\   Section  319
           /   NONPOINT

 Dungeness River Tributary Achieves Bacteria Target Levels at Several

 Monitoring Sites

WatprhnHv Imnrnx/pH  Failin9 sePtic systems and inadequate management of livestock
VVdlWIUUUy impiuveu  and pet wastes contribute high levels of bacteria to the Dungeness
 watershed, resulting in shellfish bed closures and causing the state to place the Dungeness River and
 Matriotti Creek (a tributary of the Dungeness) on its 303(d) list of impaired waters for fecal coliform
 contamination. Piping  of irrigation ditches, pasture management, manure storage, investigation and
 repair of on-site septic systems, and outreach and education efforts with area residents are  some of
 the practices implemented that have resulted in achieving bacteria target levels set forth in the total
 maximum daily load (TMDL) at several monitoring sites.
 Problem
Project Highlights
 The Dungeness River and Matriotti Creek are located
 in the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula,
 ultimately flowing into the Dungeness Bay. Bacterial
 waste from failing septic systems, inadequately
 maintained livestock (cows and horses), pet waste,
 and wildlife caused the state to add the Dungeness
 River and Matriotti Creek to its 303(d) list of
 impaired waters in 1996 for fecal coliform contami-
 nation. In 1997 the Washington State Department
 of Health (DOH) reported increased levels of fecal
 coliform bacteria in Dungeness Bay near the mouth
 of the Dungeness River. In 2000 the DOH closed
 300 intertidal acres of  Dungeness Bay to commercial
 shellfish harvesting (e.g., oysters and clams) due to
 fecal coliform bacteria levels exceeding the standard
 for safe human consumption. The closure area was
 expanded by 100 acres in 2001 and again in 2003. In
 2002 EPA approved fecal coliform TMDLs for several
 streams in the Dungeness River basin, including the
 Dungeness River and  Matriotti Creek, and a TMDL
 was approved for Dungeness Bay in 2004.

 The bacteria levels were of direct concern to the
 Jamestown S'Klallam  Tribe, which operates an
 oyster farm in Dungeness Bay and whose members
 harvest clams there. It was also of grave concern to
 Clallam County and local citizens since  Dungeness
 Bay is a premier internationally known tourist desti-
 nation. Elevated bacteria levels in the watershed's
 streams and extensive irrigation systems were also
 a public health concern.
In response to these concerns, a consortium of
local and state entities and interested individuals
began meeting to coordinate resources and efforts
to address the problem. When the first shellfish
harvest downgrade happened in 2000, this group
became the Shellfish Response Committee, and
when the Clallam County commissioners formed
the Clean Water District in 2001, this group became
the Clean Water Work Group. The Work Group
helped to coordinate efforts to identify bacterial
sources and solutions and begin cleanup actions in
advance of the TMDL.

The Clallam Conservation District worked one-on-
one with farm operators to develop conservation
plans for individual facilities. Agricultural best
management practices implemented include
fencing, riparian restoration, pasture management,
and manure storage. Outreach efforts, including
newsletters, workshops, and presentations, were
also implemented to educate livestock operators
about the impacts of livestock on water quality.

There is an ongoing effort to pipe many of the irriga-
tion ditches and eliminate tailwaters in the extensive
irrigation network in the watershed. Ditches selected
for piping were those deemed high-priority by the
Clallam Conservation District based on bacterial
monitoring results. In addition to improving water
quality, these activities helped to achieve  important
water conservation goals as well.

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      Non-Ire  bg Non-Irg  Irg
        1999-2000   2002-2004
           Mat 0.7
Non-Erg  Erg  Non-Erg  Irg
 1999-2000   2002-2004
     Mai 0.3
Non-Irg Irg  Non-bg  Irg
 1999-2000    2002-2004
                      ~ geometric mean  90th percentfle
                                                                 Results
Lower Matriotti Creek irrigation and non-irrigation season fecal
coliform data for the TMDL and most recent 2 years of data.
       1999-2000   2001-2004
          Dun 3.2
Non-Erg Irg Non-Irg
 1999-2000    2001-2004
    Dun 0.8
                     ~ geometric mean ~ 901h percentile
Dungeness River irrigation and non-irrigation season fecal coli-
form data for the TMDL and  the most recent 2-year period of data
(2002-2004).

             To address failing septic systems, Clallam County
             Environmental Health identified systems of con-
             cern that were near waterbodies and were old,
             undocumented, or had a history of repairs. This
             formed the basis of an operations and maintenance
             (O&M) plan to perform site evaluations, dye testing
             of suspected  failures, and repair and installation
             inspections. Educational materials about proper
             septic tank maintenance were also distributed to
             the  public, and a basic septic maintenance class—
             Septics 101—has been conducted over 40 times,
             reaching  more than 1,000 septic tank owners.

             The Tribe coordinated post-TMDL monitoring and
             used 319 grants to help fund cleanup tasks and
             sponsor a variety of public outreach projects.
In the Matriotti Creek, all sites monitored by the
Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology)
for fecal coliform levels have shown dramatic
improvement, and several sites are now meeting
the bacteria target levels that were set for the creek
in the TMDL. The mouth of Matriotti Creek now
needs only a 38 percent reduction in bacteria levels,
which is a significant improvement from the 78
percent reduction that was needed in  2000. Fecal
coliform levels in the Dungeness River have slightly
improved along certain sections of the river during
the irrigation season.

A target date of 2007 has been set for achiev-
ing  the bacterial reduction for the TMDLs for the
Dungeness River and Matriotti Creek.  Due to imple-
mentation efforts, partners are expected to achieve
a 65 percent reduction by December 2005.

Despite improvements for freshwater, shellfish
harvest restrictions still remain. The area near
the mouth of the bay remains closed to shellfish
harvesting year-round. The inner bay is open for
harvest from February through October and closed
November through January, but water  quality testing
indicates the bacteria are still near closure levels.
                                                                 Partners and Funding
                                          Project partners include the Jamestown S'Klallam
                                          Tribe, Clallam County, Clallam Conservation District,
                                          Sequim-Dungeness Water Users, Dungeness River
                                          ManagementTeam, DOH, Battelle, U.S. Fish and
                                          Wildlife Service, Puget Sound Action Team, and
                                          Ecology. Since 2000 the state has allocated approxi-
                                          mately $1.5 million, $73,000 of which was section
                                          319 funding, for monitoring and TMDL-related
                                          projects designed to resolve bacteria problems
                                          in the Dungeness area. The Jamestown S'Klallam
                                          Tribe received approximately $250,000 in section
                                          319 funding and  other grants, and a 2004 Targeted
                                          Watershed Grant to the Tribe of almost $1 million
                                          helped leverage  local funds to implement the O&M
                                          plan. Additional funding was provided by the U.S.
                                          Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Con-
                                          servation Service's Environmental Quality Incentive
                                          Program, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement
                                          Program, Salmon Recovery Funding Board, and
                                          Washington Conservation Commission funds.
                  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                  Office of Water
                  Washington, DC

                  EPA841-F-05-004Z
                  October 2005
                                          For additional information contact:
                                          Christine Hempleman
                                          Washington State Department of Ecology
                                          360-407-6329
                                          chem461@ecy.wa.gov

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