Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>Municipal Stormwater Permit jurisdiction areas for Phase I and Phase II permits, issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology. The Phase I permit regulates discharges from municipal separate storm sewers owned or operated by Clark, King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties, and the cities of Seattle and Tacoma. The Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit rule extends the coverage of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program to certain "small" municipal separate stormwater sewer systems (MS4s). These permit areas incorporate 2019 updates to incorporated City boundaries and unincorporated Urban Growth Areas (UGA) as defined by the Growth Management Act, as well as 2010 Census extents for urbanized areas adjacent to permitted cities and UGAs. This dataset was last updated in 2019. The current permit is effective Aug. 1, 2019, and expires on July 31, 2024.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Copyright Text: Washington State Department of Ecology
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>These polygon features represent the TMDL projects managed by the Washington State Department of Ecology. The boundaries show where the TMDL project applies and is being implemented. TMDL Boundaries identified as "In Development are considered draft and are subject to change when the TMDL has been approved by the U.S. EPA. Boundaries are representations of each particular project and does not replace the official version of the approved TMDL report. Please see the TMDL Project webpage for specific information about that project. TMDL projects are required by the Federal Clean Water Act to identify pollution sources and pollution load reductions needed for water bodies to meet water quality standards. Once a TMDL project has been approved by the U.S. EPA, it enters an implementation phase where both point source and non-point source pollution is reduced through permit limits regulated under the NPDES system and through best management practices for land uses that contribute to non-point source pollution. Ecology’s water quality program works with permittees, local governments, watershed stakeholders, and residents to reduce sources of pollution to protect our aquatic resources and public health.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Copyright Text: Washington State Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN><SPAN>The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Water Quality Program undertook the Nitrate Prioritization Project in 2014 (Morgan, 2014) because of growing concerns about groundwater contamination by nitrates, and the inability to display and evaluate nitrate data on a statewide basis. </SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>This report originated from the agriculture and water quality talks that took place in 2012. Participating agencies agreed that if data exists, everyone should be able to see it in one central location. Agencies that contributed included the Washington Dept. of Ecology, Washington Dept. of Health, Washington Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Washington Conservation Commission. </SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>The Safe Drinking Water Act nitrate limit for delivery of water from public water systems is 10 mg/L. This limit has been exceeded in public water supplies and private wells in various areas of the state going back decades. Not only is contaminated groundwater a public health issue, treatment is also very costly to the public water supply systems and individual households who must deal with contamination on their own. </SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>The goals of this project were to: </SPAN></SPAN></P><UL><LI><P><SPAN><SPAN>Collect and organize statewide information about nitrate monitoring results, the physical factors that tend toward nitrate contamination, and United States Geological Survey (USGS) risk studies that evaluate the physical factors against monitoring results. </SPAN></SPAN></P></LI><LI><P><SPAN><SPAN>Delineate areas where high nitrates in groundwater occur. </SPAN></SPAN></P></LI><LI><P><SPAN><SPAN>Prioritize those areas by potential impacts to people and resources. </SPAN></SPAN></P></LI><LI><P><SPAN><SPAN>Make the information available to everyone. </SPAN></SPAN></P></LI></UL><P><SPAN><SPAN>The inputs for developing candidate Nitrate Priority Areas include: </SPAN></SPAN></P><UL><LI><P><SPAN><SPAN>A single database of nitrate sampling results for groundwater compiled from state and federal databases. </SPAN></SPAN></P></LI><LI><P><SPAN><SPAN>USGS nitrate risk studies. </SPAN></SPAN></P></LI><LI><P><SPAN><SPAN>Surficial geology, soil properties, topography, well locations and depths, agricultural land use, irrigated areas, annual average precipitation, nitrate concentrations, and population. </SPAN></SPAN></P></LI></UL><P><SPAN><SPAN>Monitoring data from the USGS and the Washington State Departments of Health and Ecology were collected and summarized. The well locations were mapped using a Geographic Information System (GIS). </SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>Clusters of wells where a sample has exceeded 10 mg/L are a strong indicator that groundwater at that location is at high risk of, or currently is contaminated by nitrate. Other indicators include USGS nitrate risk analyses, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) soil drainage classes and travel time through the soil profile (Ksat), surficial geology, recharge and well depths.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>Boundaries for candidate Nitrate Priority Areas were developed based on section lines that approximate natural boundaries. These areas will be subject to review and change where appropriate. Once the proposed Nitrate Priority Areas have been reviewed, section line-based boundaries may be replaced by natural boundaries where appropriate. </SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>Time series plots were produced for wells with four or more sample results with at least one result over 5 mg/L. This resulted in a distribution of over 1200 graphs across the state. These are accessible through the GIS as a popup from the well location point for those who have a GIS system with this capability, and who request and receive the necessary files. A web-based application would make these graphs widely and easily available. </SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>Challenges with databases always include checking for errors, such as the occasional locational or data entry error. Care must be used to understand the limitations of the data and the peculiarities of each data source. These issues are described more in this report. </SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>Recommendations include developing a web application to make this information easily accessible by anyone with internet access, and automating the data downloads so they are easily updated. Management of nitrate sources to prevent groundwater contamination should be adjusted for sensitive conditions like excessively draining soils and very hydrologically conductive geologic materials. Nitrate source loading needs to be reduced in impacted areas to prevent groundwater contamination. </SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>Results of this study can be used to protect public drinking water supplies by focusing actions on areas within the state that have the highest potential for impacts due to nitrate contamination of groundwater.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN /></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Copyright Text: Laurie Morgan, LHG, Dept. of Ecology Water Quality Program
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">We have established a Vessel Sewage No Discharge Zone (NDZ) for Puget Sound and certain adjoining waters. The NDZ is a body of water where boats may not release sewage, whether treated or not. It helps protect public health, water quality, and sensitive resources.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt"> </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">The NDZ (</SPAN><A href="https://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=173-228" STYLE="text-decoration:underline;"><SPAN>Chapter 173-228 WAC</SPAN></A><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">) was adopted on April 9, 2018, after a five year public process and approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rule was effective May 10, 2018. However, certain commercial vessels have a five year delay before the rule begins. There is no change for graywater discharges. </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN /></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">For more information, visit </SPAN><A href="https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Puget-Sound/No-discharge-zone" STYLE="text-decoration:underline;"><SPAN>Ecology's NDZ webpage</SPAN></A><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">.</SPAN></P><P /><P /></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Copyright Text: Washington Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>Washington State's Current (2018) Water Quality Assessment (WQA) is produced in the Environmental Protection Agency's "Integrated Report" format. The WQA consists of both the 303(d) List and the 305(b) Report. The 303(d) List is comprised of only Category 5 listings. The 305(b) Report lists all waters and all categories. The 2018 WQA contains both freshwater and marine listings. EPA approved the 2018 WQA as fulfilling our 2014, 2016, 2018 WQA submittal requirements on August 26, 2022. The WQA is presented on the 1:24k National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). </SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Copyright Text: Washington State Department of Ecology
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>Washington State's Current (2018) Water Quality Assessment (WQA) is produced in the Environmental Protection Agency's "Integrated Report" format. The WQA consists of both the 303(d) List and the 305(b) Report. The 303(d) List is comprised of only Category 5 listings. The 305(b) Report lists all waters and all categories. The 2018 WQA contains both freshwater and marine listings. EPA approved the 2018 WQA as fulfilling our 2014, 2016, 2018 WQA submittal requirements on August 26, 2022. The WQA is presented on the 1:24k National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). </SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Copyright Text: Washington State Department of Ecology
Description: These polygon features represent Water Quality Improvement (WQI) projects managed by the Washington State Department of Ecology. WQI projects can be TMDLs, Straight To Implementation (STI) plans, 4b projects and TMDL Alternatives. The boundaries show where the WQI project applies and is being implemented. TMDL Boundaries identified as "In Development" are considered draft and are subject to change when the project has been approved by the U.S. EPA. U.S. EPA only approves TMDLs and 4b projects. Boundaries are representations of each particular project and does not replace the official version of the approved TMDL report. Please see the TMDL Project webpage for specific information about that project. TMDL projects are required by the Federal Clean Water Act to identify pollution sources and pollution load reductions needed for water bodies to meet water quality standards. Once a TMDL project has been approved by the U.S. EPA, it enters an implementation phase where both point source and non-point source pollution is reduced through permit limits regulated under the NPDES system and through best management practices for land uses that contribute to non-point source pollution. Ecology’s water quality program works with permittees, local governments, watershed stakeholders, and residents to reduce sources of pollution to protect our aquatic resources and public health.
Copyright Text: Washington State Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>This dataset contains spatial and attribute information of the Surface Water Quality Standards for the State of Washington, Chapter 173-201A WAC. Four views of the WQ Standard are contained in this dataset, Freshwater Beneficial Uses, Seasonal Supplemental Spawning and Egg Incubation Temperature Standards, rules designated in Table 602, and exceptions to Table 602 listed in the footnotes. If any discrepancies are found between GIS layers and the published rule, the published rule takes precedence. Updated April 2018.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Copyright Text: Washington State Department of Ecology, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>The shapefile displays those basins within which development projects qualify for using the existing land cover condition as the stormwater flow control default target. This is a lower flow control default target than the target used for most of western Washington, which is based upon use of the historic land cover condition.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>The shapefile displays those basins within which development projects potentially qualify for using the existing land cover condition as the stormwater flow control default target. This is a lower flow control default target than the target used for most of western Washington, which is based upon use of the historic land cover condition.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>