Swamp Creek Fecal Coliform Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Swamp Creek Fecal Coliform Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load Water Quality Improvement Report and Implementation Plan June 2006 Publication Number 06-10-021 Swamp Creek Fecal Coliform Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load Water Quality Improvement Report and Implementation Plan by Ralph Svrjcek Washington State Department of Ecology Northwest Regional Office Water Quality Program Bellevue, Washington 98008-5452 June 2006 Publication Number 06-10-021 This document can be viewed or downloaded from the internet at the following site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/tmdl/watershed/index.html. For more information contact: Department of Ecology Northwest Regional Office Water Quality Program 3190 – 160th Ave. SE Bellevue, WA 98008-5452 Telephone: 425-649-7105 Headquarters (Lacey) 360-407-6000 Regional Whatcom Pend San Juan Office Oreille location Skagit Okanogan Stevens Island Northwest Central Ferry 425-649-7000 Clallam Snohomish 509-575-2490 Chelan Jefferson Spokane K Douglas i Bellevue Lincoln ts Spokane a Grays p King Eastern Harbor Mason Kittitas Grant 509-329-3400 Pierce Adams Lacey Whitman Thurston Southwest Pacific Lewis 360-407-6300 Yakima Franklin Garfield Wahkiakum Yakima Columbia Walla Cowlitz Benton Asotin Skamania Walla Klickitat Clark Persons with a hearing loss can call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability can call 877-833-6341. If you need this publication in an alternate format, please call the Water Quality Program at 425- 649-7105. Persons with hearing loss can call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability can call 877-833-6341 Table of Contents Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................iii Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... v Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 The Water Cleanup Process............................................................................................. 2 Why is Ecology preparing a Water Quality Improvement Plan for Swamp Creek?........... 3 Health Risk from Bacteria .............................................................................................3 Restoring and maintaining good water quality is smart and required by law— Washington’s Antidegradation Policy............................................................................5 Relationship of this TMDL with Use Attainability Analyses ...........................................5 Description of the Swamp Creek Watershed .................................................................... 6 Physical Features..........................................................................................................6 Land Use.......................................................................................................................6 Water Quantity ..............................................................................................................8 Water Quality ................................................................................................................9 How polluted is Swamp Creek? ................................................................................9 What is an acceptable level of bacteria for Swamp Creek?....................................10 What is Polluting Swamp Creek--What should be done? ............................................... 13 Urban Stormwater .......................................................................................................13 Municipal Stormwater..............................................................................................14 Livestock and Commercial Animal Handling Facilities................................................16 Residential Equestrian Facilities .................................................................................20 Domestic Wastewater .................................................................................................21 Regional Conveyance Systems ..............................................................................21 Onsite Septic Systems ............................................................................................22 Altered Hydrology/Loss of Base Flows .......................................................................23 Loss of Riparian Habitat..............................................................................................26 Sediment .....................................................................................................................26 Wildlife.........................................................................................................................27 What will be done, Who will do it?................................................................................... 28 Federal, Tribal, State, and County Entities .................................................................28 Cities and Towns.........................................................................................................34 Special Purpose Districts ............................................................................................43 Nonprofit and Volunteer Organizations .......................................................................45 How will we fund these water cleanup activities? ........................................................... 48 Environmental Protection Agency ...............................................................................48 Ecology Funding Opportunities ...................................................................................48 King County Funding Sources ....................................................................................49 The Public Involvement and Education (PIE) Program...............................................50 Snohomish Housing Authority.....................................................................................50 Measuring Progress toward Goals.................................................................................. 51 Documenting Pollution Control Activities ....................................................................51 Direct Measurement of Water Quality .........................................................................51 Reasonable Assurance Strategy..................................................................................... 54 NPDES Permit Programs............................................................................................54 Ecology Funding Programs.........................................................................................54 Swamp Creek Water Quality Improvement Plan Page i Other Water Cleanup Activities ...................................................................................54 Adaptive Management ................................................................................................55 Enforcement................................................................................................................55 Public Involvement.......................................................................................................... 56 References...................................................................................................................... 57 Appendix A: Acronyms and Glossary............................................................................A-1 Appendix B: Water Quality Study..................................................................................B-1 Appendix C: Estimated Wet Weather Bacteria Loading............................................... C-1 Appendix D: Special Requirements for Municipal Stormwater Permit Holders...D-1 Appendix E: Implementation Schedule Tracking Sheets ..............................................E-1 Appendix F: Response to Comments ...........................................................................F-1 Appendix G: Public Involvement Materials.................................................................... G-1 List of Figures Figure 1. Low bacteria levels mean “fun” is also “safe” in Swamp Creek ........................iv Figure 2. Swamp Creek is part of the Lake Washington Watershed ...............................vi Figure 3. Ecology’s Water Cleanup Process.................................................................... 2 Figure 4. Monitoring locations used for setting TMDL allocations.................................... 7 Figure 5. Average Daily flow at Snohomish-King County Line (station Sl) ...................... 8 Figure 6. Doing the Math: How does a TMDL add up?................................................. 10 Figure 7. Urban stormwater ........................................................................................... 12 Figure 8. Fluffy’s pet waste ............................................................................................ 16 Figure 9a. Potential Pollution Sources, Upper Watershed............................................. 17 Figure 9b. Potential Pollution Sources, Lower Watershed............................................. 18 Figure 10. Equestrian Facilities...................................................................................... 20 Figure 11. On site septic systems.................................................................................. 22 Figure 12. Altered Hydrology ........................................................................................