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Protect the Lake Whatcom Drinking Water Reservoir
The Watershed Is Not Being Preserved! Consider the Consequences in Health and Cost! speak to us: webmaster@lakewhatcom.org |
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From the KING-5 TV helicopter A few weeks ago (early 2009) another sudden rainstorm hit the Lake Whatcom Reservoir watershed basin. Heavy rains flow over the ground, especially over open soils, and gather silt and chemicals - becoming muddy. Then dozens of such little gully-flows combine in a creek, and it gushes downhill until it spews out into the Lake - a muddy mess. (click to see larger image) 
I could not tell just where this image was taken, but the important thing is that it happens -- and can be avoided. Existing urbanization is the major cause of the pollution which is detrimental to the water quality of the Reservoir. The best protection of the water is well-managed forests covering the watershed. But, there are still watershed areas where additional development is being done or planned, and that will make the lake even more polluted. A request for even more urbanization, a two-mile road to serve dozens of new "McMansion" houselots on the Squalicum Mountain mountainside, has been brought AGAIN ! - with a RE-ISSUED SEPA "REVIEW" before an agency of Whatcom County - for 540 acres (yes - over five hundred acres) of housing development on Squalicum Mountain, several miles outside the City limits, and on the brink of a steep area of the watershed, which was long ago declared a "critical area". Download the REVISED APPROVED SEPA 2008-00063 here Click on thumbnail map for full image: 
We agree with this blog by John Watts: -- the County must be told that this must be denied. We think the City would be a good "person" to do so. Even citizens - YOU! - may file formal comments ("objections") to the proposed ruling, declaring why no halfway attempt at "mitigation" (the legal loophole) can and will be sufficient to offset the harm that a new development of this size will bring.
Lead Agency:
Whatcom County Planning and Development Services Zoning: Rural Forestry (RF) Comp Plan: Rural Forestry ANY PERSON OR AGENCY MAY APPEAL THE COUNTY'S COMPLIANCE WITH WAC 197-11 BY FILING AN APPEAL WITH THE WHATCOM COUNTY LAND USE DIVISION LOCATED AT 5280 NORTHWEST DRIVE, BELLINGHAM, WA 98226. More details will soon follow here. Phosphorus in the water is the main culprit - phosphorus consumes oxygen, and oxygen-starved water promotes blue-green algae. That phosphorus comes from many different urban activities, including the big one - fertilizer. Phosphorus and other toxic chemicals travel from the constructed surfaces and the soil into the creeks with rainwater runoff, then down the creeks into the lake. Here are two graphics about the routes of phosphorus and other pollutants into the Reservoir, and an outline of one analysis of alternatives - good and bad: (open in new tabs) Planning chart: 
(large file - may be wider than full-screen) Someone provided me with this aerial photo of an algae bloom on 
This seems to be in a little remote, stagnant bay - I am not sure just where this is (but it just might be Lake Terrell.) But can anyone tell me what the reaction will be as it creeps up onto the shorelines of the populated areas? Try: "Hey, City (or County) ! I am outraged that this slimy goo in YOUR Lake is creeping up on my lovely shorefront lawn! This ain't supposed to happen - and just WHEN are you going to do something about it?" He might go on to ask: "Just imagine -- what stuff like this would do to my resale value, when I decide to escape from it and sell out!" Who does What The Jurisdictions, etc Several years ago, we compiled a list of all the agencies and programs, which seemed to have responsibility or authority over the water quality in the LW Reservoir watershed. Even citizens can be part of the defense against the degradation of the water quality in the Reservoir. We have repeatedly heard and recently read the idea to "solve" the pollution of the Lake Whatcom Reservoir by flushing it with water diverted from the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River. Sorry, that is not a solution. Read the full story The best solutions to Reservoir pollution are:
See the flow-chart, in Excel. Thus, even if no new pollution entered, and the "flushing" were perfect, it would take 50 years to replace the water. Finally, it is one more example of allowing harmful actions to continue, and trying to ignore them here by trashing your neighbors "there". Flushing? No Sale! A discussion was ongoing on the YahooGroup about Goose-poop. Is Goose-poop detrimental? Can the geese be shooed-away? Should they be captured - then what? One member contributed a paper done by Rutgers Univ Extension Service ("Rutgers goose euthanization study") which only addresses the last question. download it here - (PDF 2 pages) Further info told us that the best action is a division at the shoreline between the water, and the lawn. The geese don't like a wall or prickly plants, so they go elsewhere. (Your problem "solved" - passed down to the neighbor.) Trouble-Spots Links: (listed in north-south order - see map) Vineyard-Squalicum Agate Bay Northshore North Shore Estates Birch Street - Silver Beach Sudden Valley Southwest Sewerline & South Bay Blue Canyon ........as of September 2007 
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The Documented Concerns -- 50 Years Ago Two Professors at WWU (then WWSC) raised concerns and started studying the Reservoir -- and made videos on the topic. This news is both great and bothersome, since it vividly illustrates concerns over the degradation of the water quality in the Reservoir, that long ago - yet shows how far we still are from a definitive solution. On 7/15/2010 Tim Kraft wrote to this webmaster: "..Thanks for the great web site. I was recently looking for some data to justify the recent news story that said that we're at the point where all lake water should be treated before drinking, when I discovered the lakewhatcom.org web site which alerted me to the existence of a film depicting my late father, Dr. Gerald Kraft, and Dr. Charles Flora, summarizing their 1963 Lake Whatcom Study. This was an amazing discovery for me. Hearing my father's prophetic warning of the need to stop increasing human activity on and around the lake, way back in 1963, was eerie. I went to the WWU archives and obtained a DVD copy of the film mentioned here on the lakewhatcom.org web site: http://lakewhatcom.org/history.shtml FYI: I have digitized the film and posted clips on YouTube. I was inspired to create a little web site dedicated to my father, Dr. Flora, and the Lake Whatcom Study Project. http://timkraft.net/env/ You are welcome to use any of the content of my web site as well as any of the video clips that I have posted there. Thank you for continuing the work that my father, Dr. Gerald Kraft, and Dr. Flora started so many years ago! Best Regards, Tim Kraft NEW LIMITS on Phosphorus The State has issued new restrictions on detergents containing Phosphorus. This is great, since Phosphorus is a big culprit in the degradation of the water quality in the Reservoir. Actions that are Needed Phosphorus is a big culprit in the degradation of the water quality in the Reservoir. It gets into the Lake in the water of the streams, and in direct runoff from shoreline properties. How can that pollution be reduced (eliminated)? By keeping phosphorus out of the runoff water, and to do that, keeping it off the ground. So how does phosphorus get on the ground? Hard data is difficult to find, but it seems clear that these routes are the big ones. Fertilizer is placed on the ground - the lawns and gardens. Just don't do that with phosphorus. Please go review what's in your "garden shed", and if any of the products have phosphorus, take them to a recycle center. Word-of-mouth works like a charm. How many times have you heard some snippet of a tragedy or a joy from a neighbor or family member? Make the Phosphorus-Out program (the "P-O") a topic for the dinner table and the back fence. Spread the word. The City Acts! At the City Council meeting of May 19, 2008, the Council passed an Emergency Moratorium, establishing tight restrictions on building activities within the City's portion of the Watershed. This means that within the watershed portion of the City (most of the Silver Beach Neighborhood), no permits will be granted unless the applications:
Also, review the discussion by some leading citizens, in the blog at NW Citizen: nwcitizen.us/entry/saving-the-lake 
foto: Lynne Findley, who likes to see a clean lake! Clearcut_on_Northshore.kml - Google-Earth "Place-file" download, save, double-click (requires Google-Earth program) Read about these at: Where on Earth is it? Discussion of Google-Earth "kml & kmz-files". |
The Joint Management Team has issued the Draft LWR Management Plan, and called for Public Comments. Please see the comments by Sue Kaun. The three jurisdictions of the ICT(*) met on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010, for the first step in approving the work plan for 2010-2014 on the Lake Whatcom Reservoir and watershed. The principal speakers were Jon Hutchings, of Whatcom County and Clare Fogelsong, of CoB. (*) Interjurisdictional Coordinating Team - Whatcom County, City of Bellingham & the Lake Whatcom Water & Sewer District. Click this link below ("Plan") to download the PDF's of the Plan presentation. (These are the official versions, in .PDF format) AccomplishmentsDRAFT_Staff_Final.pdf - 846Kb Draft_LW_2010_2014 Work Plan Staff Final.pdf - 1,638Kn A Blog-Entry about Watershed Stormwater Projects There is an interesting new posting on the Blog "Latte Republic", run by Elizabeth Britt. Now, the webmaster here has not always agreed with Elizabeth on political issues in the past, although we have always been respectul and cordial. But clean drinking water (and lower costs for achieving that) are issues for everybody, and I am appreciative of the comments and concerns expressed there. It feels like there has been some knowledgable contributions to the topic of what works well for reducing phosphorus entering the Reservoir, and where certain things might work well and where certain things might not work so well. Go take a peek, and contribute your facts, beliefs and opinions there if you wish and for posting here -- send to: webmaster@lakewhatcom.org. More to follow. The three jurisdictions of the ICT(*) met on Thursday, Feb 26th, 2009, for an update briefing on the status of the work on the Lake Whatcom Reservoir and watershed. The principal speaker was Jon Hutchings, of Whatcom County 
(*) Interjurisdictional Coordinating Team - Whatcom County, City of Bellingham & the Lake Whatcom Water & Sewer District. Click this image below ("Today's Objectives") to download the PowerPoint slideshow of the presentation. (This is the official version, in .PPT format - 5.3 Mb) 
The rains of early January 2009 have caused flooding. See new Photos of Silver Beach Creek Overflows Here is the location and the graph of a flow-gauge just off Northshore Road beyond the Y-Road junction. (Click on thumbnails for larger images.) 
The flow increased rapidly starting Sunday afternoon, January 4, 2009, and has now continued very high for nine days, with little prospect for substantial reduction. This graph is derived from successive 8-day charts at the USGS website, where it is updated automatically. As the storm passed, the flow has returned to "normal". Here is a 45-day look at this large-flow period. 
Also, here is a photo of the gage location. 
This second graph, for Anderson Creek at the far south end of the Lake, is from the same USGS website, late on January 7th, 2009: 
Such large flows carry sediment - containing the undesirable nutrient phosphorus and other chemicals - into the Lake. The City has filed a suit against the County, since the County is trying to approve the North Shore Estates development. The Court Hearing was on Wednesday, Dec 10th, 2008 in the chambers of the County Council. Download and Read the Base Document, in 14 JPG images - pages 01-14 "NSE01-14.zip" Download and Read the Full Court Document - 69 pages "prehearing.pdf" The Essence: DATED this 26th day of November, 2008, The State Dept of Ecology has finally issued the long-awaited TMDL Report. Read the Abstract The is the thousand ton hammer. It is time for some heavy lifting now, folks, on all four corners of the bedsheet the Lake's been sleeping on. Bellingham Herald Headline Story Click for Ecology's general info page on TMDL's (Lake Whatcom's item is not yet listed - since it is still in bureaucratic process.) Moratorium News !! The Bellingham City Council held a Public Hearing on Monday July 14, 2008, 7:00PM to take public comment on the following: INTERIM EMERGENCY ORDINANCES ESTABLISHING A MORATORIUM ON THE FILING, ACCEPTANCE, AND PROCESSING OF APPLICATION OF DIVISIONS OF LAND, NEW BUILDING PERMITS, AND LAND DISTURBANCE ACTIVITIES IN THE PORTION OF THE LAKE WHATCOM WATERSHED LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF BELLINGHAM. Anyone wishing to comment on this topic was invited to attend. Written comments received before 10:00 AM, July 9 would be included in the agenda packet. Written comments received after that time will be distributed to Council but not included in the published meeting materials. Send comments to the Council Office, 210 Lottie St, or email to citycouncil@cob.org, or FAX to 778-8101. More information on the Moratorium can be found at: http://www.cob.org/issues/lw-moratorium.aspx or contact Kurt Nabbefeld at 778-8351 or at knabbefeld@cob.org.. Click for copy of Ordinance establishing the moratorium (PDF) click |
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Protect Lake Whatcom:
This website is maintained by a concerned citizen in honor of the spirit of Ruth, developed for a Citizens' Initiative brought forth in 1999,
with the purpose of directing the City to implement Goal #2 of their own 21 Goals for the management and preservation of the Reservoir.
Copyright 1999-2008 ©LakeWhatcom.org. updated Oct 27, 2008 |
Our bottom-line principles are:
Protect the water (supply & quality) in perpetuity --
maintain ecological viability of the lake for natural species --
distribute the financial burden fairly among those benefitting --
take immediate action if prudent --
take definitive action --
avoid actions which cut off future options.
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