Skip to Main Content

Willamette TMDL Implementation Plan

Love Your River!
LoveYourRiver.org is a great website that provides information about the health of your local river and ways to keep our streams clean and clear.  If you promise to complete specific actions that show your love for your river, you will be entered to win a prize!  They also have a great video on YouTube that focuses on the Willamette River.

What is a TMDL and why is it important? 
The Oregon DEQ determined the TMDLs that the Willamette River could carry without losing its beneficial uses.  Through the TMDL limits, they specified the quantity of something, such as sediment, that could enter the Willamette River.  It is similar to the limits placed on the discharge from a manufacturing plant or wastewater treatment plant except that it is specific to non-point sources, ie those sources that come from lawns, fields, roofs, and forests. 

Why is this important?  Whenever people create a city, town, cultivate fields, or change forests, the rivers and streams carry more sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other chemicals than normal.  The increased loading affects the aquatic life in the stream and changes the characteristics of the river or stream.  Streambanks erode, stream bottoms change from gravel and sand to silt, aquatic plants grow along the banks, and algae blooms become more common.  The TMDL limits set by the Oregon DEQ reduce the extra loading on the Willamette River and attempt to balance land changes with beneficial stream uses. 


In 2006, the City of Newberg was notified by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that the City needed to monitor the amount of total suspended solids, bacteria, and mercury being discharged to the Willamette River.  The City created a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan for the DEQ in early 2008 outlining Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce the loading to the Willamette River by Chehalem Creek, Hess Creek, and Springbrook Creek. In the Fall of 2008, DEQ approved the TMDL plan and the City started implementing it.  A progress report is sent to DEQ every February.

You can help the City achieve its TMDL goals by keeping stormwater drains clear, conserving water, and disposing of waste properly including participating in the semi-annual Hazardous Waste Collection Program held every May and October.   In addition, the Stormwater Solution is updated weekly with seasonal ideas for keeping your stormwater clean.