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d d d d 2 6 + t i Text Text l J J H ui G ui D * $ui I B ui vi J vi F| E J Tui i ( L ) tvi K Dvi vi $ 3 6 MC L E ` YF iH yJ TMDL Chehalis Pollution Upper Contamination March 2004 - Chehalis River Council Advocates seek ways to heal streams
Friday, March 12, 2004
By Brian Mittge, bmittge@chronline.com , The Chronicle
Thirty-one sections of the Chehalis River system are newly tagged as polluted in a draft government report, but the status from the trenches isn't all muck and mire, river lovers learned at a meeting about pollution Thursday night in Centralia.
In a river pollution meeting called "How bad is it, anyhow?" the discussion included pipes draining discolored water into the Skookumchuck River, fish contaminated with dioxins on Dillenbaugh Creek, and hopes that people might one day swim again in the Chehalis River.
For the two dozen attendees who kayak, fish or live along the creeks of the upper Chehalis, discussing water quality is like talking about the health of an old friend.
"A lot of us have the impression that our rivers are polluted, but we don't know where or how much," said Margaret Rader, chair of the Chehalis River Council.
The Centralia-based environmental group monitors the river system that starts in Pe Ell, Napavine, Onalaska and Tenino, passing through the Twin Cities and Oakville before draining into Grays Harbor.
Two new documents by the Washington Department of Ecology paint a fairly detailed, and grim, picture of water quality in the northwestern part of Lewis County.
A study of fecal coliform levels identifies 27 areas in the upper Chehalis River that are polluted with the bacteria from mammals' innards. High fecal coliform levels are seen as indicators of other viruses and bacteria that can cause diarrhea, infections and rashes.
Similar so-called "Total Maximum Daily Load" studies, or TMDLs, on the Chehalis River in the 1990s called attention to problems with dissolved oxygen levels (not enough for fish) and temperature (too warm for fish). Both Centralia and Chehalis are building new wastewater treatment plants, in part, because of those studies.
The draft fecal coliform study could also end up spurring cleanup efforts, but the Department of Ecology would focus on voluntary efforts, such as fixing up failing septic tanks, said Water Cleanup Coordinator Dave Rountry.
The study is "an effort to coordinate different groups and resources toward cleanup activities," Rountry said.
Rountry said there have been improvements in the river.
A testing station at Porter, downstream of Oakville, has found a 25 percent reduction in fecal coliform since 1998.
Hydrologist Rob Schanz of Pe Ell, however, said even that good news needs scrutiny.
Schanz, a trustee of the Chehalis River Council, leads a group that collects river bugs to monitor water quality. He said that fecal coliform is tricky to measure, because rains and floods wash it into the river, so test results vary from day to day.
Simple actions, such as fencing livestock to keep them at least a few yards away from creeks and rivers, can make a difference in the kinds of manure-based bacteria that foul the river, said Bob Amrine, who is with the Lewis County Conservation District.
As big farms and dairies make those improvements, the responsibility falls to "hobby farmers" with a few horses on an acre or two, he suggested.
Some laughed, but Amrine said there are even pumps with handles that cattle can push to bring in water from a river or well without tramping the stream banks.
Another new state document, required by the federal Clean Water Act, lists 31 new segments of the Chehalis River that are polluted. Statewide, there are 2,682 such listings.
One area of concern to some at the meeting was Dillenbaugh Creek at the site of the old American Crossarm and Conduit toxic cleanup site off Chehalis Avenue south of downtown Chehalis.
Steelhead caught from the creek and fileted show high levels of dioxin, an industrial byproduct that doesn't break down in the environment and is suspected of causing liver damage, cancer and other health problems in humans.
Bill Lawrence of Centralia also wondered about new scientific concerns that human pharmaceutical drugs are passing through the body and wastewater treatment system to accumulate in rivers and animals.
He shook his head when hearing there is no money for testing in the Chehalis for such products.
Kahle Jennings, a Department of Ecology contact for the Chehalis Basin, said caffeine also washes directly through sewage plants to rivers.
Dale Richart, a kayaker who lives in Centralia, said he's seen oily water and pipes dumping pollution into local waterways, but has had a hard time getting state or county government to take action.
He said he's been shocked to see cars used as riprap along the Skookumchuck River near Bucoda.
Centralian Dan Vander Kolk said he had to spend $1,000 to hire an attorney to threaten a lawsuit before action was taken about pollution he identified.
"I've got a couple places where you could use that thousand dollars again," Richart said.
Jennings said the Department of Ecology has a hotline to report such problems at 407-6000. It can't try to fix everything, however, because there are only four employees for 18 counties to work with polluters to resolve problems, he said.
The state polluted waters list and the Chehalis Basin fecal coliform study are both up for public comment until Monday. Telephone Rountry at 407-6276 for more information.
The Chehalis River Council may be reached at 807-0764.
The Lewis County Conservation District, at 748-0083 Ext. 115, offers landowners free advice on livestock management, and can help pay to put up fences.
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