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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJefferson County Clean Water District Annual Report 2022Jefferson County Clean Water District ANNUAL REPORT Figure 1. Rocky Brook Falls. Photo by Michael Dawson. June 17, 2022 Prepared by: Michael Dawson, Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan St, Port Townsend WA 98368 360-385-9444 www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org Distribution List: Scott Chernoff Water Quality Restoration Program Lead Office of Environmental Health & Safety Washington State Department of Health PO Box 47824 Olympia, WA 98504-7824 scott.chernoff@doh.wa.gov Pinky Mingo Environmental Public Health Director Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan St Port Townsend, WA 98368 pmingo@co.jefferson.wa.us Jefferson County Clean Water District 2022 Annual Report p. 1 Reporting Period: January 1 - December 31, 2021 Name of Shellfish Protection District: Jefferson County Clean Water District Name of County: Jefferson Primary Point of Contact: Michael Dawson, Water Quality Manager Number of Meetings in 2021: 4 Clean Water District Advisory Council meetings 1 FUNDING The Jefferson County Clean Water District (CWD) is funded by a $20 per-parcel fee assessed by the Jefferson County Assessor. In 2021, the Water Quality division of Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) received a net of $423,000 from the CWD assessment, which was used as matching funds for Clean Water Projects. The Water Quality division has continued to pursue the Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) strategies outlined in the 2012 Clean Water District Advisory Council recommendations. These include applying for grant funding for Clean Water Projects. This strategy allows JCPH to leverage district funds with state funds for projects. The following Clean Water Projects were active during this reporting period (Figure 2): 1. Northern Hood Canal PIC Project 2. Oak Bay – Mats Mats PIC Project 3. Jefferson County Foundational Monitoring and PIC Project JCPH utilized the CWD fee to provide 25% matching funds in conjunction with 75% from Ecology’s Centennial Clean Water program to fund these Clean Water Projects. During 2021, the Northern Hood Canal PIC project received $132,341 in state funds matched with $45,114 in CWD funds. The Oak Bay – Mats Mats PIC project received $75,139 in state funds matched with $25,046 in CWD funds. The Foundational Monitoring project received $135,467 in state funds matched with $45,156 in CWD funds. CWD funds also supported administrative expenses related to operating the Water Quality department. JCPH provided temporary sanitation at the Big Quilcene River during the fishing season in 2021 to avoid emergency closures of shellfish beds. CWD funds were not used for additional programs of the Water Quality department, including the BEACH program, Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin program, Lakes program, Hood Canal Regional PIC project, and the Natural Resources programs. Figure 2. Water Quality Project Area Map, 2021. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2022 Annual Report p. 2 2 PROGRAM STATUS/CHANGES There were no changes in Water Quality staffing in 2021. In January 2021, the Water Quality department moved staff offices to 1200 Sims Way, Port Townsend, as JCPH expanded and needed more office space at 615 Sheridan Street. The Foundational Monitoring plan continued in 2021 with the following staff assignments: Monitoring Group Receiving Waters Description Staff 1 Strait of Juan de Fuca Discovery Bay Brad Stone 2 Puget Sound Port Townsend to Port Ludlow Lara Gaasland-Tatro 3 Hood Canal Duckabush and Dosewallips Rivers Amanda Christofferson 4 Hood Canal Quilcene and Dabob Bays Tim Weissman 5 Hood Canal Coyle to Paradise Bay Jacquelyn Stenman As the Foundational Monitoring project covers the entire Clean Water District, including existing projects with overlapping geographies (the Northern Hood Canal and Oak Bay-Mats Mats projects), staff coordinated so there wouldn’t be duplicative efforts. In the work areas of these two projects, the plan was for staff to use those previous project funds until the projects conclude in 2022. Figure 3 shows the shellfish growing areas and their relation to the Monitoring Groups listed above, and the prioritized shoreline (in purple). JCPH prioritized shoreline reaches by the presence of commercial and recreational shellfish beds, recreational beaches, and based on past monitoring history. Staff monitored high priority shorelines each wet season and dry season, as well as medium priority reaches if time and budget allow. JCPH intends for the prioritization scheme to be adaptable as conditions change over time. More details are available in the Annual Water Quality Report at https://jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/DocumentCenter/View/13122/Water-Quality-Annual-Report- 2021. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2022 Annual Report p. 3 Figure 3. Foundational Monitoring areas map. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2022 Annual Report p. 4 3 PROGRAM SUCCESSES With the implementation of the Foundational Monitoring project in 2020, JCPH created a baseline water quality monitoring program that will serve the entire Clean Water District and allow for monitoring that can continue independently of grant funding availability. Annual Water Quality Reports are published to the JCPH webpage to summarize findings, available under Plans & Reports at jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/713/Clean-Water-District. After completing a full year of monitoring in 2021, JCPH will review shoreline prioritization in 2022 to determine if any changes need to be made. At the completion of the project, the Water Quality department will have an estimate of the annual cost of monitoring the entire CWD. DOH did not release Early Warning reports for shellfish growing areas in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marine water quality, as monitored by DOH, showed some improvements in 2021. Hood Canal #3 data exhibited an improving trend, though DOH needs greater improvements over a longer time period to consider any changes to the Conditionally Approved area at the Duckabush River. DOH documented high bacteria levels in Quilcene Bay during a late June heatwave with record high temperatures. In 2021, Jefferson County completed a major revision of the enforcement code in Title 19 Code Compliance, available at www.codepublishing.com/WA/JeffersonCounty/#!/JeffersonCounty19/JeffersonCounty19.html. Water Quality staff were trained on the revised code and contributed to the creation of septic violation letter templates to standardize responses to septic failures and code violations. 4 CHALLENGES/BARRIERS The COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact all JCPH programs in 2021. Staff primarily teleworked, and all meetings were held virtually, including the Clean Water District Advisory Council quarterly meetings. Fieldwork continued, but staff primarily worked solo in the field during water quality monitoring, which sometimes resulted in additional vehicle trips and less efficiency. In spite of this, staff met water quality monitoring goals and there was very little disruption in data collection. The rate of completion for septic system sanitary surveys continued to be slow during the pandemic. Staff revised mailer cards sent to schedule site visits, which helped somewhat to boost responses. Staff completed 65 surveys in 2021, with 1 attempted/denied. Staff found 3 septic system failures during surveys. Progress was also delayed on investigations, and on pollution correction activities. Complaint investigation and enforcement continued, but at a reduced pace. The septic team pursued septic repairs and permitting, but were sometimes slowed down by lack of availability of professionals for design and installation due to impacts of the pandemic. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2022 Annual Report p. 5 5 POLLUTION CONTROL IMPLEMENTATION TABLE SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments Miles of shoreline evaluated (WY2021) 99 Wet and dry season monitoring E. coli and Enterococcus Northern Hood Canal: 18.4 miles Oak Bay – Mats Mats: 6.5 miles Foundational Monitoring: 73.9 Discharges/streams monitored for E. coli or Enterococcus and assessed for State standards (WY2021) 20 Wet season: 3 streams failed part 2. Dry season: Cooper Creek failed parts 1 & 2 of the standard, and 9 other streams failed part 2. Northern Hood Canal: 5 stations Oak Bay – Mats Mats: 5 stations Foundational Monitoring: 10 stations Marine stations monitored none See DOH marine monitoring results at fortress.wa.gov/doh/oswpviewer/index.html See BEACH program results at ecology.wa.gov/Water- Shorelines/Water-quality/Saltwater/BEACH-program Sites with elevated bacteria or “hot spots” (WY2021) 17 Confirmed hot spots > 320 E. coli geomean or > 110 entero investigated Northern Hood Canal: 9 Oak Bay – Mats Mats: 7 Foundational Monitoring: 1 Parcel/property evaluations 65 Distributed copies of as-builts if available, homeowner class info, rebate info, Craft3, USDA and JCPH Septic Cost Share financial assistance 65 Completed, 1 Attempted/Denied Northern Hood Canal, Oak Bay – Mats Mats & Foundational Monitoring OSS in the Shellfish Protection District ~13,500 16 previously unknown OSS identified On-site Septic program OSS with current inspection report unknown 1,930 O&M inspections completed (100 from homeowners) On-site Septic program O&M warning letters 32 O&M deficiencies On-site Septic program OSS dye tests none Failed OSS 3 From surveys, additional unknown # from O&M Jefferson County Clean Water District 2022 Annual Report p. 6 SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments OSS Repairs 42 42 urgent repairs finaled 5 urgent repair permits issued 1 urgent repair permits pending Low interest OSS repair loans (Craft3 or other) unknown At least one urgent repair completed/funded in Pt Whitney Craft3 low-interest loans & Jefferson County Septic Repair Cost Share program Farms with animals in the Shellfish Protection District unknown Surveillance flights None Farms evaluated None A comprehensive farm inventory was planned but not implemented Agriculture BMPs installed 2 Cattle exclusion fencing, Chimacum Consultation on property with pigs and runoff problems 4 farm conservation plans cmpleted Agriculture warning letters None Utilized new source tracking technology No Incentives/Rebates 2 HCRPIC, OSS unknown O&M inspection, riser installation, pumping rebates to homeowners On-site Septic program & Hood Canal Regional PIC project Penalties unknown Public Complaints 39 OSS 7 WQ 34 OSS finaled/closed 8 WQ finaled/closed All complaints investigated Public Meetings 4 Clean Water District Advisory Council 4 Workshops Online classes on demand 60 participants, 6 homeowners completed and became registered for homeowner inspections Online Homeowner Septic Classes (On-site program) Community Events none Events cancelled due to COVID-19 Mailers/flyers/brochures unknown Hot spot factsheets sent to project area residents Northern Hood Canal Oak Bay – Mats Mats Foundational Monitoring Jefferson County Clean Water District 2022 Annual Report p. 7 SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments Did you conduct a social marketing survey? No Staff attended social marketing training Newsletters sent 2 Mailed to project area residents Additional JCCD newsletters sent Letters of support/ recommendations to council/commission/grants received 2 Chimacum – Hadlock PIC grant application Are there stormwater activities occurring? Yes No new hot spots Port Townsend waterfront stormwater sites monitored wet season/dry season through Foundational Monitoring Riparian restoration Yes Duckabush & Big Quilcene Floodplain Acquisitions, riparian planting Conservation Futures & Natural Resources program Reports 2 Posted on JCPH website jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/713/Clean-Water-District Data/Mapping Yes WQDB/GIS connection Mobile GIS data collection 6 ACRONYMS AND SPECIAL TERMS USED CWD (Jefferson County) Clean Water District DOH Washington State Department of Health Ecology Washington State Department of Ecology EPA Environmental Protection Agency GIS Geographic Information System JCCD Jefferson County Conservation District JCPH Jefferson County Public Health O&M (Septic) Operations & Maintenance OSS On-Site Septic Systems PIC Pollution Identification and Correction SPD Shellfish Protection District WQ Water Quality