Inlet's water OK'd for shellfish

Henderson: State health officials lift weather restrictions that barred harvesting after heavy rains

JOHN DODGE; Staff writer | • Published February 10, 2010

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Water quality in lower Henderson Inlet has improved enough that 240 acres of shellfish-growing tidelands can be opened for harvest without weather restrictions, health officials said Tuesday.

The announcement marks a significant and unexpected victory in a 25-year uphill battle against water pollution in the marine inlet north of Lacey.

“This is no doubt one of the state’s most successful shellfish-restoration projects,” said Gregg Grunenfelder, assistant secretary for the state Department of Health.

Since 2001, the 240 acres had been off-limits to harvesting for five days after heavy rains, or about 100 days a year, said Lawrence Sullivan, a state health official in the shellfish program.

Since 1984, health officials had closed or restricted shellfish harvesting on 657 acres of the inlet, which has been plagued by pollution problems tied to stormwater runoff, failing septic systems and animal waste.

Compounding the challenge is the fact that the inlet is shallow, flushes poorly and drains some of the most heavily developing areas of Lacey, Olympia and Thurston County.

The local governments, homeowners, state agencies and others teamed up to tackle the nonpoint pollution problems in a variety of ways. They include:

• Thurston County formed a shellfish-protection district for the 30,000-acre watershed after the 2001 harvest restriction, then took steps to beef up inspections and maintenance of on-site septic systems.

In addition, about one-third of the homeowners on septic systems have attended county-sponsored workshops to learn how to take care of their systems, said Linda Hofstad, a county environmental health officer who has worked in the watershed since the early 1980s.

• The City of Lacey invested millions of dollars on major stormwater-control projects so stormwater that once dumped directly into Woodland Creek – the main source of freshwater entering the inlet – is stored and treated before it is released.

• Pet owners have grown accustomed to picking up after their dogs and cats, another source of bacterial contamination assaulting the marine waters.

• Working with the Thurston Conservation District, hobby farmers and livestock owners have improved their management of manure to keep it out of feeder streams and the inlet.

“No one could have done this on their own,” Hofstad said.

Even as the county commissioners paused at their Tuesday morning meeting to celebrate the shellfish-harvesting upgrade, they were reminded that water quality can deteriorate without constant vigilance.

In addition, more than 400 acres in the lower inlet still is either prohibited for harvesting shellfish or restricted when it rains because of the polluted stormwater entering the inlet.

“We are on the right track, but there’s a lot of work left to be done,” county environmental health director Art Starry said.

For instance, he said, major sewer and stormwater-control projects in urban-style neighborhoods served by aging septic systems are a high priority, including Woodland Creek Estates, Thompson Place and Tanglewilde.

But without an infusion of state or federal grant money, those multimillion-dollar projects are too costly for homeowners to foot the bill, he said.

John Dodge: 360-754-5444

jdodge@theolympian.com