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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJefferson County Clean Water District Annual Report 2023Jefferson County Clean Water District ANNUAL REPORT Figure 1. Dosewallips Falls. Photo by Michael Dawson. May 11, 2023 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 2023 Annual Report p. 1 Reporting Period: January 1 - December 31, 2022 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 2022: 4 Clean Water District Advisory Council meetings 1 FUNDING The Jefferson County Clean Water District (CWD) is funded by a $23 per-parcel fee assessed by the Jefferson County Assessor. In 2022, the Water Quality division of Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) received a net of $462,544.94 from the CWD assessment, which JCPH 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 The Northern Hood Canal and Oak Bay-Mats Mats projects concluded at the end of March 2022. JCPH implemented the Foundational Monitoring Project all year. 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 2022, the Northern Hood Canal PIC project received $63,953.53 in state funds matched with $21,317.84 in CWD funds. The Oak Bay – Mats Mats PIC project received $2,265.23 in state funds matched with $755.08 in CWD funds. The Foundational Monitoring project received $188,888.97 in state funds matched with $62,962.99 in CWD funds. Foundational Monitoring state funds were expended mid-year, so JCPH applied an additional $72,393.57 in CWD funds to cover monitoring for the remainder of the year. 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 2022 to avoid emergency closures of shellfish beds. JCPH did not use CWD funds for additional programs of the Water Quality department, including Figure 2. Water Quality Project Area Map, 2021. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 2 the BEACH program, Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin program, Lakes program, Hood Canal Regional PIC project, and the Natural Resources programs. 2 PROGRAM STATUS/CHANGES There were no changes in Water Quality staffing in 2022. The Foundational Monitoring plan continued in 2022 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, this included existing projects with overlapping geographies (the Northern Hood Canal and Oak Bay-Mats Mats projects). Staff coordinated to avoid duplicative efforts. In April, when these two projects concluded, the monitoring of these areas switched to the Foundational Monitoring Project. Figure 3 shows the shellfish growing areas and their relation to the Monitoring Groups listed above, and the prioritized shoreline. 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 allowed. After completing dry season monitoring in 2022, JCPH reviewed shoreline prioritization and made minor changes. JCPH changed 0.65 miles of Olele Point shoreline from high priority to medium priority based on the limited shellfish resources there, the lack of water quality hot spots, and the difficulty of access. Details about all water monitoring performed by JCPH during 2022 are available in the Annual Water Quality Report at https://www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/DocumentCenter/View/15279/WQ- Annual-Report-2022. Two marine stations in Quilcene Bay reached the Threatened status as shown in the 2022 Early Warning Report from the Department of Health (DOH), but did not result in any reprioritization or change of focus. This is discussed on Page 3 of the Annual Water Quality Report. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 3 Figure 3. Foundational Monitoring areas map. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 4 3 PROGRAM SUCCESSES The status of approved shellfish growing areas in Jefferson County remained unchanged in 2022. Marine water quality, as monitored by DOH, showed some improvements. Hood Canal #3 data exhibited an improving trend, though greater improvements over a longer time period are needed before DOH considers any changes to the Conditionally Approved area at the Duckabush River. JCPH completed baseline data collection under the Foundational Monitoring project in 2022. The project established a sustainable monitoring program which will continue in 2023. In addition, JCPH and the Jefferson County Conservation District (JCCD) had an opportunity to submit samples to the EPA for microbial source tracking (MST). Both organizations worked together to sample 19 stream stations in the Chimacum watershed for MST for 8 months, with results anticipated in 2023. JCPH published the Annual Water Quality Report to the JCPH Clean Water District webpage, under Plans & Reports. After completing 2023 dry season monitoring, JCPH will have collected enough data to allow trend analysis at all regular stream stations. JCPH was awarded a Centennial Clean Water grant for the Chimacum-Port Hadlock PIC project, to begin in 2023. The project will continue a more comprehensive stream monitoring program in the watershed that began with the Chimacum MST study. MST results will help focus attention on problem areas with human and cattle indicators. Correction work will also continue on Irondale Creek. The project will run for three years with partner JCCD. Jefferson County Environmental Public Health (JCEPH) hired a Code Compliance specialist in 2022 to assist water quality staff with enforcement activities related to the 2021 Title 19 code revisions. This should help achieve more consistent and timely results with septic compliance issues. JCEPH also transitioned to a new permit database in late 2022. Water Quality staff use the database for tracking survey results and code compliance. 4 CHALLENGES/BARRIERS The COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact all JCPH programs in 2022. Staff worked in a hybrid style of telework and in-person work, and the WQ department held all meetings virtually, including the Clean Water District Advisory Council quarterly meetings. Fieldwork continued, and staff met water quality monitoring and data collection goals. The pandemic also slowed work between JCPH and a GIS developer. The project made progress with a field notes app for water quality monitoring, and with a hot spot mapping app, but the projects have not yet been completed. The rate of completion for septic system sanitary surveys continued to be slow due to public reluctance to participate. JCPH believes that this is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Door-to-door surveying attempts resumed in 2022, but still achieved less participation than pre-pandemic levels. Staff completed 78 surveys in 2022, with 84 attempted/no response. Staff found two septic system failures during surveys. JCPH migrated to a new permit database in December 2022, and as a result some reporting functions became unavailable. Until new reports are built, some metrics in the Implementation Table are not complete as indicated in the notes. The Homeowner Septic Inspection reporting site became unavailable partway through the year and JCPH has not yet established a replacement workflow. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 5 5 POLLUTION CONTROL IMPLEMENTATION TABLE SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments Miles of shoreline evaluated (WY2022) 92 850 E. coli and 47 Enterococcus samples; 114 (18%) of 641 non-replicate, non-resample, non-bracket E. coli shoreline samples were high hits (not all were hot spots) Wet season sampling was extended through April 2022 Discharges/streams monitored for E. coli or Enterococcus and assessed for State standards (WY2022) 32 3 streams failed during wet season, 2 failed during dry season; 5 Chimacum stations failed wet season, 11 Chimacum stations failed dry season Foundational Monitoring: 14 Chimacum MST: 18 (only 8 months of the year) Marine stations monitored None; 5 BEACH sites 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” (WY2022) 15 Northern Hood Canal: 4 Oak Bay – Mats Mats: 1 Foundational Monitoring: 10 Parcel/property evaluations 78 Distributed copies of as-builts if available, homeowner class info, rebate info, Craft3, USDA and JCPH Septic Cost Share financial assistance 78 Completed, 84 Attempted/No Response Northern Hood Canal, Oak Bay – Mats Mats & Foundational Monitoring OSS in the Shellfish Protection District ~13,500 42 previously unknown OSS identified On-site Septic program OSS with current inspection report 1,963 1,807 O&M inspections completed (132 from homeowners) On-site Septic program. Current and Completed discrepancy might be due to database migration. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 6 SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments O&M warning letters 159 17 Surfacing sewage: All in compliance tracking - 1 Connected to sewer 2 Pump replaced/repaired 2 Transport breaks corrected 3 Design/permit in process 6 Awaiting pro evaluation 2 Not occupied 1 Unknown On-site Septic program Letter types: 4 Low risk violation 17 Surfacing sewage 83 Contact professional 55 Missing inspection at time of sale Missing December 2022 due to database migration OSS dye tests None Failed OSS 2 From surveys OSS Repairs 47 47 urgent repairs finaled 38 urgent repair permits issued 5 urgent repair permits pending Missing December 2022 due to database migration Low interest OSS repair loans/cost share (Craft3 or other) 4 Craft3; 5 JCPH Craft3: $122,133 committed; JCPH: $88,467 distributed Craft3 low-interest loans & Jefferson County Septic Repair Cost Share program Farms with animals in the Shellfish Protection District Chimacum watershed: ~27 CWD: Unknown Surveillance flights None Farms evaluated Chimacum watershed: 44 (includes all farms) Remainder of CWD: 10 Chimacum watershed livestock inventory conducted via windshield survey and GIS analysis in March 2022 Number of farms is from windshield survey from public roads during Chimacum watershed livestock inventory, GIS analysis, and responses to Ecology referrals. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 7 SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments Agriculture BMPs installed 5 • Wetland buffer planted on property with cattle; • Temporary fence installed to keep cows out of seasonally wet pasture; • Livestock excluded from seasonally wet pasture; • Roof runoff structure installed; • Livestock water pipeline installed for improved pasture management BMPs installed with JCCD cost share and/or based on recommended actions in conservation plans drafted by JCCD staff. Agriculture warning letters 13 Referrals were made by Ecology to JCCD Site visits conducted with landowners who contacted JCCD after receiving Ecology warning. Includes 1 follow-up letter. Utilized new source tracking technology Yes Chimacum MST utilizing new cattle and human indicators at EPA Manchester Lab Results pending Incentives/Rebates 11 HCRPIC; 53 OSS HCRPIC: $5,364.86 for O&M inspection, riser installation, pumping, and minor repair rebates to homeowners Hood Canal Regional PIC project; On-site Septic program Penalties Unknown Public Complaints 1 WQ; ~30 OSS WQ: City sewer break repaired – surface water not impacted; ~5 OSS finaled/closed Missing December 2022 due to database migration Public Meetings 6 Clean Water District Advisory Council: 4 Northern Hood Canal and Oak Bay – Mats Mats PIC final public meetings: 1 Foundational Monitoring final public meeting: 1 Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 8 SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments Workshops Online classes on demand 23 participants, 21 homeowners completed and became registered for homeowner inspections Online Homeowner Septic Classes (On-site Septic program) Community Events None Events cancelled due to COVID-19 Mailers/flyers/brochures 15 Fact Sheets; Unknown # of mailers Hot Spot Fact Sheets and Property Survey Mailers sent to landowners Northern Hood Canal: 4 Oak Bay – Mats Mats: 1 Foundational Monitoring: 10 Did you conduct a social marketing survey? No Staff attended social marketing training Newsletters sent 2 Mailed to project area residents Transitioned to electronic distribution via blog Letters of support/ recommendations to council/commission/grants received 1 Ecology Centennial Clean Water Grant received JCPH Chimacum-Port Hadlock PIC Project 2023-2026 Are there stormwater activities occurring? Yes WSU Rural Stormwater Solutions https://ruralstormwater.wsu.edu/ Riparian restoration Yes Duckabush & Big Quilcene floodplain acquisitions, riparian planting; Dosewallips River Consortium planning 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 Field Notes app and Hot Spot app in progress with developer Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 9 6 ACRONYMS AND SPECIAL TERMS USED BEACH Beach Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health BMP Best Management Practices 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 HCRPIC Hood Canal Regional Pollution Identification and Correction JCCD Jefferson County Conservation District JCEPH Jefferson County Environmental Public Health JCPH Jefferson County Public Health MST Microbial Source Tracking O&M (Septic) Operations & Maintenance OSS On-Site Septic Systems PIC Pollution Identification and Correction SPD Shellfish Protection District WQ Water Quality WQDB Water Quality Database WY Water Year (October 1 – September 30)