Chris May
Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Management
Phone: 360-337-5777 or
cmay@co.kitsap.wa.us
No:
10-55
Bugs being used to indicate
water quality of streams
Kitsap County is collecting stream samples to
measure the health of Kitsap County watersheds
(Port Orchard, WA) – Water quality specialists are collecting stream samples
for Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Management’s (SSWM) new watershed
health monitoring program. SSWM uses aquatic insects and other
macroinvertebrates as a “bio-monitoring” tool to assess the health of Kitsap
watersheds.
Stream samples have been collected throughout the Puget Sound Region for
more than 10 years. However, in Kitsap County the previous monitoring was
sporadic. This effort is a consistent bi-annual event that will be evaluated
using valid statistical methods. Previous monitoring data will be
incorporated in future analysis.
Fall 2010 Sampling - Carpenter Creek, Kingston, WA Photo courtesy of Stillwaters
Environmental Education Center
Forty-four sites on thirty-one streams are being monitored. Sampling started
in August, and stream samples will be collected once every two years at most
locations.
Click here to see a map of the Benthic Monitoring Sites
Benthic macroinvertebrates are organisms that live a portion of their
life-cycle in or near the streambed and include insects, crustaceans, worms,
snails, and clams. These animals are collected, placed into sample bottles,
and sent to a lab for sorting and identification. The lab sends back a
report including a score of the biotic integrity. Higher scores correspond
to better stream “health.” A high scoring stream generally has a diverse
group of benthic macroinvertebrates including many species that are
sensitive to pollution.
"Collecting these samples is a great way to measure the health of our
streams,” says Mindy Fohn, Kitsap County SSWM Water-Quality Program Manager.
“The results from this monitoring will help us determine how well we are
restoring and preventing pollution in our waterways."
Fall 2010 Sampling - Finn Creek, Hansville, WA
Photo courtesy of Finn
Creek Stream Team
Mauro Heine, Kitsap County’s Water Quality Specialist, says “This is the
first year of the monitoring program. We were able to collect samples from
all the sites thanks to the involvement of so many enthusiastic staff and
volunteers.”
Related Links:
More information about benthic sampling can be found at
www.pugetsoundstreambenthos.org. The results of this sampling will be
available on this web site as well.
For more information about the Surface and Stormwater Management program,
visit
www.kitsapgov.com/sswm.
