������

Yakima River

Naches

River

�����������������

���������������������� Yakima

River

����������������

������������

������������

����������������

������

������������������

������������

�������������������������

������������������

��������������

������������������

���������

 Granger Drain Subbasin Selected for a National Water-Quality Study

 The DR2 drainage area of the Granger Drain subbasin is one of 

five study areas selected by the USGS National Water-Quality 

Assessment (NAWQA) Program for a special study of agricultural 

chemicals and water quality. The study area is NW of Outlook, 

Wa., and bounded by the Sunnyside Canal and Wellner, North 

Outlook, and Dekker Roads. 

 Why study the DR2 drainage area?

 The DR2 drainage and the other four study areas represent nationally important agricultural settings (chemical use, 

crops, and AMPs) and natural settings (climate, geology, 

topography, and soils). The DR2 study area, which is part of 

the Yakima River watershed, is representative of the complex, 

multi-crop systems found in irrigated agricultural settings of 

the arid western United States. 

 Other features that are relevant to this study:

 • Use of agricultural chemicals: Chemicals used include 

herbicides such as atrazine, simazine, trifluralin; insecticides such as azinphos-methyl, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos; and 

fertilizers, both organic and inorganic.

 • Distinct natural setting: The climate is arid, so irrigation is 

necessary for agriculture; soils are fine-grained and often 

require artificial drainage.

 • Variety of agricultural management practices: AMPs 

include construction of retention ponds and an extensive 

artificial network of water delivery and drainage channels; 

use of rill, sprinkler, and drip irrigation and of polyacrylamide (PAM).

 • Water-quality issues: Pesticides and elevated concentrations of nutrients have been frequently detected in streams 

and drains in the Yakima River Basin. Water temperature 

and sediment loads in streams are of concern. 

 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is studying five areas 

across the Nation to better understand how natural factors and 

agricultural management practices (AMPs) affect the transport 

of water and chemicals. Natural factors include climate and landscape (soil type, topography, geology), and AMPs include practices related to tillage, irrigation, and chemical application. The 

study approach is similar in each area so that we can compare 

and contrast the results and more accurately predict conditions in 

other agricultural settings. 

 Study objectives

 • Understand the links between the sources of water and 

agricultural chemicals (nutrients and pesticides) and their 

behavior and transport through the environment 

 • Predict the behavior and transport of water and agricultural 

chemicals in other agricultural areas not being studied

 • Evaluate what the study results mean for management of 

water and water quality in a variety of agricultural settings 

 We appreciate your help 

 We are working with local growers and land owners to gain 

access to study sites. We also need information about the study 

area and about current as well as historical agricultural management practices—past practices also affect concentrations of 

agricultural chemicals in ground and surface water. 

 We will report the findings of the study in public meetings 

and in publications. These findings will provide information that 

will be useful for improving agricultural management locally 

and nationally, and will guide future studies in other watersheds.

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

 Fact Sheet 082-03

 August 2003 Printed on recycled paper
What kind of data Why the data are collected How often

Meteorological data (including wind 

speed, solar radiation, and air temperature), soil temperature and soil moisture

To estimate the amount of irrigation water that 

reaches the water table, and how much is lost to 

evapotranspiration

Continuously for 2 years

Amount of streamflow at DR2 at Yakima 

Valley Highway gaging station

To interpret water-quality data correctly (the 

amount of water in streams affects chemical concentrations) 

Continuously for 2 years (data 

available at 

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/

nwisman/?site_no=462023120075200&

agency_cd=USGS )

Quality of stream and runoff water1 To quantify the transport and behavior of natural 

and agricultural chemicals

Several times a year (>14 

samples) for 2 years, with intensive sampling during application 

season

Ground-water levels in wells To determine direction of ground-water flow, 

which affects transport of chemicals

At least quarterly in some wells, 

continuously in others for at least 

1 year

Quality of ground water, soil water, and 

shallow water in and around streambed/

riparian zone1

To quantify the transport and behavior of natural 

and agricultural chemicals

At least quarterly for 1 year

Quality of sediment in streambed and soils 

in agricultural fields1

To quantify the storage, behavior, and transport of 

water and chemicals in the soils and sediment

At least once during study

 1

In this study, water-quality and sediment-quality data include concentrations of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous), pesticides and pesticide breakdown 

products, and natural constituents and properties, including major ions (calcium, magnesium, chloride, etc.), organic carbon, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. 

 Data Collection in the DR2 Study Area, 2003–2004

 We would like to thank

 Roza-Sunnyside Board of Joint Control

 Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District

 Roza Irrigation District

 South Yakima Conservation District

 Prosser Irrigated Agriculture Research & 

Extension Center

 Publication

 Morace, J.L., Fuhrer, G.J., Rinella, 

J.F., McKenzie, S.W., and others, 

1999, Surface Water-Quality 

Assessment of the Yakima River 

Basin, Washington, USGS WaterResources Investigations Report 

98-4113.

 For more information

 Kathy McCarthy, Lead Scientist, DR2 study 

(503) 251-3527, mccarthy@usgs.gov

 Paul Capel, Team Leader, National study

(612) 625-3082, capel@usgs.gov

 NAWQA Program http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa 

��������

�������

����

����������

���������������������

�����������

�������������

���������

����������������������

������������������������

������������

���������������������

�����������������������

�������������������� �������

��������������

����������������������

���������������������

��������������������������

�����������������

������������������

 The USGS provides reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property 

from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.

 At a typical study site, several methods 

are used to collect water and chemical 

samples from the air, soil, surface 

water, and ground water.

After being applied to the land 

surface, agricultural chemicals can 

move upward into the atmosphere, 

downward through the soil to shallow 

ground water and underlying aquifers, 

eventually discharging to streams, or 

run off across the land into streams, 

eventually moving downstream to 

reservoirs and coastal waters. This 

process can take days, weeks, or even 

decades if water moves underground 

through the ground-water system.