Progress to Date

Washington State Department of Ecology

Ecology home > Water Quality > TMDLs > TMDL Activity by WRIA - WRIA 15 > Sinclair/Dyes Inlets Water Quality Improvement Project > Progress to Date

View of Rocky Point from eastern shore of Dyes Inlet. Photograph courtesy of Sally Lawrence, Dept. of Ecology, NW Regional Office.

Progress to Date

Update on the Bacteria Study

Fall 2004 and 2005

Complete the stormwater sampling for Sinclair and Dyes Inlets. Stormwater sampling involves a great deal of weather report watching and tight coordination among the project managers, sampling teams, and Ecology’s Manchester Laboratory, which analyzes the samples. Two more storm events will be sampled in fall 2004. The full storm data set will include both quantity and quality of the stormwater. These data will be of both regional and national interest because very few studies across the nation have measured the flow (quantity) of stormwater, in addition to quality, through a storm event.
Complete the testing of the two models – the freshwater model that takes rainfall, runs it over the pervious and impervious land surfaces of the Sinclair and Dyes watersheds, and calculates resulting stream and stormwater flow into the two inlets—and the marine model that receives the flow and fecal coliform outputs of the freshwater model, takes into account tides, time of year and other factors, and calculates fecal coliform concentrations over all parts of the two inlets.
2005 - Once the models are run and the results indicate the most important freshwater sources of bacteria to the marine waters, Ecology will work with implementing agencies, PSNS, Tribes, watershed groups and citizens to develop a plan for eliminating these sources. Already, Ecology has provided grant funding to Kitsap County Health District for projects to locate and fix sources of bacteria – including failing septic systems and potential livestock sources – in several creeks in the Dyes Inlet watershed.

The highlight of 2003: Reopening parts of Dyes Inlet to commercial shellfish harvest

November 2003

Washington Department of Health reopened a large portion of northern Dyes Inlet for shellfish harvest. Approximately 1500 acres were reclassified from prohibited to conditionally approved. This meant that oysters, clams and other shellfish grown in these waters are now available for direct harvest, although temporary closures will still be needed when any sewage is discharged to the Port Washington Narrows.

Working with the Department of Health to accomplish this change were local citizens, City of Bremerton, Kitsap County Health District, Suquamish Tribe, Washington Department of Health, and U.S. Navy Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS). An important element assisting the Department of Health decision was the use of the Navy’s dynamic model of the inlets to demonstrate the geographic distribution of bacteria from combined sewer overflows under different storm and tidal conditions.

Storm, wet and dry season sampling – 2002 and 2003

Representing high quality science and leadership by PSNS and excellent cooperation among local partners involved in this project was the 2002-2003 water quality sampling program. Both wet season (winter) and dry season samples were collected, and in addition, storm event sampling was conducted to assess bacterial inputs during periods of high discharge from creeks and stormwater outfalls. Marine samples were taken concurrently to develop fecal coliform datasets for the whole watershed. By combining bacterial concentration data for each creek or outfall with its discharge rate during the event, the loading of bacteria from these sources to the marine waters can be calculated. The relative amount of loading from different sources will be useful in determining priorities for corrective actions in the Water Cleanup Plan. The load quantities will be used to calculate how much reduction is needed from each source, in order for marine waters and creeks to meet water quality standards.

Preliminary Storm Season 2002-2003 Sampling Results (PDF):

data collection

bacterial inputs

creeks

marine waters

Last updated June 2005