From Source Assessment to Water Quality Success: Aligning Stormwater & TMDL Priorities

Description

The East Fork Lewis River (EFLR) watershed is home to both the fastest growing city in Washington State, and five priority populations of ESA listed salmon and steelhead. The watershed has seen a 47 percent increase in population since 2000, as forestlands have decreased, and more impervious surfaces have need added. Currently, the watershed is on Washington’s 303d list for warm water temperatures and bacteria problems. In 2018, a Bacteria and Temperature Source Assessment was published to support TMDL planning. Some of the highest bacteria levels measured in the watershed are discharging from a stormwater outfall in a non-permitted municipality. Priorities for long-term implementation include reducing impacts from stormwater, septic systems, and agriculture, and increasing riparian forest restoration in the watershed. This presentation highlights how partners are addressing TMDL priorities through stormwater program management; Ecology is implementing proactive nonpoint source investigation to find and control sources of bacteria; and how a new pollution identification and correction program is addressing failing septic systems and agricultural challenges in the watershed.