A regional coalition of public and private environmental interests recently announced continuing publicity efforts to draw attention to water pollution in both Issaquah and Sammamish.
Educational non-profit Stormwater Outreach for Regional Municipalities (STORM), representing over 50 Washington cities and counties, has teamed up with the Puget Sound Partnership and more than 200 environmental organizations in a campaign called “Puget Sound Starts Here” to restore the waterway.
According to its Web site, the cities of Issaquah and Sammamish actively work to reduce stormwater runoff and improve the quality of any effluent.
The state Department of Ecology reports stormwater runoff is the state’s largest source of urban water pollution carrying a mix of bacteria and chemicals downstream into the state’s lakes, rivers and marine waters. There are currently 12 sites in both Issaquah and Sammamish deemed polluted and requiring clean-up, according to EPA water quality standards in a 2008 Water Resource Inventory Area report. Two further areas in the nearby waters of Lake Sammamish were also identified as polluted in the same report.
The campaign focuses on four common behaviors. Organizers said most residents could easily adopt the following habits to cut the amount pollution entering Puget Sound:
• Take cars to a commercial car wash, where wash water is properly handled. Car wash water can be as potentially toxic to marine life as some industrial wastewater discharges.
• Fix car leaks, or place cardboard under the car in the short term to catch leaking oil or fluids.
• Use compost, instead of fertilizers or pesticides, to grow a healthy lawn and garden.
• Pick up pet waste with a bag — both in the yard and in public places — and place it in the trash.
More information about the Puget Sound Starts Here campaign can be found here.
Inside
STORM received a $500,000 grant from the state to fund the region-wide outreach. A similar $978,925 grant last year went to develop and test the effectiveness of a media campaign. Across the 12 counties bordering the 2,500 miles of Puget Sound shoreline, thousands of storm drains and streams pour polluted water into the ecologically sensitive waterway. About 75 percent of pollution in the sound comes from storm water runoff traced to neighborhoods. Puget Sound also has unhealthy levels of toxic chemicals.
For more information about stormwater pollution in Issaquah, contact city Resource Conservation Coordinator Micah Bonkowski by email at MicahB@ci.issaquah.wa.us or by calling 425-837-3400.
For more information about stormwater pollution in Sammamish, contact Stormwater Program Engineer Eric LaFrance by email at elafrance@ci.sammamish.wa.us or by calling 425-295-0562.
