Dry Creek Stream Watch

Streamkeeper Teams Complete Fall Monitoring

On September 16th, the two Dry Creek Streamkeepers teams completed their fall water quality monitoring.  Because of the dry summer, only two sites ( Dry 0.8 & 2.2) were suitable for monitoring. The teams collected data such salinity, pH, turbidity, water/air temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, nitrates and flow.  Team members were:

LOWER TEAM
Gerri Ferguson (Team Leader)
Bruce Ferguson
Jim Jewell
Phillis Day
Dave Skelton
Donna Skelton

UPPER TEAM
Mike McClean (Team Leader)
Maria Oien
Harley Oien
Phillis Day
Dave Skelton
Donna Skelton

Special thanks go out to Phillis, Dave and Donna for working on both teams.  The Fall monitoring concludes our testing for 2008.  The next monitoring (winter) will be in January of 2009.

Macroinvertebrate testing rates Dry Creek as “Highly Impaired.”

In the fall of 2007, the Dry Creek Streamkeepers conducted macroinvertebrate sampling at Dry 0.8 near Kacee Way. The purpose of the testing was to sample benthic macroinvertebrates (underwater bugs) to determine the health of our stream. The type and number of underwater bugs can provide a health assessment of a stream. The method used to calculate the assessment is call the Benthic Index of Biological Integrity or B-IBI.

There were delays in having the 2007 samples professionally identified and the final results became available just this week. The B-IBI score was 20 which is a rating of “Highly Impaired.” The definition of Highly Impaired states there is “substantial loss of once-native life-forms, with taxa richness reduced by half. Highly adverse conditions for salmon.” This rating brings up the question of how an area basically isolated from housing and industry can decline to “Highly Impaired”???

The DCC has long held the belief that the Airport rerouting of Dry Creek in the 1990’s severly impacted downstream areas. Since Dry site 0.8 is 1/4 mile downstream of the reroute area, the test results clearly show the impact. It is also interesting to note that the our monitoring site above the Airport reroute area at Dry 2.2 was tested in 2006 and the score was 44 with a “Compromised” rating (typical for most streams in Clallam County). With this latest biologically impaired rating at Dry 0.8, we have established one of several steps to put Dry Creek on the States Dept of Ecology Impaired Water (303d) List. 

2005-2007 Dry Creek Flow Measurements

Dry Creek Streamkeepers started monitoring a limited number of sites in the Summer of 2005.  More sites were added in 2006 with a total of five today.  Several sites do not have water flowing during the Summer to Fall months and sometimes in the Spring depending on rainfall.  The attached table contains all the flow measurements from the Summer of 2005 to the Fall of 2007.  2008 flow data is available on request and will be published at the end of the year.2005-2007_Flow_Measurements.pdf

2005-2007 Dry Creek Water Chemistry Results

Dry Creek Streamkeepers started monitoring a limited number of sites in the Summer of 2005.  More sites were added in 2006 with a total of five today.  Several sites do not have water flowing during the Summer to Fall months and sometimes in the Spring depending on rainfall.  The attached table contains all the water chemistry results from the Summer of 2005 to the Fall of 2007.  2008 water chemistry is available upon request and will be published at the end of year.

2005-2007_Dry_Creek_Water_Chemistry_Results.pdf

Want to be a Clallam County Streamkeeper?

Want to learn more about Streamkeepers and the important job they do?  Go to http://www.clallam.net/streamkeepers/ to find out more.  Or, call Ed Chadd at 360-417-2281.  His office is in the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse.

Dry Creek Streamkeepers Complete Spring Monitoring

On April 23rd, the two Dry Creek Streamkeepers teams completed their Spring water quality monitoring on five Dry Creek sites.  The teams collected data such salinity, pH, turbidity, water/air temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, nitrates and flow.  The team members were:

LOWER TEAM
Gerri Ferguson (Team Leader)
Bruce Ferguson
Jim Jewell
Ron Sidwell

UPPER TEAM
Mike McClean (Team Leader)
Maria Oien
Harley Oien
Rudy Albrecht

Special thanks go out to both teams for braving the cool damp weather to collect such important data on the health of our stream.

PUGET SOUND PARTNERSHIP (PSP) CONSOLIDATES WITH CHINOOK SALMON RECOVERY

A newsrelease of Puget Sound Partnership has hired Joe Ryan, a member of the Salmon Fund Recovery Board, to PSP to coordinate Chinook Salmon recovery efforts.

The restoration of Puget Sound water quality proceeds by consolidating a myriad of players.  We hope that this will lead to “real” restoration action.

NEWS_FROM_THE_PUGET_SOUND_PARTNERSHIP.doc

Dry Creek Stream Watch Monitors What Goes Into Our Waterway

Because what goes into our waterway, eventually goes into all of us.

A group of your neighbors have been continually monitoring conditions within the Dry Creek Watershed, beginning in 2005 with establishment of two Streamkeeper Teams.  We have found our Dry Creek stream and riparian areas to be a unique ecosystem with some very beautiful areasl including falls at Kaycee Way and clear flowing water up in Dry Hill.  Please check the Gallery photographic records of this web site where we have cataloged the stream by year, starting in 2005. 
Streamkeepers have found Steelhead Salmon in Dry Creek and verified that occurence with Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife survey personnel.
If you would like to help us with restoration of our watershed, please contact us via this web site.  Just register your e mail address and you can comment on any article on this web site.