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March 12th, 2012

Samish Bay closed to shellfish harvest due to presumed high fecal coliform bacteria counts

SKAGIT COUNTY - The Washington State Department of Health has temporarily closed Samish Bay for commercial and recreational shellfish harvest due to the greater than 200 cubic feet per second rise in the river level and confirmed high fecal coliform bacteria levels taken by the Storm Team on Saturday March 10, 2012.

“We’re asking everyone in the Samish River basin to re-double their efforts to clean up Samish Bay,” said Skagit County Public Works Water Quality Analyst Rick Haley. “Please take another look at your property to make sure you are not a source of pollution.”

When the bay is closed, shellfish farms can’t harvest crops and it is unsafe to consume shellfish recreationally harvested from the bay during the closure. Throughout the closure, however, local shellfish farms may have shellfish for sale that have been harvested prior to the closure or brought in from growing areas elsewhere in the state; these shellfish are safe to eat. Samish Bay is currently classified as “Conditionally Approved,” meaning it is closed as a precaution when the river rises a given amount, until water samples confirm low levels of pollution. The bay could be upgraded to Approved if there are no more confirmed pollution closures between now and June 30.

The major sources of polluting bacteria in the Samish River watershed are:
• Residential and business onsite septic systems
• Various small and commercial farming operations with livestock
• Farming operations that spread animal manure as fertilizer
• Human recreational activities including boating, hunting, fishing, and hiking
• Marine live-aboard boats
• Waterfowl attracted to fields planted in grain
• Mishandled pet waste

All of these sources, if managed properly, need not pose a threat to water quality.

For more information on clean water efforts in the Samish Watershed, current status of the bay (open or closed for harvest), a calendar of Samish bay shellfish bed closures to date, or to report a water quality problem, visit www.skagitcounty.net/cleanwater.

For more information, contact Patti Chambers at 360-360-9400 or pchambers@co.skagit.wa.us