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Home My WebLink AboutJefferson County Clean Water District Annual Report 2024Jefferson County Clean Water District ANNUAL REPORT Figure 1. Mussels. Photo by Michael Dawson. May 9, 2024 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 2024 Annual Report p. 1 Reporting Period: January 1 - December 31, 2023 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 2023: 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 2023, the Water Quality division of Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) received a net of $477,031.18 from the CWD assessment, which JCPH used to support 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 fees as matching funds for state-funded projects. The Chimacum – Port Hadlock PIC Project was active during this reporting period (Figure 2). The project began in January, 2023 and will continue through 2025. JCPH utilized the CWD fee to provide 25% matching funds in conjunction with 75% from Ecology’s Centennial Clean Water program to fund this Clean Water Project. During 2023, the Chimacum – Port Hadlock PIC project received $22,381.07 in state funds matched with $7,460 in CWD funds. $10,392.30 was paid to project partner Jefferson County Conservation District (JCCD), who supplied their own in-kind matching funds at 25% or greater. The Foundational Monitoring project, begun as a grant- funded project in 2020, continued throughout 2023 with support from CWD funds. This monitoring program maintains the baseline water quality data needed for shellfish protection and PIC work in the entire CWD, which encompasses all of eastern Jefferson County. In 2023, $315,148.52 in expenses were supported by the CWD fee to execute this project. Operating costs increased in 2023 and the Water Quality indirect rate was 35%. $1,276.81 was spent on staff training and boat maintenance. JCPH provided temporary sanitation at the Big Quilcene River during the fishing season in 2023 to avoid emergency closures of shellfish beds. JCPH did not use CWD funds 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. Chimacum – Port Hadlock PIC Project Area. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2024 Annual Report p. 2 2 PROGRAM STATUS/CHANGES Staffing changes affected the Water Quality division in 2023. Tim Weissman joined the Onsite Septic team, remaining only part-time in Water Quality to continue the Lake Monitoring program. Amanda Christofferson, who had been half-time in Water Quality, took a different position in the county part- way through the year. A summer intern was hired for June through August, primarily in the BEACH program, but also part-time in PIC work. The Foundational Monitoring plan continued in 2023 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 Summer intern 5 Hood Canal Coyle to Paradise Bay Jacquelyn Stenman 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 past monitoring history. Staff achieved targets for the completion of monitoring high-priority shorelines each wet season and dry season. The intern helped with dry season monitoring in Monitoring Group #4. Details about the water monitoring performed by JCPH during 2023 are available in the Annual Water Quality Report at www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2024 Annual Report p. 3 Figure 3. Foundational Monitoring areas map. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2024 Annual Report p. 4 3 PROGRAM SUCCESSES The status of approved shellfish growing areas in Jefferson County remained unchanged in 2023. Hood Canal #3 water quality improved slightly, 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 water quality monitoring targets in 2023 as an extension of the Foundational Monitoring project established the previous three years. JCPH and JCCD began the Chimacum-Port Hadlock PIC project in January 2023, and added Chimacum watershed stream monitoring sites in October, 2023. JCPH published the Annual Water Quality Report to the JCPH webpage. Jefferson County Environmental Public Health provided $189,000 in funding assistance for the repairs of nine failed septic systems near surface water in the CWD in 2023 through the Septic Cost Share program. Additional assistance was provided in the form of septic operation and maintenance rebates to 12 properties totaling $4,654. Additional rebates will be available in 2024 through the Chimacum – Port Hadlock PIC project. 4 CHALLENGES/BARRIERS The rate of completion for septic system sanitary surveys continued to be slow in 2023. Public reluctance to participate may be one factor, but having less available Water Quality staff, especially at the end of 2023, was also a factor. Staffing levels will increase in 2024, with resumed emphasis on surveys and an evaluation of different engagement methods. Also, increased septic operations and monitoring compliance rates may help reduce the need for surveys, and a more targeted approach to surveys is planned. The permit database migration that was begun in 2022 continued to make reporting difficult in 2023 due to multiple issues with the new database. JCPH hired a project manager to facilitate the transition, a database specialist to work specifically on the permit database, and also hired consultants to develop a connection from the permit database to the septic maintenance database, although that has not yet been completed. In addition, the Homeowner Septic Inspection reporting website is still unavailable and JCPH staff are taking reports on paper. A planned Investigation GIS tool under development by Water Quality will not have full functionality until some of these issues are resolved. Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 5 5 POLLUTION CONTROL IMPLEMENTATION TABLE SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments Miles of shoreline evaluated (WY2023) 92 wet 85 dry 5% EC, 0% entero, wet season samples were high hits 45% EC, 26% entero, dry season samples were high hits Wet season sampling was extended through April 2023 Discharges/streams monitored for E. coli or Enterococcus and assessed for State standards (WY2023) 15 15/15 (100%) passed wet season 11/15 (73%) passed dry season Marine stations monitored 4 BEACH May-August All sites passed Seasonal GMV 11-17 entero 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” (WY2023) 20 Identified 5 high priority hot spots Parcel/property evaluations NA Distributed copies of as-builts if available, homeowner class info, rebate info, Craft3, USDA and JCPH Septic Cost Share financial assistance Reporting from new permit database not working OSS in the Shellfish Protection District ~13,500 45 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. O&M warning letters 280 16 Surfacing sewage: All in compliance tracking On-site Septic program Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 6 SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments OSS dye tests None Failed OSS 16 All in compliance tracking OSS Repairs 9 16 additional with permit applications pending Low interest OSS repair loans/cost share (Craft3 or other) 3 Craft3; 9 JCPH Craft3: $97,854 in loans; JCPH: $189,000 distributed 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 2 Farm plans JCCD Agriculture BMPs installed 10 JCCD Agriculture warning letters none Utilized new source tracking technology No Chimacum MST utilizing new cattle and human indicators at EPA Manchester Lab Incentives/Rebates 12 $4,654 O&M rebates Penalties NA Report from new permit database not yet functional. Public Complaints 37 OSS, 6 WQ Closed: 42 OSS, 8 WQ EH Code compliance officer taking most new OSS complaints Public Meetings 5 Clean Water District Advisory Council: 4 Chimacum-Hadlock PIC public meetings: 1 Workshops 3 septic O&M, 4 agricultural Online Homeowner Septic Classes (On-site Septic program) JCCD Community Events 1 JCCD Mailers/flyers/brochures NA Hot Spot Fact Sheets and Property Survey Mailers sent to landowners Did you conduct a social marketing survey? No Staff attended social marketing training Jefferson County Clean Water District 2023 Annual Report p. 7 SPD Information Number Outcomes Comments Newsletters sent NA Social media posts, not counted Letters of support/ recommendations to council/commission/grants received 0 Are there stormwater activities occurring? No WSU Rural Stormwater Solutions info: https://ruralstormwater.wsu.edu/ Riparian restoration Yes Duckabush & Big Quilcene floodplain acquisitions, riparian planting; Dosewallips River Project Conservation Futures & Natural Resources program Floodplains by Design 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. 8 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 GMV Geometric Mean Value 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)