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Department of Ecology Press Release - December 27, 2005
05-305
SPOKANE - A technical study on fecal coliform bacteria pollution is complete and available to the public, outlining the extent and magnitude of the problem in the Walla Walla River watershed.
The Walla Walla and Touchet rivers have been placed on Washington state's list of polluted waters for not meeting water quality standards for bacteria that are designed to protect people who use the rivers for swimming and other recreation.
From June 2002 to June 2003, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) collected water quality samples from the Walla Walla River, Touchet River, Mill Creek, and several other tributaries in the basin.
The information gained will be used in a multi-year process of developing a water-quality improvement plan, sometimes called a total maximum daily load (TMDL) study, required by the federal Clean Water Act.
"We'll use this technical report to propose ways we can reduce fecal coliform bacteria in the rivers and tributaries," said Jim Bellatty, who manages water-quality issues in Eastern Washington. "We will be working with the community to identify ways we can reverse this trend and bring the river back to health."
Ecology will develop an implementation strategy in cooperation with the local community to reduce or eliminate the problem.
Scientific analysis has indicated that most fecal coliform detected was from warm-blooded animal sources, such as farm and domestic animals, wildlife, and treated human waste from wastewater treatment plants and on-site septic systems.
The report calls for more detailed monitoring and field investigations to find specific sources of bacteria. In addition, the report calls for a closer look at how runoff from storm events is managed in urban parts of the basin and whether disinfection systems at wastewater treatments plants are reliable.
To see the report on-line, go to: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0503041.html
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Contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-329-3495; cell, 509-990-9177
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
