The dishwashing detergent aisle won’t look the same after July 1.

Detergent products, including major brands such as Electrasol and Cascade, will be removed from the shelves as part of a countywide ban making it illegal to sell or distribute dishwashing detergents containing more than 0.5 percent phosphorus.

The ban is directed toward residential use, and does not affect commercial or industrial use, state Department of Ecology spokeswoman Katie Skipper said. The ban will take effect statewide in 2010, but Whatcom and Spokane counties have been singled out to begin the ban this year.

A number of water bodies in Whatcom County, including Lake Whatcom and the Nooksack River, are considered impaired because oxygen levels are below state water quality standards, Skipper said.

Part of the pollution problem is caused by the phosphorus in waste water, Skipper said.

Phosphorus feeds algae blooms, and when algae die, their decay uses up oxygen, choking lakes and streams, suffocating salmon and other aquatic life, Skipper said.

Phosphorus can leak into water bodies through industry and wastewater treatment plants, storm-water runoff or even through faulty septic systems, Skipper said.

At a June 9 Bellingham City Council meeting, council member Terry Bornemann took issue with the idea that the water output of places such as Western Washington University and St. Joseph Hospital probably equal that of the city, yet they are not affected by the ban.

Skipper said this ban is about individual responsibility, reducing phosphorus on a house-byhouse level. She did not know if the ban would ever be directed toward commercial or industrial use.

In the meantime, local stores are preparing to provide lowphosphorus detergents for their customers.

Haggen will be offering 18 low-phosphorus detergents, 10 of which are new to the store, according to Haggen spokesman Dave Brumbaugh.

Some of the brands already sold at Haggen that comply with the state law are Seventh Generation, BioKleen, Ecover and Top Crest. Many of these products cost more than high-phosphorus detergents, Brumbaugh said.

Seventeen detergent products will be dropped by Haggen, including nine Cascade products and four Electrasol ones, Brumbaugh said.

Single-use packets of automatic dishwasher detergent containing up to 2 grams of phosphorus per packet will still be available, Skipper said.

Single-use packets contain a greater amount of phosphorus, but their overall contribution is found to be less, Skipper said. Selling single-use packets is also a way to make sure larger detergent manufacturers aren’t booted out of the aisles, she said.

Anyone who has leftover detergent containing more than 0.5 percent phosphorus after July 1 is still allowed to use that detergent until it runs out, Skipper said.