City officials are using the help of AmeriCorps volunteer Austin Dunn in their search for the source of the fecal coliform that resulted in warnings to Mill and Harris beachgoers last summer.
Dunn has been bushwhacking through underbrush and skirting private property to collect storm water samples throughout the city.
“Austin’s work will help us better understand why some of our beaches have exceeded safe levels of fecal bacteria and strategies on how to mitigate this issue in the future,” said Public Works Director Loree Pryce.
Mill and Harris beaches are monitored by the state throughout the summer, and the Oregon Beach Monitoring Program issues advisories accordingly. Last summer, high fecal bacteria levels prompted the agency to advise people to avoid contact with the water that flows into the ocean from the creeks there.
The high bacterial counts were thought to be the result of either failing septic systems, people not picking up after their dogs, a concentration of wildlife in the area or a combination of those factors.
Identifying the source where it enters the drainage system is the first step in fixing the problem, Pryce said. And it’s pretty much a process of elimination, she added.
“Our primary goal is to identify and address point sources of pollution, but that becomes a complicated task when you’re dealing with a largely urban watershed, like the one that drains at Mill Beach,” Dunn said. “There’s a lot going on in the residential, commercial and industrial zones that comprise the Macklyn Creek/Mill Beach watershed.”
Tests are focused on the discharge at Mill Beach, which includes the city watershed and the neighboring lumber yard pond. Dunn is getting some fecal coliform readings all the way up the city watershed toward Highway 101.
Dunn did find a location where deer are congregating because someone is feeding them, but water samples indicate the fecal bacterial is more likely attributable to dogs. City officials are looking into the costs of DNA tests.
“Last time this testing occurred, the watershed council contributed it to dog and animal feces,” Pryce said. “We’re getting the same results.”
The state Department of Environmental Quality conducted tests at South Coast Lumber’s mills and septic systems farther upstream last year, and they are in compliance, she added.
And the city ruled out its sewer mains in the area when it conducted TV inspections last summer. That involved snaking long wires with cameras affixed to the ends to determine if pipes throughout the system were damaged or leaking.
Pryce said there could be a “homeless contribution element,” or possibly a failing septic system along the route, as well.
With summer approaching, the city will again offer dog-waste bags at trailheads and beach parking lots to encourage owners to “scoop the poop.”
“Pet waste is an example of preventable contamination,” Dunn said. “We’re also working to implement water-quality features, such as rain gardens, bioswales and constructed wetlands that use natural processes to remove pollutants before they reach the ocean.”
Port Orford installed bioswales at the ocean side of its Battle Rock parking lot. Water drains from the parking lot and enters the system where it slowly moves through plants and soil, releasing substantially cleaner water into the ocean. Sediment and chemicals are trapped in ponds and don’t flow out to sea.
Rain gardens, more often used in the private sector, shed rainwater from roofs, through rocky areas and into loamy areas planted with flowers. Any extra water can also recharge local aquifers.
Originally Published in Curry Coastal Pilot
PO Box 700
Brookings, OR 97415
Phone: 541-469-3123