Citizen's Review – Clallam County

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN – from Pearl Rains-Hewett

WATCH OUT DUNGENESS, HERE THEY COME 

Dungeness Wastewater Treatment Feasibility Study

CLALLAM COUNTY DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

 (GO ON LINE, LOOK THEM UP, THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

SPECIFICATIONS DOCUMENT

Issue Date: October 11, 2011

THE CONTRACT FOR THE CONSULTANT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

THE APPLICATION FOR THE FUNDING FOR THE STUDY HAS BEEN WRITTEN (SENT?)

Read on if you are interested.

Pearl Rains Hewett

PROJECT TITLE:

PROPOSAL DUE DATE: November 1, 2011

EXPECTED TIME PERIOD FOR CONTRACT:

January 2012 – October 2012

Task 4: Assessment of Alternative Wastewater Solutions in Dungeness

Task Description

With this task the feasibility of a clustered or community option for wastewater treatment and disposal will be determined

for the community adjacent to the mouth of the Dungeness River. In this area, septic system repairs are very expensive

and sometimes unworkable due to poor soils, a high water table, and small lot sizes, and water supply development is

equally difficult. Recent microbial source tracking in the Dungeness Bay shellfish growing area adjacent to this

community (currently closed for commercial harvest) showed that human waste is a contributor, so this task will assess

feasible “small flow” solutions to an insidious nonpoint problem. The

feasibility study would interactively combine

community input into the development of technical options. The outcome would be a community equipped and

mobilized to pursue a facility plan with the best alternative, as per the hierarchy for rural development.

Project Area for Task 4

“

Old Dungeness” is a very historic community originally developed as the Clallam County seat, where building sites were

small and waste disposal and domestic water supplies were generally crowded on the same lot. Adjacent to this and on

the east side of the Dungeness River mouth, the mile-long Three Crabs Road can be characterized as a linear sand dune

between outer Dungeness Bay and wetlands. It was originally developed as vacation housing on the seashore. Now the

area has shoreline lots with large full-time residences with added fill to combat normal erosion, tidal action, increasinglyshallow

groundwater conditions (as sea level rises). On the wetlands side, a canal system that discharges to marine water

was excavated to create a 90-lot subdivision. The unique site characteristics and historic land use practices all contribute

to

septic system problems with no good repair options.

The map below for the Task 4 project area illustrates several of the limiting factors for management of wastewater (and

individual water supplies).

THE CONTRACT FOR THE CONSULTANT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

THE APPLICATION FOR THE FUNDING HAS BEEN WRITTEN

1. INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

“Dungeness” is a very historic community originally developed as the Clallam County seat,

where building sites were small and waste disposal and domestic water supplies were generally

crowded on the same lot. Adjacent to this and on the east side of the Dungeness River mouth,

the mile-long Three Crabs Road can be characterized as a linear sand dune between outer

Dungeness Bay and wetlands. Originally developed as vacation housing, now the small

shoreline lots have large year-round residences – sometimes with added fill to combat normal

erosion, tidal action, and potentially rising groundwater as sea level rises. On the wetlands side,

a canal system that discharges to marine water was excavated to create a 90-lot subdivision. The

unique site characteristics and historic land use practices all contribute to septic system problems

with no good repair options. With this project the feasibility of a clustered or community option

for wastewater treatment and disposal will be determined for Dungeness and the Three Crabs Rd.

communities, where septic system repairs are very expensive and sometimes unworkable due to

poor soils, a high water table, and small lot sizes.

Recent microbial source tracking in the Dungeness Bay shellfish growing area adjacent to this

community (portions of which are closed for commercial harvest) shows that human waste is a

contributor to water quality degradation. This feasibility study will incorporate community input

in the development of technical options to address this problem. The outcome should be a

community equipped and mobilized to pursue the next steps toward improved wastewater

management.

Note that while it should be acknowledged that water supply development is similarly difficult,

this project will not explore specific options for community water supply.

Please refer to the grant application (Exhibit C, Task 4) for detailed background information,

maps and references.

From those sites over 92% of the bacteria could be identified to a known host organism. At

least 34 species or animal groups were identified as present at one or more sites throughout the course of the study. The

predominant source identified at all sites was birds, followed by wild mammals. The presence of human sources was

identified at each site as well, with onsite septic systems the likely cause.