Several of the issues dealt with management or planning of or for flood events. Comments were made about the severity of this flood which was magnified by the lack of warning to some residents. In some cases homes changed from totally dry to immersion in 2 feet of water in less than 4 hours.
A lot of discussion focused on the need for regional planning, especially since water knows no boundaries. According to one participant the country of New Zealand has government aligned along watershed boundaries. Wouldn't something like that be a major benefit to the huge Chehalis system?
Land use management was a major topic. Logging practices, floodplain development, flood plain filling, urban and rural growth, need for flood plains - these were each areas of interest.
One attendee cited figures which represent the amount of rain water absorbed by various surfaces: A 40 year old forest can take up as much as 80% of the rainfall, while developed rural land might absorb 60% and a city like Centralia might absorb only 40% while the land of Seattle might absorb as little as 10%. No one ventured a guess as to how much water a clear cut retains, but it would seem to be very low. Certainly these land use changes will have an impact on a river system as large as the Chehalis system.
Several attendees commented about the impact the culverts used today have on floods when compared to the bridges they replaced. In one case an observer saw water levels as much as 3 feet higher on the upstream road side as the down stream road side. Others mentioned their observation of this dam effect. It would seem that the earlier water can move downstream the better and safer we all will be.
A question which could not be answered was Why don't we listen to the experiences of people from other flooded parts of the nation? Surely we can learn from their experiences.
An unspoken wish of all at this early session is that we never again experience such devastation. Basin residents have lost homes, jobs, land and the future seems dim. Now is the time for some concentrated action and cooperation. We must take action for the betterment of all. We must cooperate - no more can a few dike and protect their property at the expense of others in the basin.
Yelm Recycled Water
The March CRC meeting hosted Deborah Delzell & Terrill Lewis from the consulting firm of Skillings - Connolly.
Yelm faces population growth from less than 2,000 to more than 12,000 in the next 20 years. Their current sewage system discharges to the Centralia Power Canal on the Nisqually river. As the treatment plant was built pressure from fish biologists, regulators, tribal interests and environmental groups led the city to agree that they would get the discharge out of the river by 1997.
Skillings Connolly, Inc was retained to prepare a Facilities Plan and develop solutions to achieve 100% reclamation and reuse of wastewater.
Primary treatment is in a Septic Tank Effluent Pump system followed by secondary treatment in a batch reactor process. Further treatment will include flocculation, coagulation, filtration and disinfection. The final product is designated "Class A Reclaimed Water". It is clean enough for all uses but human consumption.
This reclaimed water will be used in the summer months to irrigate crops, golf courses, parks, school play grounds and churches. Industrial uses include concrete making, fire protection and construction.
During winter the reclaimed water, after further additional natural treatment, will be used for aquifer recharge. Additional natural treatment will be handled in part by three constructed wetlands. One will be a multipurpose wetland at Cochrane Park, another will be an educational wetland at Yelm High School. The third wetland will be an experimental wetland. State departments and Yelm will be able to monitor and test all elements of this technology here and use the facilities for a training center.
This project will resolve Yelm's wastewater problems, provide protection of Yelm's water supply, preserve the Nisqually River water quality, accommodate growth and encourage wider practice of reclamation and reuse.
Cars beat cows in pollution
A new study shows that urban cars produce more air pollution than suburban cows, suggestions by the Los Angeles mayor notwithstanding. Experts from the South Coast Air Quality Management District ran cow pollution tests in hopes of settling a city vs. suburb dispute that arose in August 1994, when the district board was a few days from approving a federally mandated clean air plan for the region. Mayor Richard Riordan persuaded the panel to drop proposals targeting diesel trucks, buses, trains, ships and airliners, to explore other sources of pollution, namely dairies and dirt roads. Leaders in San Bernardino and Riverside counties accused Riordan of trying to shift the blame for the nation's dirtiest air. Environmentalists said he was trying to stall the plan. The study concluded that there are about 312,000 cows in the Chino-Riverside-San Bernardino area which release up to 8.5 tons of ammonia per day into the air. By comparison, heavy trucks in the Los Angeles Basin emit 239 tons of nitrogen oxides and particulates a day, ships contribute 35 tons and trains emit 34 tons, according to the state Air Resources Board. A plan for reducing air particulates to healthful levels must be adopted by next February, under federal law.
Copyright 1996, Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Groundwater Age Measurements
Using a new approach to estimate the origins of nitrate contamination in groundwater, scientists at the University of California-Davis believe they have found a more effective way to determine the origins and relative ages of groundwater arriving at points such as wetlands or wells. Few models are available which can accurately determine how long it takes pollutants to travel from the point of origin to levels where water supplies are drawn. The UC Davis model indicates that nitrates typically take from 40 to 60 years to make their way from the surface of a field to water 180 feet below the ground's surface in much of the Salinas Valley, Calif. -- a finding consistent with observed water-quality trends. Describing the model as the first estimate of its kind, Graham Fogg, principal investigator in a study of nitrate contamination in the valley, said, "This provides a scientific basis for answering how might land-use changes today affect future Salinas Valley groundwater quality and what is the likely time lag between the cause and the effect." For more information, contact Fogg, (916)752-6810, email: gefogg@ucd.edu.
Copyright 1996, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved ENN Daily News -- March 14, 1996
Seasons of the Chehalis
Washington Department of Ecology conducted an extensive study of the upper Chehalis basin. The results of that Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study indicate that the area known as the Chehalis Reach simply has no capacity to carry the existing point and nonpoint pollutant load.
As controversial as the results are, they do reflect the state of the river and identify the actions which must be initiated if we are to reestablish a healthier system. The choice is ours. The CRC fully supports the recommendations contained in the TMDL study.
At our request the Washington Department of Ecology provided the following information which describes the Chehalis in Fall and Winter. Spring and Summer were reported in the last issue of Drops of Water.
Fall and Winter Arrive on the Chehalis
Autumn comes to the Chehalis Basin slowly and quietly. The leaves start to brown and wither, rainy periods come just a little more often, and flows in the rivers and streams gradually increase.
With shorter days comes cooler temperatures. The warm surface waters of the Centralia Reach cool off, and slowly mix deeper, until the deep pools with their stagnant, anoxic water finally mix back into the whole river. Oxygen levels in the surface waters are gradually rising.
Despite the changes, fall is still a risky time for the Chehalis River. Although the problems of summer are easing, flows are still low and the season adds new complications. As the deep pools in the Centralia Reach slowly mix into surface waters, ammonia and other pollutants are released back into the river. Leaves are falling and plants in the water dying, adding to the overall load of oxygen-demanding pollutants. Bursts of rain flushing pollutants into the rivers and streams may be followed by stretches of warm weather and low flows.
The Chehalis River is still close to the edge, vulnerable to any spill or combination of problems. In October 1991, a treatment plant upset, combined with other pollutant discharges higher in the river, resulted in a complete loss of oxygen in the Centralia Reach. A week passed as the zone of no oxygen travelled downstream to the Skookumchuck River, where it was diluted and reaerated. Mysteriously, no fish died, perhaps because they moved downstream ahead of the low oxygen waters.
Typically in November, the rains begin in earnest. The leaves are gone, false summers past, and the rivers and streams move into their wet season. Cold, swift waters have raised oxygen levels so they are now at high levels. However, heavy rains and high flows bring a different set of problems.
As the rains come more frequently, the ground saturates with water and the stormwater begins to flow overland. If a septic system drainfield is old or poorly built, the sewage will surface and be carried away by the runoff. Barnyards fill with puddles and manure piles get drenched. If a dairy hasn't built a storage lagoon, manure guns may be spreading waste on soaked fields, where it will inevitably run off to the nearest stream or river. When the rain washes off the waste, it carries with it bacteria and other disease organism that will contaminate the rivers and streams.
When the rain hits the ground, trees, bushes and grass break the fall of the drops and slow the runoff of the stormwater. But where the ground is bare, the rain will break loose soil and carry it along. As the rain gathers into channels, it cuts into the ground, increasing its load of sediment. Eventually the turbid runoff reaches a stream where the sediment settles onto the stream bed, smothering aquatic life and clogging salmon spawning gravel.
Nature, left to itself, will cover the ground with vegetation as best it can. But when people develop land for their own uses, they often leave the soil bare. Poorly constructed roads, cleared building sites, plowed fields, livestock paths, and ruts from off-road vehicles can all be areas where the stormwater collects sediment that can pollute the streams and rivers.
Many of the winter problems in the Chehalis Basin become summer problems, and vice versa. The manure carried to the river which releases bacteria in the winter can fall to the bottom to rob oxygen in the summer. Areas cleared of trees that allow the sun to heat the river in the summer will be more likely to erode in the high flows of winter. Often a simple fix can solve a variety of problems.
As the Chehalis Basin enters the 21st century, the citizens and communities of the basin face a daunting task. Years of neglect and a lack of knowledge has hammered the river, until it has become a real possibility that streams will run dry in the summer and salmon runs will be lost forever. A long road lies ahead, but it is a path that residents of the Chehalis Basin share with citizens in watersheds all over the nation, and the challenge is being accepted. The solutions come not from pointing fingers and fixing blame, but from communities working together and each citizen doing his or her part.
For the rural home-owner, onsite septic systems can be repaired and properly maintained. People rearing livestock can fence pastures and limit access to streams. Dairies can work with their Conservation District and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service) to develop a farm plan that manages their cattle waste and uses it as a resource.
Residents of the Centralia and Chehalis urban areas face some difficult decisions. From late spring to early fall, the Centralia Reach simply does not have the capacity to assimilate oxygen-demanding wastes. To protect this sensitive area, municipal and industrial wastewater must be removed from the river during this period, and storm water controls need to be improved. Other communities have found solutions to similar problems, by reuse of the waste water, creation a regional sewer system, or the construction of retention ponds and wetlands. The solutions come with a price tag, but state and federal funds are available that may provide some relief.
On top of all this is the question of water supplies for the Chehalis Basin and the protection of flows in the Chehalis River and its tributaries. Water rights exceed the available water, and future supplies are uncertain. Water quality and the life that depends on the water cannot be protected without adequate minimum flows in the river system. The solution to this problem will come from everyone in the basin being involved and working together.
The list is long of the agencies and organizations that can help to protect the water quality of the Chehalis: federal agencies like EPA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service; the Department of Ecology and its fellow agencies such as Health, Fish and Wildlife, the Conservation Commission and DNR; the Chehalis and Quinault Tribes; county and city governments; the Conservation Districts and the NRCS; local businesses and industry; and citizens groups such as the Chehalis River Council, the Chehalis Watershed Council, the Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force, adopt-a-stream groups, and other community groups. With the passage of each year, the problems become clearer and the search for solutions more important. The whole Chehalis Basin will find the answers together - we all live downstream.
On the Roadside
A number of residents have frequently been labeled "NIMBY" for expressing concern about new processes in local areas. While we use science and data as guidelines for informed decision making, sometimes the scientific community errs. A case in point is the burning road outside Ilwaco. Built in part with recycled tire chips, the road is smoldering and oozing oily goo onto the mud flats near Baker Bay at the mouth of the Columbia River. A similar event is happening in Garfield County. Since, technically and scientifically, this 'burning road' isn't supposed to happen - how reliable are other new technical processes?
Water Shortage?
On March 18, radio commentator Paul Harvey, had a brief news item about water. He reported that water is in short supply in over 300 cities in China. He also mentioned that water thievery is a problem in Nairobi, Kenya.
On the same day the Electronic News Network released a United Stations story. Many parts of the world face water shortage crises by 2010 that could be catalysts for conflicts and wars if major steps are not taken to use the resource more efficiently, the United Nations said in a report released Sunday. "While the wars of the last century were primarily about oil, we are firmly convinced that many of the struggles -- political and social -- of the 21st century will be about water," said Wally N'Dow, director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements.
Already there are 80 countries with inadequate water supplies and almost 40 percent of the world's population must struggle daily to try to meet water needs. While a burgeoning world population must meet its needs with a finite amount of water, pollution from industries and sewage, waste through leaking pipe systems and human greed are reducing usable supplies, according to the U.N. report.
Flood - Grants
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making hazard mitigation grants available to residents and business owners who were harmed by the February floods.
The grants can be used for projects to prevent future damage, including rebuilding, elevating or moving out of a flood plain. The grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Local jurisdictions incorporate individual requests into a larger project that is submitted and evaluated as a whole. For more information on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program call (800) 525-0321.
Timed Release Capsules?
March 18 was the day the Chronicle editorial praised Lewis County government and The Olympian editorial supported Thurston county government, both for recent decisions related to the floods.
Thurston County adopted an emergency ordinance requiring owners of flooded homes to build on higher elevations. This ordinance replaces old rules that allowed rebuilding just 1 foot above the flooded elevation. Under the new rules about 40 homeowners will be required to build from 1 to 8 feet above the spot designated by the old rules. Some homeowners won't be allowed to rebuild at all.
Lewis County local government officials are taking a hard look at ways to lessen or prevent damage from future floods.
Remedies being talked about include redrawing the floodway boundaries, encouraging more property owners to buy flood insurance, using public funds to help flood proof homes and businesses, using public funds to purchase property to prevent future development vulnerable to flooding, requiring floodplain fill to be taken from the same floodplain and creation of wetland areas as holding basins for floodwaters.
It is good to see these editorials. If these alternatives really are implemented then progress will be made. Hopefully decision makers will also consider reducing future flood plain development - leaving the flood plain for what it is.
Others have suggested a ban on all flood plain development (why continue to maximize our losses?), dramatic increases in flood insurance rates (to reflect true insurance realities), higher bank mortgage rates on risky home or business construction. It sure makes sense that someone building in a safe area should enjoy lower insurance and interest rates.
Septics - traditional and new
The April 10th CRC seminar will feature a repeat! Shelton Hall, Washington Department of Health, will cover the world of alternative septic systems.
This seminar, last given in November, should be of value to anyone planning an upgrade, a new installation, or simply curious about what has happened in on site system technology.
7 pm WF West High School
Thurston County Issues Page