, and the media. These are advisory only, and are not meant to close access to rivers and creeks.*
Rogue Riverkeeper
Rogue Riverkeeper collects samples from public waterways throughout the summer to let the public know where it is safe to recreate. For more information on where the water is safe for water-contact recreation (wading, swimming), visit The Swim Guide.
Rogue Valley Sewer Services
Rogue Valley Sewer Services conducts creek walks and collects bacteria samples during the summer months (June through September) to identify sources of pollution in our creeks.
The goal of the Clean Water Act is to ensure that all waters in the United States are fishable and swimmable by controlling and regulating water pollution. TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads) were established to help with this goal, they represent the amount of pollution that can be in a waterbody — i.e. a stream, lake, or river — without impacting its beneficial uses. If elevated pollution levels cause a waterbody to be no longer swimmable, fishable, or otherwise meet its designated uses, it is placed on a list of impaired waterbodies, known as the 303(d) list. Once on this list, TMDLs are developed for each waterbody.
Under the TMDL program, calculations are made to determine how much of a given pollutant can be in a stream, accounting for natural sources, without it being considered polluted. Guidelines are then established for reducing the amount of pollution in the water over time to meet the acceptable levels, and entities responsible for meeting the goal (Designated Management Agencies or DMAs) are identified. Responsibility for meeting these pollution requirements is divided among agriculture, forestry, urban, and other sources. In the Rogue Basin, DMAs include Cities, Counties, Agricultural and Forestry Agencies, and irrigation districts. Locally, programs are being implemented to reduce bacteria, temperature, sediment, and nutrients.
You can find out more about TMDL Programs in the Rogue Valley at the links below.
Oregon TMDL Program
Bear Creek and Rogue Basin TMDL Definitions
Bear Creek TMDL Program (General Information)
Rogue Basin TMDL Program (General Information)
Grants Pass TMDL Program
What is Stormwater Runoff?
Stormwater runoff is flow that is generated from rain or snow that falls on hard surfaces — such as roof tops, driveways, roads, and parking lots. The flow generated from these surfaces enters local streams, rivers, canals, and drainageways during and immediately following a storm event instead of soaking into the ground, which normally removes pollutants from water as it filters through the soil. As a result, more and dirtier water enters streams and rivers quicker, resulting in flooding, erosion, and degraded water quality.
Why is it a Problem?
Stormwater can pick up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants and flow into a storm sewer system or directly to a lake, stream, river, wetland, or coastal water. Anything that enters a storm drain is discharged untreated into the waterbodies we use for swimming, fishing, and for providing drinking water. As a result, anything that enters storm drains in the Bear Creek Watershed can flow into Bear Creek, then to the Rogue River and the Pacific Ocean. It’s all connected!
Managing urban runoff from stormwater is regulated under the Clean Water Act and is vital to protecting local waterways and the species that live there. Many communities in the Rogue Basin are currently required to meet the conditions of the EPA’s NPDES Phase II Program — including Medford, Ashland, Phoenix, Talent, Central Point, Eagle Point, Rogue River, Grants Pass and Jackson and Josephine Counties. The Phase II Program requires these municipalities to instate runoff mitigations in developed areas and construction sites, prevent pollution and put a stop to illicit discharges, and conduct public outreach and education around water quality issues.
Have you ever wondered what your community is doing to manage runoff to reduce pollution and damage from flooding? Click on the links below to find out.
Medford Stormwater Program
Rogue Valley Sewer Services Stormwater Program
Central Point Stormwater Program
Ashland Stormwater Program
Grants Pass Stormwater Program
↘️ Reporting a Spill: Contact the Oregon Emergency Response System (OERS) at 1-800-452-0311. See Oregon DEQ for more information.
Stream and River Restoration
Protecting and restoring native vegetation along streams, rivers, and wetlands is vitally important to local watersheds and stream health. Planting native species provides a number of benefits, including increased shade and cooler water temperatures, pollutant filtration, stream bank stability, habitat for wildlife and birds, invasives/exotic species control, and long-term stream habitat once trees fall over (cold water refugia as pools are created).
Restoration activities that are underway within the Stream Smart network include controlling/removal of invasives species, planting native trees and shrubs, and maintaining plantings that have been completed in the past. In addition, partners are working with local fire districts and local communities in the Bear Creek area to develop strategies to improve fire resiliency and manage riparian communities in a changing climate. For more information on restoration projects happening in the watershed, check out the webpage of the Bear Creek Restoration Initiative.
↘️ For guides and more information on creating your own beneficial plantings, check out our Restoration Resources page.