Outdoors

Urban Stream Series

Little Squalicum Creek needs you

We are blessed to have so many streams running through our community: Whatcom, Squalicum, Padden, Chuckanut, and Little Squalicum, to name a few. These special places are urban sanctuaries where we enjoy flowing water, wildlife and fresh air.

As our city grows, an increased amount of rainwater is routed away from roadways, parking lots and buildings into a system of underground pipes, and less water is filtered through vegetation and soil. This runoff is called stormwater, and as it flushes over paved surfaces it accumulates an unsavory mixture of metals, bacteria, nutrients, chemicals, dirt and petroleum-containing compounds.

The result of conveying stormwater away is that most of it enters our streams and Bellingham Bay without any treatment, and is routed to these streams every time it rains—often in large volumes, causing erosion and water-quality problems. In fact, stormwater is a problem in all developed areas, not just here; it’s the number-one source of pollution in urban areas of Western Washington. Polluted stormwater can impact our streams and bay and pose a threat to salmon and other aquatic life, both freshwater and marine species.

Located in the northwest portion of Bellingham, Little Squalicum Creek is one of our shortest urban creeks and runs through Little Squalicum Park, a neighborhood gem and a favorite off-leash dog-walking area.

The public has been enjoying the trail system in the park area for about 30 years, and in the last five years, hundreds of citizens have worked to establish a healthy native plant community along the creek and wetland areas.

The landscape of this 500-acre watershed has been transformed in the last 100 years. Beginning in the 1920s, sand and gravel mining operations flourished, changing the topography and creating the ravine that defines the central part of the park landscape today. Municipal waste was buried in what is now the upper area of the park in the 1930s. The Oeser Company began manufacturing treated utility poles in 1929 on the northern side of the park and still operates in the area today.

Until the passage of the Federal Clean Water Act in 1972, few laws existed that prevented discharge of pollution to water and land. The Oeser area was listed as an Environmental Protection Agency hazardous waste cleanup site in 1997 due to soil contaminated with wood-preserving chemicals, creosote and other chemicals. A cleanup action included removing and relocating large amounts of contaminated soil.

By 2011, the park reopened for public use. Projects completed include re-routing Little Squalicum Creek to the clean area of the park, and planting native shrubs and trees along the creek banks. Today, in addition to the Bellingham Technical College campus and several industrial businesses, most of the watershed—80 percent—is residential homes.

As is typical of urban watersheds, there’s been a significant increase in paved surfaces and stormwater runoff within the last 50 years. In most of this watershed, stormwater is collected in underground pipes and open roadside ditches. This stormwater runoff becomes Little Squalicum Creek. With the exception of a few small springs, all the water in the creek is stormwater from the Birchwood neighborhood. In other words, soap suds and car grime from street-side car-washing in the Birchwood neighborhood flows into the creek, where kids like to wade and play.

A variety of warning signs have been posted along different parts of Little Squalicum Creek over the years. At the midsection of the creek, they used to warn of the toxic waste at the site and the possible dangers from exposure to contamination. Thanks to separate EPA and Ecology cleanup actions, and the commitment of the community, we have succeeded in addressing the legacy pollution and the first set of warning signs are gone.

Currently, on the beach where Little Squalicum Creek flows into Bellingham Bay, the signs state, “No Fishing/No Wading and Shellfishing Not Advised.” These warnings are posted because fecal bacteria pollution at Little Squalicum Beach exceeds federal water-quality standards.

Seasonal warm weather water sampling indicates high levels of Enterococcus bacteria, a sign of fecal pollution, and the presence of pathogens including Norovirus and harmful strains of E.coli bacteria in the creek and at the outlet of Little Squalicum Creek by Bellingham Bay.

Fecal pollution of our urban streams is not unique to Little Squalicum Creek. In streams with large watersheds, sources of fecal bacteria typically include agricultural runoff, leaking septic tanks, pets, livestock, wildlife and stormwater. Because Little Squalicum is a small watershed with mainly residential homes connected to city sewer lines, the likely sources of the fecal bacteria in the creek are stormwater from neighboring streets, yards, pets, wildlife and the park itself.

Since stormwater pollution is caused by us, we all need to contribute to the solution. The most efficient, least-expensive way is to prevent pollution in the first place. We need community involvement to clean up this water and to keep it clean. If we live or recreate in the Birchwood neighborhood, we can contribute to the solution.

Here’s how: Neighbors and community members can start stewardship groups, meet regularly, and figure out ways to improve water quality in the creek. Members of the groups can talk to neighbors and visitors to the park about ways each of us can clean up stormwater. With more neighbors getting involved, and by making some changes to reduce pollution from pets, yards and cars, we can see improvements in water quality which benefits everyone who visits Little Squalicum Park. What will we gain? We’ll gain clean water, which we will all enjoy.

Lee First is the the Pollution Prevention Specialist for the North Sound Baykeeper Team, a program of RE Sources. This product was funded through a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology. While these materials were reviewed for grant consistency, this does not necessarily constitute endorsement by Ecology. For more details, go to http://www.re-sources.org/neighborhood-clean-water

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