Ecology seeks comments on draft permits for municipal stormwater

Stormwater runoff is a leading pollution threat to lakes, rivers, streams and marine water bodies in urban areas of Washington State. As rain and snowmelt runs off rooftops, paved streets, highways, and parking lots, it increases in speed and volume, and can pick up pollution such as oil, fertilizers, pesticides, soil, trash, and animal manure. These pollutants are carried into local bodies of water, where they can impact water quality and habitat.

Under federal and state laws, the Department of Ecology issues permits to control harmful runoff pollution that can affect rivers, lakes, and groundwater across the state. The most-populated cities and counties have stormwater permits aimed at reducing stormwater pollution at its source, treating it, and controlling volume and flow, so cleaner water goes into our creeks, lakes, groundwater and Puget Sound.

You can submit comments on the draft permits from Aug. 15 through Nov. 14, 2018. Find all draft permits, supporting documents, and information on how to submit comments on our reissuance webpage.

Three stormwater permits

Municipal stormwater permits are divided into three categories: Phase I, Western Washington Phase II, and Eastern Washington Phase II. Permits are divided based on population and by geography. We separate the Phase II permits into east and west because differences in climate and how the land absorbs water require different stormwater management measures. We review and update these permits every five years to add new science and clarify requirements.

What’s changing from the last versions?

Differences from the current permits include adding requirements for comprehensive stormwater planning and controlling sources of stormwater from existing businesses. We also refined language throughout to clarify: operations and maintenance, public education, controlling runoff for new and redevelopment, structural stormwater controls, and improving annual reporting. We also revised and added any new applicable Total Maximum Daily Load requirements.

Listening to stakeholders throughout the process 

We’ve gotten feedback from many stakeholders throughout this update process. In 2016, permittees, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties organized a series of committee meetings to develop recommendations for permit revisions prior to starting the writing process.

From February to April 2017, we hosted listening sessions in both western and eastern Washington, and we gathered email and online comments with more specific input. We considered these comments as we developed the permit revisions.

In western Washington, we also provided an additional public review opportunity in the fall of 2017 with an informal public comment session on preliminary draft permit language for specific topics. This extra step in the public process provided valuable input from a wide range of interested parties. We considered those comments as we developed these draft permits.

How to comment

Now we’ve begun our formal comment period, and we invite comments on the formal draft documents from Aug. 15 through Nov. 14, 2018. You can find all three draft permits and supporting documents, as well as information on how to submit comments, on our reissuance webpage.

We will also be holding a series of workshops and public hearings. Information on workshops and public hearings can be found on our public events page.

Once we end the comment period, we will review and respond to comments. Our response to comments will be included in the final permit documents. We intend to reissue the final permits July 1, 2019.

Watching the water supply

Snow is piling up at Paradise on Mt. Rainier. Photo: National Park Service webcam

This blog post is part of an ongoing series about water supply. Please click here to read the previous post. If you want to learn more, visit our Washington water supply information page.

It’s a new year and a good time to check in on our statewide water supply. Winter usually puts less pressure on our water supply because of reduced demand for water in homes and less agricultural irrigation. But communities and farms are already starting to plan for the drier and warmer months -- and experts are watching the conditions closely.

Looking back at 2016

For Washington state as a whole, 2016 was a slightly warmer, wetter-than-normal year. Temperature-wise, the state was 1 to 2 degrees warmer than average annually, and March through May tied 1992 for record warmth.

The balmy spring caused our snowpack to melt at record rates. In early April, the state snowpack was slightly above normal. By late May, it was less than 50 percent of normal. This raised some concern that water supplies might be pinched later in the summer, but a switch to wetter conditions and more moderate temperatures in June and July made things manageable. Still, there were some watersheds in southwest Washington where dry conditions caused total runoff during the spring and summer to be even lower than 2015 – a drought year.

This fall, the warmth returned along with long stretches of rainy days. Averaged statewide, October and November were the second-warmest on record (3.3 degrees above normal) and wettest on record (6.61 inches above normal). The pattern changed in December, though, when cooler, drier weather swept in. Most of the state was chilly – with many areas a few degrees below normal – for the first few weeks of the month.

Status of our supplies

We’re starting 2017 with good snowpack. Let’s take a closer look at water supply as of Jan. 5 and forecasts for the future:

The sun peeks out over a snowy scene on Hurricane Ridge. 

The Olympic Mountains have 126 percent of normal snowpack
for this time of year. Photo: National Park Service webcam

Weather and outlook | Looking ahead, state climatologists are expecting La Niña conditions (cool and wet) to shape our regional climate, but there’s a good chance we’ll switch into neutral conditions (neither La Niña nor El Niño) later this winter. Forecast models aren’t clear on temperature heading into spring, but they are predicting wetter-than-normal weather. Beyond spring, the forecast models aren’t saying much.

Mountain snowpack | Mountain snow is critical because it serves as a reservoir during spring and summer, gradually melting and feeding rivers and streams. Our mountain snowpack got a late start this year but is currently looking good. The lower Columbia, central Puget Sound and Olympic regions, in particular, are doing great with more than 125 percent of normal snowpack for this time of year. The mountains near Spokane are somewhat behind schedule, but they’re still looking decent with 77 percent of normal snowpack.

Rivers and streams | Experts are seeing typical conditions for our state’s rivers and streams. Daily streamflows are mostly in the normal range. Flows are dropping below normal during cold snaps, when snowmelt stops.

Agriculture | The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reports that storage levels at the five reservoirs in the Yakima River basin, a major agricultural center, are at 107 percent of normal. Precipitation from October to the end of December is about 94 percent of normal in the Yakima region.

Drinking water | Drinking water supplies in our state’s big cities are in good shape. At the beginning of September, Everett’s water storage was 110 percent of normal for that time of year. Seattle’s combined reservoir storage is also above normal for this time of year. Tacoma reports that both precipitation and snowpack levels are above normal at the Lynn Lake monitoring site near the Howard Hanson Reservoir.

How you can help

We all have a role to play in conserving water, even in winter! Here one way you can make a difference:

• Insulate outdoor spigots to prevent them from freezing and bursting. If you have an outdoor garden hose, remove and drain it. This video from the Saving Water Partnership has more information.

For more tips, visit our water conservation page.

By Kristin Johnson-Waggoner, Water Resources Program communications manager

Watching the water supply

This blog post is part of an ongoing series about water supply conditions. Please click here to read the previous post. If you want to learn more, visit our Washington water supply information page.

Have we seen the last of summer’s high temperatures? The arrival of more moderate weather may feel like fall for many of us across the state. As we begin to transition into the next season, let’s check in on our statewide water supply conditions.

Status of our supplies

Weather impacts | Cooler and wetter weather is on the way. Over the next 10 days, Washington will receive much-needed rain. While the amount may be modest, it will help our rivers and streams rebuild to higher levels while lowering water temperatures.

The Walla Walla River in southeast Washington ran low in

August. 

Rivers and streams | This is the time of year when rivers and streams are at their lowest levels. The snowpack is long gone and rain has been infrequent, so rivers and streams are relying on groundwater. Currently, about 48 percent of our streams and rivers are at below-average levels compared to historical flows. Most of these are in the western half the state, though southeast Washington also has a number of low rivers. These dry areas have gone without their usual share of precipitation since early spring.

Last year, we experienced a record-setting drought that resulted in 70 to 80 percent of our rivers being below-average for most of the summer. But in mid- and late August, the weather turned cooler and thunderstorms rolled across the state, dropping the percent of rivers flowing at below-average conditions to 40 percent. Compared to last summer at the end of August, our rivers are actually faring worse because we haven’t had those big storms yet.

Agriculture | Most of Washington’s agricultural areas experienced a dry and hot August. Crops are doing well for the most part, but farm ponds and reservoirs are getting low. The large federal reservoirs used for irrigation in the Yakima River Basin are at about normal levels, which is good for farms and fish. Farmers in the Yakima region holding junior water rights are receiving 94 percent of a full water supply. Senior users have 100 percent.

Bull trout in Bumping Lake, a reservoir in Yakima County,

are heading up tributaries to spawn. Photo: WDFW

Fish | Low flow levels in rivers and streams can be tough for fish, but cooler overnight temperatures are helping. In the Puget Sound area, streams are averaging 1 to 3 degrees Celsius cooler than in 2015. To the north, the South Fork Nooksack River is about the same temperature as last year. The Chehalis River and nearby southwest Washington streams are running very low compared to normal. Good news can be found in the Upper Yakima and Naches river basins, where bull trout have started moving out of Bumping Lake and into streams to spawn. That’s encouraging after what happened last summer, when low lake levels prevented the fish from moving into Deep Creek, an important bull trout stronghold.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife continues to watch for recreational rock dams that might impede upstream adult salmon passage.

Drinking water | Drinking water supplies are doing well. Seattle, Everett and Tacoma report normal or above-average water supplies.

How you can help

We all have a role to play in conserving water. Here are two ways you can make a difference:

• When washing your hands, turn off the water while you lather up.
• Don’t use your toilet as a wastebasket. Even better, use a leak-free, high-efficiency toilet. Toilets are by far the main source of water use in our homes – they account for nearly 30 percent of residential indoor water consumption.

For more tips, visit our water conservation page.

By Kristin Johnson-Waggoner, Water Resources Program communications manager

Watching the water supply

This blog post is part of an ongoing series about water supply conditions. Please click here to read the previous post. If you want to learn more, visit our Washington water supply information page.

Goodbye hoodies, hello flip-flops – summer temperatures are here! Despite the heat, our water supplies continue to be in good shape statewide. We can thank the recent cool, wet “Jultober” conditions for reducing water demand and improving water supplies. Those moderate conditions felt much different from last summer, when we were in a statewide drought emergency.

Status of our supplies

Weather impacts | If late June and early July felt cooler than usual to you, you’re not wrong. Average temperatures for the last month were within 2 degrees of average statewide, with most of the state being below average. Things changed late last week when the heat set in, especially on the east side. Yakima hit 102 on Monday, tying the record high for that day. Looking ahead, the weather is expected to cool off a bit in the coming days.

Precipitation amounts have been varied, depending on the region. Over the past 30 days, the north Olympic Peninsula has been drier than average while the eastern slope of the Cascades and southeast Washington have been wetter than average. Record daily rainfalls were recorded recently in Seattle, Kennewick and near Walla Walla. Flash flooding even caused some road closures in Chelan and Douglas counties.

Rivers and streams | As of today, 28 percent of rivers are below normal. Our rivers, in an aggregated sense, are just shy of normal flows. That said, in a few rivers – about 7 percent – flows are much lower than average or are at record low conditions.

Agriculture | The Yakima River Basin, our drought bellwether, continues to have a good water supply. Junior water users are being prorated to 90 percent of full supply. Last year, it was 46 percent. Summer storms have helped rivers in some areas, especially on the east side, and reduced the need for continual irrigation.

A bull trout navigates an upper tributary of the 

Yakima River. Photo: William Meyers/WDFW

Fish | Our fish are doing alright, despite some areas of high water temperatures. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is monitoring conditions closely and may take action to protect vulnerable fish populations. Visit their website to learn more. Overall, the toughest part of the year for fish was spring, but this summer so far is better than last year.

Drinking water | Drinking water supplies in Seattle, Tacoma and Everett are in good shape.

What’s next

The Water Supply Availability Committee (WSAC) will hold its monthly meeting on Aug. 11. This committee is a team of experts from state and national agencies who review data and discuss potential water shortages. If conditions warrant, this committee can convene the Executive Water Emergency Committee (EWEC), which is made of state agency leaders with a stake in water supplies. These leaders assess findings from WSAC and determine whether water users in affected areas will likely incur undue hardships. EWEC can recommend the governor consider an emergency drought declaration.

How you can help

It’s easy to make water conservation part of your daily routine. Here are two tips that will save water and money:

• Wash only full loads of laundry or use the appropriate water level/load size selection on the washing machine.
• Want a nice, cold glass of water? Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run until the water is cool.

For more tips, visit our water conservation page.

By Kristin Johnson-Waggoner, Water Resources Program communications manager