Clean Samish Initiative partners discuss progress – goskagit.com

MOUNT VERNON Clean Samish Initiative partners discussed Tuesday the progress thats been made on improving water quality in the Samish watershed.

Still, officials said more work remains.

They also said they are hopeful that Samish Bay can be upgraded to allow for shellfish harvesting this year.

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The Clean Samish Initiative is a group of organizations working to find and fix sources of fecal coliform pollution in the Samish watershed.

Fecal coliform is a bacteria associated with human and animal feces. It can be accompanied by other bacteria that can make people sick, particularly if they consume contaminated shellfish.

When the Samish River carries fecal coliform into Samish Bay, shellfish growers are impacted by harvest closures.

Because the bacteria has been a problem in the watershed for several years and high concentrations of the bacteria are more common when the river swells with rain, shellfish harvesting is also closed as a precaution when the river reaches a certain flow.

The state Department of Health evaluates water quality March through June to determine whether the bay qualifies for an upgrade. If pollution does not exceed state limits for shellfish harvesting more than once, the bay may be upgraded.

An upgrade would mean no more harvest closures based on river rise alone.

Skagit County Public Works Director Dan Berentson said upgrading the 4,400 acres of shellfish beds in Samish Bay would help the state reach its goal of upgrading 10,800 acres by 2020.

Skagit County Commissioner Ron Wesen said he hopes the watershed will be upgraded this year.

Because of a dry spring in 2016, the Department of Health did not have enough information to support an upgrade.

Since the Clean Samish Initiative formed in 2009, the group has identified livestock management and septic system maintenance issues, and has worked with landowners to remedy problems.

Skagit Conservation District Director Carolyn Kelly said she has seen land use evolve over the more than 30 years she has been working on water quality in the watershed.

While the original focus for water quality programs was largely on dairy farms in the area, there are now fewer dairy farms and more rural landowners, she said. Working in partnership with landowners instead of penalizing them has been key to progress.

Over the time we have been addressing problems, I think water quality has improved so much and it has really been a community effort, Kelly said.

Oscar Lagerlund, an area dairy farmer who has provided insight for initiative partners, reiterated that the groups work is not complete.

Dont stop plowing until you get the field done. Were not done yet, he said.

Initiative partners continue to look for pollution sources.

Its not just farmers and its not just septics ... were not pointing the finger at anyone, Wesen said.

On Tuesday, the commissioners brainstormed ways to keep the lines of communication open with area landowners, such as with regular reminders about septic inspections or education programs to get kids involved.

I think continually educating and informing is effective, commissioner Ken Dahlstedt said.

He said most landowners want to do the right thing, but that its easy to forget about something such as a septic system, which he said can be out of sight, out of mind.

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Clean Samish Initiative partners discuss progress - goskagit.com