Has anyone given consideration to what the possible impact of the commercial geoduck harvesting could be having on the low oxygen levels in Hood Canal?

I have no first hand knowledge about this fishery, but from what I have heard, I'm assuming the destruction to the bottom must be significant.

Anyone have experience with this type of harvest and it's affects?

From what I gather:

Poor circulation (long, narrow fjord get little in the way of freash, outside water).

fertilizer and septic leaks cause nutrients to rise and creating algae blooms.

Thousands of dead, rotting, chums left by the indians on the shore that take up oxygen while decomposing and add lots of nutrients that are supposed to go mostly to the rivers/creeks, not the saltwater thus, also creating algae blooms. (supprising that I haven't heard the media/state mention this :rolleyes: ).

If I remember my Washington state history correct It takes some where around 50-60 years to flush out the Hood canal. Where as it takes 20 years for the Puget sound to recirculate it's water. The Causes for the low O2 is the number of houses that have leaking septic tanks. The increased bio levels leads to bigger algae blooms that die off and burn off the oxygen. The state needs to crack down on home owners that don't repair these deffective septic tanks and start to limmit how close to water they can build.

I also read a report (maybe on this board) last fall sometime that a guy was arrested for dumping thousands of tons of raw sewage into the southern portion of Hood Canal via a creek in his backyard. He worked for a septic company and instead of taking it to a dump site he dumped it on his property. I think some neighbors turned him in. This certainly can't help with what we are seeing on the Hood Canal and neither can rotting chums. I've seen the same thing out at Chico last year.
Anyone else remember this? I'm not sure how accurate my memory it...

An oceanographer told me that it takes 3-4 days to flush the entire water contents of puget sound, but years to flush the canal. That's why this suburban pollution (fertilizers, sewage etc) causes such problems in the canal but not the sound.

I read somewhere that they allow a lot of commercial harvest (rape) of Sea cucumbers & the article said they are like filters on the bottom.

Aunty M, I mostly agree with what your saying.But where do you come up with the every 2 years for septic pumping.I can see it if its a defective system.But then it should really be repaired or replaced.
I'm not real knowledgable on septics.But I've always been told 5-7 years for a normal household.And a friend of my wifes who's husband does septic designs,says the people that recomend pumping that often are just trying to make extra money.
I agree with septic inspections,flow,and leak tests.but why place an undo burden on people,by making them pump their systems when its not necessary?

Time to get rid of septic systems altogether if you want to save Hood Canal. And no, you don't need a centralized wastewater treatment plant to do so with miles and miles of pipeline. Besides, with today's technology in wastewater treatment, there are systems to serve small communities and provide effluent clean enough for reuse at a fraction of the cost. It will be only a matter of time before this idea becomes reality.

I think that seal poop is a major contributor to the problem. I have seen thousands, maybe tens of thousands of seals near the mouth of the Dosewallips gorging on chum. I bet each seal was producing 20lbs of feces per day. I remember at the time, oyster harvesting was closed because of "sewage" in the water.

I didn't see any mention of it in the report. Of course, it's not PC to blame wildlife for anything. But then, you could say that this problem was a man-made because of the chum hatcheries.

you forgetting the skok river (Cresent Lake) Tacoma Hydropower project...?
the lack of freshwater flushing into the canal during periods of heavy rainfall in my opinion has to be the biggest contributor to the low oxygen problem...Think about how much water is no longer allowed to filter out onto the delta as it did for thousands of years. The damn dam has got to go.
this reminds me - where the heck is the progress on the Elwha River removal....Again the damn dams, have got to go.

Slab,

Good call. It is my understanding that there have been studies that identify seals as a major, if not the major, cause of pollution in the Canal.

BUT THEY'RE SO CUTE!

I'm surprised Dave Vedder hasn't posted an article blaming the the problem on the Bush administration.


"If your not a liberal at twenty you have no heart--If you're still a liberal at forty you have no brain."

I wish that seal-eating pod of orcas would make more frequent tours of the canal.

i was listening to public radio (its a fm station) and they mentioned that the state was working with the skokomish tribe to get them to dispose of the chums in a differant manner, the sate says that the chums contributed to 20% of the problem with lack of oxygen and 40% from the sewers/septic systems and i forget the other contributing factors.. i dont see why the state doesnt put in a bunch of pump systems that pump the air thru pvc pipes with holes drilled into it to get some oxygen down there for a temporary solution? it works in a aquarium, why not the sound?

Sounds to me like the hatchery Chum are the true root of the problem. No hatchery chum, no rotting piles, no seals, etc.

Maybe the problem is crab and shrimp dung......from chowing down on those rotting chum.

I, for one, hate blanket solutions, with the only exception being emergencies......but then EVERYTHING'S A FRIGGIN' EMERGENCY.

Maybe we need a moratorium on emergencies, so we can get something done. Two million would buy 200 $10,000 septic systems, if you could kick out the beauracratic fees. There are numerous septic designs available to address any seepage problems, but not everyone can afford them. Maybe with a matching-funds-incentive program the 2 mill could upgrade 400-600 systems, maybe more.

Is it better to fine someone who can't afford to improve, or does the public benefit more by making desired changes financially viable?

Ahhhh, I feel better now.

One more thing....if you think you who are on sewer systems are "doing the best thing", you are wrong. If you really wanted things to take a jump upward in quality, you would push for septic tanks in line of everyone's septic outflow. Then the solids could be captured and pumped out when necessary which would insure that seasonal overloads on the treatment facility would not cause overflow. The violator's of dumping hazardous waste could also be easily found.....think about it.

Being in the water quality field I do a little DO tasting on the canal from time to time. Mind you it's on my own as I keep a boat down there. What I have found that the canal from Pleasant harbor up, places like Dabob bay are doing just fine even at 100 foot levels and near the bottom. I realize the lower canal has some big problems that need to be delt with but why the state does not make a boundry with the part that is well flushed and that that is not in trouble open for bottom fishing. It would be so easy to do just as they do for salmon seasons. Closing the whole thing is a bit lazy to me.

When the tribes dump between 1.2 and 1.8 million carcasses back in the deep Hood Canal, it will cause problems. It takes oxygen to break down the carcasses. he deep water does not have a lot of oxygen to begin with. If you notice that you only have to go several miles north of the area they mass slaughter the salmon for their eggs and dump them and the problem starts to go away. I have a friend working on this and some of the WDFW knows about it too. Hopefully something can be done about it.

The following articles pretty much cover the real story on Hood Canal:

6/8/04 – KING-TV
Development suffocating Hood Canal and its creatures
By Gary Chittim
BELFAIR, Wash. – The Washington State Department of Ecology says oxygen levels in the Hood Canal are far below average and more fish kills are likely this summer.
As Hood Canal crabbers show off the catch of the day, they know each catch may be their last.
"Hate to see it. I've lived on the canal for over 30 years," said Bill Sibley.
Hood Canal is gasping for air. Each week, researchers test the water for oxygen, and the rapid loss is obvious.
"Especially a lot of the really deep ones, you look at it and know, there's no oxygen in there," said volunteer Gretchen Anderson.
And the oxygen depletion is growing.
A study released Tuesday shows each year there is less oxygen. It's an undeniable downward spiral.
Studies go back to 1952. During those 50 years, the Hood Canal real estate market has boomed. Homes are crammed in like sardines on its banks and scientists are convinced runoff from those homes, yards, driveways and septic tanks is sucking up the canal's precious oxygen.
Add that to the canal's naturally lower depths and poor circulation, and the future looks bleak.
"It has the potential to keep getting worse and worse, and I think more and more fish and shellfish will die off," said Anderson.
It's already happening. While wildlife seems to thrive topside, pictures from under the surface of Hood Canal show dead and dying creatures, and healthy populations seem to be moving away.
Scientists warn to be prepared this year for more oxygen loss and more fish kills.
The department is asking people who live along the waterway to reduce runoff and make sure septic systems are working properly.
Parts of the canal have been closed to fishing the past three years because of the stress on fish from low oxygen levels.
Anyone noticing large fish kills, strange algae blooms or anything unusual in the water is urged to call the Washington State Department of Ecology.


6/9/04 – TNT
'Odds are more fish will die'
By Susan Gordon
Things are likely to get worse in what has become a dead zone for resident fish and other deep-water marine life at the south end of the Hood Canal, environmental experts said Tuesday.
"The odds are more and more fish and shellfish will die because there is simply less oxygen than there ever has been historically," said Jan Newton, a University of Washington oceanographer who also works for the state Department of Ecology.
Experts blame hypoxia - lack of oxygen - for the deaths of thousands of fish and other sea creatures in the Hood Canal last year and in 2002.
"Going into the summer, it might even be worse than we've seen in the past," said Mary Lou Mills, the Department of Fish and Wildlife's marine ecosystem manager.
Although experts didn't diagnose it until last year, the canal has been troubled by intermittent fish kills since the 1960s, she said.
In May, the state issued a preliminary action plan that blames the problem on excess nitrogen from septic systems, stormwater runoff, discarded salmon carcasses, livestock manure, other fertilizers and other sources.
Excess nitrogen leads to eutrophication, or the accelerated growth of aquatic plants such as algae. When the algae dies, it decomposes, consuming oxygen at the bottom of the canal.
A total of $600,000 in state and federal funds is available to organizations that propose innovative solutions, said Mary Getchell, spokeswoman for the Puget Sound Action Team, a state program that spearheads the effort.
However, corrective action probably won't come soon enough to prevent hypoxia this year.
The outlook is grim for two reasons, Newton said. Not only are oxygen concentrations extraordinarily low, but they also failed to rebound over the winter, when the canal's aquatic oxygen levels normally peak, she said.
The lowest levels of dissolved oxygen are usually recorded in the late summer and early fall, which is also when many fish kills have taken place, she said.
"We're starting out much lower than we've seen in the past," she said.
Hypoxia primarily affects resident species such as rock fish, surf perch, sea cucumbers and octopus. So far, fish managers have not noticed problems among migrating, shallow-water species such as salmon, herring and smelt, Mills said.
Because remaining fish are struggling to survive, Fish and Wildlife officials have banned bottomfishing throughout most of the Hood Canal. Additional closures could be added if needed, Mills said.
The bleak forecast is unwelcome news to some of the volunteers who helped collect the water samples.
"I think it's pretty scary," said Ken Lundemo, 72, of Seabeck, who shuttles technicians up and down the canal in his motorboat. Lundemo, a lifelong recreational fisherman, belongs to the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group. "If they have another extremely hot, long, dry summer they might have to shut all kinds of fishing down again. It's really spooky," he said.
Dan O'Neal, a group member who lives in Belfair, predicted that a solution will be very expensive.
"It's going to be a real challenge to get these (septic) systems cleaned up," he said.
According to the preliminary action plan, about 54,000 people live in areas surrounding the Hood Canal. Sewage from most of the housing discharges to on-site systems that are not designed to reduce nitrogen.
University of Washington researchers first documented the hypoxia problem in parts of the southern Hood Canal in the 1950s. By the early 1990s, other scientists found it had gotten worse, a trend that appeared to parallel a population boom.
The very nature of the 60-mile-long fjord makes its marine life fragile, experts said. It's unlike other parts of the Puget Sound, where water flushes in and out quickly. In the Hood Canal, the exchange takes months or a year.


6/9/04 – PI
Lethal oxygen levels in Hood Canal could kill fish this summer
By Lisa Stiffler
Warning to Hood Canal's underwater creatures: Head for more hospitable waters before it's too late.
Tests show that the amount of dissolved oxygen in the fjord has dropped to near-lethal levels -- and the problem is likely to get worse this summer, state officials said yesterday.
"The prediction that we're getting is that there's a pretty high likelihood that we will have a fish kill this summer again," said Mary Lou Mills, marine ecosystem manager with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Oxygen levels this spring in Hood Canal were the lowest measured at this time of year in five decades, according to data from the state Ecology Department. Based on past trends, the levels will continue to drop in the weeks ahead.
Summer sunshine typically triggers the growth of algae. When the plants die, they sink and decompose -- a process that consumes oxygen needed by fish and other marine life.
During the past two years, low oxygen levels have been responsible for three major fish kills in the canal. The most recent kill occurred in October, when about two dozen species of fish washed up on beaches.
Rockfish and six-gill sharks that love the dark depths crammed themselves into the top 20 feet of water, where the little oxygen that's present still could be found, state scientists said. Ling cod and reclusive wolf eels were spotted in the shallows, noticeably in distress.
The Puget Sound Action Team, a state agency, recently estimated that up to 300 tons of pollutants are being released into the canal each year, helping fuel the algal blooms. Sewage released from aging septic systems accounted for the most pollution, followed by farm manure and salmon carcasses that were dumped after being harvested for roe.
The problem is made worse by poor circulation in the 60-mile-long fjord. The upper layers that have more oxygen tend not to mix well with deeper, oxygen-depleted water. A flush of fresh water and exchange with ocean water can improve water quality. But that happens more commonly in the winter months.
Other areas that suffered from low oxygen levels, such as Chesapeake or Delaware bays, have improved once the pollution was curbed, said Jan Newton, senior oceanographer with Ecology and faculty member at University of Washington.
But there is concern about the long-term damage being caused to marine life.
"If things improve, will it be of a timeliness that is useful for the rockfish, for the sea cucumber, for the other things that are feeling the effects of the low oxygen?" she asked.
Fishing for most species in the canal has been prohibited since February, and state Fish and Wildlife officials are expected to make the ban permanent. Fishing for salmon, shrimp and shellfish is allowed.
State and federal governments have taken action to try to solve the problem. They've funded research that is ongoing and this month began soliciting proposals from businesses, organizations, schools, governments and tribes for $600,000 worth of projects that will reduce pollution.
The action was triggered when officials realized the situation was not correcting itself as it had in the past.
The poor water quality has undone some of the recent gains made in the canal's fish populations. Sund Rock, a spot north of Hoodsport, was put off-limits to fishing about a decade ago. Since then, researchers have seen long-lived species, such as rockfish, re-establish themselves in the area.
"The population has been stable and increasing a little bit," said Fish and Wildlife biologist Wayne Palsson.
"It's certainly sad to see this big mortality. The fact that it's getting worse and maybe human-related is very sad."
Getting involved
· To report fish kills, algal blooms or other problems in the water, call the state Department of Ecology's hot line at 800-OILS-911.

· To apply for money for projects to help fix Hood Canal's low-oxygen problem, call Stephanie Lidren, Puget Sound Action Team, at 360-725-5441 or go to http://www.psat.wa.gov/Programs/hood_canal.htm.

· For information on Hood Canal, go to http://www.prism.washington.edu/hcdop/index.html.


6/9/04 – Seattle Times
Massive fish die-off forecast
By Ian Ith
The oxygen levels in Hood Canal remained so low over the winter that another massive bottom-fish die-off is predicted this summer when algae bloom anew, state scientists warned yesterday.
Normally, the winter gives oxygen-starved waterways a chance to recover, as oxygen-sucking algae disappear and new oxygen-rich ocean water blends with the old. But not this time.
Tests by the state Department of Ecology (DOE) in the spring showed that oxygen levels in the deeper waters of Hood Canal stayed critically below average.
"The outlook doesn't look good," said Jan Newton, a University of Washington professor and DOE oceanographer. "This problem is not getting better, it's getting more severe. And we really need to step up our attention to it."
Because it is so narrow and deep, Hood Canal always has been slower than other parts of Puget Sound in replenishing itself with oxygen. But in part because it has been so critically low for at least two years, it started the winter with a deep deficit to overcome.
A year ago this week, more than 50,000 suffocated shiner perch washed up at Potlatch in Mason County. The previous spring, bottom fish were seen gasping at the surface like goldfish whose bowl water hadn't been changed.
For the past three years, Hood Canal has remained closed to fishing for most bottom fish, including halibut, lingcod and herring.
The situation at Hood Canal got so bad that Gov. Gary Locke last winter gave a Puget Sound Action Team $25,000 in emergency funds to study the problem, and a budget has grown to more than $600,000 to pay for programs to try to fix the problems.
Algae blooms in the canal have been identified as the chief culprit. When algae die and decompose, they sponge oxygen out of the water in deadly quantities.
Nitrogen in the water causes the abnormally large blooms. A study released last month said that leaking septic tanks of homes along the canal are the chief source of nitrogen there. Other sources include storm-water runoff and cattle manure that is allowed to seep into streams and rivers that flow to the canal.
The report recommends building a sewer system for Hood Canal residents and enacting programs to curb runoff. Fishermen who discard dead chum salmon into the canal also have been asked to find other ways to get rid of the carcasses.
The Puget Sound Action Team has money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 a project for businesses, schools, local governments or tribes that come up with specific plans. In the meantime, biologists were pleading with homeowners to fix their septic tanks and curb runoff from their lawns.
"Humans do have that ability to tip the balance," Newton said. "And we could be tipping the balance without that much extra effort."


6/9/04 - Bremerton Sun
Hood Canal: A bad situation keeps getting worse
Oxygen levels in Hood Canal have now plunged to such extremely low levels that a strong wind out of the south could be enough to kill thousands of fish at any moment, officials say.
It was a year ago this week that as many as 50,000 shiner perch and many other sea creatures washed up dead on beaches near Potlatch in southern Hood Canal. Today, low-oxygen conditions are even more severe and expected to grow worse as summer arrives.
A south wind tends to push oxygenated surface water to the north, said Jan Newton, an oceanographer with the Washington Department of Ecology. At the south end of Hood Canal, no other surface water is available to take its place, so deadly low-oxygen waters rise up out of the depths and surround fish struggling to breathe near the surface.
If they can’t swim out of the area, they will die.
“They lose their refuge in the top layer of the water,” Newton said.
The total amount of dissolved oxygen in southern Hood Canal waters — known as the “oxygen inventory” — has not increased since last June. In fact, measurements taken in May show it to be dropping even further. Sunny weather is expected to create a boom of plankton growth, and when the microscopic organisms die, they sink and consume available oxygen.
“Hood Canal has never recovered at all from June of ‘03 to March of ‘04, and now (dissolved oxygen) is starting to go down even more,” Newton said.
Dissolved oxygen levels below 3 parts per million are considered potentially deadly to many kinds of sealife. South of Potlatch, those levels are already found in most water deeper than 20 feet. Closer to Belfair, that level is reached in water deeper than 10 feet.
Because of the vulnerability of marine life, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has kept the canal closed to most fishing. Fishers are not permitted to take halibut, lingcod, herring, smelt, squid, octopus, sea cucumbers and most species of bottom fish.
State officials stand ready to investigate any fish kills this year, but they’ll need an early warning, Newton said. Experts hope to take samples of water, fish and plankton during the fish kill to get a better idea about how the dynamic system works in Hood Canal.
Anyone who sees a fish kill, algae bloom or anything unusual in the water is asked to call Ecology’s emergency-spills hotline, (800) OILS-911.
Residents who live in the Hood Canal watershed are asked to do whatever they can around their homes to reduce nitrogen flowing into Hood Canal, such as reducing surface water runoff.
Last week, Puget Sound Action Team announced a program to fund projects to help reduce nitrogen going into Hood Canal. Businesses, organizations and schools as well as local and tribal governments are invited to submit proposals.


6/10/04 - Longview Daily News/ Associated Press
Low oxygen levels continue to threaten Hood Canal aquatic life
OLYMPIA -- Scientists are predicting more fish kills in Hood Canal this summer as extremely low oxygen levels in the deep fjord put aquatic life under stress.

"The odds are more and more fish and shellfish will die because there is simply less oxygen than there ever has been historically," said Jan Newton, an oceanographer with the state Department of Ecology.

Last year, thousands of shiner perch and many other sea creatures suffocated in the deep, narrow inlet that separates Washington's Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas.

Scientists say conditions are worse today than they were then -- and things don't look like they're improving.

Fish and other marine life need dissolved oxygen to breathe. Oxygen levels below 3 parts per million are considered life-threatening to many kinds of sea life. This year, such levels already have been found in water deeper than 10 or 20 feet in some parts of the canal, even though oxygen levels usually reach their lowest levels in late summer and fall, Newton said Tuesday.

"We're starting out much lower than we've seen in the past," she said.

Last month, the state issued a preliminary action plan blaming Hood Canal's "dead-zone" problem on excess nitrogen from septic systems, stormwater runoff, discarded salmon carcasses, livestock manure and fertilizers, among other sources.

Excess nitrogen accelerates the growth of aquatic plants like algae. Sunny weather also encourages plankton growth, and when the microscopic organisms die, they sink and consume available oxygen.


6/10/04 - Bremerton Sun
Editorial - Canal must be saved
Since Hood Canal had its first fishing closure in October 2002 due to low-oxygen problems, much has happened.

In January 2003, researchers and environmentalists said that unless corrected, low oxygen levels could turn Hood Canal into a "dead sea" for marine life.

State and federal funding sources were found to begin studies of the problem.

Recently, an investigation of nitrogen sources linked to low oxygen levels indicates that human sewage contributes about 60 percent of nitrogen going into the canal.

Now, 20 months after the early alarms were sounded, Hood Canal is closer than ever to becoming a "dead sea." One year ago this week, about 50,000 perch and many other sea creatures were washed up, dead, on the shores of southern Hood Canal. But oxygen levels are even lower now and expected to worsen this summer.

Nitrogen and sunny weather increase the growth of plankton, which die, sink to the bottom and consume oxygen as they decompose. As more fish and other marine creatures die, they also decompose and consume oxygen, worsening the problem. Unless corrective action is taken, this could create a "death spiral" with low oxygen causing dead fish, which in turn reduce oxygen levels.

There are no simple answers.

Some individual septic systems in the area are marginal or failing but even those functioning properly and meeting county code requirements are adding nitrogen to Hood Canal. That's because on-site septic/drainfield systems aren't designed to remove nitrogen.

Because Hood Canal actually is a closed fiord without strong "flushing" action that brings in more oxygen-laden seawater, the problem of man-caused nitrogen in the canal also is more critical than it would be in another waterway.

What can be done?

At a grass-roots level, residents can maintain their septic systems in good working order, and cut back on indoor water usage to reduce outflow through drainfields. Pick up and dispose of pet waste properly; reduce use of fertilizers, pesticides and fertilizers to prevent wash-down into watersheds; maintain natural vegetation along shorelines.

Beyond that, major and costly changes may be needed. Sewage treatment is coming to Belfair, but that probably won't help canal areas beyond the urban growth area. For outlying populated areas, such as Hoodsport, smaller treatment plants might be an option. Or the county could change its septic system rules, requiring on-site systems to require nitrogen. All of these measures would be extremely costly for local governments and residents.

Hood Canal marine life is an irreplaceable natural resource and one that puts millions of dollars into the economy through shellfish and other commodities.

What's needed is a determined effort to save it, beginning with public education and a unity of will to prevent minimize man-caused damage. Beyond that, more state and federal funding will be needed to more specifically diagnose Hood Canal's problems and restore it to health.

These are things all canal-area residents should consider, particularly in summer months of higher outdoor activity around their homes. And in the pre-election season this fall, they should question candidates about these issues, and impress upon them the fact that taxpayer dollars would be soundly invested if they can stop Hood Canal's spiral toward becoming a dead sea.

Here's some more articles, hopefully this will clear up any misconceptions out there. For more detailed info visit the links in the previous post.

6/11/04 – Bremerton Sun
Dicks pushes money for Hood Canal
By Christopher Dunagan
U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, is pushing to secure $2 million in next year’s defense budget for extensive water monitoring and computer modeling to deal with the low-oxygen crisis in Hood Canal.
The money has been approved by the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, of which Dicks is a member, and it will now move to the full House Appropriations Committee and then on to the Senate.
“We’re looking for some answers, because this is truly a crisis,” Dicks said. “If we have a hot summer it could be a real disaster for these creatures in Hood Canal.”
A little more than a year ago, Dicks met with a committee of representatives from 17 government and community organizations. Experts were trying to understand why dissolved oxygen in the canal had plunged to deadly levels.
The group showed Dicks a plan to gain solid answers, but it would require a three-year, $3 million program. Dicks told the group he would go to work.
The proposed $2 million would go to the Applied Physics Laboratory, a University of Washington program that works closely with the Navy. Dicks said he would seek another $1 million next year and encourage the state Legislature to provide additional funding for related projects.
“It’s obvious to me that the county commissioners of Kitsap, Mason and Jefferson will have to take some actions with their septic programs,” Dicks said, noting that 10 percent to 15 percent of homeowners in North Mason have refused to cooperate in a voluntary inspection program.
Jan Newton, an oceanographer who helped design the three-year research program, said the funding will provide for five monitoring buoys to take measurements of the water at various depths.
“The buoys will record data around the clock,” said Newton, who works for the UW and Washington Department of Ecology. “One of the things we don’t understand is the difference between measurements during the day and measurements at night or when it’s stormy.”
The monitoring information is needed to create a computer model — essentially a mathematical version of the canal in which factors can be altered to measure results.
Once the model is working, one could see what might happen if some or all of the septic systems were removed, for example. The model will be able to predict the effects of more or less sunlight, which triggers the growth of plankton, believed to play a major role in oxygen depletion.
The funding also will be used to monitor streams throughout the watershed and to understand long-term effects of low-oxygen levels on sealife that survive.
“When we started to see this ..., we said we need to understand what is causing this,” Newton said. “But we had no money. We have been seeing the canal deteriorate. If we can get the funds to complete the study, I think we understand things better and deal with the problem.”


6/11/04 – KIRO radio
Hood Canal
Congressman Norm Dicks is working to secure two million dollars in the defense budget to study low-oxygen levels in Hood Canal. The money would go to the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington to set up a network of monitoring buoys. Low oxygen levels have been blamed for fish kills in Hood Canal in the past.


6/13/04 – PI
Editorial: Hood Canal needs help, ideas and laws
Hood Canal needs help.
The beloved fjord is in big trouble. Pollution from septic systems, storm water runoff and other human sources are killing marine life.
Scientists say there is a likelihood of another fish kill this summer. Last October, parts of the canal became a dead zone.
A ban on fishing for many species has been in effect since February and may become permanent. But that is just the start of what is needed to bring marine life in the canal back to healthy levels.
What we have so far is the kind of slow-paced, low-key response that might have worked 20 years ago, when Hood Canal's problems were receiving another burst of attention. With help from the federal government, the state is working to address the problems. Gov. Gary Locke, the state's Puget Sound Action Team and the Legislature have devoted increasing attention to the issue.
Good science is emerging. A plan has been developed that provides at least a start for action. A federally and state-funded program seeks innovative pilot projects. That's very worthwhile. But the state needs bolder ideas.
Kathy Fletcher, executive director of the People for Puget Sound advocacy group, says it's understandable that politicians worry about voter reaction, especially to regulations. So, voters must demand this year's candidates, particularly those running for governor, talk specifically about what they will do to help Hood Canal and the rest of Puget Sound.
New regulations alone would do little. But a requirement for new sewage hookups, for instance, could be useful if combined with extended deadlines, state help to communities building new wastewater facilities and zero- or low-interest loans to property owners for improvements. In Pacific County, the state is using a shellfish account to fund loans to homeowners, so they can reduce pollution from septic systems.
Many other innovative ideas could be imagined. And voluntary actions, such as less use of fertilizer, can make a difference. But laws have to be strengthened, as well.
Hood Canal residents, who moved there because they love the area, seem energized about making changes. But until we have political leadership that pulls together good will, new ideas and more state funding, Hood Canal will keep struggling. And the rest of Puget Sound will be in danger of similar declines.