Ebey’s Prairie Watershed Stormwater Remediation Project

• Whidbey Island Conservation District provided technical assistance, engineering, and shared project management/administration

• Local Farmers provided invaluable knowledge of stormwater infrastructure and history of the watershed

• WA Dept. of Ecology provided EPA funding and engineering support • Island County Dept. of Natural Resources provided water quality

monitoring services and funding through ILIO • National Park Service provided the project site (Farm 1), NPS funding,

staff labor, and shared project management/administration • USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service provided planning and

engineering support • Washington State Conservation Commission provided cost-share

funding

Project Partnerships

Project Location

National Park Service – Farm 1

Project Background

Problem: The stream outfall at Ebey’s Landing has exceeded fecal coliform bacteria standards every year since surface water monitoring began in 2007.

Project Background

Fecal Coliform (CFU/100mL)

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 n 23 22 19 18 18 23 38 28 19 14 12

Minimum <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 7 <1 <1 9 27 23 Maximum 3000 20500 12000 9900 73600 5600 3900 4800 24000 3400 5500 Geometric

Mean 105 76 250 89 86 114 121 141 266 186 149

% over 100 67 38 50 47 39 39 61 50 68 57 50 Exceeds

standard? * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

*WA State Water Quality Standards (WAC 173-201A-200 (2)(b)) Fecal coliform organism levels must not exceed a geometric mean value of 50 colonies/100 mL, with not more than 10 percent of all samples (or any single sample when less than ten sample points exist) obtained for calculating the geometric mean value exceeding 100 colonies/100 mL

Ebey’s Landing Fecal Coliform Results 2007-2017

Project Background

Path to the Solution:

• 2012 WICD awarded EPA National Estuary Program grant to perform a

watershed analysis and conduct fecal bacteria source ID

• 2014 WICD focused farm planning efforts in this watershed (NPS Farm 1)

• 2014 WICD awarded 2nd EPA NEP grant to conduct a feasibility study and

develop preliminary designs for a stormwater remediation project

• 2015 NPS awarded WSCC cost-share funding for project construction

• 2016 WICD awarded funding through ILIO for project engineering

• 2016-2017 NPS secured additional funding and implemented the project

1st NEP Grant - Watershed Analysis Stormwater Infrastructure

1st NEP Grant - Watershed Analysis Flow patterns

1st NEP Grant - Watershed Analysis Source Identification

Ebey's Prairie Water Quality Sampling Results through March, 2015

Sample Date

Total Suspended

Solids (mg/L)

Nitrate Nitrogen (mg/L)

Ortho-Phosphate

(mg/L)

Fecal Coliform (cfu/100mL)

Rainfall on day of and

day before

SP4 4/11/2013 9 9.31 0.55 6000 0.07

4/25/2013 8 10.62 0.33 30 0 5/9/2013 ND 10.66 0.31 ND 0

5/23/2013 ND 0.92 0.53 4800 0.13 11/14/2013 10 1.94 24200 0.06 11/21/2013 0.97 210 0 12/12/2013 4 2.94 30 0.01 12/19/2013 ND 2.49 40 0

1/9/2014 ND 8.48 44 0.01 1/23/2014 5 15.00 4 0.07

2/6/2014 ND 24.00 2 0 2/18/2014 21 12.30 3100 0.19 2/25/2014 14 15.00 TNTC 0.49 3/20/2014 12 16.72 21,400 0.13

4/3/2014 ND 22.00 33 0 4/17/2014 4 14.00 9,700 0.25 4/24/2014 7 13.00 3500 0.29

5/8/2014 18 15.00 591 0.32 5/15/2014 ND 14.00 74 0 5/23/2014 20 4.44 >100,000 0.23 6/13/2014 62 1.82 7,500 0.40

10/23/2014 >30,000 0.25 10/31/2014 328,000 0.63

SP4a

6/13/2014 37 1.03 8,500 0.40

SP4a1 10/23/2014 >100,000 0.25 10/31/2014 620,000 0.63

SP4a2 10/23/2014 9,700 0.25 10/31/2014 29,000 0.63 SP4a3 (roof)

10/31/2014 88,000 0.63

1st NEP Grant- Watershed Analysis

Source Identification

1st NEP Grant - Watershed Analysis Source Identification

Farm Conservation Plan

Farm Conservation Plan

Farm Conservation Plan BMP - Filter Strip

• Utilizes vegetation to filter stormwater runoff and increase infiltration • NPS has agreed to require filter strips on all NPS-owned fields

Farm Conservation Plan BMP – Nutrient Management

• Manure application prescription to ensure crops are maximizing nutrient utilization while protecting water quality

• NPS agreed to require nutrient management on all NPS-owned fields

2nd NEP Grant -

Feasibility Study &

Preliminary Design

•Collect and divert Farm 1 stormwater on-site; sever the connection to Ebey’s Landing

•Pump diverted stormwater 1,400 feet to an unused 4.5 million gallon manure lagoon on Farm 1 property and store for later use

•Apply stored stormwater to crops as supplemental irrigation during the dry season

•Completed in June 2017

The Project

New catch basins installed to divert runoff into buried pipeline

Barn gutters & downspouts connected to buried pipeline

All stormwater routed to a 3,000 gal. pump tank

70,000 gal. stormwater overflow swale installed to capture 25 year storm event

Pump stormwater to an existing lagoon

WICD $4,846 Island LIO (NTA) $12,000 WSCC Cost-Share $16,000 NPS $170,712 Total $203,568 Total only includes engineering and construction costs associated with the stormwater diversion project.

Project Costs

•Eliminate approx. 2 million gallons of stormwater discharge from Farm 1

• Improve water quality in the Ebey’s Prairie watershed •Mitigate stormwater flows •Reduce risk of human contact with fecal contaminants

•Create wildlife habitat •Provide supplemental irrigation water for crops •Reduce dependence on groundwater withdrawals for irrigation

Project Benefits

PSP Action Agenda

Ecosystem Components & Vital Signs Addressed

•Water Quality - primary • Freshwater quality • Marine water quality

•Healthy Human Population - secondary • “Swimming” beaches

•Takes time – nearly 10 years since the problem was identified

•Feasibility can be challenging •Difficult to maintain continuity – personnel changes

•Multi-agency coordination – different processes and requirements tough to align

•Persistence and cooperation are crucial

Project Challenges/Lessons Learned

Project Successes •Built new partnerships •Strengthened existing partnerships •Overcame numerous obstacles •Involved many types of partners:

Conservation District, farmers, local landowners, County Government, State and Federal Agencies

•Demonstrated effective coordination and cooperation

•Took a big chunk out of a big problem

Next Steps •Wait for flows to pick up this winter •Continue partnering with Island County to monitor water quality

•Compare data with past years •Adaptively manage based on results; track down any new or unresolved sources

•Applying this methodology in Maxwelton and Penn Cove watersheds

Questions?

Matt Zupich matt@whidbeycd.org 360-678-4708 www.whidbeycd.org