Watching Our Water Ways

Sharing water resources over a wide region is an idea that goes hand-in-hand with the Growth Management Act’s strategy of concentrating population in urban areas while protecting rural areas.

Of course, the first level of action is water conservation. But the ability to take water from one aquifer with an adequate water supply while protecting an overtaxed aquifer somewhere else makes a lot of sense.

That’s the idea behind building new pipelines to connect numerous water systems across a good portion of Kitsap County, including Silverdale. I described the latest steps in this plan in a story published in Monday’s Kitsap Sun.

Thirty years ago — before the Growth Management Act was passed — I recall talking to folks at the Kitsap Public Utility District, who declared that they were not in the land-use business and had no intention of getting involved in land-use battles. It was the job of the Kitsap County commissioners to decide where to put the growth, they said. The PUD staff and commissioners believed their role was to provide water for the growing population, wherever it goes. Check out this Kitsap Sun story from Feb. 25, 2001.

The state’s Municipal Water Law of 2003 clarified that the KPUD could deliver water from one place to another throughout its service area — which is all of Kitsap County. That allows water to be brought to developed areas in North Kitsap, where annual rainfall is half of what we see in the forested areas of Southwest Kitsap, where the Seabeck aquifer is located. (See annual precipitation map on this page.)

Many environmentalists have objected to certain portions of the Municipal Water Law, especially sections that included developers as municipal water suppliers — a move they say opens the door for abuse by financial interests.

One of the big concerns in water management is that pumping too much from an aquifer — especially a shallow aquifer — could disrupt the subsurface flows and springs that maintain stream levels in the summer and early fall. Adequate streamflows are needed for many species, not the least of which are salmon.

With adequate monitoring, as needed for planning, experts can track groundwater levels and streamflows to avoid such problems. Pipelines allow aquifers to be “rested” when needed. And elected PUD commissioners can be held accountable for their decisions regarding the regional management of water.

Future water supplies and the right to use the water constitute one of the most complicated issues in environmental law. A 2003 paper by the Washington Department of Ecology, called “Mitigation Measures Used in Water Rights Permitting” outlines some of the methods being used to protect natural systems and competing water rights. Mitigation for use of the Seabeck aquifer, which is an important water supply in Kitsap County, is described briefly on pages 19 and 20.

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The long-, long-, long-awaited court ruling in the so-called culvert case has finally been issued. The bottom line is that the Washington Department of Transportation has been given 17 years to upgrade all state culverts to accepted standards to allow fish passage.

That’s basically what 21 Western Washington tribes asked for when they proposed a court order three years ago. Actually, the tribes asked for 20 years, but Judge Ricardo Martinez subtracted the three years that they waited for a final decision in the case, first filed in 2001. See my latest story in Saturday’s Kitsap Sun, or review the history in an article published in January.

How much effect this case will have on the state budget is hard to say. The state will likely appeal, because there’s so much at stake — including the tribes’ authority to affect how the state spends its money. As I see it, under Martinez’ ruling, treaty obligations are not much different than the constitutional obligations the state has to provide “basic education.” And we all have seen how the governor and Legislature are looking under rocks to find money for that purpose.

One estimate of the cost of fixing all the culverts is $1.9 billion, but that’s assuming the state has a complete inventory. It could be more. Martinez wants to see a complete inventory within six months. People concerned about salmon will probably make sure their least-favorite state culverts are on the list.

The latest “Fish Passage Barrier Inventory” (PDF 5 mb), completed last July, identifies about 1,500 culverts that block significant upstream habitat. That inventory and other information can be found on WDOT’s website “Fish Passage.”

If you’d like to read Martinez’ ruling — which includes information on the treaties, salmon habitat needs and culvert history — download the decision (PDF 111 kb) here and the injunction (PDF 45 kb) here.

Through all these years, WDOT has not been ignoring the problem. As I have reported, the state has been upgrading culverts while doing major road repairs and also increasing the budget for stand-alone culvert replacement.

But at the current pace, it could take between 50 and 75 years to get all the work done, maybe more. These are just guesses provided to me, based on the average cost of repairs, but every culvert is different.

Near the upper end of the scale, replacement of a culvert that carries Chico Creek under Highway 3 is estimated to cost between $20 million and $30 million alone. The project will require several bridges for the four-lane freeway north of Bremerton plus on- and off- ramps in that location.

State officials are very aware of this Chico Creek culvert, which lies at the mouth of what has been called the Kitsap Peninsula’s most productive salmon stream. Salmon are getting through the culvert, but it’s a struggle. The culvert is considered a high priority by all, but replacement will probably take a special appropriation from Congress or the Legislature, or both.

As I watch our state highways deteriorate, I keep thinking back to the 1960s and early ‘70s when Washington had some of the best roads in the country. It was a pleasure to drive back then, if my memory isn’t faulty. Although money is needed to repair roads today, I think a good argument can be made that salmon were here first and should have been considered when the roads were built. Failing that, many people consider it essential to make things right now.

I should point out that the ruling does not immediately affect county roads or other projects that block the passage of salmon or affect salmon habitat. However, for better or worse, the legal principles established by the 1974 Boldt decision and reinforced by this culvert case could open the door to other types of court-ordered repairs to salmon habitat.

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We used to call them “practical jokes.” My wife’s family has a long tradition of pulling tricks on people — a tradition that has made me the victim too many times to count, a tradition that now has caught on with our grandchildren.

Through the years, television has captured the reactions of many prank victims, beginning with “Candid Camera,” a show that dates back to the earliest days of television. At least 10 TV shows have been based on tricking people, according to Maccorley Mathieu of Star Pulse, who listed his “Top 10” prank shows for April Fool’s Day in 2010.

One of the tickster shows is the ongoing Canadian production “Just for Laughs” and its later version involving children, called “Kidding Around.” In honor of April Fool’s Day, I’ve borrowed a few water-related videos from this program to amuse you today. If that’s not enough, check out the YouTube pages where you will find these:

Fire Hydrant Explosion Gag

Wet and Dry Twins

Laptop Water Damage

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Crazy Watermelon Spray

Shark Attack!

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I just completed the second part of a yearlong series I’m writing about the Puget Sound ecosystem and the 21 “vital signs” indicators chosen by the Puget Sound Partnership to measure the health of the sound.

This second part, published in Sunday’s Kitsap Sun, consists of stories about the food web, including plankton and eelgrass; forage fish, including herring; and bulkheads, which are generally considered a threat to the nearshore ecosystem.

I was trying to cover the lower half of the food web, to build a foundation for the other parts to come.

I talked to a lot of experts on these issues and ended up writing one of the largest story packages I’ve ever written. Still, I barely touched the surface of these topics. I guess I’ll have to return later to dig a little deeper.

Scientists often say, the more they know, the more they realize what little they know, or something like that. I’ve always tried to help people understand the complexities of environmental science, but there are no simple answers.

That’s why the Puget Sound Partnership is an important bridge between policymakers and scientists. We have enough tools to know what should be done to save Puget Sound, but how do we know what projects should come before others? What can we afford to do? And how do we measure success or failure? Those are the questions challenging the partnership at the moment.

I would like to thank all the researchers willing to give their time to this project as well as Kitsap Sun staffers who helped crunch the numbers and produce the graphics for the story package, as well as the editors who offered ideas along the way.

The overall series is called “Taking the Pulse of Puget Sound.”
The second part is pulled together on a webpage called “Food web’s base”
Stories in the second part are:
Environment’s health starts at the bottom
The foundation of all life in Puget Sound
Herring, other forage fish, at risk
Eelgrass is both food and shelter
Shoreline armoring threatens base of the food web

Sinclair Inlet last August was awash in colorful plankton. This photo was taken over Port Orchard, looking toward Gorst.
Photo by Christopher Krembs, Eyes Over Puget Sound

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Parental instincts are on stark display in this video, below, showing a pair of fish protecting their eggs against an aggressive turtle, who no doubt wants to make a meal of their unhatched offspring.

The conflict takes place in Africa’s Lake Tanganyika. At first glance, you have to wonder how these fish, known as emperor cichlids, could possibly hold off the larger terrapin. But they do.

Another kind of fish-vs-turtle contest is the classic tug-of-war involving a worm. I found two videos in which a goldfish in an aquarium tries to steal a worm from a turtle. In each, the fish is at least partially successful. The longer (2.5-minute) video on Benjenings Channel plays up the drama; the shorter (22-second) video on Stonemanjosh Channel gets right to the moment of truth.

Can a turtle and goldfish be friends? They can, according to this sweet little video by Chibikana70.

But if you want to understand the more common scenario between turtle and goldfish, just search in YouTube for “turtle eating goldfish” and choose from the long list. You’ll find out more about the dark side of life than you wish to know.

I used to include some epic battles in this “Amusing Monday” feature. (Remember the octopus-vs-shark video taken at the Seattle Aquarium?) But some readers objected to violent battles ending in death, so I’ve kind of steered away from them. But I’m still fascinated by closely matched conflicts, such as the alligator against the python. Check out this video from “Nature,” originally broadcast on PBS.

As the narrator of the alligator-python battle explains:

“Alligators were once the undisputed reptile kings of the Everglades. But when push comes to shove, who would win in a battle now, alligator or python? It all depends on which one is bigger.”

Who wins in a battle of bats versus crows? I’m not sure there is an answer, but this well-produced video on BillsChannel is amusing to watch.

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If you don’t have it marked on your calendar, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. marks the start of Earth Hour, when people around the world turn off their lights for an hour to show their concern for climate change.

This is my fourth year to commemorate Earth Hour, and I look forward to the quiet time. I see Earth Hour as a big event, because it is happening throughout the world, but also as a small event, because it is so simple.

Last year, the event’s sponsor, World Wildlife Fund, added a new element called the “I will if you will” challenge. The video-based challenge calls for individuals or groups to promise to do something worthwhile (sometimes big) if a lot of other people will do something else worthwhile (usually easy). You should check out some of the videos.

This year, I must also congratulate our Salish Sea neighbors across the Canadian border, considering that Vancouver, B.C., was named “Global Earth Hour Capital.”

Six finalists were named during this first Earth Hour City Challenge. Besides Vancouver, the other finalists were Forlì, Italy; New Delhi, India; Oslo, Norway; Uppsala, Sweden; and San Francisco, USA.

In announcing the winner, Jim Leape, director general of WWF-International, had this to say about Vancouver:

“Local governments around the world are striving to create attractive, smart cities while tackling a multitude of urgent environmental challenges. Vancouver can serve as a role model for how cities can engage residents in these efforts, thereby accelerating the transition towards low carbon development.

“I applaud Vancouver’s vision and innovation. More cities everywhere need to find inspiration in the bold initiatives of Vancouver and the other finalists and build on them, bringing climate action at the scale and speed necessary to secure sustainable, attractive lifestyles for people across the planet.”

The city was recognized for its “impressive transportation strategy” along with its food and neighborhood energy plans. For example, all new buildings in the city are called on to be carbon neutral by 2020, when more than half of the trips by residents are to be by foot, bicycle or public transit.

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I really love this picture by Araminta “Minty” Little, a seventh grader at Fairview Junior High School in Central Kitsap. Her picture shows an octopus grasping trash that has been thrown into the ocean.

Apparently, the judges in the annual Marine Debris Art Contest also liked Minty’s picture. They named her one of 13 winners nationwide out of more than 600 students from 21 states who entered the contest, which is sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Minty’s drawing is a fine piece of work, but she also got high marks for her concept, which carries a message about the dangers of marine debris. As part of the contest, she was required to write a bit about the problem. As quoted on the Central Kitsap School District’s website, she explained:

“The picture I drew depicts a sea creature surrounded by garbage. The octopus … is wrapping its tentacles around stray trash preparing to throw it all back onto land. In the top right tentacle is a sign reading ‘S.O.S.’ in parody to … an old sailing term.”

To see all the 2012-13 winners, check out the slide show on the Marine Debris Blog.

The contest is open to students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The 13 winning entries will be used to create a calendar scheduled to be printed in a few months.

“You wouldn’t believe the talent of some of these students,” said Dianna Parker of NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, which has conducted the art contest since 2010.

The next contest opens to entries in September.

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UPDATE, March 13, 2013, 8 p.m.
Some people have asked me about spending for salmon in Nevada, as Sen. McCain mentions in his news release about wasteful spending. While it is true that Nevada became eligible for funding in 2009 (based on the understanding that salmon once migrated to the area in pre-settlement times), I can’t find anything that says Nevada has ever gotten any salmon money. Check out the graph I’ve posted at the bottom of this page, or download “Report to Congress: Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, 2000-2010.”
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U.S. Sen. John McCain has thrown together a list of “egregious pork-barrel projects” found in the Democrats’ proposed spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. To my surprise, his list is topped by funding to restore Northwest salmon runs.

In a news release, McCain said he couldn’t understand why such funding wasn’t cut from the proposed continuing resolution to fund the government until the end of the fiscal year.

The news release says salmon restoration was a program “that even President Obama mocked in his 2011 State of the Union address.”

Of course, those of us who live in salmon country know that Obama has always supported salmon restoration. The president’s budgets always include dollars for salmon, though the levels of funding were often bolstered by former Rep. Norm Dicks of Belfair with the support of other Northwest delegates to Congress.

It is true that Obama joked about redundancies in the administration of natural resources. He found it funny that one agency administers salmon when they are in freshwater and another administers salmon when they are in saltwater. His joke was a little off-base, as I pointed out at the time, but he was making a serious point about duplication in government. See Water Ways, Jan. 25, 2011. He was not, however, speaking about the value of salmon restoration.

While listening to the radio this morning, I was kind of shocked to hear McCain scoffing about spending money for salmon recovery. I understand the desire to cut the federal budget, but I’m more accustomed to hearing people talk about the need to find more money for ecosystem restoration in the face of severe budget problems.

If you recall, one of the greatest disappointments of former Gov. Chris Gregoire was that she couldn’t find more money to fund Puget Sound recovery during the ongoing budget crisis. Here’s what she told me before she left office:

“I think we have held our own and made some improvement, but not the improvement we should have. We have to kick it up. The population continues to grow. We’re going to have to kick it up or we are going to lose ground. I’m not proud of the fact that we are kind of treading water right now.” (See Water Ways Jan. 30, 2013.)

Gregoire and others have talked about some kind of permanent funding source, something they call a “flush tax” in the Chesapeake Bay area. And we know that funding to restore salmon is coordinated with the effort to avoid ecological collapse in Puget Sound and throughout the Northwest.

I understand that McCain has no stake in what happens to our Northwest salmon, and I would not be surprised if he wanted to cut this money. But how can he consider the effort to save salmon from extinction to be a total waste, worse than military projects that even the military does not want?

John Bennett of “Defense News” has more to say about this topic (along with an overload of puns) in his blog “Intercepts.”

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Just about everyone has a special trick or hint for washing dishes, or so it seems. Search for “washing dishes” on YouTube and you’ll find about 21,000 videos. Increase that to more than 34,000 if you remove the quotation marks.

As a society, I guess we have been washing dishes for a very long time. At some point, we even decided that washing dishes in soap and hot water can help keep people from getting sick.

I’m amused by the 1950s promotional film, made for salesmen, showing off the new marvel of an automatic dishwasher, said to bring housewives a better way of living. At the same time, according to the film, dishes are sanitized to a state of sparkling cleanliness.

The woman in the film for the Youngstown Kitchens Automatic Dishwasher asks, “Why do your dishes the old-fashioned way when you do your other household work the modern way?”

More than 60 years later, many people are still washing their dishes in the sink by hand. Many simply don’t like to leave food-caked dishes lying around, even if the dishes are hiding inside a dishwasher. Others go to the opposite extreme, filling their sinks with dirty dishes and battling over who will take care of the problem. (Here’s one video: “The Hardest Thing for a Man to do.”)

The idea of saving water may have sparked a movement back to hand-washing, even though some experts say an automatic dishwasher can save on water. By hand is the way to go, says Paul Wheaton, who demonstrates how he gets his dishes clean with less water and uses his dishwasher as a drying rack.

Other amusing videos include Pete the monkey, who learned to wash dishes by copying a man involved in reintroducing monkeys to the wild in a sanctuary in Bolivia. Check out the second video on this page and read the full story in “Amazing Stuff.”

Although it’s not a video, I got a kick out of a series of photos called “Simple bachelor trick — How to use your dishes without having to wash them.” The trick involves a plastic bag. Check out the “bachelor trick” on 22 Words.

From the series How to Clean Your House (7 pics) by Pleated-Jeans.

I’m sure people would be happy if dishes could wash themselves. (See this time lapse video.) If they could do that, wouldn’t you think they could also rinse themselves and maybe put themselves away?

Let me also share with you a six-minute cartoon featuring Goofy, the old buddy of Mickey Mouse. Goofy, a professional dishwasher, decides to take a vacation on a new credit card. The twist comes at the end when he reaches his credit limit.

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to wash dishes in the virtual world, but I found an online puzzle involving Mickey Mouse on the site Funny Games. The goal is to wipe the dishes clean — including a few heavily soiled spots — as quickly as you can.

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A research team led by Brad Hanson of NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center has been tracking K and L pods off the coast of Oregon and California, most recently offshore of Washington’s Willapa Bay.

Satellite transmissions from two killer whales, K-25 and L-88, show their pods crossing the Columbia River this morning.
Map by Robin Baird with NOAA data

The team left Newport, Ore., on Friday aboard the 209-foot research vessel Bell M. Shimada. The crew caught up with K pod the following day with the help of a satellite transmitter attached to K-25, according to reports. Most if not all of L pod was seen swimming with the K pod whales near Cape Blanco, off the southern coast of Oregon.

The research team attached a new satellite tag to L-88, a 20-year-old male named Wave Walker. The new tag will provide another method of following the whales if the tag attached to K-25 should fall off, as expected sooner or later. It has already stayed attached for more than two months, about twice the average life of the satellite tags.

I have not yet connected with Brad Hanson, but I talked to Robin Baird of Cascadia Research, who has been getting reports from the crew. Robin told me that the researchers have been able to obtain multiple fecal and/or fish-scale samples on most of the days they have been at sea.

Those samples will aid in meeting the primary goal of the cruise, which is to figure out where the whales are going and what they are eating during the winter months while away from Puget Sound.

The satellite tags have allowed the research ship to stay with the whales even when the weather and their lack of vocalizations have made them hard to find, Robin said. As a result, this research cruise has been more efficient than past ones in terms of both time and fuel.

The research trip, which was scheduled for 21 days, will be cut in half because of the federal spending cuts related to the sequester, according to a statement issued by this afternoon by the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

The travels of K-25 over the past two months are shown in an animation produced by staff at Northwest Fisheries Science Center. (In my browser, the north and sound portions of the map are cut off even in full-screen view, but the movements shown are still amazing.)

The latest report shows both tagged whales swimming offshore of Willapa Bay on the Washington Coast, having crossed the Columbia River mouth this morning. The full trip can be viewed on maps posted on the website called Southern Resident Killer Whale Satellite Tagging.

Researchers are tracking K and L pods aboard the NOAA vessel Bell M. Shimada. Click on the image and insert the ship’s name to view its recent travels. / NOAA photo

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