JUNE 1996 EDITION

May Meeting Summary

The May meeting featured a speaker in support of Initiative 188. Jeff Parsons, Director of People for Puget Sound, discussed the issues and content surrounding this initiative. This is a complex issue and one which demands understanding on the part of anyone thinking about water issues. 225,000 signatures must be turned over to the Secretary of State by January 3, 1997 in order to send I-188 to the 1997 state legislature.

Volunteers are wanted! One of the tasks of the CRC is to work with Black River residents and other interested groups and citizens to monitor water quality on the Black River.

Why? Hasn't the Black River been studied? Yes. Is it currently being studied? Yes, the Chehalis Tribe. Are you involved? You can be!

We feel that the key to successful long term monitoring of the river is to invite local residents to participate and be involved in the protection of their river resource.

Is this just another one time shot like so many others? No! We chose the Black River because it is a important river. It has had a history of problems and though it has been studied and restudied there is no current local resident involvement. A water quality plan with quality assurance and quality control will ensure our success.

The news is sometimes strange. The CRC does not MAKE the news, we simply relay what we learn. Here are two stories that make sense - until you realize which river they are talking about.

CHINA SEEKS FOREIGN AID TO COMBAT RIVER POLLUTION, ENN DAILY NEWS -- MAY 8, 1996

China is seeking foreign financial aid and technology to solve the water pollution problem in its Huai river, Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday. Foreign funds and technology were "vital" to the battle against pollution in the Huai river, which is China's third longest, Xie Zhenhua, director of the China State Environmental Protection Fund, was quoted as saying. Pollution in the river is "several hundred times" the acceptable level and 191 branches of the river are now unusable, resulting in drinking water shortages in Bengbu, increases in incidences of cancer and a decrease in industrial and agricultural output, he said.

CHINA CALLS FOR TAMING OF WILD RIVER, ENN DAILY NEWS -- MAY 6, 1996

Chinese Premier Li Peng has called for further taming of the wild Huai river -- China's third longest -- to try to halt seasonal flooding, official media said today. Li urged authorities in the eastern and central provinces of Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu and Shandong last week to step up measures to tame the river, the People's Daily and the China Daily said. The region was better equipped to fight flooding after the central and local governments increased spending in the past five years on projects to control the river, but more needs to be done, Li was quoted as saying. Li said the taming of the 621-mile Huai was an "arduous job" but necessary to boost agricultural output. The premier added that water pollution in the region, home to 150 million people, should be also be cleaned up.

Have you ever heard the earth roar? Not too long ago while doing flood cleanup a sound could be heard. It sounded like a huge train and falling trees. The sound seemed to move but no movement could be felt yet you knew something big had happened. Later, 1/2 mile away, one could look up and see two massive mud slides hanging above the Black River, in land clear cut in 1991, but not replanted.

Now others have assembled some facts and figures, which may not be news to you, but are to some of us:

Up to 71 percent of all landslides that happened during the Pacific Northwest February floods occurred on recent clear-cut, while 23 percent occurred on older clear-cut and only 6 percent occurred in "unmanaged" areas, according to a study released by the Pacific Rivers Council today. Over 75 percent of the landslides went directly into streams and on average 36 percent of the landslides were associated with roads, the report said. The study, entitled Aerial Reconnaissance Evaluation of 1996 Storm Effects on Upland Mountainous Watersheds of Oregon and Southern Washington, was prepared by the private consulting firm Pacific Watershed Associates. The study documents approximately 650 landslides and analyzes the watershed damage in western Oregon and southwestern Washington. "On the forested lands, the floods were not a disaster, the roads and clear-cut caused the disaster," said David Bayles, senior program director of the Rivers Council. Years of clearcutting have created "loaded guns" that go off when intense storms trigger landslides, dumping sediment into streams and rivers, he added. For more information, contact PRC, (541)345-0119, or send e-mail to pacificriver@igc.apc.org.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced to the Chehalis River Council Board of Trustees that their grant application for a regional news insert has been approved.

While the details are not ironed out it appears the first issue of a regional news insert will reach most readers home in September.

The CRC approached the USFWS in January with a proposal to publish a monthly news insert. This insert will be distributed to every newspaper subscriber in the Chehalis River Basin. The cost is less than $1 per year per household.

Currently the news you are reading here reaches only 800 or so individuals, yet the basin population is thought to be 130,000 or so people.

YOUR CHOICE OF TWO!

A lot is going on in the basin. So much that we are sponsoring two seminars this month.

The first seminar (June 12) will deal with a nonpoint source strategy workshop.

The second seminar (June 19) will cover the relationship of the Growth Management Act (GMA) to water quality.

Growth Management Act (GMA)

There has been a lot of press coverage on the GMA. Some opinions liken the GMA to a prison sentence or condemnation of property. Others believe that state control is the only way to protect their property or to prevent unwanted growth from happening in their area.

Is there a truth that lies somewhere in between the two extremes?

If you are curious about GMA - or if you hate GMA - or if you want to learn about GMA - then the June CRC seminar is for you!

We are fortunate that we have on call an expert on GMA. Michael Grady is a Senior Planner working for the Washington State Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED). Yes, CTED is involved in GMA. Yes, CTED has a role in administering GMA - but just maybe there is logic and reasoning behind GMA. Why not take an hour or two and listen to and speak with an expert on GMA?

Circle June 19th on your calendar, 7:00 p.m. at Swede Hall in Rochester.

NONPOINT STRATEGY WORKSHOP

Water quality studies have found that up to 50% of the pollution in the upper Chehalis River Basin is due to nonpoint (diffuse) sources of pollution. These sources include stormwater runoff from city streets and neighborhoods, failing septic systems, and livestock operations where large numbers of animals are confined in small areas or have direct access to streams.

The Department of Ecology has a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) strategy that is intended to return the water quality to the minimum level necessary to protect the Chehalis River's beneficial uses.

The first part of the TMDL, point sources, went through a public review and comment period early in 1996.

Now it is time to focus on the nonpoint sources of pollution in the Upper Chehalis Basin. This seminar/workshop will describe what the Department of Ecology Water Quality Program will be doing over the next 4 years to eliminate the largest nonpoint sources of pollution identified in the water quality studies. The seminar and workshop will also cover the types of things that should or must be done by local units of government (cities and counties) to control the many small nonpoint sources that, when combined, create a serious source of pollution.

CRC board news

The CRC has a formal corporate structure. Part of that structure includes a board of trustees.

At the most recent board meeting the board verified a membership ballot which passed a recommendation to expand the board from four (4) to five (5) members. At that same board meeting the board ratified the appointment of Margaret Holm Rader as the 5th member of the board.

The board size has increased to handle the responsibilities of the organization. At this meeting the board accepted the request of Merrily Knutsen to step down from the position of board secretary, a position she has held since her election in 1995. Margaret Rader was appointed to the position of board secretary.

Today, tomorrow, in fact any week day you have access to the information at the CRC Resource Library. In just the few weeks that the Resource Library has been open we have accumulated and indexed over 130 reports and studies.

These documents have a lot of value and content for the person or group researching any number of water quality and water resource issues. For the first time in the basin you can have access to documents from US EPA, WaDOE, U of W, WSU, Dept of Agriculture, national organizations and magazines. Each of the assembled works deals with water and water related topics.

Second perhaps only to a dislike for taxes is a dislike for protection of wetlands. After all who needs a swampy area? After all my land is dry over 300 days a year, why do you call it a 'wetland'?

National Wildlife has a very personal and interesting story on wetlands in the June - July 1996 issue. One Pennsylvania resident who unwittingly bought a home that was constructed in a wetland area is quoted as saying: "Last year when the snow melted the water came in so fast it was like a fire hydrant. I always knew that wetlands were important ecologically, but I never realized the impact they had on everything else. When you keep filling wetlands and putting up houses on them, there's no place for the water to go but into the roads and peoples homes."

Further on the article reports that restoration of 13 million acres of lost wetlands in the Mississippi watershed could have kept the river from overflowing under the same rainfall conditions that caused $15.7 billion in damages in 1993. Each acre of wetland would save $1,100 or more in damages in each and every flood. That is a pretty good return on the investment.

At that rate of savings, wetlands do seem to have a real cash value. Think how much damage might have been prevented in our 1996 flood if all our wetlands existed. Even the so-called dry wetlands serve a purpose. They are dry when water is limited, and they fill up when water is plentiful (floods). They are wetlands and they do serve a purpose throughout the life and history of a river system.

In addition to the public seminars and education which the CRC provides, there are opportunities for you to get involved in watershed management.

The Chehalis Watershed Council is a volunteer based organization which works with issues throughout the watershed. Membership is open to representatives of all levels of government, business, agriculture and residents. The CWC tries to bring responsible individuals together to deal with watershed concerns before they become a crisis. Working together, through consensus, the CWC provides a forum that can be beneficial to everyone in the basin.