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Whatcom Watch
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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