The Washington Department of Ecology wants your comments on a list of priority water bodies we have tentatively chosen for water cleanup plans this year. The criteria for making these selections included the severity of the pollution, potential harm to human and aquatic health, impaired beneficial uses, and the potential for local support for pollution control activities. To help us select these waters, we met with groups in communities in four parts of the state last fall.
The entire list we chose from can be viewed on our website: http://www.wa.gov/ecology/wq/303d/.
Please address your comments on the enclosed priority list by May 10, 1999, to Ron McBride, Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600, rmcb461@ecy.wa.gov, phone (360) 407-6469, or fax (360) 407-6426.
Here is the proposed list of water bodies we plan to begin work on in 1999. The last two water bodies can be included only if the legislature and/or EPA provide additional funding. If not, those water bodies will have to wait until the next five-year cycle. The legislature is currently considering legislation that might affect these priorities.
The list shows each water body and the parameters of concern. Technical work would begin after July 1, 1999.
| WRIA | Water Body Name | Parameters that Exceed Water Quality Standards |
| 18 | Matriotti Creek/Dungeness River/Bay WQ Study | Fecal coliform |
| 25 | Longview ditches | Fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, lead |
| 28 | Gibbons Creek | Fecal coliform |
| 28 | Salmon Creek | Fecal coliform, temperature, turbidity |
| 29 | Wind River | Temperature |
| 59 | Colville Watershed (12 water bodies) | Fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen |
| 5 | *Stillaguamish River & Portage Creek | Fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, ammonia, temperature, copper, lead, arsenic, and nickel. |
| 30 | *Little Klickitat River | Temperature |
Explanation of Terms:
WRIAs (water resource inventory areas) are large watersheds.
Although not necessarily agents of disease, fecal coliform bacteria indicate the presence of disease-carrying organisms, which live in the same environment as the fecal coliform bacteria. A certain minimum amount of dissolved oxygen must be present in water for aquatic life to survive.
Temperature is important because it governs the kinds of aquatic life that can live in a stream. For instance, streams must be cooler than 61 degrees Fahrenheit for salmon to successfully spawn.
Turbidity is a measure of water clarity - how much the material suspended in water decreases the passage of light through the water.
pH is a term used to indicate the alkalinity or acidity of a substance as ranked on a scale from 1.0 to 14.0. Neutral pH is 7.0. Acidity increases as the pH gets lower.
Ammonia typically comes from the decay of organic material such as dead plants or animals, or excrement from feedlots or sewage.
Arsenic is known to occur naturally in the soils of the Stillaguamish watershed. Part of the TMDL study would determine whether human activities in the area are increasing its release.
Copper, lead and nickel are metals that are harmful to fish and other aquatic life.