Stormwater Action Monitoring - status & trends studies

Stormwater Action Monitoring (SAM) conducts status and trend monitoring in Western Washington streams and nearshore marine waters.

Upcoming symposium: SAM Receiving Water Findings Symposium is scheduled for Sept. 13, 2018 between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. at Rhodes Center Broadway Building, 5th floor, Orcas room in Tacoma (949 Market Street, Tacoma WA 98402).

SAM status and trends scientists will present the findings from 2015-2016 monitoring of lowland streams and nearshore mussels and sediments in Puget Sound. We will update this page after the meeting,with the summary of the symposium and implications.

What is the goal?

The goal is to measure changes in Puget Sound lowland streams and urban nearshore areas as a result of stormwater management.

The Stormwater Work Group recommended four receiving waters studies in the 2013-2018 stormwater permit cycle:

Puget Sound draining lowland streams
Puget Sound urban nearshore sediments at 1 fathom
Puget Sound urban nearshore caged mussels
Puget Sound shoreline bacterial data compilation

What projects are underway?

Puget lowland streams — Over 90 random sites were sampled in 2015 for water, sediment, benthic and habitat
Marine nearshore mussels — Two rounds of mussel sampling is planned this permit cycle at 40 random urban nearshore sites. The first round is complete and round 2 mussels monitoring will take place this winter 2017-2018.
Marine nearshore sediment — sediment from the 40 random nearshore sites was collected in summer 2016

What are we learning?

Receiving waters sampling for streams and the marine nearshore were completed in 2015 and 2016. The marine mussels monitoring (round 1) and shoreline bacteria compilation project are now complete. Final reports are underway for the Puget lowland streams and marine nearshore sediment studies.

Final reports for completed Status & Trend studies

Marine Nearshore Mussels - Round 1

This SAM project placed caged mussels for four winter months in 2015/16 to assess bio-accumulative pollutants from the water column along the urban marine shoreline.

The final report was published in August by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Lanksbury, J. et al. 2017.

Marine Shoreline Bacteria

This SAM project compiled existing bacteria across Puget Sound. The compilation was used to assess spatial or temporal data gaps in coverage between existing marine bacteria monitoring programs.

The goal is to provide information to Stormwater Work Group to determine if a stormwater focused bacteria shoreline sampling program is needed in Puget Sound.

The final report was published in April 2017 by Ecology's Environmental Assessment Program, Sargeant, D. and J. Ruffner, 2017.
SAM Bacteria Compilation Fact Sheet
SAM Bacteria ArcGIS Map

Option 2 monitoring to fulfill status and trends permit requirements

Some jurisdictions opted out of the pooled-fund SAM status and trends in receiving waters program. Their fulfillment of the permit requirement includes a separate receiving water study in their jurisdiction that follows SAM protocols. Pierce County and the City of Redmond both opted out for the 2013-2018 permit cycle.

Contact information

Brandi Lubliner
Stormwater Action Monitoring Coordinator
brandi.lubliner@ecy.wa.gov
360-407-7140