Vancouver Watershed Health Assessment

Understanding watershed health is critical for assessing program effectiveness, educating the public, and improving data collection efforts. Herrera has been supporting the City of Vancouver by evaluating watershed health data collected under various efforts: ambient water quality monitoring of Burnt Bridge Creek; groundwater quality and quantity monitoring; past biological monitoring efforts; and GIS data, including land cover, land use, and limits of restoration activities. We recently conducted a GIS spatial statistical analysis to determine correlations between land cover, watershed management activities, and best management practices and water quality. This work will inform future data collection efforts, help prioritize watershed protection efforts by the City, inform the public, and provide a baseline for watershed health against which future evaluations can be compared.