Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content

Try the next-generation Data Catalog at catalog-beta.data.gov and help shape it with your feedback.

Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) model archive and instructions for the Siskiyou Pass, Oregon

Metadata Updated: January 21, 2026

Chloride deicers have been applied by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to Interstate-5 (I-5) from the Oregon-California border north to mile marker 10 for several years in the high-elevation area known as the Siskiyou Pass. Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and sodium chloride (NaCl) are applied to keep the interstate safe for drivers and allow for efficient transport of goods and people through adverse weather conditions, particularly snow and ice. The USGS entered into a cooperative agreement with ODOT to research the effects of the application of these chloride deicers in the Carter Creek and Wall Creek watersheds within the Siskiyou Pass. Hydrologic and meteorological data were collected within the study area, and water-quality samples were collected from the Bear Creek watershed, which includes Carter and Wall Creeks. Results indicate a moderate range of natural chloride (Cl), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na) concentrations within the Bear Creek watershed, but at Carter and Wall Creeks downstream of I-5, measured constituent concentrations were lower that what was recorded from ODOT’s 2012-2017 pilot project. The Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) uses a stochastic mass-balance approach to estimate combinations of prestorm streamflow, stormflow, highway runoff, event mean concentrations (EMCs) and loads of stormwater constituents from a site of interest. SELDM was used to evaluate the effects of roadway application of chloride deicers on downstream and highway runoff conditions, particularly EMCs, exceedance rates of hypothetical criteria maximum concentrations (CMCs), and concurrent runoff loads of stormwater constituents from a site of interest. SELDM was also used to evaluate the efficiency of hydrograph extension best-management practices (BMPs) to reduce peak constituent concentrations. In addition, several SELDM scenarios were developed as sensitivity analyses to evaluate the model benefit of collecting specific local sets of data, such as streamflow, precipitation, highway runoff and riverine water-quality samples and volumetric runoff coefficient statistics. These analyses are meant to serve as templates and illustrative examples for ODOT. ODOT is interested in using SELDM for impact analysis and to identify locations and streams that could be vulnerable to excessive deicer loading if chlorides are used. This data release serves as a model archive for the SELDM simulations performed for Stonewall, A.J., Yates, M.C., and Granato, G.E., 2022, Assessing the impact of chloride deicer application in the Siskiyou Pass, southern Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022–5091, 94 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225091. Also included in this data release is a text document that is meant to serve as informal guidance to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) on how to assess the potential effects of chloride on highway runoff, receiving water and groundwater. This guidance is not meant to be comprehensive nor universal, but rather a compendium of guidance and resources that may help investigators.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 21, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 21, 2026
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_622295f7d34ee0c6b38b6e34
Data Last Modified 2022-09-30T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Datagov Dedupe Retained 20260121062710
Harvest Object Id 7ac3289e-7b5e-45f0-b610-f021c3d2ab68
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -123.0472, 42.0299, -123.0472, 42.4324, -122.4745, 42.4324, -122.4745, 42.0299, -123.0472, 42.0299}
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash b7ec3191cd13d39bf752cc3668eaf364b1076db52547302c928f0a631eb2be17
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -123.0472, 42.0299, -123.0472, 42.4324, -122.4745, 42.4324, -122.4745, 42.0299, -123.0472, 42.0299}

Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.