By COOKSON BEECHER The Capital Press , Staff Writer, 9/28/2000
OLYMPIA - The state will be inspecting some of the livestock farms in the Upper Chehalis watersheds during the coming weeks as part of a water cleanup effort in Lewis, Thurston and southeast Grays Harbor counties.
Ecology inspectors will visit the 40 non-dairy livestock farms already identified as having medium or high potential to pollute.
Possible problems on those farms were recorded during Ecology's 1998 technical-assistance tour of 78 livestock farms in the upper watershed.
The owners of the 40 farms were asked to seek free technical assistance from their local conservation districts about how they could manage farm-animal waste.
"Because only a very few of the 78 property owners followed up with their conservation districts after our initial visits, our formal inspections are proceeding," said Mark Bentley.
Dairy farms in the watershed have already been inspected under the state's dairy nutrient management program.
The goal of these non-dairy livestock farm inspections will be to determine if there are pollution problems and what the probable causes are. The inspector will also refer the owners to their conservation districts for help in coming up with a plan that will prevent pollution.
"This is the next step," said Sandy Howard, water-quality spokesperson for Ecology, referring to the formal inspections. "It will be similar to the dairy inspection sweep already done in the area." The livestock owners will be asked to take care of any problems that are brought to light through the inspection, which will include water-quality testing.
If they fail to follow up on taking steps to solve the problem, they run the risk of being fined for violating the state's clean water act.
"While it's not our intention to take enforcement measures, that is a possibility if pollution is a real problem," said Howard, explaining the the procedure involves escalating enforcement for problems not corrected.
Driving this round of inspections is the high rate of pollution in the water shed.
Between 1990 and 1993, a water-quality study for the upper river - upstream from the Porter bridge - found levels of fecal coliform and dissolved oxygen that violated state water-quality standards.
The study also found that portions of the slow-moving river are very sensitive to pollution and that one significant source of that pollution is runoff from areas where livestock is kept.
In addition, a recent study done of the Grays Harbor watershed indicates that 96 percent of the river's fecal coliform bacteria is coming from polluted runoff, much of coming from upstream.
Howard said no one knows yet what percentage of this pollution is caused by agricultural operations, failing septic systems or other problems. But getting information about water quality at specific farms will help answer some of these questions.
Comparing the water cleanup efforts in this watershed to harvesting apples, Howard said the state picked the lower apples first, namely the dairy farms.
"As we go higher in the tree, we're getting to other sources," she said. "A lot of that is runoff from livestock." Part of the problem is that when people move out into the country and start acquiring livestock, they don't realize they have the responsibility to keep waterways near or on their property clean.
"It's against the law to violate the state's clean-water act," said Howard.
But she also pointed out that property owners will enjoy the benefits that come with preventing pollution.
"The value of clean water has a lot to do with the quality of life we enjoy here in Washington state," she said. "Our children will thank us for it." In addition, there are also the financial rewards that come with preventing pollution.
"If you're living on a healthy, clean river, your property values will be higher," she said.
Ecology official Lisa Rozmyn described the livestock owners she has talked with about the cleanup effort as "very cooperative." "A lot of them know what the problem is and are taking steps to solve it," she said.
A breakdown of the 40 farms targeted for the inspections reveals that almost one-half are cattle operations, some of them large but about half of them small-scale backyard operations.
About six are horse farms and about that same number heifer-raising operations. Another 3 or 4 are chicken ranches.
Fencing livestock from water would solve most of the problems, say Ecology officials.
"A lot of this comes down to education," said Rozmyn. "Some people don't realize that only a small number of animals can contribute to pollution and impact water quality." More information about the inspections can be obtained by calling Rozmyn at 360-407-6287.
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