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Questions and Answers about Protecting Lake Whatcom Resevoir

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Robert Barker's home looks over Lake Whatcom, so he knows that what he puts in his yard could end up in his drinking water.

"Just saying that you can't use these things anywhere (by the lake) doesn't make a lot of sense to me," he said.

Asmundson said that, if the City Council agrees to his idea, he will propose a ban at a March 17 joint meeting with the Whatcom County Council, which has jurisdiction over the portion of the watershed outside Bellingham.

Just how much of a problem pesticides and herbicides are for the lake, how effective a ban could be, and whether the city and county even have the authority to impose such restrictions are open to debate.

The problem

Fertilizers can present a clear problem to Lake Whatcom if they contain phosphorus, said Robin Matthews, a Western Washington University professor who has studied the lake since 1987.

If phosphorus reaches the lake, it fuels growth of algae. When the algae decay, the bacteria that consumes it use up oxygen. The state Department of Ecology has listed Lake Whatcom as polluted because of low levels of dissolved oxygen in the part of the lake closest to Bellingham.

Local soil tends to have a lot of phosphorus, cutting the need for it in fertilizer. That also means that soil running into the lake brings phosphorus with it.

"You can't just use a no-phosphorus fertilizer, then sit back and say 'no problem,'" Matthews said. "Any type of landscape plan should be focused on trying to reduce runoff into the lake."

Pesticides and herbicides are not so much of a problem to the health of the lake as they are something that should not be in drinking water, Matthews said.

A 1998 study of the Lake Whatcom watershed by the state Department of Ecology found 15 pesticides in water samples from four sites.

The study found the pesticides chlorpyriphos, diazinon and malathion above recommended maximum concentrations for aquatic life at Geneva's Cable Street drain, and diazinon above recommended levels in Cemetery Creek and the Park Place detention pond, off North Shore Drive.

"The types and concentrations of pesticides detected in water bear a strong resemblance to contamination of urban streams in King County and are likely a result of local home and garden use," the study's authors wrote.

Crane flies

Craig MacConnell, director of Washington State University's Cooperative Extension in Whatcom County, said much of the pesticides found are chemicals that homeowners would typically use to combat crane flies.

Master gardeners surveyed 45 Lake Whatcom watershed lawns in 2001 and 78 lawns in 2002 for crane fly infestations. They found just one lawn that needed any treatment.

"What's that message?" MacConnell asked. "We need to worry less about pests."

Darin Nolan, who lives on Westridge Place, said he used diazinon for crane flies when he lived in Snohomish, but tries to stay away from chemicals now.

"We found some organic fertilizers that work great," Nolan said. He said he pulls weeds and uses soapy water to get aphids off his roses. He said he is all for a ban on pesticides and herbicides.

Mike Vandehey found diazinon in the garage of his Hayward Court home when he moved in four years ago. He said he has avoided such chemicals because he's in the watershed, although he did use pesticides on termites in a retaining wall and went for a fertilizer with phosphorus.

Barker, a master gardener, said he uses "an ounce or two" of fungicide a year on his climbing roses, which are susceptible to blight.

"I have removed some of them that are too susceptible," he said. "I keep looking for ones that are less susceptible."

Sudden Valley Community Association General Manager Steve Grieser said the association uses no pesticides and no herbicides other than some Roundup.

But fertilizer and fungicide are critical for Northwest golf courses, Grieser said. He said workers use light, frequent applications of fertilizer (with phosphorus) to avoid runoff into the lake.

Bellingham uses a fertilizer with phosphorus on the turf grass in Bloedel Donovan Park, Parks and Recreation Operations Manager Marvin Harris said.

"You couldn't really maintain a turf grass over there without fertilizer," he said. "It would be dirt."

The fertilizer the city uses is released by temperature rather than water, limiting the potential of rain to wash it into the lake, Harris said.

The city Parks and Public Works departments do not use pesticides or herbicides in the watershed, relying instead on mowing and the capacity of grass to crowd out weeds. Whatcom County government stopped using pesticides and herbicides in 1990, County Executive Pete Kremen said.

Ban or not?

Grant LaMothe, the owner of Four Seasons Landscape Management, said licensed landscapers like him are careful about how they use chemicals in the watershed.

Banning their use would mean relying on less-effective alternatives and make it hard to get the kind of lush lawns and yards homeowners want, LaMothe said. "If you use vinegar rather than Roundup on weeds, you wind up having to go back a few times."

MacConnell said teaching homeowners about the real risks from pests and promoting alternatives to chemicals can work. The extension has sent new watershed residents information about alternatives to pesticides, and has found in follow-up interviews that residents are using these practices and sharing the information with others, he said.

WSU scientists also developed a "Lake Whatcom Blend" fertilizer with no phosphorus.

Vandehey wondered how effective a ban would be.

"I've got a little bit of a problem with laws that are hard to enforce," he said. "I think (raising) public awareness tends to do pretty well."

Vandehey said he saw the Lake Whatcom Blend when he went to buy fertilizer, but it was too much more expensive than other brands.

Asmundson and MacConnell said the law is unclear as to whether Bellingham and Whatcom County have the authority to ban use of pesticides and herbicides in the watershed, and it may take a court case to settle the matter.

Kremen said he discussed a possible ban with Asmundson at last month's meeting of the Lake Whatcom Management Committee and wants to consider the idea. But he and County Council Chairman Dan McShane said they were worried that enforcing a ban would be tough.

"It sounds really wonderful if you're worried about water quality, but I don't know if it's very practical," McShane said.

McShane said he thinks phosphorus and other nutrients getting into the lake from soil runoff is a bigger problem than pesticides, herbicides or phosphorus from fertilizer.

Matthews agreed that development is the top problem on the lake, but said watershed protection will take lots of efforts on different issues.

Bellingham City Council Chairman John Watts said a ban would be worth doing even though some people probably would disobey it.

"There will be a lot of people who will accept it and will see it as good sense," he said.

Reach Aubrey Cohen at aubrey.cohen@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2289

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