Reduce Human / Animal Waste

Significantly reducing pollution from human and animal waste and other sources of pathogen and nutrient pollution is one of eight key objectives established in law for the Puget Sound Partnership’s 2020 Action Agenda.

• What’s the problem? 
• What’s being done?

What’s the problem?

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

Nutrients. Excess nutrients can disrupt the functions of a healthy ecosystem. For example, too much nitrogen in marine waters can speed up and multiply the growth of phytoplankton (microscopic algae). As the phytoplankton die and decompose, they sink to the bottom and use up oxygen in the process. During this cycle, fish, crabs, shrimp and other marine organisms can die from lack of oxygen.

The problem of low dissolved oxygen came to light in Hood Canal in 2002 when marine life washed up on the shores, having essentially suffocated from lack of oxygen. Other areas of Puget Sound , including portions of South Sound and Whidbey basin, appear to be sensitive to excess nutrients.

Pathogens. Human and animal wastes are the source of most pathogens in Puget Sound . Viruses and some bacteria and parasites can make people and animals sick.

Pollution from pathogens, which is commonly measured using fecal coliform bacteria, has been the cause of widespread shellfish closures throughout Puget Sound .

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What’s being done to reduce pollution from human and
animal waste?

Efforts to reduce pollution from human and animal waste are happening throughout the Sound. State, local and federal agencies, tribes, non-profit organizations, watershed groups and businesses are the main players. The following are some highlights of work underway:

• Improve state agency coordination to get better results.
  • Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is improving and adding boater pumpout facilities throughout Puget Sound .
    State Parks is also engaging in a boater-education campaign with the goal of increasing by the amount of boater waste collected at pumpouts.
    The agency is upgrading, repairing or replacing new sewage facilities to bring them into compliance with Ecology and Health operating permits.
    In addition, State Parks is installing more pet-waste disposal stations to reduce the amount of pet waste entering our waters.
  • The Puget Sound Partnership and the state departments of Health, Ecology and Agriculture are updating their interagency guidance agreements to improve how they coordinate responses to shellfish closures and threatened shellfish areas.
• Support effective and innovative regulatory and non-regulatory approaches.
  • Agriculture is working with dairies and concentrated animal feeding operations in Puget Sound to increase compliance with state and federal water quality rules with the goal of reducing discharges and the need for follow-up inspections.
  • Washington State Conservation Commission is working with local conservation districts to complete hundreds of conservation plans and put practices on the ground to prevent pollution.
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will issue general permits from the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for tribal and fish hatchery wastewater discharges.
• Strengthen the ability of local governments to carry out comprehensive control programs.
  • All 12 local health districts in Puget Sound are carrying out management plans for their sewage programs, as approved by Health.
  • Six local health districts are developing data to inventory and map onsite systems in priority marine areas.
  • Local Puget Sound health districts and Ecology are managing loan programs to help fix failing septic systems.
• Educate and involve the public to become stewards of the Sound.
  • The Puget Sound Partnership, WSU Extension, Washington Sea Grant Program and State Parks are offering myriad opportunities for the public to learn more about how to reduce pollution from human and animal waste.
  • Washington Sea Grant Program and others are working with homeowners to change their fertilizing habits to prevent runoff.
    With help from Sea Grant, numerous shoreline landowners are growing shellfish that filter nutrient-rich phytoplankton from the water. Many landowners will also be monitoring, recording and mapping the varieties of macroalgae and shellfish on their beaches.
• Increase scientific understanding to guide management activities.
  • Ecology is leading the work on collecting monitoring data for a dissolved oxygen and nutrient model for south Puget Sound.

Learn more about efforts to reduce pollution from human and animal waste in the 2007-2009 Puget Sound Conservation and Recovery Plan. | PDF