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The City of Bellingham began enforcing mandatory water rationing as of 3 p.m. Thursday (July 30). All lawn and landscape watering is prohibited in Bellingham until further notice, a severe blow to gardeners hoping to nurse plants and trees through the record heat spell.
A hot weather algae bloom has so clogged the city's water filtration system that it's "impacting the city's ability to provide water to residents, businesses, and critical facilities, while still maintaining water reserves required for fire flow and emergency services," Mayor Dan Pike told residents in an automated telephone call at mid-afternoon. An announcement posted on the city's web site warns that violators are subject to fines and water service shut off. The web site carries a telephone number for reporting violators anonymously.
Bellingham's municipal water supply, which serves the city of 75,000 and another 20,000 in a suburban service area, is the generally unprotected Lake Whatcom along the city's eastern boundary. The lake features virtually wide open public access. Only recently did Bellingham and Whatcom County agree to curtail housing development within the watershed and begin enforcing regulations aimed at stopping runoff of phosphorous into the lake, which is created from grading by developers and lawn fertilizing by home owners.
The phosphorous and other nutrients feed a wildly growing algae infestation. It's the algae, not a quantitative shortage of water, that has brought the emergency shutdown.
As Crosscut reported last year, the Washington Department of Ecology ordered the city, and county in May of 2008 to enforce draconian measures controlling land development around the lake. The City responded by invoking a moratorium on new housing within the part of the watershed that lies inside city boundaries. However the greatest acreage by far lies in unincorporated Whatcom County, whose officials say they are moving deliberatively to conform to Ecology's demands.
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Comments:
Posted Fri, Jul 31, 10:31 a.m. Inappropriate
What's the source for the story teaser's conclusion that algae blooms in Lake Whatcom are "created by shoreline development?" From what I've read, it might be caused by runoff into the lake that's development-related. And it might be simply the freakish hot weather.
Posted Fri, Jul 31, 4:04 p.m. Inappropriate
Whatever the details of the algae problem, it's undeniable that Bellingham has been lethargic, if not negligent, about securing its water supply. (The article doesn't mention that water is first diverted from the Middle Fork Nooksack to Lake Whatcom, which although it is a large lake, has itself a relatively small watershed.)
Of course it would have been far better and far cheaper had Bham moved to protect the Lk Whatcom watershed before the McMansion invasion. With so many people now living in the watershed, it will be interesting to see whether Bham will be able to regulate their behavior to protect its water. Don't hold your breath. They have a real mess on their hands. At least Seattle has mostly acquired its watersheds. If we could just shut down Seattle's expensive and destructive "restoration logging," and send most of the 80-odd people working in the watersheds packing (can you say "sinecure?") we might be able to rest easy about the places and the water.
Posted Mon, Aug 3, 3:58 p.m. Inappropriate
How and why Whatcom County was allowed to permit the relatively intense development of its primary water shed is quite concerning. It appears the County has acted irresponsibly and is now paying the price for failing to adequately secure their drinking water. Interestingly a similar situation is currently playing out in upper Kittitas County with regard to un-permitted wells and water withdrawals. Although this is a horrible situation for Whatcom County residents hopefully it will bring attention to the fact that even here in the Pacific Northwest drinking water is a finite and precious commodity.
Posted Mon, Aug 3, 9:18 p.m. Inappropriate
As a Whatcom County resident, I am sure it is puzzling to most how Lake Whatcom could be degraded so. "Bjohn" is absolutely correct - the County has acted irresponsibly, and the City hasn't done a whole lot either (even though only a small part of the watershed is inside the city limits). As we have seen over and over at the federal level, it is easiest for politicians to push the problem on down the line (into the future) for someone else to deal with, while making it seem like they are actually doing something about it.
One thing to remember when considering Lake Whatcom as a water source - a fairly significant part of the watershed was platted prior to 1900; some of this area is very close to the city itself. You might think - what would happen if Lake Sammamish were someone's drinking water source? Obviously those folks would be in a heap of trouble about now.