Troubled Waters in Washington
Local communities working to clean up waterways
By Chance Berthiaume
It is no wonder why families, young professionals, and retirees are flocking to Puget Sound. The panoramic views of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, the area’s exceptional fishing, and the mesmerizing hiking trails make it an attractive place to live. The natural splendor of the Pacific Northwest is one of the reasons why I moved back after serving in the US Navy 30 years ago.
But the region’s exploding population over the last few decades is stressing our local environment, natural water systems, and threatening the health of local communities. Today, in the Kitsap County communities of West Hills and Oyster Bay, residents are working hard to make necessary repairs to failing on-site septic systems to address water pollution.
The area’s water troubles started decades ago. When I started working with the City of Bremerton in Kitsap County in the 1980s, the community was facing serious water contamination issues from combined sewer overflows (CSOs), and cross connections between the sanitary and stormwater systems. Wastewater had been draining into stormwater systems and CSOs occurred when it rained — which it all discharges into Puget Sound. Over the course of 19 years, the city completed an overhaul of its stormwater and wastewater systems and made necessary repairs to fix these sources of pollution. In 1992, I joined a team that developed a stormwater management program, developed a flow monitoring system for CSOs, and made other fixes to eliminate water contamination.
The CSOs reduction program installed many miles of new wastewater and stormwater pipes and many other system upgrades that took nearly two decades and millions of dollars to complete. The system upgrades were critical to improving the health of our local waterways. Without the financial support from local, state, and federal agencies, these improvements would not have been possible. These projects — as well as ongoing pollution prevention and reduction programs — have decreased water pollution so much that shellfish beds have been reopened in one area, and water quality of local streams and marine waters are showing improvement. Despite this enormous undertaking, more can be done to improve the health of local waterways and shorelines by making necessary repairs to failing onsite septic systems in neighboring communities.
In nearby Oyster and Ostrich Bays, the water pollution has gotten so bad that Kitsap Public Health has issued no-contact orders for Ostrich Creek and at times Oyster and Ostrich Bays. This effectively restricts the community from accessing and enjoying the shores. A leading cause of pollution in Ostrich Bay is failing septic systems that leak untreated wastewater into Ostrich Creek, which runs through the unincorporated community of West Hills before draining into the bay. The majority of the 260 homes in West Hills have outdated septic systems, and the community doesn’t have a sewer system in place to manage their wastewater. During the wet season, septic systems that are barely working can fail, and untreated water can drain into the creek and into Ostrich Bay.
If you walked along Ostrich Creek, you wouldn’t be able to tell it is contaminated with toxic bacteria such as E. coli, and other household wastes. The creek looks like any other regular stream — surrounded by trees, shrubs, and bushes. But danger lurks in the water — the risks posed by fecal coliform and other pollutants make it unhealthy for human contact — that’s why the county health district has posted signs warning people to avoid the water. This doesn’t have to be the case. We can still fix the problem of contaminated water in Ostrich Creek. We’re currently working with the West Hill community and Department of Ecology Water Quality grants and loan program to extend Bremerton’s wastewater collection system into the area to replace septic systems to protect the bay’s future.
Oyster Bay, much like the adjacent Ostrich Bay, also faces water contamination issues and can benefit from upgrades to the community’s sewer system. While the community living along Oyster Bay’s shoreline has a sewer system in place, each home is connected to a sewer main on the beach that is susceptible to corrosion from saltwater. Other failures with the sewer main on the beach can occur, such as overflows that let marine water enter the sewer system taking up collection system capacity and damaging equipment. The decades-old system relies on low-pressure gravity to push sewage downhill to the wastewater pump station. On occasion, the sewer system can become blocked, and homeowners have ended up with a basement full of sewage. This is unacceptable. That’s why we’re working with the Oyster Bay community to construct a collection system upgrade designed to fix these problems. We will be installing a system that pumps wastewater upland to a gravity collection system that is far from the shore and people’s basements — and into the main treatment plant equipped with emergency generators in case of power outages.
Water quality is the cornerstone to protecting human health, salmon, and all forms of life. Projects like these are necessary to restore fresh and marine water quality for our dwindling salmon populations. If we eliminate toxic pollution in Oyster and Ostrich Bays by fixing failing onsite septic and beach main collection systems, we can make these bodies of water healthy for fishing, swimming, and other recreational activities. We can also improve sanitary conditions for communities living near the bays. The Washington Department of Ecology’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) is supporting the wastewater system upgrades currently underway in West Hills and Oyster Bay. Ecology’s Stormwater Financial Assistance Program (SFAP) is supporting several stormwater treatment projects for Ostrich Creek, and Oyster Bay, but more resources are needed to clean up these and other waterways as state programs depend on federal funding that requires renewal every year.
Protecting Puget Sound and the state’s clean water is a shared responsibility that requires a continued commitment from state and federal agencies. As families continue moving into the region, and our state’s population grows, additional funding will be needed to help pay for future water improvement projects. On behalf of Kitsap County communities and other Washington communities facing similar issues, I urge state and federal agencies to ramp up budgets for these critical programs.
Chance Berthiaume is the Stormwater Permit Coordinator and Water Quality Technician for the City of Bremerton, Washington State.
