Plan to Clean Up Lower Yakima River Submitted to EPA

Washington State Department of Ecology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Sept. 22, 1998

98-166

Contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, Public Information Manager, (509) 575-2610
Chris Coffin, Water Quality Specialist, (509) 454-7860

Plan to Clean Up Lower Yakima River Submitted to EPA

YAKIMA - A plan to clean up one of the dirtiest sections of the Yakima River has been submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval under provisions outlined in the federal Clean Water Act.

Prepared by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), the report sets a 15-year schedule for reducing the amount of agricultural runoff entering the river along a 116-mile stretch from just above the city of Yakima to where it drains into the Columbia River at the Tri-Cities.

"Restoring the health of the river will take the cooperation of everyone who uses it," said Bob Barwin, Ecology's water-quality manager in Yakima. "Already, farmers, irrigation districts and conservation districts have begun implementing better irrigation practices, recognizing that the area's future depends on a viable multi-use river system."

For many years, parts of the Yakima have not met state water-quality standards due to high turbidity, suspended sediments, high temperature and the presence of DDT, an insecticide used during the middle part of this century. Although banned in 1972, recent studies have found DDT in Yakima River bottom fish at some of the highest levels in the nation.

"DDT is labeled a persistent pesticide. It degrades slowly and remains in soil and river sediment," said Chris Coffin, Ecology's coordinator for the lower Yakima River water-quality project. "Our goal is to bring the river back to where it can fully support aquatic communities, including salmon, and at the same time reduce the threat of DDT to humans who eat fish from the river."

The plan establishes enforceable limits, or "total maximum daily loads" (TMDL), on pollutants entering the river. High turbidity associated with sediment run-off interferes with the spawning, migration and feeding habits of fish and disturbs the balance of river biology.

Specific water-clarity targets have been set for the many irrigation drains and streams discharging into the Yakima River during the agricultural irrigation season (March through October). At the same time, these limits should reduce the transport of residual DDT and other pesticides from agricultural lands to the river, Coffin said.

Illustrating the magnitude of the clean-up task, Coffin noted that during the 1995 irrigation season, an average of 300 tons of sediment entered this section of the river daily through irrigation-water returns. Levels of suspended sediments will need to be improved by more than 94 percent for some drains to meet water quality standards.

Cooperating with the Yakama Indian Nation, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other local and federal agencies, Ecology embarked on the study in 1994. Target levels for sediment and turbidity have been set for the years 2002, 2007 and 2012, Coffin said.

Earlier this year, Ecology agreed to a 15-year schedule for creating cleanup plans for lakes, streams and bays throughout Washington that do not meet water quality standards. The agreement resolved a lawsuit filed in 1991 by the Northwest Environmental Defense Center challenging the state to create cleanup plans for the nearly 700 state water bodies listed as impaired.

Ecology should know within about a month whether the Lower Yakima River TMDL plan will be accepted by EPA. Acceptance of the plan will be a significant step toward cleaning up eight polluted stream segments identified in the Lower Yakima Basin.

"The return of fall chinook salmon to the lower Yakima River after 34 years is a positive sign," Barwin said. "But this is not the time to sit back and hope for the best in the future. This plan offers a real opportunity to clean up a heavily used portion of the river and to do so with the cooperation of the agricultural community who depend upon it for their livelihood."

Editor's Note: The Lower Yakima River clean-up plan will be outlined during a media availability at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, with water quality specialist Chris Coffin at the Central Regional Offices of the Department of Ecology, 15 W. Yakima Ave. Ste. 200, Yakima.