Warmer Weather Could Mean Algal Blooms

Each year there is a possibility that our urban lakes may begin to grow harmful algae (cyanobacteria) blooms. Blooms can happen every year, especially in late summer and fall months, but it’s impossible to guess how each lake will be affected due to changing climate conditions and unpredictable nutrient runoff. Some lakes get regular blooms, some lakes rarely have blooms, and not every bloom is toxic. The only way to know if toxins are present is through laboratory testing. 

A photo gallery showing what toxic algae may look like can be found here.

When in doubt, STAY OUT. 

It is best to avoid lakes with algae blooms and pay attention to warning and closure signs. Only time will tell if this will be a big year for algae blooms. If you want to learn more, check out these resources:

• Ecology’s Freshwater Algae Control program
• Washington State Toxic Algae bloom monitoring program
• Washington State Dept. of Health information
• EPA — Harmful Algae Bloom page

Read the full article from the Department of Ecology here. 

Report a Bloom

If you see a bloom, it is best to report it to your local government so they can assist in identifying and testing the bloom. If you are part of a community association that cares for a lake or an active citizen, you can take a sample for testing yourself - if you decide to take your own sample be sure to follow the instructions from the Washington State Toxic Algae website, take the proper precautions, and notify your local government that you have submitted a sample. 

Government staff and lab testing for algae are only available during regular business hours. Testing usually takes up to two days for results to be returned. So once a bloom is spotted, if it impacts a swimming area it is likely to be closed as a precaution for at least a few days.

Below is a list of lakes in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties that tested above state guidelines in the past year for toxic algae and the month it occurred using the State's Toxic Algae program. You can find data on your lake here.

 King

• Cottage Lake - August
• Echo Lake Beach - September
  
• Hicklin Lake - July/August
  
• Lake Jeane - September
  
• Lake Marcel - July
  
• Lake Wilderness Beach - September
• West Green Lake Beach - October

Pierce

• Ohop Lake - September
  
• Palmer Lake - August/October
  
• Spanaway Lake - July/August/September/October
  
• Tanwax Lake - October
  

Snohomish

• Echo Lake - October
  

Stormwater Tunnel to Reduce CSOs in Seattle

KIRO 7's article on March 12th was the first news mention I saw of this project from Seattle and King County. Yesterday, MyNorthwest picked up the story too, as the project draws closer to constructing the tunnel, however, this kind of project takes many years to get going on the ground. Design began in 2019 according to the schedule on the project website, but project planning started at least as early as 2017 when Seattle Public Utilities began onboarding the consultants to help manage and oversee the $570M project, according to the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce article from August 2017.

How the new Ship Canal Storage Tunnel works.

The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce noted that the new stormwater tunnel would be constructed in order for Seattle and King County to comply with a Federal mandate to reduce the number of CSO events to an average of one over the span of 20 years. At that time, they averaged 130 CSO events per year. The County expects to complete 14 CSO control projects by 2030 to complete its Protecting Our Waters program, King County's effort to reduce CSOs and comply with the consent decree.

According to the King County website on CSOs:

In 2013 King County signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This agreement, called a “consent decree,” requires King County to complete its CSO control plan by 2030. Download and read the consent decree agreement. 

The Ship Canal Water Quality Project will bore a 2.7 mile long tunnel from Ballard to Wallingford. Its' purpose is to store combined sewer overflows (a mixture of mostly stormwater with some wastewater), which currently outfall to Lake Union, Salmon Bay, and Ship Canal (ultimately flowing to Puget Sound) during large storms via the West Point Treatment Plant. This new tunnel will prevent the discharge of up to 75 million gallons of  CSO overflows on average per year.

According to the Seattle Public Utilities web page on the project:

In 2018, 84% of the city's overflows came from the combined sewers in Crown Hill, Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne, Downtown and Capitol Hill. During a heavy storm, the new tunnel will capture and temporarily store more than 29 million gallons of untreated stormwater and sewage until the treatment plant is ready for it.

Construction began in 2020 with the tunnel boring planned to begin in late spring this year. According to the consent decree, the project must be operational by 2025. The tunnel boring machine (TBM) was imported from Germany and arrived at the Port of Tacoma in January 2021. The TBM weighs 450 tons, travels 58 feet per day, and is currently being assembled in Ballard. Neighborhoods impacted by construction include Ballard, Fremont, Queen Anne, and Wallingford. Each neighborhood has a section on the project website explaining the current construction stage and impacts to the area such as road closures and detours. The map below shows the tunnel alignment and various project sites to house additional infrastructure to support its operation.

Seattle Public Utilities and King County are building an underground stormwater and sewer storage tunnel.

Vote for your favorite Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) name!

From March 24th to March 31st, while you are waiting to be eligible for the COVID vaccine, you can vote for your favorite tunnel boring machine name! Below are the five names that made it to the voting slip. My personal favorite is Daphne!

• Daphne
• Molly the Mole
• Boris the Plunger
• Sir Digs-A-Lot
• MudHoney
  

The 2.7 mile long tunnel and 8-ft diameter casing will house a number of features to convey and store the diluted wastewater, including a 30-in air duct to control odors, an 18-in diameter conveyance pipe for conveying smaller storms, a 42-in diameter conveyance/storage pipe for larger storms, and associated support for those systems.

For more information, check out the Ship Canal Water Quality Project's Project Library for update emails, photos, videos, and other resources!

Breaking News! Executive Constantine Declares Emergency for West Point Treatment Plant

King County Executive Dow Constantine Declares Emergency for West Point Treatment Plant Improvements

King County Executive Dow Constantine on February 25th issued an emergency declaration requesting up to $65 million to fund power improvements to the West Point Treatment Plant.

In the past 20 years, the West Point Treatment Plant diverted a highly diluted mixture of stormwater and wastewater into Puget Sound 15 times because Seattle City Light power disruptions caused equipment shutdowns when the plant was operating at or near capacity. More than half of these bypasses – 53 percent – occurred over the past five years.

The work under the emergency declaration will include immediately purchasing services and equipment to provide more reliable power, an evaluation of whether direct high-voltage power will resolve the power outage problems, and modifying on-site power generation and an option to use batteries as other possible solutions.

According to the transmittal letter with the legislation, the reason for the emergency declaration and supplemental funding is in response to the WA Department of Ecology's Administrative Order issued on February 2nd. 

On February 2, 2021, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) issued Administrative Order 19477 to King County regarding unauthorized bypasses of the secondary treatment system at WPTP between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2020 [...]. The DOE Order requires DNRP to complete four corrective actions, which include the submittal of two reports to Ecology, development of a strategic master plan for WPTP’s electrical system by December 31, 2021, and implementation of the corrective actions in the plan by December 31, 2025.

The emergency declaration will be discussed by the King County Council at a future meeting. 

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn issued a statement on February 24th after the Mobility and Environment Committee approved his legislation to require an extensive report and recommendations to prevent future wastewater spills like those on January 13. 

At a $65 million price tag, it will be interesting to see how this reflects on property tax bills in the future. If you live in the service area, I highly suggest you keep posted on future updates and opportunities for public input to see how they choose to resolve these issues and how they will fund the solutions going forward.

When Stormwater Becomes Wastewater

Wastewater, commonly known as sewage, is an entirely different type of flow from stormwater. These flows intersect drastically in Washington's wet winter months, especially in Seattle where stormwater and wastewater were collected together in a combined system which can cause combined system overflows (CSOs). After the 1940s, we learned the importance of constructing separate pipe systems to convey these flows to specifically treat them before release. In fact, stormwater treatment has become its' own science. The legacy systems that remain, primarily in older cities, can create excess flows that overwhelm our wastewater treatment facilities or directly discharge diluted sewage into Puget Sound.

King County runs the regional sewer system that was passed by the public in 1958 which created the wastewater treatment division, which was at that time known as Metro. Building the system took off and was running by the late 1960s. While wastewater treatment and water quality have improved much since then, we still see problems when stormwater inflows to the wastewater system and generates too much inflow. Recent sewer overflows have occurred due to power outages, but the overarching issue from a stormwater perspective is how to reduce the amount of stormwater being sent to our wastewater treatment systems. A map of Seattle's/King County's combined sewer overflow points and their current status can be viewed here. Learn more about CSOs in Seattle here.

King County - Sewage Overflows Increase in Last 5 Years

On February 25th, an unquantified amount of sewage overflowed into Lake Washington due to a power outage at the Kirkland Pump Station. The Kirkland Marina Beach Park was closed and has since reopened after water quality testing confirmed that the water is safe. Sewage overflows and water quality goes hand-in-hand and King County is no stranger to this problem.

Last month, an article from the Kitsap Sun reported on the large overflow released into Puget Sound by the West Point Treatment Plant, 80% of which was comprised of stormwater in January. The overflows were announced by King County's newsroom. The overflows into Puget Sound occurred due to power outages during the early morning on Wednesday, January 13th. All systems were back online within 2 hours, but all told 11 million gallons of untreated wastewater flowed into the Sound. Coincidentally, 11 million gallons was the amount of crude oil that was spilled from the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound in 1989, which was the largest oil spill in the U.S. before it was surpassed by the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.

According to King County, the West Point Treatment Plant treats up to 90 million gallons per day (mgd) during the dry season and up to 300 mgd during the rainy season (for flows exceeding 300 mgd, they treat up to 440 mgd with primary treatment, i.e. solids removal of about 50% of the organic solid waste, and disinfection only). During winter months 53% of flows into West Point are stormwater inflow and groundwater infiltration, while 29% is residential, 17% from businesses, and 1% from industrial processes.

The Kitsap Sun described the concerns of the Suquamish Tribe on the WPTP sewer overflows which is impacting their ability to harvest shellfish. The tribe filed a notice of intent to sue King County in Summer 2020 over the continued sewage overflows. They want to see increased commitment by King County to keep our waters clean in accordance with the Clean Water Act. From the Kitsap Sun:

Said Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman at the time in a statement: "We acknowledge that King County has invested and will invest more to improve their wastewater treatment system, but the Suquamish Tribe and its members are frustrated by the ongoing sewage releases and King County’s other pollution violations in Puget Sound, which continue to harm marine water quality and the tribe’s ability to exercise reserved treaty rights and engage in cultural activities. We are running out of time and need swifter action."

It is important to recognize the effort and improvement we have made to treat wastewater and separate stormwater flows since the 1950s. But, more can be done.  

What We Can Do

We can participate in this legislation and focus on reducing stormwater inputs to the system. This includes supporting green infrastructure projects in City infrastructure and on residential lots. The City of Seattle has rebates for installing green stormwater infrastructure like rain barrels, cisterns, or rain gardens. As I have mentioned in other posts, planting trees is always helpful and is a fun way to introduce your kids to stormwater. With Earth Day coming up, it is a great time to start planning these activities now.

See my Resources Page for more information on Green Stormwater Infrastructure.

References

History of our mission - King County

2021 news releases - King County

11 million gallons of stormwater, sewage flow into Puget Sound from King County plant: - Kitsap Sun

West Point Treatment Plant Process Diagram

Suquamish Tribe files notice of intent to sue King County for ongoing sewage spills – The Suquamish Tribe 

Executive Constantine requests $65 million and signs emergency declaration to protect West Point Treatment Plant from power disruptions - King County

King County - File #: 2021-0116 - West Point Emergency Declaration and 2021-0116 Transmittal Letter.pdf

Water Quality in Puget Sound - It Starts With You

Puget Sound is the 2nd largest estuary in the United States (Chesapeake Bay is the largest). The Puget Sound drainage basin is 13,700 square miles and includes 13 U.S. counties plus one in Canada. The basin has three physiographic areas including the Olympic Mountains, the Puget Lowlands, and the Cascade Range (see Figure 1). 

If you used the How's My Waterway - Home (epa.gov) tool, you now have some idea of where your watershed sits in the overall drainage basin. One thing you can count on is that water flows downhill! It travels from our neighborhood ditches and stormwater ponds into our local creeks, rivers, and lakes and eventually outfalls to Puget Sound.

Figure 1. Streams and rivers drain three physiographic provinces in the Puget Sound Basin (Black and Silkey, 1998). - from the NAWQA - Water Quality in the Puget Sound Basin.

When precipitation falls as rain or snow, it is collected in our stormwater systems and drains into our local waterbodies. Precipitation is generally clean, but as it runs across our roadways and lawns it picks up pollutants like nitrogen, oil, and phosphorus. Common sources include fertilizers, animal waste, and oil leaks from cars. These pollutants create water quality problems. According to the Department of Ecology,

"More than 60 percent of water pollution comes from things like cars leaking oil, fertilizers and pesticides from farms and gardens, failing septic tanks, pet waste, and fuel spills from recreational boating."

The Basics of Good Water Quality

According to the Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, the stormwater pollutants of most concern are total suspended solids (sediments), oil and grease, nutrients, pesticides, other organics, pathogens, biochemical oxygen demand, heavy metals, and salts (USEPA, 1995), (Field et al., 1997), and (Strecker et al., 1997).

Urban development as it is done today, harms the environment. This is clearly explained in the Western Washington Stormwater Management Manual in Volume I, Section 1.3, "The Effects of Urbanization." (Read it here.) It is not very long, and if you are at all interested, I highly recommend you read the entire section. It is eye opening.

The primary thing you can do to help improve water quality is to keep or restore your property to a natural, forested state. More and more I see property owners pave their entire backyard or install covered patios. While this is great for those few occasions you use it, it harms our creeks by increasing runoff and reducing infiltration. Removing natural vegetation reduces the ability of the land to soak up the rain. It turn, this increases runoff and concentrates the pollutants going into our stormwater ponds and natural water bodies, ultimately harming our creeks and the fish who live in them and other critters who depend on them.

Below is a great infographic from King County's Stormwater Services. It puts stormwater quality issues into perspective:

Only Rain Down the Drain

The other thing you can do, is to simply reduce the amount of pollutants you send to the stormwater system. This means using less fertilizer, using commercial car washes, and picking up after your pets. Check out the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Manual - King County for ideas!

Report a Spill

What should you do if you see a spill? 

 

If you see pollutants like oil or paint, spilled (or dumped) on the road and getting into the stormwater system or our natural waterbodies, please report it! The Department of Ecology (DOE) oversees spill response and prevention through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Cities usually have their own emergency spill response phone lines or online systems. You can use your local jurisdiction's system, or the DOE's online form at Statewide reporting form ERTS - Washington State Department of Ecology. Any report using this system is also sent to the responsible jurisdiction. Usually someone will follow up with you to better understand the situation and help explain what can be done or even assist to clean up the spill. The sooner you report it, the more we can help.

What Is Your Water Quality Experience?

Have you seen water quality problems where you live? Do you have experience with algae growing in a stormwater pond? Have you thought about what might be causing it? If you have a well-connected neighborhood or an HOA, you might consider trying an experiment! Before next summer, ask your local jurisdiction to give you some information on helping improve water quality in your area and ask your neighbors to commit to following their suggestions. Survey the area to see if anything changes! It might take a year or two, but with a little effort, you just might see improvements in your own environment.

References

Where is the largest estuary in the United States? (noaa.gov)

Issues & problems - Washington State Department of Ecology

USGS - NAWQA - Water Quality in the Puget Sound Basin - Introduction

How to report a drainage or water quality problem - King County