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(Also known as Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL)
| Water body name | Lake Whatcom |
| WRIA | 1 |
| County | Whatcom |
| Parameters | Phosphorus Fecal coliform bacteria |
| Current status | Under Development - study for phosphorus and bacteria issued |
| TMDL Lead | Steve Hood, Water Quality Engineer, Bellingham |
Water quality problems in Lake Whatcom have triggered a water quality improvement project by Ecology. These projects begin with a study of pollutants. For Lake Whatcom, Ecology is working to determine the allowable limits of phosphorus in the lake, and fecal coliform bacteria in the tributaries, to meet water quality standards. Ecology will work with local governments to determine how to achieve those limits.
Based on historic data, Ecology officially recognized in 1998 that Lake Whatcom fails to meet state standards for dissolved oxygen. This put Lake Whatcom on the state’s 303(d) list of impaired water bodies. Also, 11 tributaries flowing into the lake have fecal coliform levels that are too high. Dissolved oxygen is essential for aquatic life, and bacteria are a health risk for those working and playing in and around the water.
Phosphorus is the main cause of Lake Whatcom’s low-oxygen problem. Phosphorus occurs naturally, but development increases phosphorus entering the lake in stormwater. Computer predictions show the lake would meet state standards for oxygen if there was 86 percent less development than existed in 2003. Since then, zoning laws have allowed more development in the watershed.
Sources: Runoff from bare soil and developed areas. Phosphorus occurs naturally in soil and human and animal waste, and is added to some detergents.Connection to algae and oxygen: Phosphorus feeds algae growth. Bacteria that consume dying algae deplete the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive. When oxygen levels are low, phosphorus is released from lake sediment and re-enters the water, perpetuating the cycle. The dissolved oxygen levels in Lake Whatcom fail to meet state water quality standards now, and they have the potential to get much worse, making the problem much harder to fix.
Treatment of drinking water: Excess phosphorus creates larger algae blooms, which require more treatment to make the water safe for drinking. That process creates more trihalomethanes, a byproduct that some studies link to cancer.
Effect of development: Roofs, driveways and lawns interrupt the absorption and filtration provided by forests and soils, instead sending phosphorus-laden stormwater rushing to the lake. Communities must modify existing and future development to create the same effect as removing development.
Fecal coliform bacteria originate in human and animal waste. Runoff carries the bacteria from the ground and failing septic systems into the lake. Eleven tributaries feeding Lake Whatcom fail to meet state standards for fecal coliform bacteria. The bacteria create a health risk for people who work or play in and around the water.
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Lake Whatcom's use for drinking water and its high potential to be degraded further have made it a priority for a state water quality improvement project, also known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study.
Monitoring surveys were completed in 2002 and 2003, and Ecology has completed a draft water quality study to identify the limits for phosphorus, the root of the dissolved oxygen issue.
The final TMDL study findings will be the basis for decisions local
governments make about the lake's future. The city of Bellingham and Whatcom
County will work with the state to develop a plan for meeting the limits
established in the study. The plan will then go to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency for review. If the EPA finds that the TMDL and the strategy to
meet its limits are sound, EPA will approve the TMDL for Lake Whatcom.
Ecology requested public comment on the Draft Lake Whatcom Watershed Total Phosphorus and Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Loads — Water Quality Study Findings. The public comment period ended on September 17, 2008.
Lake Whatcom Watershed Total Phosphorus and Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Loads — Water Quality Study Findings (Ecology Publication)
- Lake Whatcom Model Calibration: Memorandum to the Washington State Department of Ecology
- Lake Whatcom Water Quality Model
- Lake Whatcom Model calibration with variable stoichiometry in sediments - REVISED: Memorandum to the Washington State Department of Ecology
- Lake Whatcom Model Recalibration: Memorandum to the Washington State Department of Ecology
- FINAL Model Report for Lake Whatcom Watershed TMDL Model Project
- Amendment to Lake Whatcom TMDL Final Modeling Report - Full Buildout/Rollback Scenarios and Translator (Cadmus Group, Inc. & CDM)
- Lake Whatcom TMDL Model - Partial Rollback Scenarios
- Lake Whatcom Models Review
- Guide to modeling files and data
Dissolved Oxygen in Lake Whatcom/Trend in the Depletion of Hypolimnetic Oxygen in Basin I 83-97 (Ecology Publication)
Quality Assurance Project Plan: Lake Whatcom TMDL Study (Ecology Publication)
Quality Assurance Project Plan: Characterization of Groundwater Discharge to Lake Whatcom (Ecology Publication)
Lake Whatcom Total Maximum Daily Load Groundwater Study (Ecology Publication)
Focus on Lake Whatcom TMDL: Draft study identifies limits for Lake Whatcom phosphorus and bacteria (Ecology Publication)
WRIA 1: Nooksack Watershed Information (Environmental Assessment Program web site)
Reducing Phosphorus Pollution to Improve Water Quality (Water Quality web site)
Contact:
Steve Hood
Washington Department of Ecology
1440 - 10th St., Suite 102
Bellingham, WA 98225-7028
Phone: 360-715-5200
Email: shoo461@ecy.wa.gov
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
