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Department of Ecology News Release - Oct. 1, 2003
03-189
SPOKANE - Residents of Stevens County have an opportunity to learn the current status of efforts to reduce fecal-coliform pollution in the Colville River.
What's been done so far and what comes next will be discussed at a public meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Chewelah Civic Center, 311 E. Clay, in Chewelah. (Enter from Webster Avenue.)
After several years of effort, a cleanup plan (called a total maximum daily load, or TMDL) was first submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March, then amended to correct omissions and re-submitted in June. EPA approved the report on July 3.
Water quality specialists from the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) will attend the Oct. 9 meeting to describe what the cleanup plan calls for. They also will explain the next steps, which will involve working with the community to develop specific strategies to reduce bacteria. Those strategies will be compiled into a "detailed implementation plan."
Sources of fecal-coliform pollution in the Colville River watershed include humans (leaking septic systems), domestic animals (cattle, horses, and pets), birds and wild animals. Stormwater runoff in towns and cities also may contain high amounts of fecal-coliform bacteria.
Fecal-coliform bacteria are microscopic organisms that live in the intestines and waste material of warm-blooded animals. Although not necessarily agents of disease, fecal-coliform bacteria can be an indicator of disease-carrying organisms.
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Contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-329-3495; pager, 509-622-3073
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
