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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Oct. 30, 1998
98-182
Contact: Sandy Howard, Ecology public information manager, (360) 407-6239OLYMPIA -Deposits of woody debris on the bottom of Port Angeles Harbor will be photographed and mapped next week as part of a survey being sponsored by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology).
Under contract with Ecology, Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) of Bothell will lead a four-day survey, on Nov. 3-6, of the subtidal area of Port Angeles Harbor west of Ediz Hook. The survey will include towing an underwater camera to measure and map the thickness and spread of concentrations of wood-waste accumulations on the harbor bottom.
For decades, large rafts of logs floated in Port Angeles Harbor waiting to be processed in local mills. A considerable amount of woody debris sank to the bottom, where the rotting material is robbing the water of oxygen that fish, shellfish and other aquatic life need to survive.
The survey will reveal the areas that may be depleting oxygen, help evaluate the health of the bottom environment, and identify the causes and cures for the harbor's low level of dissolved oxygen.
The study was prompted by Ecology's listing of the Port Angeles Harbor as a waterbody that does not meet state water-quality standards for dissolved oxygen. The federal Clean Water Act requires that all listed waterbodies undergo water quality studies so cleanup plans can be established.
Also, the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe requested Ecology's attention to the harbor after its studies found that water in parts of the harbor lacks dissolved oxygen and is devoid of clams and bottomfish. According to a tribal spokesman, the tribe appreciates Ecology's attention to water quality in the harbor.
"The information that will be revealed in this study will guide decision-makers in returning the harbor to a healthy state," said Keli McKay-Means, a water-quality manager for Ecology. "This is a significant step toward finding solutions that turn the corner and prevent log rafting from further degrading the quality of the water."
Because conventional sediment-sampling techniques, such as grab sampling, work poorly through layers of wood debris, specialized technology is required that will be provided by SAIC.
Possible outcomes of the study could be to require improved management of log rafts to prevent further water degradation. Also, a cleanup plan could call for removing portions of the underwater woody debris from the harbor.
The Port Angeles Harbor study follows a similar recent Ecology study in Tacoma's Hylebos Waterway, a part of Commencement Bay.
A presentation of the study's findings will be made public in a meeting scheduled for February 1999.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
