Sanitary Service Company is a Stormwater Hero!

What exactly is a stormwater hero?  It is a business, government, or person(s) who go above and beyond what is required to prevent stormwater pollution.  Sanitary Service Company (SSC) has joined the ranks of the dozen plus stormwater heroes in Whatcom and Skagit County.

SSC is a waste hauler and recycler in Bellingham, Washington.  They recently installed a two-stage stormwater treatment system at their 4-acre waterfront facility, and paved the entire site.   Paving was expensive and problematic because like many areas along the Bellingham waterfront, their site is located on fill, some of which is solid waste from over 50 years ago.  Now, all their stormwater is collected into pipes and routed into an underground vault, featured above.  Inside the underground vault are a series of chambers that facilitate removal of heavy solids, and allow oil and grease to float, so they can be removed.  Then, stormwater is pumped into the aboveground treatment unit featured below.  Once inside this unit, stormwater is filtered through a media made of crushed oyster shells, sand, and other absorptive materials.  This media treats and filters out sediment, particulates, and dissolved metals.

SSC is covered under the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Stormwater General Permit.  Before this system was installed, it was difficult for SSC to meet the allowable discharge levels for turbidity and metals.  That’s not hard to imagine, as over 100 garbage trucks roll in and out of this facility every day.   Heavy trucks are known sources of copper and zinc, usually coming from brake pads and tires.  And in driving long routes through Whatcom County, trucks pick up dirt and sediment. “This new treatment system has considerably lowered the levels of metals and fine sediment,” said Rodd Pemble, the recycling Manager for SSC.  It’s easy for them to meet the allowable discharge levels now.

Last week, SSC invited the public to view this new system.  We love these tours, as everyone learns about ways to manage stormwater, and gets to see best management practices in action.  On the tour, one SSC employee was busy washing garbage cans in one area of their facility (below).  We learned that this water is called industrial process water, and it is not routed to the new stormwater system.  Instead, it is collected in a separate underground vault containing an oil-water separator, and routed to the City of Bellingham’s wastewater treatment plant, where it is treated.

Do you want to become a stormwater hero?  It’s easy!  Just make sure you’re not polluting our water.  Want some ideas about how to run a cleaner facility?  If we can help you, we will, and if we can't, we'll get you in touch with someone who will help you. 

Thank-you, SSC!  We applaud the steps you’ve taken for clean water.  Thanks for reading!

Above and Beyond – City of Bellingham’s Monroe Street Stormwater Retrofit!

I live in the Columbia neighborhood of Bellingham, so I’ve noticed all the construction, heavy machinery, and placement of new pipe along Monroe Street.  Last week several large concrete vaults and one giant metal box got dropped off along the sidewalk.  When nobody was looking I clung to the edge of one of the vaults to see inside – it’s a stormwater treatment unit!  I got really excited, and called the City of Bellingham Storm and Surface Water Utility staff to get my questions answered.  Here’s what I found out.

Aged water main, stormwater pipes, and hydrants have been replaced along Monroe Street.  Before this area gets repaved, the stormwater treatment vaults and several underground stormwater infiltration trenches will be installed.  According to City code, any projects that have more than 5,000 square feet of "pollution generating impervious surfaces" are required to provide water quality treatment best management practices, such as these stormwater treatment vaults.

Here’s what the inside of a concrete stormwater vault looks like (above). Stormwater from my neighborhood streets and sidewalks flows into catch basins and into pipes, and into these vaults, where it is filtered through plastic canisters.   Inside the plastic canisters are pelletized deciduous leaves, which are called CSF media.  The media removes soluble metals, suspended solids, oil, and other materials from our stormwater.  The canisters will be inspected regularly, and the media replaced periodically.

Craig Mueller, a stormwater engineer with the City of Bellingham, told me the best is yet to come.  Sometime soon, a couple of large infiltration trenches will be installed to encourage stormwater infiltration into the ground, keeping it out of the stormwater system.   A stormwater infiltration facility will soon be installed underground near the Fountain Plaza - this effort is a voluntary retrofit by the City.

The City has installed many of these treatment and infiltration systems, and has gone above and beyond what was required for this project.  Most of these facilities are underground and don't get noticed.  Now it’s time for us to do our part.  Like what?  Install a rain garden.  Route your roof water into a permeable area of your yard instead of onto streets and gutters.  Check your car to make sure it doesn’t leak oil.  Wash your car at a car wash, not in your driveway.  Don't let any dirt or sediment from your property enter storm drains.  Become familiar with the stormwater catch basins in your neighborhood, and talk to your neighbors who wash their cars or litter – try to educate them about the importance of clean water.  Attend our next Watershed Walk!

Our next Watershed Walk is on May 12, at 10:00, in the Birchwood neighborhood.  Come see how Bellingham Technical College (BTC) manages stormwater, and meet people who’ve installed rain gardens and rain barrels.   We’ll meet in front of Building G at BTC.  See you there!

What We Gain From Catching the Rain

Birchwood Neighborhood Watershed Walk

May 12, 2012 10 AM

Join us on May 12^th at 10 am to explore how you can use low impact development/green infrastructure at your home or office to improve water quality in our streams, bays, and the Puget Sound! Polluted runoff from our urban, developed areas has been identified as one of the greatest threats to the health of our local waterways. Oil leaked onto roads, fertilizers on our lawns, and bacteria from pet waste are just some of the pollutants that get washed into Bellingham Bay and Puget Sound every time it rains. We can use low impact development techniques like rain barrels, rain gardens, green roofs, and pervious paving to allow stormwater runoff to filter into the ground instead of running into the stormwater system.

The Watershed Walk will highlight examples of green infrastructure implemented by homeowners just like you in the Birchwood Neighborhood. The walking tour will include rain gardens, simple and complex rain barrel systems, and examples of pervious paving. We’ll also see how managing polluted runoff works on a larger scale by visiting the new grounds of Bellingham Technical College (BTC). The Birchwood Neighborhood Watershed Walk offers us a unique opportunity to understand how community members can work together to demonstrate stewardship of Little Squalicum Creek, Bellingham Bay, and the Puget Sound.

The Birchwood Neighborhood Watershed Walk will provide on-the-ground examples and provide you with take-home resources to learn about rain barrels, rain gardens, pervious paving, and other ways to reduce pollution entering our waterways. Additional information and materials will be provided for those who wish to continue learning about low impact development, or take the next steps of implementing a project at their own homes. Light refreshments are provided! Meet us in front of Building G, at the BTC campus. Come take a walk through the Birchwood Neighborhood with the North Sound Baykeeper staff and representatives from BTC and the City of Bellingham to learn more about becoming a better steward of our local waters!

Thanks to Lauren Currin, Baykeeper Team Intern, for submitting this post.

Brainstorming for Clean Water at the Alger Community Hall – Got Ideas?

What happens when a dozen farmers, a half dozen interested citizens, a shellfish farmer, a Skagit County Commissioner, staff from Skagit County Public Works and the Skagit Conservations District, and a couple environmentalists all get together? A lot of ideas are generated!

This happened during a recent meeting at the Alger Community Hall hosted by the Skagit Conservation District. The purpose of the meeting was to give everyone a chance to talk about ways to solve fecal coliform pollution in the Samish River caused by animal waste.

After an introduction by Carolyn Kelly, Skagit Conservation District Director, Skagit County’s Water Quality Analyst Rick Haley took the stage and explained that although water quality in the Samish has shown a lot of improvement over the last year, fecal coliform pollution is ongoing. The water is periodically unsafe for shellfish harvesting, and unsafe for family recreation. Following this update, the 25 or so attendees divided up into two groups. Once in the groups we brainstormed possible answers to two questions: “What is causing the fecal coliform pollution, and what should be done to solve this problem?”

Everybody offered up their ideas, and a moderator listed them on a poster board. Then each group presented their ideas to the entire group. A few of the ideas resulted in some audible grumbling, but everybody was civil and seemed genuinely interested in new ideas. Here’s an unadulterated list of what both groups came up with:

• Uncovered piles of horse manure should be covered so they don’t become a source of pollution.
• More farms should follow farm plans.
• Hobby farmers should be required to get farm plans.
• Farm plans are great, but someone should field verify that they’re being followed.
• The many large drainage pipes that connect ditches and drain tiles to the Samish River should be tested to see if they are sources of pollution.
• Neighbors should talk to neighbors and try to stop pollution problems amongst themselves, without regulators.
• More peer to peer pressure, less regulations are needed.
• Regulators should stop blaming farmers.
• Everybody in the community would benefit from more education, in short courses, such as at local feed stores or Grange Halls.
• There needs to be more education about pet waste.
• Compliance inspections should be more consistent.
• Inspectors should look for all sources of pollution, not just from horses and cows.
• Inspectors should test the water every 10’ until “they” figure out where the problem is coming from.
• Stop looking for problems, start focusing on positive steps that have been taken.
• Publicize the places that have been fixed, and write articles about them.
• More small meetings, such as this, in local grange halls and kitchen tables will help to keep this conversation alive.

The best thing about this meeting was that a diverse group of people sat down together in a room and voiced their ideas. All of us want a clean river, and this is a great way to get everyone's ideas out in the open. Even though some people disagreed with a few of the ideas, everyone listened. I’m looking forward to more of these meetings, in the grange halls and other meeting places. Have any more ideas to add to the list? Thanks to Skagit Conservation District for hosting this meeting!

Photo Contest Winners – Stan and Betty Honrud and Whatcom Conservation District

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about this photo. Look closely- what do you see? I see a cow standing on crushed rock pushing a nose pump. I also see a fence, a stream, and hundreds of blue tubes protecting tree seedlings. There’s no mud or manure, and instead, there’s a nice firm platform for cattle to stand on, which prevents mud and manure from flowing into the stream.

Stan and Betty Honrud have seen a lot of changes since 1942, when they began cattle ranching 60 acres along the South Fork of Dakota Creek, near Custer, WA. The landscape near their farm has changed, and the changes make life difficult for farmers and for the coho, steelhead, chum, cutthroat, and a remnant run of fall Chinook that call this watershed home. Besides the fact that lots more people live in the watershed, many creek channels have been straightened to increase drainage, and riparian areas have been eliminated or impacted by farming and ranching.

In close proximity to the Honrud’s farm, several reaches of Dakota Creek are polluted with high levels of fecal coliform and low levels of dissolved oxygen, and are currently listed on the Department of Ecology’s 303(d) list of polluted waters. Dakota Creek flows to Drayton Harbor, an important shellfish harvesting area for recreational, tribal, and commercial uses. Shellfish harvesting has been prohibited in recent times due to fecal coliform pollution, but is improving, and is currently listed as conditionally approved.

Whatcom Conservation District staff approached Stan and Betty with a proposal to enter into the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) in 2007. CREP is a program that pays property owners to plant native trees and shrubs along streams that are important fish habitat. The Honruds were slow to sign up, but they stepped up to the plate. Not only did the Honruds sign up for planting trees and shrubs – they agreed to reestablishment of 2,200 feet of stream meander, 17.5 acres of riparian forest buffer, 6,546 feet of fencing, and two of these fabulous off channel watering facilities with cattle nose pumps.

Nose pumps are simple pumps that provide water when pushed by cattle noses. When the cow pushes on a plastic diaphragm, about a quart of water is pumped into a small drinking bowl. While there are limitations to these pumps, such as the amount of animals that can receive water at one time, there are a lot of advantages to water quality. Advantages include reduced stream bank damage, reduced erosion and sedimentation, improved riparian areas along streams, increased animal safety, and reduced travel distances for animals to drink. But the best news is this: CREP will pay for these nose pumps, there are lots of sites where these would work, and the Whatcom County Conservation District is eager to work with you on installing them.

We applaud the efforts of Stan, Betty, and the Whatcom Conservation District to protect water quality. Stan approved this article, and invited me out to his farm to see these improvements, which I'm planning to do.

Photo Credit: Wayne Chaudiere, Whatcom Conservation District

The Happy Pasture Photo Contest

We’re having a photo contest! We’re looking for photos of healthy local pastures with good mud and manure management practices and buffers. As your Baykeeper Team, we work to protect marine and nearshore habitats of Whatcom and Skagit Counties. Good water quality in our streams is paramount to protecting the nearshore, and essential to keeping our waters clean enough for all of us to use. We realize that stream buffers are sometimes a source of controversy, and we are actively working towards finding common ground with members of our local agricultural community.

To this end, we’re looking for photos of healthy stream buffers, and we want to hear from you. If you want to participate, send us your pictures and describe why features of the pastures help protect water quality. Only a couple of rules apply: each photo must show large animals, a pasture, and a stream or river. The photos must be yours. A description is helpful, but not required. The prize is yet to be determined, but a minimum, we will feature your photo in an article! Send your entry to me at leef@re-sources.org. Here are some examples…

In the photo featured above, cattle meander along Joe Leary Slough, a stream in Skagit County. If this photo were entered in our contest, it would not be a winner. Why? Healthy pastures have a vegetated buffer, allowing more space between the grazed area and the water than is present here. Buffers can be narrow bands of planted shrubs and trees, known as hedgerows, or simply multi-layered native vegetation shading the water. Buffers help prevent mud and manure from getting into the water, and the vegetation helps absorb nutrients. Vegetation keeps the water shaded, cool, and clean, and it provides habitat for insects and wildlife. This band is too narrow, and no shade is afforded. When I look at this photo, I see a lot of potential. If this pasture had a willow thicket along the edge of the slough, it could be beautiful.

Next, a hobby farm along a tributary of Jordan Creek, in Whatcom County. The animals are separated from the creek by an eroding narrow band of vegetation. Like many pastures in Western Washington, this one slopes towards a creek, and has short grass. This time of year, our soils are saturated – so with every heavy rain, all the manure from this little herd gets washed into the creek. Even though only a few animals are pastured here, they could have a BIG impact to water quality (a cow is capable of generating up to 150 pounds of manure per day). This photo won’t win our contest, either, but it could be made into a winner by widening the buffer and planting native willows or similar shrubs. Native shrubs would be terrific here, because their deep roots will help prevent erosion. The good news is that last time I rode my bike past this place, the landowner had moved the fence a few feet up the hill, keeping the animals a little further from the stream.

And last, these cows live in a national park in Berchtesgaden, Germany. There are some similarities between Whatcom County and Germany that are surprising. Germany is the key meat producing country in Europe, and dairy farming is the pillar of German agriculture. Livestock density in Germany is very high - 79.0 units per 100 hectares. Germany has over 13,035,000 cattle. Dairy farming is very important to Whatcom county, with over 100,000 cattle, 125 dairies, and about 2 cows per acre.

Although Germany has its share of factory farming, water quality is highly regulated and has improved significantly in the last decade. Germany had severe water pollution in past decades, but now has strict water quality laws. Perhaps we can learn how they did it.

Check out the grass these cows lounge in! But the bad news is this: this photo doesn’t include a river or stream, so it doesn’t qualify for the contest.

We hope you participate, and thanks for reading!

Every Little Step

One year ago, I paddled down the Sumas River, from Everson to the Canadian Border. Along the way I saw it all: dairy farms, raspberry fields, horse pastures, blueberry fields, barns, manure lagoons, turf farms, towering piles of mulch and soil along the river banks, and more. I saw manure pipes crossing the river, pumps floating mid-stream, and lots of drainage ditches. Not many areas had any shade or riparian buffer areas. In spite of all this, the Sumas supports fish, including salmon.

The Sumas River is polluted – it’s been on the Department of Ecology’s most polluted waters list for years. It’s polluted with fecal coliform, ammonia nitrogen, low dissolved oxygen, and it has high levels of naturally occurring asbestos from a landside on Sumas Mountain. The high level of asbestos gives the water a very unusual color – it looks like light gray paint.

Yesterday, I paddled down the river again. It was much the same, perhaps worse, more mulch piles, and more dumpsites. But one improvement was obvious. One farmer, at the urging of our local Whatcom Conservation District, had installed a new fence to keep cattle out of the river. Above is a picture of this new fence. Last year, I saw cattle wandering into the river here, and the riverbanks were covered with mud and manure. Now there is grass starting to sprout, and no mud or manure in areas that get washed downstream.

Every little step counts. If every landowner along the river could take a step like this, the water would be cleaner for everyone. The Baykeeper team sincerely thanks this farmer and the Whatcom Conservation District for making this happen.

Lake Padden Needs You!

In 35 years as a resident of Bellingham, I’ve swam, hiked, biked, birdwatched, walked, run, paddled, hunted for mushrooms, and just sat still and admired Lake Padden, hundreds of times. I don’t know a single person around here who doesn’t love the lake. It’s a splendor, and appeals to everyone. If you act soon, you can do your part to help protect this local treasure.

Whatcom County is proposing to expand its development potential by expanding the Bellingham Urban Growth Area (UGA) in the Yew Street area, which is within the Lake Padden watershed. This area is currently listed under “UGA Reserve” status, which means it is designated to provide for future expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) over a long-term period, allowing for cost effective planning for public facilities and services once these lands are included within the UGB.

Join me and hopefully LOTS of people at 7 pm on Tuesday, February 28, at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Whatcom County Council. Tell them this: please do not make a decision on the Lake Padden rezone until fall of 2012, when the results of two Lake Padden water quality studies and a watershed land use study are complete. Making the decision before the results of these studies are available is a bad idea. If you can't come to the meeting, call the council members or write them a letter.

Water quality in Lake Padden is already compromised – it is listed as an impaired water body on the Department of Ecology’s 303(d) list for PCBs. Lake Padden Creek (the lake’s outlet) is listed on the 303(d) list for dissolved oxygen and temperature. Urbanizing the Yew Street area will likely result more impervious surfaces, increased stormwater and pollutant loading to the lake. I hope this community acts against urbanizing our lake – it’s a bad idea. For more information, check the People for Lake Padden website: http://w.p4lp.org/

Check the County’s website for updates or changes to the council meeting time, and for council member email addresses and phone numbers: http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/council/meetings/meetings.jsp

See you at the meeting!

Photo credit: Phil Humphries

All Aboard the Samish Bus Tour

Last week I attended a bus tour through the Samish Watershed that was organized by the Washington State Conservation Commission and the Skagit Conservation District. The purpose of the tour was to view progress made since the start of the Clean Samish Initiative (CSI), which is a multi-partner project with a goal to clean up levels of fecal coliform pollution in the Samish River. Along for the ride were representatives of many state agencies including the Departments of Ecology, Agriculture, Conservation Commission, Health, the Skagit Conservation District, EPA staff, representatives of environmental groups (me), dairy farmers, cattle farmers, oyster farmers, the Cattlemen’s Association, Upper Skagit Indian Nation, local dike and drainage district managers, interested citizens, and others. Everybody was excited – we were on our way to see newly installed farm improvement projects including fences, hedgerows, barns, buffers, and other techniques that prevent mud and manure from polluting the Samish River.

The Samish River has had problems with fecal coliform pollution for decades, and has been listed on the state’s list of polluted waters for many years. The sources of fecal coliform pollution include the excrement of mammals - cows, horses, elks, deer, humans, beavers, birds, moles, voles, and mice, etc. Since excrement is not a pleasant sounding word, I’ll call it poop. I listed the kinds of poop in the order of big animals to small, because in my opinion most of the poop is coming from cows and horses. Lots of people disagree with me. Some people think it’s coming from primarily from leaking septic systems, and some people think it’s coming primarily from mice and birds. I think it’s coming from all sizes of farms, specifically from poopy pastures that drain downhill into the Samish, and into the multitudes of ditches that drain into Friday, Thomas, Colony, Edison, Swede, Parson, and the other creeks and sloughs that comprise the Samish watershed.

Whatever the source, the levels of fecal coliform are too high for safe recreation and for safe shellfish harvesting. The Department of Health automatically shuts down the shellfish beds after a heavy rain event. In the last three years, Samish Bay was closed to commercial shellfish harvesting about 30 times, for a total of 182 days. Wow! If other kinds of farmers couldn’t harvest their crops for this many days, it would make national news. All the closures were related to rain events that carried high numbers of fecal coliform bacteria to the bay from throughout the watershed. The state Dept. of Health monitors marine waters and has the authority to keep commercial shellfish beds open or close them if marine water quality is compromised.

Bus stop number one was this hobby horse farm (above) near the headwaters of Swede Creek, a Samish tributary. Before improvements were made at this property, horses crossed this stream at will, pooping along the way. The primary fix here included installation of a culverted creek crossing. Why is this good? Horses can still cross the stream, but they can’t walk in it. When horses and cows walk in streams, poop and sediment enters the water, and riparian vegetation is ruined. This is a definite improvement, but more can be done. There was a lot of mud and manure in close proximity to the stream. We’d like to see the horses further confined, more vegetation along the stream buffer, and no possibility for mud or manure to enter the water.

Bus stop number two was this beef cow operation (above) along Scarab Creek, owned by Eben Twaddle, a third generation Samish farmer. Before improvements were made here, cattle freely wandered into the creek. We’re talking 60 cows, each capable of pooping 150 pounds of manure a day. When Eben learned about pollution problems in the Samish, he took action. He built this barn, and confines his cows for the winter months. His cows and pastures are healthier. He uses dry bedding inside the barn, which builds up and composts all winter – it’s less work than handling manure with conventional methods, and will be easy to field spread in the spring. I’m a confessed admirer of Eben Twaddle, but with this improvement, he approaches the highest possible status, and his cattle were the healthiest I’ve ever seen.

Bus stop number three was this bridge over Thomas Creek (above), a major tributary to the Samish River. Here were learned why it was essential to dredge Thomas ditch. I must have heard the word “ditch” fifty times at this stop, and I wasn’t the only tour participant wincing each time the dredging was mentioned. According to the speakers at this stop, Thomas ditch requires regular dredging - without it, farmers can’t farm and fish can’t swim because beaver dams and unwanted vegetation block their passage. I must be missing something - what's the improvement here? The water looked like mud, and in the distance we could see long expanses of sidecast mud recently dredged out of the creek.

I slipped into a reverie of the canoe trip I took down Thomas Creek last April. Along the Creek we noticed two farms where cattle had direct access to Thomas Creek, such as pictured above. Has this place been fixed? Why weren’t we visiting this place on the tour? And if you’re wondering, Thomas Creek is a salmon stream, not a ditch. It is listed on the Washington State’s 303(d) list of most polluted waters for exceeding water quality criteria for fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, and pH.

The last stop of the day was an organic dairy farm. It was dark and cold, so we huddled inside one the barns and learned about the differences between an organic and conventional dairy operation. We got to see a brand new calf, the milking parlor, and the milk tanks. We heard about manure lagoons and regular inspections of this farm by the Department of Agriculture to ensure manure is handled correctly. I must have missed something here – what improvements have been made to keep fecal coliform out of the Samish River? Why were we visiting a dairy? Dairies are licensed and inspected, and few people suspect that they are contributing fecal coliform pollution to the Samish River.

It was a cold, wet, and interesting day. I made some new friends, and got to see areas of Skagit County that I’d never seen. But I’m not satisfied - I want to see more improvements on farms. Do you have one to offer up? Please let me know if you do. I can be reached at leef@re-sources.org. Thanks for reading!