| The Dungeness River is a large watershed draining 270 square miles, emptying into Dungeness Bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The mainstem extends 31.9 miles; a primary tributary, the Gray Wolf River extends for 17.4 miles, with a total of 546 miles of streams and tributaries in the watershed. The river is the only one on the Olympic Peninsula where an irrigation system is used for agriculture. The irrigation system, river, and many small streams interact with the groundwater system supplying domestic water for residences and the City of Sequim. The river flows from elevations approaching 6,000 feet, flattening to a floodplain in the lower 15 miles. Water use has exceeded available water in the past; extensive water conservation and improved management practices have decreased irrigation use in recent years. An administrative closure is in place for new water rights. |
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The Dungeness is one of the most highly studied and inventoried rivers in the County. A major health concern is consumption of contaminated shellfish in Dungeness Bay. Due to excessive fecal coliform counts, there has been expanding shellfish closures in Dungeness Bay since 1997. Habitat degradation in the lower 10 miles of the river has resulted in ESA listings of threatened stocks of salmon, and fishing closures or limits for many years. The river supports spring/summer Chinook, Coho, fall chum, summer chum, upper and lower pink, summer and winter steelhead, cutthroat trout (not considered healthy), and Dolly Varden.
Habitat concerns include:
- Degraded habitat conditions, channelization, diking, loss of floodplain.
- Loss of riparian vegetation, and lack of large woody debris except in restored areas.
- Low flow conditions in late summer/early fall that impedes adult salmon migration, decreasing usable juvenile habitat, warm water temperatures, and impaired water quality.
- Bacterial and nitrate contamination impacts on groundwater.
Recommendations for improvement: continue water quality monitoring; begin monitoring biological conditions; address sources of fecal coliform contamination; address nitrate contamination in groundwater.
For over 15 years, community members in the Dungeness Valley have worked to protect and restore ecosystem functions to the Dungeness River Watershed, located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. Although progress has occurred via collaborative partnerships among tribal and other governments, non-profit groups, landowners, and others, the watershed has a number of problems. These are caused by floodplain development, failing septic systems, and poor animal keeping practices, both farm animals and pets. Inadequate management of stormwater runoff has also increased nutrient and bacterial levels in the rivers and streams, irrigation ditches and the Bay. This combination of watershed health problems has resulted in bacteria in streams at a level that could pose a human risk, three ESA listed salmon species, and closure of Dungeness Bay to shellfish harvest due to bacterial contamination. Since the Bay is a wildlife refuge, bacteria from the birds contribute to but do not cause the problem.
The County and Dungeness River Management Team (a watershed Council established in 1995) have formed a Clean Water Work Group to address these problems. The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, on behalf of the Work Group, has received a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency to spend nearly one million dollars over the next three years doing the following:
- Conduct a Microbial Source Tracking study (MST), to more precisely define pollutant sources
- Do a field trial of myco-remediation, using mushrooms to remove bacteria from contaminated streams
- Implement a County septic system inspection, maintenance and operation system
- Experiment with innovative stormwater management
- Conserve river water (for fish) by combining and piping two of the irrigation systems (Cline and Clallam.)
- Conducting an Effectiveness Study, to compare cost/benefit and effectiveness of the project
- Provide public outreach at the Dungeness River Audubon Center, through talks, workshops, newsletters, displays and the web site.
Long-term Goals of the project (shared with Water Resource Inventory Area 18 Plan long-term goals) are
- Increased use of Best Management Practices (BMP) associated with improving water quality
- Improved water quality in the Dungeness Watershed and Bay to meet shellfish harvest- and freshwater-standards and to meet restoration targets
- Stormwater impact mitigation
- Improved in-stream flows for Endangered Species Act-listed fish
- Removal of the Dungeness River from the 303(d) list (for both fecal coliform and low in-stream flows)
Short-term Goals (expected to be achieved within the Watershed Initiative’s timeline by project tasks indicated below)
- Identification of species-specific pollutant sources
- Application of innovative BMPs
- Reduction in number of faulty septic systems
- Improved irrigation system efficiency
- Enhanced public awareness of pollutant sources and prevention techniques