We were tipped off recently that a series of videos on YouTube show massive plumes of sediment-laden water (containing who-knows-what) gushing from the Nooksack River through Mirror Lake, then on by way of Anderson Creek into the south end of Lake Whatcom. The official line may be to call this "maintenance," which would be exempt as a NPDES (pollution discharge) violation, but WE can't help but wonder what affect this sediment has on the lake's health. Check out a few of the key videos:
(YouTube caption) View of water pumped by the City of Bellingham at the outlet pipe just above Mirror Lake from the road. This is river water pumped to supply the City of Bellingham. The water flows from this point into Mirror Lake and on to Lake Whatcom. Does this water look like it contains sediment?
(YouTube caption) Turbid looking water flows into Lake Whatcom from Mirror Creek, the outlet into Lake Whatcom from the City of Bellingham’s diversion from the Nooksack River. Bellingham is pumping upstream of this as shown in the previous videos. Take a look for yourself. Does this look like sediment laden water entering our watershed? Does this sediment contain phosphorous? Sediment is claimed to be the cause of introducing phosphorous into the lake and degrading water quality.
Okay - so how dirty is this water? Watch this next video, min. 1:22 - wow!
Okay - so how dirty is this water? Watch this next video, min. 1:22 - wow!
(YouTube caption) This is a view taken at the mouth of Anderson Creek on 7-17-12 with a reference disk mounted 18 inches in front of the camera to allow for better judgment of the clarity of the water. The video starts in water about 15 yards to one side of the water flow from the Bellingham diversion and passes through to the other side. Watch as the disk just disappears as it enters the turbid water flowing from Bellingham’s water diversion route. The pumping volume looks like it has doubled back at the outlet pipe from a few days ago.
While extreme measures have been demanded by the City of Bellingham, Washington Ecology and the EPA for years to "restore" the lake and maintain it as a reservoir, you can see that a huge amount of turbid water is being flushed into "Bellingham's vital water supply." Has this been routine? Is this tested and measured? How long has this been going on? And, do the panicky studies and reports about water degradation reflect the whole truth about stormwater, landslides, human impacts, and forestry in the watershed? We have every right to know.
WE will report all we can as facts surface. For now, go and watch all the videos. These are short (and current). Then ask yourself - what goes?
At this writing, the dominoes seem lined up and ready to fall for Conservation Northwest's pushy demand for the transfer ("reconveyance") of over 8,000 acres of land from productive DNR management to the county - when everybody knows (including our Executive and council) that there's no real need to double parkland here. The City and proponents #1 selling point is that this will be a "clean water preserve." Have the City and ecology camps been aware of this sediment purging? It's likely they don't care. Heaven forbid truth about anything should get in their way.
WE will report all we can as facts surface. For now, go and watch all the videos. These are short (and current). Then ask yourself - what goes?
At this writing, the dominoes seem lined up and ready to fall for Conservation Northwest's pushy demand for the transfer ("reconveyance") of over 8,000 acres of land from productive DNR management to the county - when everybody knows (including our Executive and council) that there's no real need to double parkland here. The City and proponents #1 selling point is that this will be a "clean water preserve." Have the City and ecology camps been aware of this sediment purging? It's likely they don't care. Heaven forbid truth about anything should get in their way.
General location of these plumes, water flow, etc.
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