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In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began implementing a full-scale National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. The long-term goals of the NAWQA program are to describe the status and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources; and to provide a sound, scientific understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting the quality of these resources. In meeting these goals, the program will produce a wealth of water-quality information that will be useful to policymakers and managers at the national, state, and local levels.

Geography

Waterville is located on the Columbia Plateau, the second largest basalt plateau in the world.This geologic landscape has been developed since Miocene times with hundreds of layers of fluid plateau basalt. In the last 15,000 years the surface has been scoured by numerous floods and glacial advances. The above image shows haystack type rocks which were transported by massive flood waters and chunks of glacial ice. This is a semi arid region, east of the Cascade Mountains, with about 9 to 12 inches of precipitation per year and four distinct seasons.

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Parts of the plateau contain a soil known as löess, these soils are very fine and highly erosive but they are extremely productive.

The life and culture of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Indian people revolved around the gathering of food which in itself was a constant seasonal cycle of migration over a rather large segment of land. The principal staples of life were salmon and roots. Salmon were  fished from the Columbia River and its tributaries in great quantities during the annual runs which lasted from late spring until fall. Other types of fish such as eels, steelhead, sturgeon, suckers, whitefish, and so on, were also used in large quantities. A variety of hooks, nets, spears, and traps were used for fishing.

       State Scenic Byways

 Year  Population  Percent   Rank

 1930          5,325              0.34           34

  1940         5,549               0.32           34

  1950         4,860               0.20           34 

  1960         4,569               0.16           35

  1970         4,439               0.13           35

  1980         4,057               0.10           37

  1990         4,024               0.08           37

  1996         4,200               0.08           37

  1997         4,200               0.07           37