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Portland Harbor Watershed Database and Mapping Project Software & Data
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Division is continuing to develop the Portland Harbor Watershed project, which covers the Portland Harbor site and adjacent areas upstream to Willamette Falls and downstream into the Columbia River. The project integrates data from state, federal, city, and private sources. It allows users to analyze and display numerous types of data, including but not limited to:
● sediment chemistry data from numerous sources
● sediment bioassay study results
● river bathymetry
● aerial photography
● outfall locations
● shoreline types
● habitat features
● property owners along the river
● location of dredging projects
● location of cleanup projects
Many of the data layers in the project were developed by the Lower Willamette Group, a group of ten potentially responsible parties that are funding and carrying out a detailed investigation of the site under the direction of the US EPA. The project contains information from several other sources too, including the US Geological Service, Oregon Fish & Wildlife, and NOAA Fisheries.
The lower Willamette River was named a Superfund site by the US EPA in 2000 because studies showed that sediments in the river bottom are contaminated with PAHs, PCBs, pesticides, herbicides, dioxins/furans, metals. The Superfund site includes an approximately six mile stretch of the river where numerous industries, including an oil gasification plant, ship repair facilities, agricultural chemical manufacturing, rail car construction, wood treating facilities, and port activities occur or once occurred. The site has been nicknamed "Portland Harbor" since most of the site is a working waterway.
NOAA is involved in the site investigation and cleanup work because the site impacts natural resources that NOAA manages on behalf of the public. The Willamette River supports spawning populations of Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead, American shad, Pacific lamprey, and white sturgeon, all NOAA trust resources. The lower river, between the mouth and Willamette Falls, provides a migratory corridor for both juvenile and adult anadromous fish and juvenile rearing habitat for several anadromous species. Three runs of Chinook, two runs of steelhead, and individual runs of coho and sockeye salmon occur in the area. Several of these runs are either listed or proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
For more information on using this project:
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- Query Manager and MARPLOT An introduction to the Query Manager and MARPLOT applications that are used extensively throughout the ARD watershed projects
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- ARD IMS Sites An introduction to all of the ARD Internet Mapping Sites
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Downloads & Publications:
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- Portland Harbor Preassessment Screen Preassessment Screen for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site prepared by the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council
(Document format: PDF, size: 604.7 K)
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Other Portland Harbor Project Pages:
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