Island County’s ambitious Water Quality Monitoring Program is accomplishing more than merely testing the waters, it is forming a basis by which the local government can be more malleable when setting regulations.

The five-year, $1.2 million program was initiated by the Island County Commissioners a year ago to collect surface water quality data with the goal of identifying water quality trends in watersheds where development and agricultural activities are taking place.

“Surface water eventually flows into Puget Sound,” said Chris Wilson, Island County Planning and Community Development resource enhancement program manager. “At times it may contain pollutants from both point and non-point sources.”

The sources could include oils from impervious surfaces such as parking lots and roofs. Other possible sources of pollution are barnyards, improperly fertilized lawns and malfunctioning septic systems.

Forty-seven watersheds are currently being tested in Island County. Of the 47, 24 represent baseline watersheds. And of the 24, eight watersheds represent the potential impacts from development activities, eight represent the total impacts from agricultural activities, and the final eight contain little or none of the activities.

Kirsten Harma and Janielle Marcell, county water quality specialists, are constantly out in the field testing and monitoring the water quality in the watersheds. The duo sample from roadside outfalls and ditches, wetlands, bogs and ponds on publicly-owned land, or land where the private property owner has given permission.

The massive amounts of data being collected will be studied exhaustively to reveal long-term trends.

“It’s going to take a big set of data to make any comparisons or form conclusions that are viable, useable and scientifically accurate,” Wilson said. “That’s why it’s a five-year project.”

The planning staff began working on the project in early July last year, acquiring specialists and equipment. Testing started in mid-October, but with one hitch: Watersheds and stream basins in Island County are minute and seasonally non-existent.

“A stream in Island County is often what most people would call a ditch,” Wilson said. “We don’t have huge river systems that provide us with water we can readily sample. In October there were very few watersheds that we could collect water from. We were visiting them and they were dry.”

Water started flowing again by December, allowing for a solid testing schedule. But Wilson said the watersheds are now already starting to dry up.

“It makes it a little more difficult to get a large enough data set to start making decisions about,” he said. “That’s the challenge. If the water only flows for a few months of the year, we only have the opportunity to collect a finite amount of data. Ideally we would have water flowing year-round. That would be much easier.”

Impact on landowners

What does the program mean to landowners?

The county planning department is examining regulations and wants to adapt them to address real situations. That’s where the water quality data comes in.

“What this program is really trying to do overall is look at the requirements and regulations we’re imposing on property owners in Island County and make sure that they’re based on sound science and true water quality conditions,” Wilson said.

Rather than use blanket regulations, the program will produce a watershed-specific system for determining the most fair and conscionable requirements. Some existing regulations, for example, specify that livestock cannot be within 100 feet of stream.

“We don’t know if that’s adequately protecting the resource, or if it’s resulting in over-regulating the property owner,” Wilson said.

The county will approach each situation with its own management plan, recognizing that each watershed is unique.

“We’d like to adapt the regulations to real situations,” the resource enhancement manager said. “Is 100 feet enough to protect a land resource, like a wetland, or is it too much? Some activities may require a 150-foot buffer, but others may require a 50-foot buffer. We want the regs and criteria that we impose on property owners to actually match the requirements needed to protect the resources.”

‘A formidable undertaking’

Physically assessing the water quality conditions in the county is a formidable undertaking. Wilson said the program thus far is progressing at a nice rate. The summer should provide the staff ample time to begin crunching numbers and assessing the quality of the information.

“Right now it’s too preliminary, too small of a data set to provide much use,” Wilson said.

Before testing began, the program crew prioritized watersheds based on activity, abandoning some sites in lieu of others that provided water that could be collected while best representing specific land uses. A flexible staff has helped decision making on the fly.

“We’ve managed to adapt to some conditions that we originally didn’t perceive to be a problem,” Wilson added. “The staff we have is good. They’re highly trained and well-educated. It’s been a pleasure to have them around to bounce ideas off.”

The resource enhancement manager said that the county will publish the first year’s worth of data this summer.

“But because the information is limited, it will need to have the subsequent years’ findings to be of significant application,” Wilson said.

Wilson presented an overview of the county’s program in March at the Georgia Straits Commission Conference, an annual gathering of scientists from throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

“Island County’s program is at the forefront of how local governments are beginning to respond to a need to have scientific-based information before regulations are applied,” Wilson said.