Tumwater Ck Outfall Survey
Earlier in the summer the two Clallam MRC smolt trap interns did a stream survey looking for salmon spawning areas. During this survey they noted a number of outfalls discharging into the creek and they asked if we could do a survey of these outfalls. Clallam MRC contacted the City of Port Angeles and they were very interested in such a survey as that task was on their to-do list. On July 13th the two interns, their mentors and Rebecca Paradis, project biologist with Lower Elwha Tribe, surveyed the creek between 8th St. Bridge and HWY 101. Rebecca provided an YSI meter which allowed the team to take a suit of water quality measurements.
The team found seven outfalls and five drainages discharging into the creek. Some of these outfalls had elevated pH and lower levels of dissolved oxygen which is cause for concern for important species such as salmon which spawn in the creek. This warrants further investigation. Several other outfalls and drainages were shown on the city map used during the survey, but because of dense vegetation and low rainfall no water from these sources reached the creek at this time. The data will be incorporated into the presentations given by the interns at the Intern Celebration August 17th and the data will be shared with the City of Port Angeles.
