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| Title | Lake Whatcom Watershed Cooperative Drinking Water Protection Project: Results of 1998 Water, Sediment and Fish Tissue Sampling | |||
| Month-Year Published | September 1999 | |||
| Online Availability |
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| Short Description |
The Washington State Department of Ecology conducted a screening-level survey of contaminants in the Lake Whatcom and Whatcom Creek watersheds during 1998. Sampling included water collected from six streams or storm drains during spring and fall rainstorms; sediments from the same six stream/storm drain sites as well as from three sites in Lake Whatcom; and tissues from several species of fish found in Lake Whatcom and Whatcom Creek. Sites were assessed for a variety of contaminants including fecal coliform bacteria, nutrients, metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons, semivolatile organics (PAHs, phthalates, phenols), pesticides, and PCBs. (Also see abstract below) | |||
| Publication Number | 99-337 | |||
| Author(s) | Serdar, D., D. Davis, and J. Hirsch | |||
| Print Availability | ||||
| Number of pages | 66 pp. + app (196 total) | |||
| Keywords | basin, contaminant, county, creek, drinking water, fish, grant, lake, mercury, pH, Puget Sound, results, rule, sampling, sediment, tissue, toxic, toxics, toxics monitoring, urban, water, watershed, Whatcom, zinc | |||
| Subject Waterbodies |
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| Abstract | Long Description |
The Washington State Department of Ecology conducted a screening-level survey of contaminants in the Lake Whatcom and Whatcom Creek watersheds during 1998. Lake Whatcom is the sole drinking water source for more than 65,000 Whatcom County residents, including the city of Bellingham. The project was funded as part of an EPA 319 grant. Sampling included water collected from six streams or storm drains during spring and fall rainstorms; sediments from the same six stream/storm drain sites as well as from three sites in Lake Whatcom; and tissues from several species of fish found in Lake Whatcom and Whatcom Creek. Sites were assessed for a variety of contaminants including fecal coliform bacteria, nutrients, metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons, semivolatile organics (PAHs, phthalates, phenols), pesticides, and PCBs. Results indicated that while some chemicals were present at levels of concern, overall contamination was low-to-moderate and similar to other urban areas of the Puget Sound basin. Contaminants of concern in water and sediments at one or more sites include fecal coliform bacteria, copper, zinc, mercury, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, butylbenzylphthalate, di-n-octylphthalate, benzo(a)pyrene, benzofluoranthenes, chrysene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion, and pentachlorophenol. Mercury was elevated in one sample of smallmouth bass from Lake Whatcom. A number of chlorinated pesticides and PCBs were found in fish at low concentrations, although PCBs exceeded National Toxics Rule criteria. |
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