Samish Bay misses pollution cleanup target

Despite the efforts of more than 20 groups and organizations working for years to clean the Samish watershed, it has again failed a state pollution evaluation.

That means Samish Bay cannot get an upgrade this year, but Clean Samish Initiative partners remain hopeful that the watershed will eventually make the mark.

Last year, Samish Bay failed the state Department of Health’s eligibility test for a shellfish harvest upgrade within the first three weeks. This year it held out only a few days longer.

While disappointing, the evaluation result is not unexpected. County staff and area shellfish growers agree: the process to clean the watershed is a slow one, but it is making progress.

“It’s not a surprise that we have another closure,” Skagit County Pollution Identification and Correction Coordinator Karen DuBose said. “The 90-day project is intended to reduce the number of closures in the Samish.”

That’s the real target this year: reducing the number of closures and learning more strategies – quickly – to continue the trend in years ahead. DuBose said the Clean Samish Initiative team is really aiming for a reclassification of the Samish Bay shellfish beds next year.

“Right now we’re still in the beginning. We have a really good plan … but it’s going to take us some time to reach all the people we need to reach in our focus area,” she said.

Under its conditionally approved status, the bay is subject to automatic flow-based closures because of recurring fecal coliform contamination that is more common during rain events and heavy river flow. Approved status would mean closures only after pollution was confirmed to exceed the state limit.