2018-19 Key Peninsula Water Quality Report

October 2019

www.piercecountywa.org/shellfish WORKING TO IDENTIFY, CORRECT AND PREVENT WATER POLLUTION Help Puget Sound! Report water pollution (253) 798-4274 or (360) 407-6300 Photo courtesy Jim Bellamy Key Peninsula 2018/19 Water Quality Report

Photo courtesy Chris Konieczny/KP News Photo: Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department Photo courtesy Kyle Lawson Whiteman Creek Cleans Up! Shoreline Surveys Celebrating 70 Years Working in cooperation with a homeowner, You may wonder why the Tacoma-Pierce County The Pierce Conservation District (PCD) was formed Pierce County and Tacoma-Pierce County Health Health Department walks the shoreline in Key in 1949 to work with local landowners to conserve Department recently fixed a bacteria problem Peninsula. They’re working with Pierce County natural resources and implement first-rate in Whiteman Cove. Every month, Surface and the state Department of Health to find pol- farming practices. Since then, PCD farm planners Water Management (SWM) staff collect water lution impacting Puget Sound, pollution that can have become a key part of the Key Peninsula quality samples for evaluation. When they saw make you and your family sick when you play farming community. Paul Borne, has already repeated high fecal coliform bacteria levels, they in the water or eat fish and shellfish from Puget hosted multiple workshops on the peninsula and notified the county’s Illicit Discharge Detection Sound. Recently, the Health Department worked is working with many farm owners to plan and & Elimination team for investigation. The team with a homeowner who didn’t realize that it is implement Best Management Practices. Even better, analyzed past water quality sampling results and not OK to have water from their clothes washer his services and decades of expertise are free of used the county’s advanced computer mapping and sink drain onto the ground. Even if it doesn’t charge. “Implementing best management practices program to identify locations for additional come from a toilet, any water from your home can is a win-win-win scenario – these conservation sampling. They bracketed locations with high have pollutants like detergents and bacteria that methods can be good for animal health, good for bacteria until they narrowed the source down should go to your septic system for treatment. Not the environment, and good for your wallet.” As to one single house on the creek, upstream from sure if your system is working right? Call a private, we enter fall, Paul is encouraging landowners YMCA Camp Colman. SWM asked Tacoma-Pierce licensed septic professional for an inspection to to think about mud prevention. “If you have a County Health Department to contact the resident see if your system needs service or repair. Most farm and livestock, I can show you methods to to have their septic system tested. The homeowner systems should be inspected every 3 years for the manage mud and improve chore efficiency,” he agreed to a dye test and promptly repaired his longest possible life. Visit us at the KP Community says. Whether you want to protect your resources, system when he realized it was the source of Office in Key Center or www.tpchd.org/healthy- have healthier animals, or improve your farm, start a potentially serious water quality problem. homes/septic-systems for a list of resources. by contacting Paul Borne at [email protected]. 2018/19 Water Quality Report

KITSAP COUNTY MASON What YOU Can COUNTY PIERCE Carney Do to Improve COUNTY Lake Minter Water Quality Huge Creek Little Creek NW Ave 118th + Get your septic Minter 94th NW Ave system inspect- Rocky Creek Goodrich Dr NW Creek Stansberry Burley ed and pumped Lake if needed Lagoon + Scoop pet waste and dispose of it Lackey Road NW Road Lackey Doyle Pond into the garbage + Collect, cover and @302 128th St NW 94th NW Ave compost livestock manure or use a disposal service Roland

+ Do not feed Lake NW Ave 134th wildlife. Secure pet food, garbage, Minterwood NW Ave 126th and compost Rocky Lake Minter Bay from wildlife Bay Vaughn

+ Practice natural Bliss Cochrane Rd NW Creek yard care and use less fertilizer and no pesticides + Don’t dump yard Vaughn clippings on the Bay Grading Shellfish Growing Areas beach — compost These grades are based on marine water quality or use yard waste samples collected by the Washington State collection instead Department of Health, linked to standards set by + Help monitor: the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. The Stream Team concentration of fecal coliform bacteria in WDOH’s and Algae Watch Dutchers Creek programs need 30 most-recent samples must not exceed certain volunteers. NW Road Lackey limits. The higher the bacteria levels, the worse the grade. Bays with sites that exceed the limits are given

About This Report NW Rd Beach Crescent an F or failing grade.Note: Very few of the samples There are several used to assign these grades were taken during rain agencies working events and grades usually decline with more rain. For together to assess and improve water Dutcher more information about WDOH’s program, visit www. quality on the Key Cove doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Shell ish Peninsula, collec- tively known as Stream Water Quality Trends the Clean Water The trend symbols indicate whether Pierce Partners. This County’s monthly sampling results indicate a report provides a Jackson change from the 2017 Water Quality Report. summary of current Lake IMPROVING DECLINING water quality and conditions, and the + Dutchers Creek – Little Minter Creek activities underway Von Geldern + Minter Creek – School House Creek (AI) to improve and Cove + Rocky Creek – Vaughn Creek protect our lakes, streams and salt + Huge Creek – Whiteman Creek water beaches. + School House Creek (KPN) If you have com- HERRON ments or questions ISLAND Mayo Cove about this report, Herron please let us know. Lake Pierce County Delano Surface Water Delano Rd SW Management Bay www.piercecounty- Bay wa.org/shellfish Lake

(253) 798-2725 SW Ave 158th Palmer Tacoma-Pierce Lake School 24th St SW County Health House Department Creek Wyckoff www.tpchd.org Shoal (253) 798-6470 Pierce Whiteman Creek Conservation West Key District

Peninsula Key Peninsula Hwy SW www.piercecd.org (253) 845-9770 Rouse Rd SW MCNEIL August 2019 ISLAND Whiteman Rd SW Rd Whiteman This project has been Filucy Bay funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental MASON Protection Agency COUNTY PIERCE

COUNTY Yeazell Rd SW under Assistance THURSTON 76th St SW Agreement COUNTY PC-O1J18001 to Washington Department of Health. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect Yoman Rd the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor 8 does mention of trade Amsterdam Rd Ste ensen names or commercial Bay products constitute School House endorsement or Creek recommendation for use.

ANDERSON ISLAND

Oro Bay KITSAP COUNTY MASON What YOU Can COUNTY PIERCE Carney Do to Improve COUNTY Lake Minter Water Quality Huge Creek Little Creek NW Ave 118th + Get your septic Minter 94th NW Ave system inspect- Rocky Creek Goodrich Dr NW Creek Stansberry Burley ed and pumped Lake if needed Lagoon + Scoop pet waste and dispose of it Lackey Road NW Road Lackey Doyle Pond into the garbage + Collect, cover and @302 128th St NW 94th NW Ave compost livestock manure or use a disposal service Roland

+ Do not feed Lake NW Ave 134th wildlife. Secure pet food, garbage, Minterwood NW Ave 126th and compost Rocky Lake Minter Bay from wildlife Bay Vaughn

+ Practice natural Bliss Cochrane Rd NW Creek yard care and use less fertilizer and no pesticides + Don’t dump yard Vaughn clippings on the Bay beach — compost or use yard waste collection instead + Help monitor: Stream Team and Algae Watch Dutchers Creek programs need volunteers. NW Road Lackey

About This Report NW Rd Beach Crescent There are several agencies working together to assess and improve water Dutcher quality on the Key Cove Peninsula, collec- tively known as Stream Water Quality Trends the Clean Water The trend symbols indicate whether Pierce Partners. This County’s monthly sampling results indicate a report provides a Jackson change from the 2017 Water Quality Report. summary of current Lake IMPROVING DECLINING water quality and conditions, and the + Dutchers Creek – Little Minter Creek activities underway Von Geldern + Minter Creek – School House Creek (AI) to improve and Cove + Rocky Creek – Vaughn Creek protect our lakes, streams and salt + Huge Creek – Whiteman Creek water beaches. + School House Creek (KPN) If you have com- HERRON ments or questions ISLAND Mayo Cove about this report, Herron please let us know. Lake Pierce County Delano Surface Water Delano Rd SW Management Bay www.piercecounty- Bay wa.org/shell ish Lake

COUNTY Yeazell Rd SW under Assistance Agreement THURSTON 76th St SW COUNTY PC-O1J18001 to Washington Department of Health. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect Yoman Rd the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor 8 does mention of trade Amsterdam Rd Ste ensen names or commercial products constitute Bay School endorsement or House Creek recommendation for use.

ANDERSON ISLAND

Oro Bay October 2019

www.piercecountywa.org/shellfish WORKING TO IDENTIFY, CORRECT AND PREVENT WATER POLLUTION Help Puget Sound! Report water pollution (253) 798-4274 or (360) 407-6300 Photo: Stream Team

How You Can Help Monitor Water Quality

TOXIC ALGAE Stream Team monitor training Harbor WildWatch beach monitoring When in doubt, stay out! Bay Lake Stream Team Community Science Experience Algae Watch The Pierce Conservation District Stream Team Citizens around the world help the scientific Volunteers monitors water quality and the biological condition community collect meaningful data to learn of local streams. In partnership with Pierce County about and help protect the environment. In Toxic algae move Surface Water Management, Stream Team staff 2013, Harbor WildWatch created a community freely in lakes and volunteers collect benthic macroinvertebrates science program to record the marine organisms so it can be (insects, larva, snails and worms) to help living in the Key and Gig Harbor beaches, Toxic algae blooms happen in this lake. tough for Health Toxic algae, also called cyanobacteria, can Department determine stream health. The types of animals estuaries, and creeks. Twice a year, trained make you very sick. Algae blooms can look found tells a lot about the health of a stream — volunteers collect data at Key Peninsula beaches: like scum, streaks or clumps in the water. staff to spot some tolerate pollution, while others are sensitive. Maple Hollow, Penrose Point State Park, and Help track toxic algae. problems as soon Visit tpchd.org/toxicalgae The Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (BIBI) score Purdy Sand Spit. This information tracks how or call (253) 798-6470. as they happen. helps inform the overall watershed report card. beaches change over time and can help predict Keep your family and pets safe! www.tpchd.org They encourage This summer, macroinvertebrate sampling was the impact of future events, whether they are waterfront conducted on Crescent, Rocky, and Vaughn creeks natural or human induced. Monitoring helps property owners and frequent lake visitors in the Key Peninsula-Gig Harbor-Islands (KGI) establish a baseline understanding of the to sign up to be Algae Watch volunteers. watershed. They’ve seen some beautiful habitats, animals and algae living on the beach. You You will learn how to identify toxic algae lots of bugs, and look forward to more sampling. don’t have to be a scientist to take part in and your information may be used to If you are interested in joining Stream Team to beach monitoring and all ages are welcome. For notify the public when there is a potential make a difference in the KGI watershed, contact questions about Harbor WildWatch’s Community public health threat. Join other local lake Belinda Paterno at [email protected] Science Experience, contact Science Specialist, enthusiasts and learn more about your Stena Troyer at [email protected] lake. Email [email protected] to sign up!