Human health concerns in the Puget Sound region include how pollutants in water, sediments, the atmosphere and the food supply directly impact human health.

Human and animal waste contains high levels of nutrients (such as nitrogen, carbon and phosphorous) and pathogens (such as harmful bacteria and viruses). These pollutants can enter Puget Sound waters from a variety of sources including:

  • Septic systems Focus on high-risk areas.
    • Washington State Department of Health is working with local governments, tribes, and others on water quality projects to restore 12 commercial and recreational areas that are degraded or threatened.
    • The departments of Health and Ecology are monitoring 60 swimming beaches with the goal of increasing the percent of beaches that meet bacteria standards.
    • Design, permitting and start of construction of a new wastewater treatment plant will take place in the 2007-2009 biennium for the Squaxin Tribal Village in south Puget Sound.
  • Sewage treatment plants
  • Runoff from farms with livestock
  • Fertilizers
  • Waste discharges from boats and ships
  • Pet waste left on the ground

Shellfish are prized resources of the Pacific Northwest . The cool, clean waters of the Puget Sound provide some of
the finest shellfish habitat in the world. Washington State is the nation’s leading producer of farmed bivalve shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels, geoduck) with annual sales of approximately $100 million and major contributions from
Puget Sound shellfish farms.