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Sinclair Inlet and Dyes Inlet were listed on the 1998 303(d) list of impaired waters because of fecal coliform contamination in the marine waters and metals and other contaminants in bottom sediments. In addition, a number of creeks that discharge to these inlets were listed for fecal coliform contamination. To address all the contamination issues using a watershed approach, a partnership was established between Department of Ecology as the state agency that establishes TMDLs (Water Cleanup Plans), the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency working together on Project ENVVEST (an acronym for ENVironmental InVESTment).
The three agencies agreed to tackle fecal coliform bacteria as the initial water quality problem that required a Water Cleanup Plan. Through the use of models that take into account the dynamic nature of the marine inlets and the multiple sources of fecal coliform bacteria from the surrounding watershed, the project will provide regulators with a determination of the inputs that represent the major sources of fecal coliform bacteria and enable them to develop a plan for reducing these inputs.
The study area for the Sinclair/Dyes Inlets fecal coliform Water Cleanup Plan includes the marine waters of Sinclair and Dyes Inlets and their surrounding watersheds (see study area map). Land uses in the watershed include urban, suburban, rural residential, small hobby farms and some undeveloped land. Based on these land uses, the major sources of fecal coliform bacteria are expected to be:
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