- This Business Supports
Whatcom Watch
Article Categories
- Cover Story
- Beaks and Bills
- Dear Watchers
- Being Frank
- Watching Government
- Agriculture
- Ballot Measure
- Bay Cleanup
- Bellingham Parks
- Beyond Fossil Fuels
- Bird Watching
- Book Review
- Campaign 2016
- Candidates
- Climate
- Commentary
- Community Service Providers
- Community Service Spotlight
- Conservation
- Conservation District Election
- County Charter Review
- County Elections
- Dear Sasquatch
- Development
- Earth
- Editorial
- Education
- Election 2017
- Election Results
- Energy
- Fossil Fuels
- Full Bloom Farm
- Gardening
- Global Warming
- Guest Author
- Health/Digital
- Healthcare
- Housing
- Human Rights Film Festival
- I-1631
- Incarceration
- Internet
- Journalism
- Kushan Carbon Trust
- Letter to the Editor
- Life Before Flowers
- Looking Back
- Lummi
- March Election
- Marine Life
- Natural History
- Northwest Gardening
- Obituary
- Opinion
- poetrywatch
- Recreation
- Red Wheelbarrow Writers
- Salish Sea
- Salmon
- Salmon Streams and Tributaries
- Solar Power
- Stormwater
- Talk to Us
- Transportation
- Twenty Years Ago
- Unsung Heroes
- Watch Out!!
- Water
- Whatcom: Chronic & Acute
- Wildfire
- Wildlife
Previous Issues
Water
December 2022
What Is Water Worth in Whatcom County?
by Eric Hirst The long-running drought in the southwest has dramatically lowered flows in the Colorado River, and, therefore, the levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation determined that demand for Colorado River water needs … Continue reading
Comments Off on What Is Water Worth in Whatcom County?
May 2022
About Lake Whatcom
About Lake Whatcom Lake Whatcom is the primary drinking water source for about 100,000 residents of Whatcom County (see map on page 6). The lake is comprised of three sub-basins from which water samples are collected in October through December, … Continue reading
Comments Off on About Lake Whatcom
September 2021
What’s Wrong With Washington State Water Law?
by Eric Hirst State water law is a complicated mess, a piece-by-piece accumulation of disparate laws since 1917. Worse, these laws confound solutions to the problems we face today — climate change and population growth — in managing an … Continue reading
Comments Off on What’s Wrong With Washington State Water Law?
July 2021
High Levels of Biotoxin Found in Wiser Lake
Recent sampling at Wiser Lake detected microcystin, a toxin produced by algae, at levels that may be harmful to people and pets. Toxin levels are more than 20 times the maximum safe level established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. … Continue reading
Comments Off on High Levels of Biotoxin Found in Wiser Lake
March 2021
How Best to Resolve Nooksack River Water Issues
by Eric Hirst Background How can we best resolve long-standing water-resource issues in the Nooksack River Basin? These problems — primarily too little water in the river and streams during the summer — have been recognized for at least two … Continue reading
Comments Off on How Best to Resolve Nooksack River Water Issues
December 2020
Nooksack River Streamflows Are Getting Worse
by Eric Hirst My January 2020 paper published in Whatcom Watch, “Nooksack River: Too Little Water, and it’s Getting Worse,” examined summer flows in the Nooksack River, measured at Ferndale, from 1967 to 2019.(1) These data show considerable year-to-year volatility … Continue reading
Comments Off on Nooksack River Streamflows Are Getting Worse
July 2020
Five Solutions to Whatcom County Water Issues
by Eric Hirst At the February 2020 City Club meeting, Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu asked us to offer five solutions to the problems we think are most significant for the county. Here are my suggestions to deal with our … Continue reading
Comments Off on Five Solutions to Whatcom County Water Issues
April 2020
Challenges to a Water Supply in a Changing Climate
by Judy Hopkinson and Ellyn Murphy The Community Research Project was conducted on behalf of the Whatcom County Climate Impact Advisory Committee. The purpose of this project was to reach out to community leaders and stakeholders on how the … Continue reading
Comments Off on Challenges to a Water Supply in a Changing Climate
January 2020
Nooksack River Too Little Water, and It’s Getting Worse
by Eric Hirst There is less water during the summer in the Nooksack River today than five decades ago. These lower flows are one of many factors adversely affecting salmon and the orcas that feed on salmon. (1) This … Continue reading
Comments Off on Nooksack River Too Little Water, and It’s Getting Worse
January 2020
Watershed Management Board
This local organization is responsible for addressing water supply and quality issues within the Nooksack River basin and for salmon recovery. Its members include Whatcom County, City of Bellingham, Public Utility District #1, Lummi Nation, Nooksack Indian Tribe, and the … Continue reading
Comments Off on Watershed Management Board
