Bellingham WA Water Supply Eutrophying Faster Than Projected

[hatrack]

"Chemical changes that have the potential to degrade the quality of water in Lake Whatcom are occurring faster than previously thought, according to a new report from scientists at Western Washington University.

The report, which analyzes 15 years of test results, shows increases of bacteria and algae that can worsen the problems of declining oxygen levels in Lake Whatcom. "I was hoping never to see this happen," said Western professor Robin Matthews, one of the authors of the report.

The new information is part of the annual study of Lake Whatcom released by Western's Institute for Watershed Studies, which analyzes the lake for the city of Bellingham. The lake is the drinking water source for more than 85,000 people, including all of Bellingham.

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The report highlights the potential for chemical changes that could exacerbate the amount of phosphorus and lead to faster declines of oxygen in the lake. "It means that things are even more urgent than we thought," said Steve Hood, an environmental engineer with Ecology."

EDIT

[Soloflecks]

1. Water problems growing!

Just saw this posted somewhere yesterday. Really a bleak outlook with all sorts of implications.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/natio ... ner=GOOGLE

Continuing research into drought cycles over the last 800 years bears this out, strongly suggesting that the relatively wet weather across much of the West during the 20th century was a fluke. In other words, scientists who study tree rings and ocean temperatures say, the development of the modern urbanized West — one of the biggest growth spurts in the nation's history — may have been based on a colossal miscalculation.

That shift is shaking many assumptions about how the West is run. Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, the states that depend on the Colorado River, are preparing for the possibility of water shortages for the first time since the Hoover Dam was built in the 1930's to control the river's flow. The top water official of the Bush administration, Bennett W. Raley, said recently that the federal government might step in if the states could not decide among themselves how to cope with dwindling supplies, a threat that riled local officials but underscored the growing urgency.

"Before this drought, we had 20 years of a wet cycle and 20 years of the most growth ever," said John R. D'Antonio, the New Mexico State engineer, who is scrambling to find new water supplies for the suburbs of Albuquerque that did not exist a generation ago.

The latest blow was paltry snowfall during March in the Rocky Mountains, pushing down runoff projections for the Colorado River this year to 55 percent of average. Snowmelt is the lifeblood of the river, which provides municipal water from Denver to Los Angeles and irrigates millions of acres of farmland. The period since 1999 is now officially the driest in the 98 years of recorded history of the Colorado River, according to the United States Geological Survey.

"March was a huge wake-up call as to the need to move at an accelerated pace," said Mr. Raley, assistant secretary of the interior for water and science.

Losing Water at Lake Powell

...........Yeah, it starts getting really scary about that point in the article. Read the rest at the link. I certainly appreciate your posts, hatrack!

[DrWeird]

2. I used to live in Bellingham. Went to school there.

My organic chemistry professor was shocked when he learned we use Lake Whatcom for drinking water. It's used for recreation, and it gets chlorinated, so we end up with chlorinated hydrocarbons in the drinking water.

Whatcom county has five times the national childhood cancer rate. Although that may be due more to pesticides in the rural areas.

[Erratic]

3. It's a scary thought...

...when your only source of water is full of contaminants and chemicals. Come to think of it this winter was pretty dry for the west coast and the fires are starting earlier than ever. Cloud seeding anyone?