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| Waterbody Name | Puyallup River |
| WRIA(s) | 10 |
| County(ies) | Pierce |
| Parameter(s) | BOD, ammonia, dissolved oxygen |
| Current Status | Ongoing monitoring |
| TMDL Approval Date (if applicable) | November 9, 1994 |
| # of TMDLs (if approved) | BOD - 23, Ammonia - 23 |
| TMDL Lead(s) | Cindy James |
A water quality modeling study was was done to develop waste load allocations (WLAs) for point sources for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), ammonia, and chlorine in the Puyallup River basin. There are ten municipalities, four industrial discharges, and four fish hatcheries with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits to discharge to the Puyallup River. Background and nonpoint source loads were also assessed. In addition to considering existing discharges and nonpoint loads, the potential impact of future dischargers was examined.
A preventative water quality improvement project (WQIP, also known as a Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL) was done. EPA approved the TMDL in November 1994.Since the Puyallup River preventative TMDL in 1994, new information became available that raised questions regarding the ability of the river to assimilate capacity additional 5-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and ammonia loads.
A moratorium (PDF) on access to the reserve capacity for BODs and ammonia was set in December 2000. The moratorium is based on the results of dissolved oxygen monitoring in the summer of 2000, which showed that dissolved oxygen levels violated water quality standards on several days.
Ecology continues to monitor the Puyallup and White Rivers. In the 1993 Puyallup River Total Maximum Daily Load study Ecology agreed to expand its water quality monitoring in the basin using continuous instrumentation with partial funding from interested parties. This 2006 monitoring program will assess spatial and temporal changes in water quality, determine if designated uses are supported by existing in-stream water quality, and provide site-specific water quality information in support of Ecology’s water quality-based permitting of dischargers. Please see the Quality Assurance Project Plan: Puyallup and White Rivers Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring for more information on this monitoring program.
Cindy James Water Quality Program - Southwest Regional Office WA Department of Ecology P.O. Box 47775 Olympia, WA 98504-7775 Phone: 360.407.6556 E-mail: cjam461@ecy.wa.gov
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
